Originally posted by howie50
When you talk about bands now relying on shock value, do you think Kiss and Alice Cooper or The Sex Pistols relied on their musicianship to climb to the top, I don't think so, Marilyn Manson is not doing anything new, my bet is that in 10years time if it is'nt already so, he'll be playing golf, he'll have a wife and 2.4 children, a dog and a conventional house, just as soon as he's made enough money to retire. [/B]

The difference with Bands like Kiss and Alice Cooper, is that they had a creative vision, and their music made up for the rest. Once they grabbed ahold of the publics attention, the music took care of the rest. Today it seems like alot of recording artists are afraid that they'll no longer be able to hold onto the publics attention with their music as an ancor. Because face it, image is everything today, and anything else tends to get lost between the cracks, and it shouldn't be that way. But I honestly feel, (well at leat to a certain extent, that alot of people today like being in the moment, and not having to analyze what they like.) And most record companies realize that, where they are in the business to find limitted rock stars that will make them a whole lot of cash. I'm not saying that we should analyze everything that seems good, but at least we should should think about what we are getting to.

Well, there were many factors which made the seventies such a great time, It was an unpresedented time of artistic freedom and exploration in the music industry, primarily due to the fact that many of the recording companies didn't quite understand rock music, and as a result placed their trust in the musicians to belt out good tunes, (and to make history.) But now, thats too much of a risky move for most companies, considering the fact that most recording artists of today don't know whether they are coming or going, and they have confused whats most important when makng music.

-Joseph, :).