The Year When Rock Just Spun Its Wheels

2011 may well be remembered as the most numbing year for mainstream rock music in history.

major-label rock these days, a musical universe in crisis like no other, full of old bands spinning their wheels, praying for one more summer out under big-tour sheds, and their young reinforcements, not much more than a field of dullards who are the artistic equivalent of grocery store generic brands.

At this point rock is becoming a graveyard of aesthetic innovation and creativity, a lie perpetrated by major labels, radio conglomerates and touring concerns, all of whom need — or feel they need — the continued sustenance of this style of music. The fringes remain interesting, and regenerate constantly, but the center has been left to rot.

It’s a living funeral, and it’s got to come tumbling down sometime.

Read more at www.nytimes.com