A while ago, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine stated that he felt like there aren't a whole lot of rock bands making it big these days and that most innovation instead happens in the hip hop genre. Something he also talked about a few years ago. I figured it was an interesting topic to discuss further.
First off, learn more about Levine's statement in this video:
Some might take what the Maroon 5 singer says as a ballsy or ignorant claim. Especially since Maroon 5 isn't really much of a rock band, to begin with. More of a pop band, to be fair.
The backlash from Slipknot and Garbage
Corey Taylor of Slipknot is known for being extremely vocal and confrontational towards other musicians who don't share his opinion on things, and this was no exception. Already in 2018 he called Levine a "schmuck" for a similar statement about the current state of rock music and told him to go back to The Voice, a talent show on TV in which he appeared.
Slipknot - a band often confused with The Slipnutz.
So now, in 2021, Levine is at it again, causing another shitstorm. This time he got lambasted by no other than Shirley Manson of Garbage as well as musician/actress Juliette Lewis, who are planning on touring together once the pandemic eventually (hopefully) settles.
"What are we, Adam Levine? Cats?", banters the Garbage frontwoman on Twitter, who later gets backed by Lewis, telling Levine there are indeed plenty of ferocious bands ready to "rage & roll" hard once the gates are open.
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| Garbage's tongue-in-cheek response to Adam Levine's claim that rock is nowhere these days. Find the original tweet here. |
My Take on it
While I get what both Corey and Shirley are coming from, both being hard-working rock musicians, I think it's a bit silly to take what Levine is saying so literally and to even get offended by it on a personal level. In the interview, Levine talks about showing his daughter "old" YouTube videos of Avril Lavigne, who debuted in 2002. So what he talks about is obviously the abysmal number of new bands that have risen to great rockstardom over the more recent years. So for Garbage and Slipnot - bands that were already formed in the mid-'90s - to take offence is just plain silly.
Don't get me wrong, Garbage is still a band I get excited to hear new music from, and they're just about to release their seventh album at this point. It's one of the first bands I ever listened to, back in the late 90's, and they've been with me ever since.
And that is the case with the bands that most people are familiar with today. Most of them formed in the 90's or 00's, when they got backed by large record labels, MTV and other mainstream media. Today it is easier than ever to make your band heard on YouTube, SoundCloud or whatever, but it's extremely hard to get that kind of widespread recognition as a band these days. It's not the 1960s when everyone knew who The Beatles or the Rolling Stones were, regardless of your musical taste. To know modern rock bands you have to start digging and actively search for them. That is the biggest difference.
What do you think? Do you agree with Adam Levine, or are you on camp Manson/Taylor? Comment down below and share your thoughts!
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