Rock Heads Can’t Move Beyond Rock?

An interesting conversation on rock music came up last Friday while two of my colleagues and I were having lunch outside where we heard a band practicing some rock tunes. Just when one of the guys complimented how decent the band sounded, they messed up. Speak to soon, I told him. That was how the discussion started, and I was surprised that these two white guys who listen to rock all their lives concurred that you can’t take rock any further than what it already is. A musician’s skill doesn’t have to be superb to play rock. In order to play like John Coltrane, however, one would need tremendous technical skills. One of the things the guy pointed out was that drummer Tommy Lee tried out for the college band in a reality show, and couldn’t make. He simply couldn’t play and read what the band required even though he is one of the most popular rock stars. He concluded that rock musicians might be good at what they know, but can’t move beyond that. In general he is probably correct.