Why Do You Think Rock Is Not Played As Often As Pop?

For me this one is easy. While people who love rock music thinks its cool, the mass majority of people don’t think it is. Most likely because their friend groups just like pop etc and don’t want to be left behind. Who wants to be that one rebel that goes against the crowd? Yelling their rock allegiance only to get publicly ridiculed..

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell (All Rights Are Retained By Billy Idol)

Pop music by its very definition is popular, where as rock has always been seen as the black sheep of the family. The weird uncle that you were probably told to stay away from. Also lets not forget there is so many heavier flavours of rock that shock most peoples ears. Or people don’t understand the shift within the genre, numb to genuine progress.

Linkin Park – Numb (All Rights Are Retained By Linkin Park)

Other than that I think people incorrectly view it as aggressive , whereas in reality its been proven (you can find the studies yourself) that people who listen to rock music are more relaxed than people who do not. There has been an emergence recently I believe in rock music’s popularity, and it’s one I did not expect.

Sleep Token – Emergence (All Rights Are Retained By Sleep Token)

Yet currently it’s a genuine shame though that you can’t go walking through a supermarket and hear a kickass rock song. Or in the charts hear a brand new band. Todays music is unfortunately very unimaginative. That is why we need to celebrate bands that fuse genres, test the senses and more importantly act as a gateway for people to experience rock. Such as Sleep Token. A band that recently scored a top 10 single in the UK charts!

Why do you think rock isn’t played as much as pop ? Let me know in the comments!


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18 responses to “Why Do You Think Rock Is Not Played As Often As Pop?”

  1. richardbist avatar

    I think pop is more accessible because it’s music you don’t have to think much about and plays more to the feel-good emotions. Not that rock doesn’t have feel-good songs, but I think rock is more primal at heart. Pop is more…bubbles and hearts.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Ah so pop is easier to like straight off the bat then due to subject matter. I’d agree with that 😁

      Like

  2. Di Houle avatar

    I’ll give a simple yet buttheaded and biased opinion… People are dumb, that’s why!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Greg Dennison avatar

      This was my first thought

      Liked by 2 people

  3. Kit Nichols avatar

    Today’s music, is it really music, you don’t have to know how to sing, play an instrument or understand how to record anything.
    I look at people like Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, he went to music school. Then you have classically trained musicians like Freddy Mercury. Or a group of guys who all play various instruments, write music and lyrics plus most artists nowadays have no clue how they recorded most of their tracks in studios; yes talking about The Beatles. And all four of them created iconic music both together and solo; not on like The Eagles, Pink Floyd or The Who.
    I rather have my ears amputated than listen to kitschy pop music.
    I remember going to a graduation and the marching band played Led Zeppelin and the people thought oh that’s great. Then they played the same song with lyrics during a slide show and the people thought oh, what’s this crap.
    At least every so often I hear familiar guitar playing on pop music from someone like Carlos Santana. I wish I didn’t know who Taylor Swift is.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. windupmyskirt avatar

    Rock is rebellious, and pop literally means popular.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. S.Bechtold avatar

    As far as in public spaces and businesses, pop is less likely to center on a specific group of customers. It’s the same for Rap as it is for Rock, or Jazz, or Classical. Also may businesses use music services so they don’t have to worry about royalties etc… It’s still preferable to Muzak IMHO.

    Like

  6. Marie Freelan avatar
    Marie Freelan

    I think it depends. Classic rock is still played often in public and there are a lot of known classic rock tunes. While I personally love the sound of rock, I think pop is just a little more calming. There is usually no abrupt sense when listening to pop. Rock can still soothe the soul, but some of its the attitude like when you listen to a romantic pop song or it just usually has some positive message with it.

    Like

  7. lyndhurstlaura avatar

    All of the previous responses give the salient. There’s a sort of ‘don’t rock (!) the boat’, race to the bottom feel about societies. Go with the flow, follow the mass taste, conform to what the majority wants. Supermarkets don’t want customers rocking in the aisles, playing air guitar and the like. Feed them the gloopy popular stuff that they can hum along to automatically, while thinking about the goods they’re going to fill their trolleys with. It’s the same with classical music, play the popular classics channel and you won’t hear much opera apart from the non-vocal popular overtures. Same with books, mass-market over serious stuff. It’s not great, but at least we can still listen at home or go to some great gigs. 😎

    Like

  8. ibarynt avatar

    People don’t have good taste? 🤣

    Like

  9. Saikari avatar
    Saikari

    This is an insightful as well as interesting take on Rock and how it’s received by the public. I personally think Rock has a distinct place in history. It was a birth in a place when people had to stand up and “fight” back. Something like Rap, a rebellious time in America, and the politics during its birth throughout its peak. Long live Greenday, Linkin Park, Seether, ect. 🌊

    Like

  10. isabellawolgoth avatar

    What a fantastic question, and while I am in no way qualified to attempt an answer, my ego will of course shout a claim from the rooftops. LOL.

    I see this question in the same vein as a question like: Why do so many more people read social media over reading, say, a novel? Right. This is probably me just committing a logical error in terms of categories. Anyway, jumping right over that one, rock (and here I am limiting the term to Sabbath like solos, Rush solos, Tull “Thick as a Brick” solos) demands the listener to not only enjoy the Nugent “Stranglehold” guitar riffs until they regrettably end, but the rock fan will love a song that will take them from home to work in the morning. A song. One song.

    On the other hand, pop demands only a couple of minutes of your time. Pop is often the home of the repeated lyric, which is no stranger to rock, but in pop, repetition tends to make up the song itself, which of course is sent into your ears very quickly, while a typical 70s rock song will take its time to unfurl its banner in your brain.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Divinity Brownwood avatar

    Because it’s harder to manipulate rock stars into putting subliminal messages that make the public compliant in their music.

    Like

  12. Debbie D. avatar

    I agree with your assessment. Pop music appeals to the masses – people with unsophisticated musical tastes. Rock music is more complex and profound, IMO. Your comment about rock fans being more relaxed resonates also. When I’m stressed, my go-to strategy is to play hard rock or metal at full volume. Like Scream Therapy, only better! 😉 P.S. We saw Billy Idol perform live last month in Toronto. “Rebel Yell’ was a highlight, for sure! 👌

    Like

  13. Huilahi avatar
    Huilahi

    Great post. This one really made me think. I actually prefer rock music to pop. Always have had this preference since I was a child. That being said, I can see why rock music doesn’t hold the mass appeal of pop. Pop music appeals to the masses and is generally more popular. Its catchy and easy to listen to. Rock music, on the other hand, is something of an acquired taste. Not everyone is into it. Great post once again and thanks for sharing.

    Like

  14. writinstuff avatar

    A lot of what the others have said but honestly it’s b/c pop music is more likely to produce an earworm that everyone can’t stop listening to for approximately 2 weeks before moving on to the next one. Lots of the rock songs that crossover have that quality, it’s catchy and (often) easy to forget.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Yeah the earworm effect is strong! I do love me a really damn catchy chorus!

      Liked by 1 person

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