Rolling Stone: Rock Then, Pop Now
Imagine this: It’s 1967, and you’re printing your own magazine in a small loft with a tiny group of unpaid volunteers around you. It has a title inspired by Bob Dylan and a cover of John Lennon, specializing in something no one has specialized in before: rock and roll.
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
This marks the humble beginnings of the music journalism powerhouse that is Rolling Stone magazine, and a lot has changed since 1967. In the nearly 60 years since this very first issue, Rolling Stone has become one of the most widely known magazines in its field. Covering historic events like Woodstock and generating “all-time greatest” albums, artists, and song lists, there is no doubt as to their massive impact on the experience of music and pop culture.
However, despite this long history of trendsetting reporting on music and culture over the years, some are beginning to think Rolling Stone has lost its touch. In the comments of many of their Instagram posts, people express their discontent with the direction the magazine is taking. What is this direction? Covering the trends of popular music, of course.
To truly understand the depth of the dislike for Rolling Stone’s new content, one has to look at the historically adversarial relationship between rock music and “pop music,” and when people believe the distinction came to be. In the academic literature on the history of rock music, public perception of what makes music worthy or “authentic” is based on the idea of art versus commercialism, or artists versus “sellouts.” One such academic writer equates the idea of the “death of rock and roll” with the rise of “sellouts” or commercialized music.
According to this time frame, there is an inherent perception that making music based on art rather than money ended with Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994.
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
This explains, in a way, the dissatisfaction some viewers have with Rolling Stone’s new content. From this perspective, Rolling Stone is upholding the corruption of the music industry into a money-making scheme, rather than honoring the purity of music as an art form. To them, articles about Sabrina Carpenter or Taylor Swift are not celebrating and elevating a popular artist, they are promoting lesser music made for the purpose of money rather than art.
Image Courtesy: Getty Images
These thoughts are most likely not at the forefront of the average Instagram commenter’s mind, but the history of viewing pop music as less artistic and pure than rock music definitely comes into play.
Another factor to consider is the age-old tradition of viewing women, as both artists and fans, as less than. Misogyny plays a big part in the undermining of pop music's successes. Pop music is considered inherently “girly” music, associated with the idea of the frivolity and vapidness of adolescent to teenage girls.
Despite Beatlemania being directly linked to a teenage girl fanbase, this idea persists. Now that the popular music is “pop music,” and the artists under criticism are women, music fans and readers of Rolling Stone may not be so quick on the bandwagon as with artists that began with a teenage girl fanbase back in the early days.
Image Courtesy: The New York Times
Since the aforementioned 1967 cover, Rolling Stone has covered what they deem as most important in the music world. For a long time, that was rock music. Therefore, coverage of artists like Nirvana or references to The Beatles or Pink Floyd was the more relevant music to discuss.
Years pass, and things change. Rock music isn’t “dead,” but it is no longer king. Pop music—and pop artists—run the music industry right now, and where the music trends go, Rolling Stone follows.
I would argue, then, that Rolling Stone isn’t “falling off” or failing to do its job like it once did; rather, it is continuing its age-old history of discussing the most popular music of the period and lifting the artists who fall under it.
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
What slips through the cracks? Unfortunately, whatever doesn’t fit this criteria.
Maybe, one day, rock music will again become the dominant force of the music world. Until then, nostalgia and a love of “older” music, fashion, and lifestyles keep rock music more than afloat, and new rock artists continue the genre for the modern age.
Perhaps, stated simply, it is the era of Swift, Carpenter, Eilish, and Roan.
Perhaps it is just pop music’s time in the spotlight.
Strike Out,
Orlando
Writer: Hadley Balser
Editor: Nina Rueda
Hadley Balser is a content writer for Strike Magazine Orlando. They can often be found thrifting with one airpod in or spacing out to their growing record collection. They are also quite fond of writing, David Bowie and queer cannibals.You can email them at hmsbalser@outlook.com or follow them on Instagram @hadley_balser.
