The knock on this generation's music is usually technology-based. Contemporary artists and producers have the ability to program perfect songs, and they do. But that philosophy is not very "rock n' roll," and it's incited many a geezer-y diatribe this year. The latest comes from repeat "get off my lawn" offender Paul Stanley, who discussed the current bands on the charts.
"The music today, my problem is if you don't wanna sing a song, then get somebody else to sing it," he told Noisey (via U-G).
Why's that, Paul?
"Because it's faceless and that's the biggest problem I think nowadays," he said. "Perhaps, I would hate to think, it's because I'm getting older, but it's a shame that a lot of young people are missing out on the excitement of music that is created by human beings."
Spoiler: He's pretty much right. Music is about emotion and that's often zapped out of (or artificially placed in) songs that hit the top of the Pops.
"The reason we love so much of the music we grew up listening to is because it wasn't perfect," Stanley said. "What we've done is we replaced passion with perfection, and the music that I loved, Motown, was full of mistakes."
Stanley used Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut as an example. While Jimmy Page was always a bit sloppy when trying to mesh with John Paul Jones and John Bonham, it lended an air of authenticity and excitement to the tunes.
"The first Zeppelin album was a disaster, it's brilliant because Jimmy almost goes off the rails at times," Stanley said. "That's what music is about. Music is about pushing the boundaries in search of ecstasy. And that's missing today, for the most part."
When asked what "new" music he enjoys listening to, Stanley cited Foo Fighters, a rock outfit that has been rolling for almost two decades now. So if you're a 70-year-old who wants to be clued in on rock's youth movement, just pop in Sonic Highways, we guess.
