Rock as It Nears 40: Running on Empty?

Hilburn, as usual, is right on the money. Searching the radio dial for anything remotely meaningful is a frustrating experience for anyone tired of oldies and the prefabricated snot that the under-20 crowd prefers now-adays.

The death of rock as a vital form of popular music doesn’t bother me, though. All things must pass, and rock has had its day. The depressing thing is that nothing is taking its place.

We’ve had the Jazz Age, the Big Band Era, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Years. Since the turn of the century forms of popular music have left their marks on generations.

The 1990s will be very empty indeed if the only original means of musical expression is rap, which will never appeal to more than a small, angry minority.

ROBERT W.D. DeVILLE

Claremont