The past quarter century has seen rock music overtaken in popularity by hip-hop, pop, R&B, country, even EDM, such that rock is no longer the dominant genre that it was for over 40 years. However, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.
Older warhorses like the Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Metallica, and the Dave Matthews Band remain huge concert draws. In addition, some of the best-selling and most influential recording artists of the new century are firmly rooted in rock. Let me highlight a few.
As the new millennium dawned, Red Hot Chili Peppers, a Los Angeles alternative band with a hard, funky sound, around since the ‘80s and famous as much for once performing naked save for their carefully placed “socks,” reached their peak with the arresting, melodic Californication. Featuring a title track that touches on the underbelly of the Hollywood dream, Anthony Kiedis sings movingly of everything from pornography to plastic surgery; while in “Scar Tissue,” the pain and struggle of life mingle with an upbeat, mellow, hopeful tune.
Coldplay, from London, has been, arguably, the most popular rock act of the century. They’ve had nine #1 albums in 20 years in the U.K. (four in the U.S.), are one of the biggest touring bands of all-time, and have won nine Brit awards and seven Grammys. Among their best-loved songs is 2008’s “Viva la Vida,” a compelling and timely rumination on the fall of a once all-powerful strongman.
Radiohead, yet another British band, is frequently mentioned for their experimental, alternative take on rock, ready to mix in electronica, jazz, even classical elements. They initially rose to fame in the 1990s with the singular “Creep,” and its compelling portrait of the insecure and marginalized and recognized by outsiders everywhere; and the album OK Computer. They have continued to make groundbreaking music in the 21st century with such acclaimed LPs as Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), and A Moon Shaped Pearl (2016).
There are others, perhaps equally acclaimed—California’s Linkin Park, with its best-selling Hybrid Theory; L.A.’s Maroon 5, with a softer, pop inflected vibe; and Dave Grohl’s hard rocking Foo Fighters, one of the most honored bands in history.
Steve Williams (11/16/23) Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #63
Greatest Recording Artists 