The Big Picture: Teens Save Classic Rock:
Old rock has become fashionable, too. The years-old couture and thrift-shop vogue for vintage rock T-shirts recently trickled down to mall retailers catering to teens, with Doors and Rolling Stones shirts selling fast at stores such as Hot Topic.
“It’s almost a cyclical thing — as music ages, it can become cool again,” says Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis, who covers the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care” on her new solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat. But Lewis also sees a simpler reason for the trend: “It’s called classic rock for a reason — it’s classic. It’s just really great music.”
I don’t know what that word is but loosely defined, it has to do with the notion that the originators of a medium — representational painting, the symphony, the novel, rock and roll — are often considered the greatest artists of that medium, no matter how much comes afterward. It’s not that no one has ever played more wildly or creatively than Jimi Hendrix, but that no one could be Jimi Hendrix, a original artist at a certain point in time. Likewise the other music acts mentioned.
There is something to be explored in terms of what core values or ideals make one work a classic and another uninspired filler.
Now playing: All I Have Are Memories (Instrumental) by The Byrds from the album “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” | Get it