A Creative Environment That Encourages Growth and Expression
2004-
If you polled only Rockers about the 2004 election you would have assumed that George W. Bush had not a chance in hell of being re-elected. Only Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent came out for the president. Both were so far over the hill that it hardly mattered. Godsmack’s Sully Erna said he’d prefer a Republican in the White House but stopped short of endorsing Bush - like some other Republican was going to take on a sitting president.
As the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq dragged on the anti-war movement, not heard from since the Vietnam era, briefly came to life but they were quickly pegged as anti-American and even worse, anti-U.S. troops. “Support the troops,” those grunts on foreign soil doing the dirty work, was the mantra.
On top of all this, the economy could barely keep its head above water. Angst was as thick as crude oil - the price of which hit record levels and that slowed, if not halted, business growth.
Despite (or because of) Rock’s stance, Bush won another four year term as the nation was neatly divided into blue states (Democrat/liberal) and red states (Republican/conservative). New England, the rust belt and the left coast were blue while the south, southwest and farm country favored red.
Things are rarely black and white and this red/blue dichotomy was no exception. In most states (not counting Texas) the numerical difference between Republican and Democrat voters was small, if not marginal. And even Texas had Austin - the bluest part of the reddest state.
If red state residents wanted to turn back the clock and undo all of the liberal court rulings and federal legislation, Rock, though notoriously liberal, seemed in a similar mode. At the mid-point of the decade Rock seemed to be looking over its shoulder. During the previous fifty years (Rock’s life span) so much music, in so many styles, had been created. Why not go back and use that for inspiration? Of course. The ‘50s and ‘60s were heavily mined in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Now ironically, the ‘70s and ‘80s, which saw the arrival of Punk, Glam and New Wave, found itself as the inspirational mother lode for several bands. In times of trouble people rely on the known, it’s comforting.
The old standbys were as reliable as ever. Punk had legs. Metal, and most of its variants, still held court. But the Wave influence was particularly interesting since it didn’t focus on the genre’s most popular artists. Though the Strokes borrowed heavily from the Cars and David Bowie continued to be a seminal influence, most bands dug a little deeper.
Late ‘70s and early 80’s groups that found only light MTV rotation and minimal commercial success seemed to resonate. The Psychedelic Furs, Berlin, Missing Persons and Oingo Boingo were clearly touchstones in the music of Ima Robot, Interpol and Metric - to name a few. It wasn’t so much recycling as re-positioning. It’s been happening for decades now - in both Rock and politics.
The old standbys were as reliable as ever. Punk had legs. Metal, and most of its variants, still held court. But the Wave influence was particularly interesting since it didn’t focus on the genre’s most popular artists. Though the Strokes borrowed heavily from the Cars while David Bowie continued to be a seminal influence, most bands dug a little deeper. Late ‘70s and early 80’s groups that found only light MTV rotation and minimal commercial success seemed to resonate. The Psychedelic Furs, Berlin, Missing Persons and Oingo Boingo were clearly touchstones in the music of Ima Robot, Interpol and Metric – to name a few. It wasn’t so much recycling as re-positioning. It’s been happening for decades now.
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