Fortunately, really good jazz is still being invented.
And unfortunately only a handful of people listen to it. A small pittance compared to the golden age of jazz in the 1st half of the century. And I reckon that Rock bares a great share of that blame.
We're always going to have our community. It may not be the biggest. The popularity of some awesome new album might fall well below that of some Soundcloud mumble rapper. Doesn't mean I'll like it any less.
I guess what I'm saying is, I don't really notice rock/metal going away, because I'm still surrounded by it. The people I hang out with, the online forums I'm on, music I listen to daily. Except for churn in the online world, nothing has changed a lot for me in the last 30 years.
Maybe this is the difference. I like to hang out with other people, especially young people. To me people of my own age (50) feel and sound like boring old farts. I wouldn't want to be caught dead at a 'Back to the ***ties party. Most of the music I listen too is indeed older stuff, but I would like to hear something new that's good as well. In fact I crave it. I want to be part of a vibrant and growing community, not a retirement community.
Sure, there are less live shows to go to, and the stadium rock shows are mostly gone. Hell, I almost like it better now. I saw Judas Priest a few months ago. Instead of playing at some massive arena, it was in the Hard Rock hotel in Vegas. Way better than the last time I saw them.
I don't know which is sadder, knowing there is a decline and actually being comfortable with it. I'd be depressed as f*** knowing that my band used to fill stadiums but now has to play at a hotel in Vegas. Especially Vegas. That's where Elvis went to become fat and lose his mojo.
Every now and then, I'll read about someone dying, and it can be a blow. Keith Emerson's death hit me particularly hard for example. I still celebrate the music though, and I doubt anything about that will change while I'm around. I couldn't care less about whatever new immersive AI-based virtual pop-star thing people get into someday. I didn't listen to it before, don't now, probably won't in the future.
Well, I do care what is in the charts. Not because I like it, in general it always used to be most shite anyway. But there used to be the occasional gem. Even Iron Maiden and Metallica used to have chart hits. I'd like that variety back, where you had some good rock hits along the pop stuff. Now it's just pop and rap stuff. And Spanish is replacing English as the lingua franca of pop. Not that I am racist, English is not my native language anyway, but English was the language of rock. Spanish, quite the contrary.
But maybe you have the right attitude. The war is over. Game over, man! Game over! Might as well learn to enjoy the decline.
Hey, watch that geezer stuff. I resemble that remark.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
