This is a response to the May 21, 2012 article titled "Smile, You're in Athens: Athens' rich music scene appeases all listeners.” The Athens music scene may seem to be at a very high level of diversity, but according to many students, the scene is dead.
Sure, there is a little of something for everyone here, but what if you are not a fan of music that is the “popular style”. At OU, we have the indie and folk music scenes due
to the rich history of those styles in the area. We can also find the hip-hop and dubstep scenes which are big now with the students, but here is my question, where is the rock scene? In a world where music is always changing, and let’s face it, dubstep will fade away in the next five years, the one prominent genre that has been around the longest is rock music.
If anyone has sat through the History of Rock and Roll course we know that rock music contributes to a lot of styles that are around us today. The music scene may have bits and pieces put together but I don’t think it is time to sit back and say it is done and music is perfect. It is far from that. There are a few reasons why rock music doesn’t thrive in Athens as it does in so many places across the world. For example, the influence from our school at the fests and the spring concert.
There was not a single rock act on either of the lists and this is not because students don’t listen to rock, because quite frankly, there are many that do. Because of the party scene, it is a lot easier to sell tickets at the number fests and spring concerts when a hip-hop act is performing.
As I said before, acts from the hip-hop genre seem like the go-to acts, but in reality, you can have a concert or number fest be a hit if a rock act comes in. Believe me, I have been to numerous concert series where rock and metal acts are the headliners and people still drink, smoke and have a good time.
Has anyone ever been to Vans Warped Tour or Rock on the Range? It really is the same thing as a numbered fest. The last known act that was rock which came through Athens a little over a year ago was The Goo Goo Dolls. The show sold a lot of seats and fans that went to the concert said it was way better than seeing a rap concert that usually goes on at OU. It’s not that the music scene here is dead; it is still in its beginning stages but it is missing a key element. Rock music has stood the test of time, but now that rap is starting to hit the stage, combining these two genres in Athens, we could make our fests and concerts one of the best in the country.
Rory Muth is a sophomore studying organizational communication.
