Shock rock no longer exists! At least that’s how Alice Cooper sees it. “In the 70s it was easy to shock the audience. Today nobody really tries to do that anymore,” said the now 76-year-old in an interview with the radio station KLPX. The singer still relies on bloody theatrics on stage (keyword: guillotine), but no one leaves the hall anymore. And other provocations have become rare – at least where there is a lot of money to be made. Why is it that rock no longer wants to shake? Or is it the overwhelmed crowd that no longer wants to get involved in this fear-based game?
At least Gore still celebrates Alice Cooper like he used to. “These elements remain in the show because they are fun to watch,” he recorded in the conversation. Not without laughingly pointing out that as a young person today he would probably bring in completely different ideas than he did back then.
What was once exciting is now applauded or laughed at
The fact is: the shock factor in rock has changed in the last few decades. What was once considered radical and provocative has now long since become part of the mainstream. The audience has become accustomed to extremes, and many of the earlier breaches of taboos are socially accepted or, if they are symbolically exaggerated, tolerated. People are less amazed at decline, drug addiction and egomania than expected to seriously do something about it. Rock music has acquired many facets that were not even dreamed of in the 60s and 70s. Just think of Coldplay. Just look at who is nominated for Best Rock Band at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Memory may be deceptive, but in the 1970s rock music portrayed itself as an untamed force that disrupted the establishment. Musicians like Alice Cooper and bands like the Plasmatics shocked people with their excessive lifestyle, provocative stage shows and a rebellious attitude that massively contradicted the social conventions of the time. It was an era in which any transgression of boundaries immediately generated a backlash. One side of the audience looked for these excesses, the other fervently rejected them. For everyone there was a gain in distinction with this decision. That’s what made rock music so powerful, potent anyway – and perhaps dangerous.
But today, half a century later, the audience seems more jaded than ever. Provocations that once caused scandal now only elicit a weary smile at best. The shitstorm, but also the viral twisters, move on quickly anyway. What was still a radical form of self-expression in the 70s, which inevitably broke taboos and initiated new social discussions, is now generally accepted as a form of (short-term) escapism. Androgynous musicians such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop, who injured himself on stage, were revered as cultural icons who challenged understandings of identity and gender. They were far ahead of today’s social discussions because they did not reflect them as everyday personalities, but as fictional characters.
Rock music has received shock competition
Topics such as sexuality, drugs and even open violence that once provoked outrage are now ubiquitous in the media and popular culture. You are just a mouse click away. People have grown tired of being shocked as they are constantly exposed to more extreme images and messages. But there is also another reason why audiences have become more tolerant and no longer demand subversion on stage.
In the ’70s, rock stars were larger-than-life figures whose lives and music were intertwined. Both depended on each other. Some escapades, such as eating a bat, are still talked about today. These musicians, one might think, lived the life their fans secretly wanted – rebellious and free from social constraints. This myth is long a thing of the past. Social media has made artists more accessible and human overall. Musicians want that too. Anyone who makes a secret out of themselves is only successful if it is really good. Fans know that rock stars are just as hungover as they are the morning after a night of drinking. Their heroes even post it online. This demystification has meant that the shock factor that once resulted from this seemingly superhuman aura has largely disappeared.
Rock music has long been commercialized. Rebellion is now available printed on T-shirts that can be bought not only in cool stores, but also at discounters. Provocative performances, controversial song lyrics and eccentric outfits are no longer an expression of supposedly authentic resistance, but are often part of a carefully calculated marketing concept. People know this during the day, even if they tend to forget it for an evening in a multi-purpose hall. What has become a commodity loses its power to excite. You are no longer confronted with shock music, you decide for it – or against it – with your concert ticket.
So while provocation hardly works anymore or – see Rammstein – is stuck in an eternal repetition loop, there are still musicians and certainly some genres that manage to literally tear the audience off their feet. However, no longer in the classic sense. Today they are more political statements that want to be heard and, to a certain extent, stir things up or ensure approval. What began with questions of social conscience in the 80s, from Bob Geldof to U2, has now reached the eco-sensitive corner. Musicians care about the planet and give concerts with low carbon emissions.
The dangerous look inward
But social commentary with a view to racism and MeToo or the conscious questioning of cultural norms also attract attention. Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish manage to challenge their listeners through deep and often uncomfortable content rather than through superficial provocations. They are highly personal with their art and rely on empathy rather than creating a fictional character that fans should get offended by. The deep look into their own abyss, which the listeners want to share, replaces the look into sometimes rather artistic hellholes. The shock today is more about dramatically conveying the nature of misogyny or suffering from depression, rather than presenting the world with bare facts or a body worn down by addiction.
In a world characterized by constant media overstimulation, it is less about external, superficial provocation and more about the depth of the messages that music conveys.
Circle of the arts: The sensory overstimulation that rock laid the foundation for in the 70s may now be turned back again. You check it on yourself. What triggers deeper emotions of heart-pounding approval OR resolute head shaking: Swift friendship bracelets or Rammstein flamethrowers?