What are the differences between classic rock and modern rock?
It’s usually up to everyone’s interpretation as to what defines classic rock. While most people would consider acts like Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones to be the defining acts of the classic era of rock and roll, the generation now starting to sprout grey hairs is probably mortified to think that acts like Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam are now being looked at as the next generation of rock dinosaurs. But when looking at modern rock compared to the classics, what truly separates both timestamps?
Because the easy answer would simply be the amount of years that someone spent in the public eye. If we’re judging it on the same rules as the automotive industry, most car enthusiasts would say that a vehicle has to have been around for at least 25 years for it to be considered classic, but calling everything that came out before the new millennium feels like limiting it down too much. There has to be a core trait that sets them apart, and that normally comes from every band’s approach.
Looking at a band like Led Zeppelin, for example, what are the core traits that make them so indicative of classic rock? Sure, Jimmy Page has his signature guitar leads, and Robert Plant could belt into the rafters, but one of the core tenets behind all of their music tended to come from the blues. And looking at every classic rock act that came before, there is always a subtle hint of blues caked into their DNA.
Whether that’s the blues purists like Eric Clapton or even the adjacent blues players like David Gilmour, some of the biggest rock bands took blues as their main focus during their prime. Even when looking at bands that seemingly had nothing to do with classic rock, everyone from Dire Straits to The Beatles to Metallica always had that signature blues scale that they relied on to complete their songs.
At the risk of breaking the spirit of many 1990s kids, that also applies to grunge bands. While Alice in Chains have been known as the forefathers of alternative metal, Jerry Cantrell’s guitar tone is indebted to blues playing, with a tune like ‘Man in the Box’ featuring a solo that feels like it’s ripped straight from ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ with its throaty sounding rhythmic stabs.
Then again, classic rock and modern rock acts can exist within the same timeline as well. Though the 1990s is considered a major cut-off point when the new school of classic rock bands started, artists like Nirvana and Radiohead each laid the groundwork for modern rock, usually removing a lot of the bluesy foundations and adding off-the-wall style harmonies that made everything sound slightly strange.
There are even a few instances where classic rock bands still exist in some strange form to this day. Ever since the 2000s, rock enthusiasts have been pining to find the next Led Zeppelin, and whether that band was Jet, Wolfmother, or Greta Van Fleet when kids were discovering rock and roll, it’s hard to ignore the fact that they will slowly be thought of as a pastiche of classic rock in the years to come.
There is a way to mix and match as well, though. While Queens of the Stone Age have taken blues structures for their songs, the strange way that Josh Homme uses them is filtered through a modern context, usually removing different pieces to make everything slightly off. But just because someone is considered classic rock or modern rock doesn’t mean either is any less valid. Some may earn their keep playing blues, and some might be interested in expanding their palette, but each approach has paved the way for the genre to thrive both in the mainstream and underground.
