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Not really the same thing, but it's odd for me to hear Queensryche and Guns N Roses on Sirius XM's "Hair Nation" channel. Both are favorite bands of mine, but I don't think of hair metal when I am cranking up "Operation: mindcrime" or "Appetite For Destruction" at home. They also play waayyy too much Ratt on that channel.
The other day I heard "American Idiot" by Green Day on a classic rock station. I'm only 21 and the song came out during my lifetime, and I've rarely ever heard songs from the past 20 years on classic rock radio. Kids these days refer to Alternative bands from the 90s as "classic rock" all the time. This leads me to my question.
How old does a song have to be to be "classic rock"? 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 50 years?
That's what I would go with. The "classic" designation for cars is 25 years, so 30 for music seems about right. The OG classic rock is obviously '70s rock, so latter designations that just hit being over 30 years old might be better suited for terms such as "retro rock" or "dad rock," but technically, and officially, would still be "classic" insofar as the passage of time goes.
I think if we talk about classic rock being the rock from the 60s and 70s, then I think we also have to differentiate real classic rock from that time (played on the FM stations) from the Top 40 music (which was anything but and was played on AM stations). That's not so much a problem from the 80s on since FM wasn't as big a deal anymore.
I also think that's part of the reason why we don't really hear music like that anymore. There's simply no place for it to be debuted or played. Most stations today stick with what's popular and won't take a chance on new music.
I am surprised some marketing guru for Sirius XM has not penned the term "classic alternative" to define Nirvana, early Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden though.
They do use "Classic Alternative." But they use it to describe the 1st Wave channel which is late-'70s / early '80s New Wave.
when you hear the song being played in a walmart or an elevator.
I think that's another step toward death. I was at the dentist Monday and the "elevator music" was Fleetwood Mac. I have never felt as old as I did Monday.
The other day I heard "American Idiot" by Green Day on a classic rock station.
How old does a song have to be to be "classic rock"? 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 50 years?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Corey the Otter
I remember how weird it felt when I first heard "Longview" and "Basket Case" on my local classic rock station, and these songs didn't even come out during my lifetime.
Now I'm old enough to have songs that came out during my lifetime on classic rock stations.
I bolded the above for a reason. As many here have already said, "classic rock" is really a genre of music released in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Songs arent like cars where they become "classics" after so many years. Your "classic rock" radio station is using that just as a name to attract a certain audience. Its up to their programming manager what songs are on their playlist or not. Most classic rock stations just play rock that isnt new or recent. That "classic" in their title is just that, a name, a title, a marketing tool.
IMO, "Classic Rock" is defined by the artists:
the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, the Byrds, Mountain, Deep Purple, etc.
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