The Black Keys: 'Rock Is Dying Because Of Nickelback'

The Black Keys claim that "Rock and roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world."

Drummer Patrick Carney made the comments, noting a lull in guitar groups because of bands like Nickelback.

"[Musicians] became OK with the idea that the biggest rock band in the world is always going to be shit - therefore you should never try to be the biggest rock band in the world," he said.

"Rock and roll is the music I feel the most passionately about, and I don't like to see it f--king ruined and spoon-fed down our throats in this watered-down, post-grunge crap, horrendous s--t."

His comments came only days after Kasabian noted a "drought" of rock bands in the charts.
While rock has suffered from a mainstream assault of hip-hop, female-fronted pop and now dubstep, we at Ultimate Guitar know there are more people learning to play guitar than ever. So why are rock bands making less of an impact on the mainstream?

One theory is that young people will tend to be attracted to the most noisy, brash genre of music possible. Once upon a time, bands like the Rolling Stones sounded utterly wild, and louder than anything before it. Nirvana was a 90s example of a similar impression being made on young people by rock, at a time when drab 80s electro pop dressed in black was otherwise becoming the norm.

Today, rock venues do not always offer the same volume or impact that a dubstep club might. We wouldn't know, but it's not surprising that young people are attracted to music by the likes of Skrillex with shuddering basslines and ever-changing attention grabbing synth effects.

Do we have something to learn from the cultural shift, or should we stick to our guns? Does rock music need a jolt to the heart? Defend your craft in the comments.