Kevin+F’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech

=Title of Speech= Bring back Rock music

=Text of Speech=

====Over the years, our country has changed its taste for music. Where it began as a form of musical awesomeness enjoyed by everyone, it has now deteriorated into a maybe a couple notes strung together and a lot of screaming. From Elvis Presley to The Beatles. From The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix. From Jimi Hendrix to Aerosmith. From Aerosmith to Bon Jovi. Rock music seemed to control America’s CDs during the later Cold War Era. Crowds from all over the planet would pay several thousand dollars to see these bands perform live for a mere 2-4 hours. This continued up through the 90s and even into the early 2000s. Recently however, rock music has faded into the darkness and is now becoming a figment from the past. Nowadays, America is turning into a country where genres like Pop, Rap, Hip Hop, and Electronic music are now running the music industry and are taking over everyone’s iPods. It seems that companies like Disney are making young pop stars like the Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez more popular by having them start by playing roles for their popular “young audience” shows. This in turn influences other new pop stars like Justin Bieber to gain fame by posting their songs on YouTube. Suddenly, Pop and Hip Hop are the new “Rock” music. We just let these new stars, some of which don’t even write their own songs, take over music. Back in 1989, you could turn on the radio in your car; there’s Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” blaring through the speakers. Today you’ll turn on the radio and hear Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” playing through the speakers. You may never hear “Nothin’ but a Good Time” on the radio again. I have a huge problem with the fading of Rock music. It was an icon in America back in the 80s and now it is just a figment from our past. Now don’t get me wrong. Some of this new era of music is decent, but it has no right to take over our radios and make an old icon fade. There are still some fans out there that have the same feelings for Rock as I do. We can’t just let it die. We are on a quest to save it! America will never be the same without it. We need to bring it back before everyone stops playing it for good. ====

====Right now, too many people are buying tickets to see Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and Katy Perry. The rock bands that are still around can’t get enough young fans to attend their concerts: making their touring prospects possibly dwindle. Teens of our generation are becoming way too addicted to those new icons to pay any attention to the old. Many of my friends in Drumline are hopelessly devoted to Dubstep. Okay first off, why in their right mind would anyone listen to Dubstep? All it is is a bunch of electronics going off at once. It sounds like a bunch of robots are getting into a fight and screaming like crazy. And it has somehow gained so much popularity that it has joined the current generation of music and is topping the charts in itunes. To me, Dubstep ruins music. Artists like Skrillex are a disgrace to music everywhere. I seriously don’t understand how someone could be so fond of this genre that they listen to it for ten hours a day. It is music where the guitars, drum sets, keyboards, bass guitars, and microphones are replaced with tracks from Garage Band and electronic voices that make the singers sound like squeaking mice. I’m sorry, but Dubstep and Skrillex are just flat-out horrible; it is a plague waiting to shun Rock music forever. ====

====Luckily, not all hope is lost. Rock music isn’t totally dead. I know this because while watching American Idol, I saw Bon Jovi, one of my all-time favorite bands, perform live in front of thousands; the audience went crazy with all of them loving it. While I was in New Orleans, I was lucky enough to see Switchfoot, a Christian rock band, perform live. These older classic artists are what true music is all about. The lyrics tell a story, the music follows theory. Passionate individuals who are truly musicians write these songs, and yet the music is not boring. These musicians are so talented; that they take their instruments and truly create music you can listen to, dance to and not end up with a screaming headache. It may be difficult, but I know the rock genre can be saved. People need to spread the word to fans across the country. They need to buy tickets to concerts from real musicians and take what they learn from these icons and form their own bands. We need to play covers and pay homage to our favorite songs and use this knowledge to perform similar concerts of our own. We need to take what was brought to America in the 70s and 80s and help it climb out of the dark hole it is currently in. Every fan is capable of writing lyrics and shredding through hard-core guitar solos. I don’t want to let Dubstep and Pop take over society. I would like Rock music restored to its rightful position where every song tops the charts in itunes. I know it can become an American icon again. ====

====In the America I live and hope to grow old in, I want to see the return of the musical icons from the 70s and 80s once again become the legends that they once were. I want Rock music to be brought back. ====

= = =Cite Your Sources= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1574251/pg1 http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/20/van.zandt.save.rock/