Rock music is often attributed to the classic rock movement. Bands like The Rolling Stones or even The Beatles are credited as the rock bands of even today. But there are bands helping keep the idea of rock as a genre alive. They’re not just bands who fit into the mold of what was with rock music but, instead, they’re new bands who look to the music that came before them and keep that energy alive. Often, bands we love today have influences to past artists and in looking at three rock bands, we can see how they’re changing the genre while still honoring what came before them.
While some artists are a bit more loud about their love of older artists, like Bleachers‘ lead singer Jack Antonoff talking openly about his love of Bruce Springsteen (and getting him on their song “Chinatown”), others are a bit softer in their acknowledgment of the bands who inspired them. Some artists eventually do collaborate with those who came before but in looking at three modern rock bands, we can clearly see how their music is not only influenced by other bands but how they took the idea of rock music and made it their own.
The Killers and Bruce Springsteen Team Up for Collab
Brandon Flowers from The Killers is not shy about talking about music but one of the most obvious examples of a musician who inspired the band is that of Springsteen. At their more recent tour, Springsteen even came out on stage to perform with the band and he’s been featured on their song “Dustland” as well. Their connection with Springsteen has brought the artists together but Flowers and the Killers have also taken Springsteen’s ideas of being true to their hometown and their upbringing and applied it to their own music.
Springsteen is known for singing about growing up in a blue collar in New Jersey. The Killers aren’t necessarily about the blue collar experience as Springsteen is but they do sing about the human condition and their music feels very much like a song you want to listen to in Las Vegas, where the band is from. Even making the connection to Springsteen’s music as simply as that shows that The Killers are making their own name in rock music.
Part of what makes modern rock music so fascinating is that you don’t need to necessarily reinvent the wheel. Instead, you need to honor the wheel and move forward with it and that’s what bands like the Killers do with musicians like Springsteen.
The Influence of LCD Soundsystem and The Talking Heads
LCD Soundsystem front man James Murphy has talked in the past about how The Talking Heads were a big influence to the band and when you listen to them, you can hear it. The rock band that had David Byrne front and center was weird, had a techno beat to them, and let their catchy choruses take us on a journey. What works with bands like LCD Soundsystem is that their songs may not be the ones you choose to sing at karaoke but you will be huming along to them, much like that of the Talking Heads.
Since LCD Soundsystem’s first album, Losing My Edge, back in 2002, the band has remained true to themselves. The Killers haven’t really changed their sound but the band itself when through many “vibe” shifts, much in the same way that Springsteen’s music did. With LCD Soundsystem, their music has been a steady journey for the band and even the 2017 album American Dream, arguably the bands most popular albums, worked because it still felt like the LCD Soundsystem everyone had come to love without changing. That is, to me, what makes The Talking Heads work too.
The Uniqueness of Kings of Leon and The Pixies
Kings of Leon is arguably the band on this list that does feel the most unique of them all but you can hear influences of older rock bands. Nathan Followill and Caleb Followill were inspired by music by the Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy but Jared Followill found inspiration in bands like The Pixies, the band that is arguably more like what Kings of Leon put out into the universe with their work. Much like many of Kings of Leon’s songs, it isn’t obvious what their songs mean.
Think of “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies. If you’re not locked in to the song, you might not instantly pick up the song’s meaning. With “Use Somebody,” it’s pretty obvious what Kings of Leon are saying. However, their song “Sex on Fire” has been misunderstood since it became a hit. Many have wrongfully believed the song is about someone they think is attractive. The song is about a sexually transmitted disease.
Which is very much like the Pixies. Songs like “Wave of Mutilation” have been misunderstood as well as “Debaser.” That feels very rock to me. A band’s song being misunderstood is kind of what rock music is all about. Even the most popular of songs are taken at face value and that’s an indicator that rock music is alive and well.
It’s Okay to Be Inspired By the Best
Every band I have written about is a band that I discovered on my own. Growing up in a family of classic rock fans meant that eveyone had their opinions on bands but Kings of Leon, the Killers, and LCD Soundsystem were decidedly mine. And I loved them because they reminded me of the music I grew up listening to and that’s okay! Part of what makes music such a fun medium is that inspiration is key and sampling the work of others is often encouraged.
So while people have strong opinions on the best rock bands that ever were, I’m here to say that I don’t think rock as a genre is dead or tied exclusively to what is deemed as “classic.” If anything, these bands are showing that there is a path forward for the genre and we can both honor what has come before and still keep rocking and rolling on.
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