I'll be giving Metallica a listen if they are on the BBC's coverage. Isn't that what Glastonbury all about? Listening to stuff you normally don't get to hear on the radio?

The big shame is that rock doesn't get as much coverage or daytime support as some as the God awful MTV rock-lite acts about.

I remember how popular The Ace Of Spades become after that Young Ones appearance around our school so it is shows there is room for rock in the mainstream.

I've always said Iron Maiden is probably the UK's best chance of winning Eurovision given the sheer size of their European fanbase.

The only thing us that that those circles may be ever decreasing in terms of the mainstream. And times past are not often like times present and future. But yes I would like to see a new wave of rock populating the mainstream unlike the isolationists.

Sadly Glastonbury lost its spirit and way nearly 2 decades ago so whether Metallica's vocalist hunts is irrelevant Today it's largely a commercial celeb fest with bands trying to plug their latest album or famous oldie ones trying to remind us of their long distant youth. The embarrassing Rolling Stones gig last year was a classic example of how a once highly respected band has degenerated into farce. The only good musical things you will hear at the festival you are unlikely to find on the Pyramid stage.

What if rock music doesn't want to be helped? Anyway, pop music is cyclical: guitar music had its day several times over, electronic music has had its day several times over, etc.

It isn't about being "isolationist", though.

Take Black Stone Cherry as an example. They are a Southern Rock influenced American band who make very commerical, radio-friendly, rock music. Their last UK two tours competely sold out, their last album made the UK Top 5, and they are doing their first UK Arena tour later in the year. So they are obviously very, very, popular.

And yet the chances of their music appearing on any Radio station apart from Planet Rock or Total Rock is absolutely zero.

Steven Wilson once said one of the things that really irritated him was that his band, Porcupine Tree, gets ignored by all the radio stations, not because of the music they play but because it is called "Prog Rock" and the likes of Radio 2 "don't play Prog Rock".

The problem in this country is the mainstream media outlets, both radio and TV, they will not play, or entertain the thought of playing, Rock Music.

The Mercury Prize is another perfect example. They have a history of wilfully ignoring Rock Music and yet it claims to be about recognising the "best" in British Music.

Fear Of Rock – why have the Mercury Music awards ignored metal?
Bring Me The Horizon For The Mercury Prize? Why The Hell Not?
Who should win the Mercury prize?

It isn't Rock Music that needs to change, it is the broadcast media in this country.

Indeed

Isolationists are those who don't want Rock music in the mainstream, they think it's better staying outside of the mainstream, as an 'Underground' scene if that has any meaning, I don't go with that.

I think your point though about the 'taste makers' is interesting. Radio 1 despite broadcast fragmentation still has an influence on what gets heard in the mainstream.
If rock music is as popular as you suggest you would expect at least a few of the R1 producers to be fans of some sort?

Also the reference to the Mercury is telling as it suggests that not only do mainstream broadcasters ignore rock but so do critical circles. You could say much the same for Country and Western music, of course. The question for me would be, Is there any rock music that is at the cultural cutting edge? Big festivals and even big album sales don't tell you anything about that.

Some Radio 1 DJs are fans of rock music:

I believe Zane Lowe is and Fearne Cotton definitely is

I know it isn't your tem and i wouldn't imply it was, but that is one phrase I simply detest. It is such a pretentious, arrogant, phrase, which to me suggests we "ordinary" people are incapable of knowing what to like or dislike so these "taste makers" can tell us. A simply awful phrase.


The 'proof' is there. Avenged Sevenfold, Black Sabbath, You Me at Six, Black Stone Cherry, Within Temptation, Alter Bridge, etc, have all had Top 10 albums in the last year or so, Download has @ 80,000+, Sonisphere @ 60,000+, Bloodstock always sells out.

If Rock wasn't popular this wouldn't be the case.


If you take the Mercury Prize as an example, how many of those winners are truly "cutting edge"? Not many, they tend to fall in the BBC/Glastonbury catagory of formulaic, generic, "Indie" music.

There will be over 80,000 people at download this weekend, but if you listen or watch any BBC news between Friday and Sunday you would never know.

Name me any other event in this country that attracts over 80,000 people that wouldn't be reported at all. I bet there aren't many, if any.

Zane Lowe has blasted the BBC a number of times of the lack of rock coverage as right now its thriving without the help of mainstream radio.

BBC have such a strange relationship with rock/metal.

On one hand, they've produced several shows dedicated to the genre, and broadcast them in prime slots on BBC Two - the most recent one I can think of being the 'Seven Ages of Rock'. They've had Metallica on Jools Holland several times and indeed even dedicated an entire Culture Show Special to them once.

Yet their radio coverage is appalling. Radio 1 ignores it and they even dropped Bruce *bleep*ing Dickinson from 6Music. They offer no coverage of Sonisphere or Download Festival. They cut Metallica's set at Live Earth to go to pre-recorded footage of Crowded House in Australia in a move that attracted more complaints from viewers than anything else that happened during the broadcast.

For everything good they do to promote the genre, they do something else to shoot themselves in the foot.

Jools Holland has had Metallica on a few times, Alice in Chains a couple of times, and Mastodon once, considering how many series of that show has been made that is rather pathetic, to be honest, when it comes to the harder end of the Rock spectrum.

But then they have had absolutely no Prog bands at all. I was talking to Jerry Ewing, the editor of Prog managine a few months ago and I asked him if he knew why bands like Anathema, Porcupine Tree, etc, have never appeared on the show. He said the answer is simple, the producers of the show hate the genre so won't even consider a Prog band, no matter how good or successful they are....