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to make music they hope will bring them fame, fortune, and girls. They play the songs unskilled musicians with electric instruments can play "Whole Lotta Love", "Smoke on the Water", "Iron Man", "Satisfaction" where they can hone their skills and still enjoy the power of the music.

Some kids become good musicians. Some create new music. Some become stars.

But it's the communal music that brings them together. Rub a stocking on a comb and you get electric sparks. Rub two adolescent cheeks together and you get Love, Questions, Rebellion, and Music. You get rock.

This is why teen-agers will continue to make rock. Teens want to make music even if they aren't any good yet. They also want to hang out, explore the classic adolescent themes and maybe get girls.

There aren't too many other forms of music that can do this for a garage band. Rap is primarily the work of the writer/performer, with the musicians (if any are involved) playing a support role and nothing more. Hip-Hop works better, but the musicians have far less chance to shine (the focus is on the vocalist). Jazz and classical require really good musicians, not novices. Folk is comfortable and can work with this dynamic, but it lacks the energy and power that makes rock so satisfying. Only country can fill these needs as well as rock.

CONCLUSION: SUPPLY AND DEMAND

One thing that may be impeding rock at the moment is over-supply. We have 50 years of rock tunes to mine, thousands of bands and millions of songs that we can listen to without repeating one of them. We can amass them on an iPod and listen forever.

The iPod, however, is a solitary device. It doesn't have the communal appreciation that comes from clubs and dances where a live band plays. Live music is where rock really shines, where no two performances are the same, where new versions of songs are heard, and where the audience is dancing. This is where rock's resurgence lies for the listeners, in the public places where people listen to music as a group.

There is no shortage of performers. Garages all over the world are waiting. Guys with guitars are sitting in them, playing their hearts out in hopes of fame, fortune or maybe a chance to meet a lot of girls. And the girls are getting tired of dancing to the oldies.

Learn more about this author, Eric Lannak.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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