Top Ten Songs that Killed Arena Rock

[styxfanNH]

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Int ... NSONGS.htm

[classicstyxfan]

Great article !

It had me laughing all the way through.
Really illustrates the huse chasm between 70's and 80's rock !


01. Mr. Roboto – Styx
"This song single-handedly destroyed the original line up of the band. He forced his band mates to humiliate themselves by acting onstage."


That one sentance says it all !

[sadie65]

Not so great article. And not just for the Styx choices, but rather because I found it condescending in many ways. I know Mr. Wright has been a fan of the band for quite some time, however I found this to be nothing more than a vain attempt to be smug and superior.

I appreciate his point of view, however I myself don't agree with his assessment.

Still, to be fair, I suppose it is interesting.

[bugsymalone]

Oh pish posh! Here we go again. One person's garbage is another person's steak and lobster.

I happen to like SEVERAL songs on this "list".

It is always interesting to me that so many do not see the humor that was also a large part of the whole Roboto concept.



Bugsy

[styxfanNH]

Your mother was a Toyota.....

[DeeJaySTYX]

I had to laugh at this article also...I mean, come on!!! Bob Dylan as a star (Lay Lady Lay was a huge rocker, wasn't it)??? It's funny that this article is super critical on the ten songs listed and it destroyed arena rock when this type music was around in the 60s and 70s....

Does Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beatles, and the Eagles RING A BELL????They were known for big type love ballads...Also the Rolling Stones (ANNNNNGIE), well, you get the point....

And the Beatles were also known for Broadway style tunes....

Come On Now, Sing along,


"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE"

Or how about,

"I'D LIKE TO BE

UNDER THE SEA

IN AN OCTOPUS' GARDEN

IN THE SHADE"





DeeJay....

[styxfanNH]

From the thoughts of FROY..

That was a soundtrack song to a movie so those songs don't count....

[froy]

Great article !

It had me laughing all the way through.
Really illustrates the huse chasm between 70's and 80's rock !


01. Mr. Roboto – Styx
"This song single-handedly destroyed the original line up of the band. He forced his band mates to humiliate themselves by acting onstage."


That one sentance says it all !

Sure does say it all
The guy is an idiot
If you happen to be at the Roboto show like I was 6 times you would have seen that Dennis was the only one on stage for that song
Nobody acted out anything Dennis sang it to a tape
Also Roboto is a great song if he thinks people are making fun of the song Im sure Volkswagon would disagree paying 500 k to use the song , Thats not making fun of anyone,
As far as Open Arms that song was huge for Journey it broke the Escape record wide open
And Babe also made STYX Americas most popular band back in 81
It did not ruin anything.
Im just curious why this guy even writes a stupid article like this in the first place,

[froy]

From the thoughts of FROY..

That was a soundtrack song to a movie so those songs don't count....

Shut up NH ok
I can speak for myself

[Monker]

From the thoughts of FROY..

That was a soundtrack song to a movie so those songs don't count....

Shut up NH ok
I can speak for myself

Just remember, "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."

[classicstyxfan]

Was Styx EVER the same after Kilroy / Mr Roboto ? NO ! It wasn't !!
That's the point I agree with.

Yes, the Author came across a bit condescending, but the Ballads he speaks of in the article were all a pretty dramatic departure in style for these bands...he's dead on with that point.

Yes, many of the fans of these groups loved these songs, as evidenced by the sales of the respective records. I am fond of the majority of these songs too.

All of these bands had every right to cash in on their popularity by releasing these songs, They are probably still receiving nice royalty checks off of them...we all have a right to do what we need to to feed our families. I just lament what they represent...in most cases, including Styx, they represent the end of the era in which the groups made the music I liked best from them.

Regarding Kilroy, 5 of the 9 songs on that CD were written by Shaw or Young, who were required to write songs to fit the concept....not their strength, being pidgeonholed in that way. It created resentment, which lead to the breakup. I believe that if the Kilroy concept had never entered DDY's mind, we may have had some awfully good collaborative
Styx music in the 80's.....Of course we'll never know if that is true or not, but I believe DDY's devotion and insistance on taking that direction did indeed irreversably damage the band.

[Monker]

Yes, the Author came across a bit condescending, but the Ballads he speaks of in the article were all a pretty dramatic departure in style for these bands...he's dead on with that point.

Maybe so, but he's wrong in saying these songs were responsible for the death of arena rock. Several things killed arena rock.

MTV. It changed how kids listened to and viewed music. All bands had to adjust to it in the 80's. Arena rock bands like Styx, REO, Journey, etc, were more about the music then the image, IMO...and MTV put a LOT more importance on the image.

Hair bands and 'glam' came right in the middle of the 80's and capitalized on the "image first" attitude that MTV was pushing to the foreground. Arena rock survived the first half of the 80's but they had to share their popularity with this emerging genre.

"Smells Like Teen Spiirit" came about and Nirvana killed all popular rock music of the 80's...rebelling against the 'image first' attitude that so much of 80's music represents....and arena rock became wrapped up along with it.

To say that "Open Arms" or "Babe" or espeicially "Beth", or even Mr. Roboto killed "Arana Rock" is pure ignorance. Those songs may mark a certain turning point for individual bands, but it didn't kill the genre. How can "Beth" be reponsible for the death of arena rock when it came out before, IMO, the genre even peaked?

[Abitaman]

Not so great article. And not just for the Styx choices, but rather because I found it condescending in many ways. I know Mr. Wright has been a fan of the band for quite some time, however I found this to be nothing more than a vain attempt to be smug and superior.

I appreciate his point of view, however I myself don't agree with his assessment.

Still, to be fair, I suppose it is interesting.

I emailed him, told him it was a good assessment, and I like the songs (all of them), that he said killed rock, or that rock group. Told him something else, or asked, too tired to remember.-ERIC

[Abitaman]

I had to laugh at this article also...I mean, come on!!! Bob Dylan as a star (Lay Lady Lay was a huge rocker, wasn't it)??? It's funny that this article is super critical on the ten songs listed and it destroyed arena rock when this type music was around in the 60s and 70s....

Does Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beatles, and the Eagles RING A BELL????They were known for big type love ballads...Also the Rolling Stones (ANNNNNGIE), well, you get the point....

And the Beatles were also known for Broadway style tunes....

Come On Now, Sing along,


"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE"

Or how about,

"I'D LIKE TO BE

UNDER THE SEA

IN AN OCTOPUS' GARDEN

IN THE SHADE"





DeeJay....

Yea, but those groups/guys never were arena rock-ERIC

[sadie65]

Not so great article. And not just for the Styx choices, but rather because I found it condescending in many ways. I know Mr. Wright has been a fan of the band for quite some time, however I found this to be nothing more than a vain attempt to be smug and superior.

I appreciate his point of view, however I myself don't agree with his assessment.

Still, to be fair, I suppose it is interesting.

I emailed him, told him it was a good assessment, and I like the songs (all of them), that he said killed rock, or that rock group. Told him something else, or asked, too tired to remember.-ERIC

I like the majority of the songs on that list, but the songs in and of themselves are not what "killed" arena rock. To me, what "killed" it was a shift in audience taste. A natural progression. Look at history...Elvis hits big in the 50's, many number one songs. Along comes the 60's, the British invasion, surf music, folk music, motown, rebellious music (none of which sound like Elvis), so his career shifts, however, he is not as popular on the radio and does little if any concerts throughout most of the 60's, focusing more on his movie career (oy). 70's approach and most of the British invasion is gone, motown gives way to more soul, rebellious music (The Stones, the Who), while still popular gives way to other acts. And the 70's bring a different kind of pop (America, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc)...and then disco along with "arena rock". The 80's shifted to grunge, MTV idealogy, and new wave.

To say that because the bands mentioned recorded these songs is what killed the genre is, IMHO wrong. Simply, just a change in what the public was looking for.

Even if you do believe Dennis pointed that gun at his bandmates for Kilroy

[Ash]

Just remember, "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."

Nor does the ability to make sniper comments aimed at tearing down other people. Of course, I'm reminded of this about 90% of the time when I see you post these days - sadly.

[Ash]

ya know... arena rock was huge all the way up until the early 90s. All of the 80s hair metal scene is all part of what many consider the "arena rock" age.

Firehouse
Dokken
Guns N Roses
Motley Crue
Poison

all of these acts have written and performed music that many consider to be arena rock... to say nothing of Night Ranger and several other acts that had they heyday in the 80s... not the 70s. Mr. Roboto was 1983... it hardly killed arena rock. It may have been the pinacle of it, but not the end of it.

What ultimately killed the ENTIRE genre of music was Nirvana and the grunge explosion of the early 90s.

[DeeJaySTYX]

From the thoughts of FROY..

That was a soundtrack song to a movie so those songs don't count....

WHAT????? I beg to differ on that one....Roboto and the Kilroy concept was produce along with a movie (yea, 15 minutes), but it still counts...And the term used often to describe Roboto is Broadway Showtune....The two songs that I mentioned from the Beatles fit right in with that Genre....


And the thoughts came from DeeJay...NOT FROY...Get it right...

[DeeJaySTYX]

I had to laugh at this article also...I mean, come on!!! Bob Dylan as a star (Lay Lady Lay was a huge rocker, wasn't it)??? It's funny that this article is super critical on the ten songs listed and it destroyed arena rock when this type music was around in the 60s and 70s....

Does Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beatles, and the Eagles RING A BELL????They were known for big type love ballads...Also the Rolling Stones (ANNNNNGIE), well, you get the point....

And the Beatles were also known for Broadway style tunes....

Come On Now, Sing along,


"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE

A YELLOW SUBMARINE"

Or how about,

"I'D LIKE TO BE

UNDER THE SEA

IN AN OCTOPUS' GARDEN

IN THE SHADE"





DeeJay....

Yea, but those groups/guys never were arena rock-ERIC

Name me one group/guy that I mentioned that did not perform arena rock type material....Yes, they were not exclusively arena rock, but the point is that these groups/guys perform, written, and produce some of the most well known ballads before arena rock was at its peak....

So to say that the 10 specific ballads is what killed arena rock is just plain ignorant...

[styxfanNH]

From the thoughts of FROY..

That was a soundtrack song to a movie so those songs don't count....

WHAT????? I beg to differ on that one....Roboto and the Kilroy concept was produce along with a movie (yea, 15 minutes), but it still counts...And the term used often to describe Roboto is Broadway Showtune....The two songs that I mentioned from the Beatles fit right in with that Genre....


And the thoughts came from DeeJay...NOT FROY...Get it right...

It was in reference to the Yellow Submarine Line....I got it right... that's why it said "from the thoughts of...

[classicstyxfan]

wow....what a great topic ! best discussion of a topic where a lot of us disagree I've seen here in a while.

A "high five" to SFNH for posting the article !

[DeeJaySTYX]

It was in reference to the Yellow Submarine Line....I got it right... that's why it said "from the thoughts of...

Sorry, My bad...

But the reference is kind of funny...

[ek88]

Ouch, we (Styx) made the list twice. I got a kick out of the article. I think some of it was probably said tongue-in-cheek. I'd go along with it to the extent that just about all the songs listed had a profound effect on the artist that released them, although I thought Keep The Fire Burning kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. I don't know that I buy that these songs killed arena rock! I think a lot of the one-hit wonder copycat bands had a hand in that.

[Monker]

Just remember, "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."

Nor does the ability to make sniper comments aimed at tearing down other people. Of course, I'm reminded of this about 90% of the time when I see you post these days - sadly.

Who is more foolish: The fool or the fool who follows him? Hmmm...

So, Ash, did you take your nick from the tree, the Pokemon character, or do you just have a bad lisp that comes thru when you type?

[LordofDaRing]

I emailed Jeb too. Basically told him his list was the usual cliche driven dribble that every over aged pot head drones about whenever REO, STYX or Rush is mentioned. Beside the usual normal arguments this guy brings up, he seems to think whenever a band cleans itself up physically (hair cuts, baths, detox, etc), they really lose their edge. He didn't seem to be to keen on listening to the words of some of those songs on the list. I think I touched on a couple of his nerves, I dared to bring up the pot head anthem untouchables Smoke on the Water and Led Zepplin. Ah we all have our weak spots don't we. By the way I like the Zep.[/list]

[Abitaman]

I emailed Jeb too. Basically told him his list was the usual cliche driven dribble that every over aged pot head drones about whenever REO, STYX or Rush is mentioned. Beside the usual normal arguments this guy brings up, he seems to think whenever a band cleans itself up physically (hair cuts, baths, detox, etc), they really lose their edge. He didn't seem to be to keen on listening to the words of some of those songs on the list. I think I touched on a couple of his nerves, I dared to bring up the pot head anthem untouchables Smoke on the Water and Led Zepplin. Ah we all have our weak spots don't we. By the way I like the Zep.[/list]

I emailed him, I liked the list, but not by saying this is waht killed Arena rock, but what started the slide of those groups, form their core fans. I liked all the songs on that list! But they did remove some of the core fans, and bring more new. But also caused friction with in the groups. In most cases hurt things beyound repair.-ERIC

[ek88]

Regardless what you think of those songs, it would be pretty hard to imagine life without them, wouldn't it? I can't even count the number of times those songs were blasted from the boom box in my teenage years!!!