Everybody Likes To Talk

Matthew E. White “Rock & Roll Is Cold”

There are certain strains of music that I’m not even sure qualify as “retro” anymore, since they never really go away. I think a song like “Rock & Roll Is Cold” trades on a certain comfort level the audience may have with ‘70s rock, but there’s really nothing about it that couldn’t be ‘90s or ‘00s instead of 2010s. It’s a very commercial sweet spot – a patina of “oldness” to feel cozy and classic, but modern enough to seem relevant now. It’s funny – the sound of this song isn’t even the most retro thing about it, since the lyrics talk about genre distinctions about rock, soul, and gospel as if that’s something that matters in any big way to people now. People listen to rock music in great numbers and it’s not going away, but the idea of people talking about rock as a concept or ideal now feels so quaint. So yeah, dude, rock & roll is cold. Sure, if you say so. Nice vibe, though.

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