Quote

What cultural revolutionaries do not seem to grasp is that, far from being a grass-roots art form that has been taken over by businessmen, rock itself comes from the commercial exploitation of the blues.

— Ellen Willis

Sentiment: NEGATIVE

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✓Similar Perspectives

Rock in the mainstream culture has lost a lot of its mojo.

— Billy Corgan

The early Stones were adolescent rockers. They were self-conscious in an obvious and unpretentious way. And they were committed to a musical style that needed no justification because it came so naturally to them. As they grew musically the mere repetition of old rock and blues tunes became increasingly less satisfying.

— Jon Landau

I think that pop, and to some extent rock, are like sport and fashion industry in that they're about the exuberance of youth. That's the sort of subliminal ideology.

— Robert Wyatt

I think it was that we were really seasoned musicians. We had serious roots that spanned different cultures, obviously the blues.

— Jimmy Page

The spirit of rock 'n' roll is alive and well. It kind of just needs to be cultivated a little bit.

— Kid Rock

The consolidation of the music business has made it difficult to encourage styles like the blues, all of which deserve to be celebrated as part of our most treasured national resources.

— Bonnie Raitt

The Beatles and The Stones were basically inspired by American Rhythm and Blues.

— Mick Taylor

The blues is the foundation for a lot of things. Things have branched off. It's cool how music grows, but the foundation is always there. It's not going anywhere. The blues is always going to be relevant.

— Gary Clark, Jr.

✗Opposing Perspectives

Rock isn't art, it's the way ordinary people talk.

— Billy Idol

Rock and roll's relatively new, in the sense of the Fifties, Sixties, right? They invented the first sort of rock stars, and they took it to excess, and then the excess became bitter, tormented. Then it became okay to succeed.

— Albert Hammond, Jr.