Rock rules again. And you didn't even know it had abdicated, did you? Admit it: you haven't been paying attention. And that's part of the problem.
If you're among the generation that matured with rock -- the same generation that made rock grow from Elvis to Dylan, Berry to the Beatles and beyond -- try this E-Z test at home. What's the last concert you went to see: the Rolling Stones in '89, maybe? And what's the latest CD by a new artist that you bought for your own pleasure? Could it be Chris Isaak, because his hit single Wicked Game sounds like a slick hunk of hickabilly passion that could almost have been a Sun 45? Maybe Madonna, out of curiosity? Or sheer exhaustion?
If those questions are anywhere on target -- and if they make you squirm -- you should know that it's safe to turn on the radio again, and maybe even go back to the record store. Until recently, traditional rock -- that gut- level stuff Bob Seger had in mind when he sang, "Today's music ain't got the same soul/ I like that old-time rock 'n' roll" -- has been under assault from rap, retooled metal and various highly sampled items from the dance floor. The upper reaches of the charts have been overwhelmed by performers like Paula Abdul, laying down bass-ballasted club tunes that keep your booty shaking while your brain shrivels to the size of a snow pea. The last rock record to top the Billboard pop chart was Motley Crue's inglorious Dr. Feelgood, and that was almost two years ago. Just a few weeks back, Billboard's Top 50 had a total of five rock albums. Well, you said you want a revolution.
Then R.E.M., that rhythmically cerebral band from Athens, Ga., released Out of Time, which shot to the No. 1 slot in a brisk eight weeks. And Isaak had his first runaway hit. The DiVinyls, an Aussie group with a tough backbeat and a wicked sense of humor, have their own smash in I Touch Myself. The Black Crowes, a not entirely holy amalgam of the Byrds and the Allman Brothers, also found their album, Shake Your Money Maker, in the Top 10. The Mallomar metalists, Queensryche, got themselves near the chart top with Silent Lucidity, a tune about spelunking through the subconscious. New groups such as Fishbone, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More are shaking and breaking, and one of the wildest, Jane's Addiction, just sold out its Madison Square Garden show. "Rock 'n' roll may have been taking a backseat," says ; Kendall Jones, the intrepid lead singer of Fishbone. "But it's redefining itself. We have no rules. We'll play any kind of music we want to."
Feel better now? Jones urges everyone to keep up with such other promising upstarts as Bad Brains, Murphy's Law, the Butthole Surfers, the Electric Love Hogs and the Brand New Heavies. "Hopefully," he adds, helpfully, "it will be like the '60s, when you could listen to Sly and the Family Stone, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Led Zeppelin. It's time for music to be free."