What do you think is going to be the next big thing in rock...
 

after the whole emo/pop-punk trend fades away?

I'm banking on something that perhaps fuses rock with house/electronic dance music. Probably something similar to a more rockish Justice.

i suppose it would be par for the course.

after a sold out / watered down version of 90s alt rock why not follow it up with an even more watered down version of the so-called industrial rock that followed in the late 90s.

i don't think there's going to be an actual 'real' big thing in rock (or music in general) until everyone involved in the music industry fully grasps the potential of the net. not just using it as an advertising medium but completely taking advantage of the possibilities it provides. THEN and ONLY then, will we see another BIG thing in music.

not sure, honestly i'd like to be surprised.

Myself.

I think as rock continues to fade from dominance over the popular musical landscape it's going to split into two distinct camps. One will be backward looking, traditionalist styles of rock and the other will be very experimental and avant-garde. Neither camp will be big the way rock used to be but the traditionalists will have hit songs from time to time. I'm basing this on what has happened with jazz over the years, because to me rock seems to be following a very similar evolutionary path.

Very interesting, I never really thought of it like that before, but it makes sense.

I think we're already seeing this trend come into fruition with the increase of indie-garage sounding bands, which I think are the "traditional" garage bands of the '60s.

I totally agree. A band like the Strokes, for example, fit right into the kind of traditionalist mold that I'm talking about. I think the rap-rock bands from the late 90s were last evolutionary gasp of mainstream rock. Like jazz fusion before it, it was an an older popular style of music's attempt at staying current by drawing from a popular style that was starting to eclipse it.

So in that case, we'll probably see an 70s-80s arena rock revival in a few years.

Not really. I don't think there will be big revivals in rock music any more. Like with jazz these days, you'll have different people out there playing different strains of traditional rock but I don't think it will really coalesce into big, specific revivals. That's not to say there won't be stadium style rock being made. There will be. There already is.

you think Hip Hop'll go down the same path eventually?