Paulo Ricardo says rock ‘didn’t survive the turn of the century’ and explains reasoning

Paulo Ricardo avoids nailing the death of rock. However, the musician, who is currently celebrating his 40-year career on a special tour, points out that the musical genre did not survive the turn of the century.

In an interview with Rolling Stone Brazilthe artist reflected on the absence of representatives of the style in the charts, both in Brazil and around the world. Initially, he stated:

“I didn’t want to plagiarize Lenny Kravitz and say ‘rock n’ roll is dead’, but rock didn’t survive the turn of the century — all over the world. There is less and less rock on the global charts. In Brazil, the last generation was that of the 2000s: NXZero, Fresno, Tihuana.”

A recent prominent group in Paulo’s view is Måneskin, defined by him as “the last breath of rock in the world”. On the other hand, he reflects: “But they are Italian, a lot of cover, they still don’t have representation, nor are they in a movement. It’s something isolated.”

Two genres leap ahead of rock in terms of reach at the moment, in his opinion. He says:

“Yes, pop will always be a global force. Our pop is doing very well and you can include whatever you want: John, Ludmilla, Iza, Liniker. Brazilian hip hop has reached maturity, only recently did we achieve a national language. I find it very welcome, as much of its strength is in the lyrics.”

Need new rock? Paulo Ricardo believes not

According to Paulo Ricardo, rock unquestionably contributed to “attitude”, “philosophy” and “fashion”. However, the musician believes that it is not necessary to have new songs in general at this time.

“Rock now becomes an attitude, a philosophy. It’s unbeatable in fashion. However, the line moves on. It remains in streaming, where everything is possible — you don’t need to go to a second-hand bookstore to find an album. All the old stuff is there. I don’t think there is a need for more rock, as there is already a lot of good rock and the big bands are still active. […] Rock is like a wood-fired oven: it’s more delicious, it’s unbeatable. Nothing compares. But I can’t project a future. There are cool new things, but within the matrices that already exist — and it reaches the limit of the 2000s.”

Finally, Paulo left a curious reflection on the cost of having a band nowadays — which explains the reduction in the number of groups and the increase in solo attractions.

“I was reading an interview with Adam Levine (Maroon 5) about the drop in the number of bands; One of the explanations is very simple: a band is expensive. A good guitar like a Fender or Gibson costs around US$2,000 to US$5,000. There are amplifiers, pedals… if we talk about keyboards and drums, then… Each one has their own instruments, there is the cost of renting a studio to rehearse, a van for shows, a roadie. It’s all very expensive. Meanwhile, a creative kid picks up a laptop, does everything and sells millions.”

• Paulo Ricardo

• RPM