JoeF. predicts the future

I've been a U2 fan since 1981, and I have a prediction. The new album will come out this year, or the two above songs will be part of a Christmas Season "Best of..." or "Greatest Hits" collection. But whatever happens, the band is fooling themselves if they think they are going to be more relevant in 2015 than they are in 2014. It's not their fault. The business--and the world itself-- is different than it was in their heyday.

That's why I'm predicting that the prospect of a mega-grossing "KISS 40th Anniversary/ Reunion/ Hall of Fame World Tour and Merchandising Bonanza" Blow-Out will be too much for old Gene to turn down. Expect Ace and Peter to be involved--at least partially (I envision a similar scenario to the Beach Boys 5oth, with Gene in the Mike Love role). It will be one more big pay day for them, another day at the office for Gene Simmons. Btw, I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) runs into Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) backstage...

Good assessment and I find nothing to disagree with. I would only add that I foresee a heavy --for obvious demographic reasons--Mexican influence on popular music--at least in the US, and most likely on country music (with which it has always blended well.)
I'm also going to make a risky prediction that the influence of African-American musical forms--always vital in American pop--will decline. Again, for demographic reasons.

My prediction is soon artists will take it to the next level by recording a set of new songs with a title that recalls a classic album. For instance, if Elton John really wants another # 1 album, he should just name his next studio album Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. Springsteen could entitle an album Return to Thunder Road. How about Neil Young's Harvest III, or Third Harvest.

The possibilities are endless.

I would never say never-- I can see a Get Back box simply because something big based on those sessions nearly was released. Otherwise, my prediction is that we will see some form of "Immersion" boxes of select albums, each with a few extra tracks and mixes , a blu-ray perhaps--and a lot of paraphernalia. But they won't be a comprehensive enough, and will serve only to fuel a few thousand threads here...

No other popular music of the 20th century enjoyed a vogue that long. Not vocal pop or big band or jazz.
There are reasons for this, and though no one can predict the future, it's really not going out on a limb to suggest that today's pop will not enjoy at least 5 decades of popularity--measured by sales or popular acclaim.

Let's get the sad prediction's out of the way--
1.Several favorite, long-established rock stars will die
2.Another flare-up in a certain part of the world will link up with several other ongoing flare-ups and the result will be a cataclysmic war.
3.Bruce Springsteen will release a massive Nebraska/Born in the USA box that will leave off the "electric" Nebraska and the "acoustic" BitUSA tracks and feature re-recorded lead and (female) background vocals of several B-sides. But it will include a DVD of a show from the 1984/1985 tour, albeit with half of it missing because a stage light flickered at the wrong moment. But it will contain a nice hard cover book and essays from Dave Marsh.
4. Neil Young won't release Archives II

Now for the happy predictions
1. Bob Dylan will release another stellar installment of his excellent Bootleg Series. It could be based on Blood on the Track or The Supper Club or something from out of left field, but it will be essential--and it will be the subject of a number of threads that go on for hundreds of pages here....
2.Rolling Stone Magazine will fold.

I don't think it's going to work out, but I don't know anything about Christian radio--or who the market it appeals to. You would think that the suits who are making this switch would know more about it than I do, so you never know.

But this being NYC, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that within a year, the station will most likely switch formats to sports talk radio --with an outside chance of either contemporary hits or Latin-oriented.

I was skeptical myself, but I allowed myself to be sold on the massive 10 disc Tracks 2 and was actually starting to look forward to it.
Who really knows? I guess we can all play expert, so here's my take.

Bruce waited too long to announce Tracks 2 and now there's just two much competition in the Legacy Rock Star Vault Purge Sweepstakes?

Maybe Born in the USA /Electric Nebraska will really happen? But then, see above.

A new E Street Album? But why if they can't tour behind it?

A new "solo" album? Why not? Western Stars was excellent.
But how would he promote it? With another one-off show/film/DVD release?
Been there, done that.

But why was Bruce driving around Asbury Park in his vintage '69 Camaro for a photo shoot?

Is he doing a cover album of songs from 1969?

In other words, I have no f***ing idea. But we are assured SOMETHING is coming.
So I guess we'll just have to wait.


But my prediction is ( drum roll, please)--a pared down Tracks 2, but not using that title. Maybe 2-3 CDs instead of 10. It will probably be from a specific period and follow a specific theme. Just something to tide us over.

Kind of a shock that Springsteen’s brilliant Western Stars was completely snubbed.
Who did he piss off?

Did he say something nice about the President?

Seriously, I predicted on another thread that he would clean up at the Grammys — just like he won a Tony for his Broadway show and some book award for his autobiography. He’s at the stage of his career where he just collects awards , prizes, citations and medals.

That's the problem. Why is it that when it comes to Rolling Stone, the 'best of' lists must be ecumenical?

Do hip-hop magazines (or websites) include Neil Young or David Bowie? Do country music web sites?
How about jazz? Kind of Blue is deservedly on Rolling Stone's list (should be Top Ten in my book), but do The Beatles make Jazz lists?

Rolling Stone may or may not be relevant , but like it or not, it's associated with Classic Rock--and I'd bet most of it's subscriber base is still Boomer/Gen X.

A prediction--when Dylan and a few of the other rock icons are no longer with us, neither will Rolling Stone magazine.

( It will, however, survive as a brand--as LIFE magazine still does---for selling glossy commemorative editions sold at supermarket check-outs)

A prediction-the next one—the next half dozen at least—WON’T be from 1973/74, otherwise known as “the pre-Landsu Years.”

I'm predicting we'll get the complete Hammond Demos or auditions ( I'm always confused) next May '22 which will be the 50th Anniversary of Springsteen's signing to CBS.

A prediction--Everything that has been released under the Wildflowers , All the Rest, Finding Wildflowers and She's the One/Angel Dream rubrics will one day (5-10 years) be re-released ( along with some recently "found" demos, run-throughs, false-starts, alternate endings and a missing track or two, along with more live versions) all at once in a MASSIVE box entitled something like Excavating Wildflowers and many of us will buy it and complain before and after.

I wonder if eventually the estate will take existing Tom Petty demos or acoustic performances and have the surviving Heartbreakers flesh them out into full- band arrangements.

I predict it’s only a question of “when.”

I wouldn't predict anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if CDs do make a comeback some day, and I only say this because no one knows what the future holds, and also because no one predicted a vinyl comeback in 1988.
And if anyone tells you they did, they're a liar.

I believe the interest in "high fidelity" was always a function of a certain amount of leisure time and affluence. I can't predict the future, but something tells me that the post-baby boomer generations don't have hi-fi high on their list of priorities.

I don't trust articles that try to predict what's going to happen in the future, or "where we're headed" --no matter what the subject. They are usually just attempts to get in front of the parade celebrating what they think is the next big thing. They are rarely right. The truth is, none of know what music is going to sound like in the future.