Straight Outta The Guardian

Rock&Roll not much of a go in Limeyland either. (See another $$-related take on "the biz" down below.)

RIP rock'n'roll? Professor of pop reads the last rites

Rock songs in the charts fall to lowest level in 50 years, with only three tracks appearing in the top 100 best-sellers

Objectivity:

Yet some hold out hope of rebirth. Paul Stokes, associate editor at NME, is not yet ready to bury the sound. "Music is a cyclical business," he said. "We've been told rock was dead before, in the late 80s, late 90s, but it came back."

[Wait, when did this happen? — Ed.]

This year could even see rehabilitation, he said. Much-hyped the Vaccines have a debut album out in March and other acts such as alt-rock act Yuck and smalltown rockers Mona are hotly tipped. "We are waiting for the next big band to come along and change the scene. Something is around the corner and it's beginning to bubble."

The economic gloom may also speed up the revival, according to Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company. "Most interesting and challenging rock music comes out of periods of austerity," he said. "Maybe Tory governments make for more challenging rock music – and now we have one."

Someplace local we hadn't heard of &, it turned out, didn't care much about. No. 4.