“Not quite. But judging from its performance on the charts – and compared to its biggest bands and trends from a few years ago – it’s wheezing. Cast your eye down 2004’s Top 10-selling album list and you won’t see a single new rock band.” Even as the popularity of country, hip-hop and R&B continues to soar, rock groups can’t seem to buy attention, and many blame the influx of crossover sugar-pop acts for diluting rock’s pool. “When rock was more muscular – during the eras of grunge (mid-’90s), punk-pop (late ’90s) and rap-metal (turn-of-the-century) – no such tepid pop crossover was even necessary.”