re: Is the lack of new, catchy guitar riffs to blame for the gradual death of rock?

Phantom Limb - Alice In Chains

Withered Delilah

In Due Time - Killswitch

Beyond the Down - BLS

The entire new Sabbath album

Check out "Loner". You'll be tapping your foot. Guitar solo is perfect example of less is more.

I agree with you. Guitar riffage is less accessible now than it ever has been. The blues groove bands of the 70's like Zep, Skynyrd, Allman Bros, Aerosmith, ZZ Top and AC/DC up through the 80's hair metal and shredders were all very mainstream. There are great riffs out there all over the place, it's just not getting played anymore. The "rock" stations dont play rock music and the only way to get hard rock/metal consistently is through satellite radio. Well, someone that would have satellite radio would more than likely know exactly what they like and would be more musically inclined than the average music listener that's getting spoonfed crap everyday. The mainstream people that would have dug mainstream rock bands in the 80's are now getting fed bro country which suprisingly has alot of guitar riffage pushing into the pop-rock genre with hee-haw chickenshit lyrics.