That group is YES.

In fact, were it not for YouTube, I’d never be able to watch them perform, because YES, as far as I consciously know, has never come to Iowa. And my family has never really had the extra dough to go to another state for something as wildly awesome as a YES concert. I’ve had to content myself with their CDs, and that’s good enough for me…as long as I get to hear Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford (and anyone else that’s come through the swinging-door of YES-band membership).

And speaking of mystique: IMO, Jon Anderson and Chris Squire ARE the mystique of YES, followed closely behind by Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. These four dudes make the YES sound what it is…and given that I was born ten years after their first album debut, that’s ten years of mystique I can soak up and enjoy for the rest of my adult life.

I agree, though, that newer bands seem to lose their mystique a lot quicker, but I think that’s because they try too hard to copy the music they hear from outside influences. Nothing wrong with others’ music influencing a new band, but sometimes they may need to lay the influences aside and let their own tunes come through the Ethers.

That being said, I was born in the 70s and I think I’ll probably stick by most of the music that I like from that era. Including YES.

or “losing” (what I think you meant)?

YouTube and the paparazzi just bring artist closer to fans as they once were before the bloated arena and MTV eras.

the demise of the record label = the death of the super rock star. the bands/acts you mentioned were all great talents…but were also creatures created by marketing engines looking to sell albums.

the web has amplified this by allowing many many bands find small followings. moreover, the emergence of individualism that the web has created leads to everyone finding that small, underground band that they can claim as their own. you mention Ghostland Observatory…Datarock comes to mind on this side…but EVERYONE has that act they’re into this month…but it will change next month because god forbid something catch on (btw, i think this started the first time i heard a track from Nevermind on the radio).

finally, i don’t think we need our rock stars to be gods anymore. bands blog from festivals…we can go to lastnightsparty.com and see how they party…and then do it ourselves. moreover, we can actually BECOME rockstars, or at least pretend with the various faces we put on facebook, myspace and flickr. i mean how many “crazy” people on the web probably log off, put on that cozy sweater and watch cartoons?