Alternatif Rock Music

Alternative music was a phrase invented in early 80s describing bands which broke from the barrage of pop and hair metal and formed a new direction of more focused and honest rock. It includes many subcategories including but not limited to Grunge, Hard Rock, rock, Experimental Rock, Progressive Rock, College Rock, Gothic Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk Rock, Power Pop, Hardcore Punk, New Wave. Their only real connection in terms of roots is the English punk movement. In the early eighties alternative music was limited to a few college radio stations. In the mid 80s as it became more popular It began to take over college radio throughout the country. In the late 80s commercial stations slowly began to embrace what up till then had been known as college rock. They never sold many albums but the influence on the music community would be felt in a big way soon when the format evolved to the next stage.

The first alternative music was made in the late 60s with groups like The Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, and The Silver Apples. The trend continued through out the 70s with bands like David Bowie, T-Rex, Can, Neu, Kraftwerk, Television and The New York Dolls and combined intellectual lyrics with artistic expression. All of these groups would become building blocks in Punk rock in about 76-77. Punk rock was very important to the progression of Alternative music by returning it to a more basic and accessible format. By 80 Punk was transforming into New Wave and the tradition was passed on to a new generation.

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Punk Rock Music

Punk rock got its name from the slang word punk meaning rotten and worthless. It was originally used to describe simple guitar based rock of bands like The Seeds, and later on Detroit bands like The Stooges and MC5. The anti-establishment ethic of punk hit a fevered pitch in 1976 through 1980, started partially as a backlash to the hippie movement of the late 60's. Many of these bands also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. The fashion of the time included mohawks, body piercing with safety pins and conversion of unusual items into clothing and was very shocking to outsiders at the time. Punk rock embodied the ideals that anyone could start a punk rock band. Punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played fairly easily. The lyrics introduced a new honesty of expression in matters both political and sexual freeing the artist to write in a more personal and honest way. Using cover songs as a ironic form of social commentary was a common theme among many artists. The emphasis in punk rock was placed on emotion and energy and not strictly musicianship. It's best known bands are the punk rock holy trinity of the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and The Clash who many feel are the defining bands of the genre. The roots of punk rock were dark psychedelic and garage rock, glam rock, new wave music and the unusual and sporadic style of the immortal Velvet Underground, long thought to be the originators of punk rock. Later bands incorporated punk and ska elements which were largely unknown in the rock genre.

In Britain the Sex Pistols were the first artist to receive wide acceptance. They chose antagonistic stage names like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious to complete their transformation in to the living embodiment of punk ethic. They flatly rejected anything that symbolized hippie counterculture such as mellow music, loose-fitting clothing, or long hair. Their debut single "Anarchy in the UK" was a confrontational slap in the face to liberal politics choosing anarchy and destruction over the peace and love driven music of the 70's. Their second release "God Save the Queen" attacked British traditions so vehemently that it was banned from British airways. Despite that fact the record rose to the top of the charts in the UK and suddenly everyone was talking about the new movement going on in the England underground.

On the other side of the Atlantic The Ramones released their first album around the same time. If the Sex Pistols exemplified the British punk genre the Ramones were the American version of the same phenomenon. American punk was just as aggressive but less political and maybe a bit more alienated. The Ramones gained notoriety on the New York punk scene playing clubs like CBGB and others. Punk was largely an East coast movement until the late 70s when LA bands like Black Flag and X came along and suddenly punk became divided into the east coast and west coast genres.

The Clash formed in late 1976 inspired by The Sex Pistols. They quickly became accepted in the punk scene and there were rumblings that they might replace the Sex Pistols and leaders of the genre. Their first gig at a rehearsal studios in Camden for journalists and friends received rave reviews. Soon they were supporting The Sex Pistols on their Anarchy tour and the stage was set for them to become a large influence on the punk scene. Every show was a mixture of blood, abandon, of pure energy. By early 77 they signed to CBS and their first album The Clash was a huge success. They continued to make great music until their dissolution in the early eighties due to drug use and conflicts within the band.

Punk rock groups influenced a new generation of college bands like the Talking Heads and Devo. Slowly they began to garner the title New Wave to differentiate them from more overtly punk bands. Punk rock did not sell many records preferring to remain loyal to small labels like Stiff Records but they were a huge influence on generations to come in movements like gothic rock, industrial, hardcore punk, grunge, nu metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, and new wave among others.

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Hard Rock

Hard rock is a form of rock & roll that finds its roots in the early 1960s garage rock and draws from jazz, blues, rock and roll, and other influences like folk in the case of famed hard rock artist Led Zeppelin who's main writer and composer Jimmy Page was a famous studio musician and expert guitar player who was interested in Celtic and folk influences. These diverse influence can be clearly heard in one of the most influential albums of this style Led Zeppelin 4. Budgie, AC/DC, The Stooges, MC5, Prong, Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple are also classic examples of early hard rock.

Jimi Hendrix, one of hard rocks founding fathers may arguably be the most influential guitarist and musician of the era and possible all time. His album Electric Ladyland elevated the genre to what many consider to be its highest levels. The music hinted at the future of rock and over 30 years later it is still one of the most influential guitar albums of all times.

This genre achieved its highest popularity between 1969 and 1985 but is still alive and well in other genres in which it has been absorbed. Hard rock was a important departure from the simple blues format used by most of the early rock and roll groups. Hard Rock is a style of music that has been a springboard for many other genres including heavy metal, alternative, grunge, rock, nu metal, college rock, post rock, emo, and many other genres which have incorporated the themes and musical influences of the genre.

Songs in this genre often use pop hooks and melodies with heavy chords and pentatonic scales and can range from short radio friendly songs to long raucous songs which cover most of an album side. Jazz, Blues, and rock & roll combine within the genre and bands typically play loud and anthem driven rock although there is much variation in the genre. Punk rock, Gothic rock, heavy metal, Industrial music, funk, and fusion are all variations of music drawn from the same roots showing how differently music can be interpreted and reinvented.

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Gothic Rock Music

Gothic rock started as a offshoot of the punk movement led by groups like Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and Joy Division who created a new more introverted style of punk which focused on personal issues and ideas while paying tribute to the influence of early punk bands like The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, and Generation X.

Originally just an offshoot of punk gothic rock really came into its own in in 79 with the emergence of Bauhaus. One big difference between punk and goth are the personal politics. The punk movement was largely devoted to living only in the moment and using excess as a hedonistic political statement or more simply to just have fun right now. Goth is very introspective drawing from diverse elements of history and subculture like romanticism, gothic horror, art, science, the nihilist movement of Nietzsche, existential philosophy, and other academic subjects. Gothic themes largely focus on personal growth and knowledge and largely ignore outside politics although as with every generalization it has many exceptions.

Bauhaus was one of the first bands to fit the goth format. Their sound was strongly influenced by British glam acts like T-Rex, David Bowie, and others. They created quite a stir before breaking up. Some members went on to form Tones on Tail which brought a more surf rock and psychedelic flavor to the movement. Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure are well known for their gothic imagery but some argue only the early albums followed the gothic format. Joy Division was very influential in the genre until the death of Ian Curtis. Out of the ashes came New Order a markedly new wave band. Another strong influence is The Sisters of Mercy who created the goth dance movement.

The goth movement evolved at the same time as industrial music and the genre overlaps with the most marked difference being the more mechanized sound of industrial dance verse a more humanized goth movement. Goth music is Goth metal combining medieval Gothic music with heavy Doom metal. Goth metal often described as "beauty and the beast" because of the characteristic duets between Operatic female vocals and male death vocals. Some of the key bands in this area are Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania and Lacuna Coil.

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Rock & Roll Music

Rock-and-Roll (räk'n roll') n. first so used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". The use of rock, roll, rock and roll, etc., with reference to sexual intercourse, is traditional in blues, a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics. A form of popular music arising from and incorporating a variety of musical styles, especially rhythm and blues, country music, and gospel. Originating in the United States in the 1950s, it is characterized by electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavily accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure.

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History Of Rock Music

Rock music, where did it all begin? Believe it or not a black man who played black music, originally founded rock music in the mid 50s, this man was Chuck Berry. Rock became popular almost over night, and was accepted with open arms by the younger generations. This was largely due to younger generations who were excited by the thought of having music that expressed their rebellious streak and their desires to promote anti-conformism.

This style of music is a far cry from the modern rock music of today that has evolved over the decades and branched out into a multitude of different genres and sub-genres to create music that is more a way of life than entertainment. However, the still prominent fact that rock is a form of self-expression and non-conformist desire still remains strong even after all this time.

Rock music grew stronger and stronger with idols such as Elvis Presley, around this time many of the black rock and roll artists left the rock music scene and in their place were a host of other white rockers with a style and look all of their own.

After Elvis Presley's famous entrance, other well known rock idols and bands started popping up from everywhere, but something was lost along the way, rockers started losing sight the whole reason that rock and roll had become popular in the first place, which was non conformist and rebellious attitudes.

During this time rock, took a huge nosedive with the younger generations, who were uninterested in a mixture of country music, folk songs, and rock music. This was in the late fifties and musicians such as Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers were foremost rockers in the rock music scene.

Just as things were looking bleak, Bob Dylan entered the scene during the Vietnam War and held the heart and attention of many youth of the era with his songs of the Vietnam War and civil rights. Around this time, the Beach Boys changed the rock music scene with their new style of rock.

California had its own unique spin on rock and roll, which contained very sophisticated and vocal harmonies; this style of rock music was a change from the empathetic shouting that had first been introduced by the black musicians in the mid 50s.

In the early sixties, Britain took on a whole new aspect of rock and created a rage with bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Animals. During this era, the Yard birds also debuted and although they were in the shadows of the Rolling Stones, they were in fact the beginnings of something great, the musicians from this band were later on to revolutionize rock music all over again.

Nevertheless, it was the birth of the Beatles that created a worldwide mania and the beginning of rock music as a business was really born. Following the Beatles, the second generation of rockers were the Kinks and the Who, the Who had changed rock music forever with their mechanically amplified guitars and songs dedicated to the angry frustrated youth of the 60s

The seventies saw the death of Jimmy Hendrix, and the Doors Jim Morrison, and rock music cooled down. New bands, such as Nirvana and the Eagles, began a more peaceful revival of country music mixed with soft rock. The seventies were characterized by a quieter time in rock music.

The nineties saw the age of electronic music, and this new rage spread all over the world, and saw an era of many different genres of rock music, blended music and dance music mixed together. The 90s were also the decade of heavy metal and bands such as Guns and Roses and Metallica. This style of music split into a myriad of other sub-genres such as the funk-metal of Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers, Rage Against the Machine and Faith No More.

It is hard to believe that today's rock music began with a single black man, singing a hybrid type of the blues, and flourished over the last five decades to become not only a choice, but also a way of life.

Rock music has evolved to become an array of different styles and sub categories, which provide enjoyment for a multitude of different tastes in music. What the future holds for rock music may not be known, although it is safe to say the rock music will still be around for the next five decades.

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