Writing A 'Hit' Rock Song

And so the age old question - what is the formula for writing a chart-topping rock song? Of course there are various opinions floating around out there in cyber space (and maybe even in real earth space!) on how to create a 'hit', but in my opinion, the most crucial idea to writing a great song is all about time and place. A hit song cannot be forced, it must be a natural process. Musicians must know when they are feeling creative. In my case, my creativity is at its peak when I haven't touched the guitar for a few days. Taking a step back from consistent playing and then strumming away after a break really helps to get those creative juices going.

Dave Byers, founder of writingsongs.com, believes that one of the three things a song needs to impress the listener is that it contains an "interesting lyric that draws the listener in". As you may have noticed from prior posts, the significance I place on lyrics is not great and I certainly do not think that this is an essential part to creating a great tune. More conducive to my opinions, Keane Li of the website Guitarnoise.com pushes the importance of creating the guitar riff or chord progression first and then allowing lyrics to flow from the inspiration of the music.

An important aspect to consider when creating that 'hit' rock song is to not get bogged down in the form but rather to enhance the melody. Many songwriter's worry too much about trying to make a guitar riff sound technical or different. This is unnecessary, the primary focus should be to making a song sound as melodic as possible and not it's ability to surprise the listener. Another idea to consider is to keep the intro succinct. The average listener doesn't usually have much patience and it is important to hook the listener in early. In fact, most professionals believe that an intro length of around 13 seconds is ideal (Bakshi, 2007).

Song length is worth considering. The most popular rock songs run from between 3 and 4 and a half minutes. You don't want to make it too short or it's impression will not last long enough but you especially do not want to make it too long or your song will lost its 'punch'. We can't all make epic 'Stairway to Heaven's' or 'Bohemian Rhapsody's' and the odds are that attempting to do so will not result in the 'hit' song you are after.

In the end, there is no real formula or solution to creating a successful rock song. Measures can be taken such as the ones discussed to improve the chances of creating such a song but at the end of the day, luck plays the definitive role to the outcome of your song. All we can do is practice, practice and practice.

Europe pushes for more online rights from the music industry

Since the inception of the internet, the music industry has been playing catch up with file pirates across the world. The ability to download any file at the click of the mouse has the music industry trying to make up for billions of dollars of lost revenue. European antitrust regulators are currently attempting to change current licenses which prevent online music stores such as iTunes from offering the same songs for sale across Europe. With cd sales down and online music store downloads far behind that of the United States, online music stores in Europe are prevented from setting up a single online entity for music sales across Europe.

The problem lies with the way licenses are set up in Europe. Music licenses are sold seperately for each country in Europe, so online stores such as iTunes are forced to purchase licenses from each European member state in which it wishes to sell music and set up a seperate online store for the licenses purchased in that country. This sets up a huge barrier for musicians in Europe wishing to utilize online music stores to market their music.

The way musicians make their money is to register their music with a collective rights manager. These managers then take the licensed song and sell them to radio stations, online stores, clubs and other outlets. As of last July, collecting socities - publishers and music copyright groups - in Europe had a system of contracts which only allowed artists to be able to collect revenue from an agency based in their own country. Some artists believe that altering the current licencing on their music will leave them missing out on income generated from an increase of music sales. The benefits of music consumption through the internet for the mass audience is endless. As opposed to just a few years ago, local bands can now market and sell their music to a worldwide audience, finding sudden success online much easier.

Although the music industry has tried to shut down online pirating of music, hackers have always stayed one step ahead. Making music more available to the mass audiences, such as the case with Europe, will not end the plundering of files by online pirates. What it does do is allow for the creative dissemination of music to the world - albeit at a price - allowing for anyone with a little creative spirit to make a little money by spreading their music to the world.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWr1JKP9Sr8BdvJZzN3QwTx5fYjgD98DSOA81
Picture: http://www.engadget.com/tag/music+store/

-Kris

History of Rock through Films

1. The Birth of Rock (Blues-based Rock 1963-1970) – Rock revolution seen through the life of Jimi Hendrix. Explores the influences of rhythm and blues through the Rolling Stones and other artists.
2. White Light, White Heat (Art Rock 1966-1980) – It shows how rock became a way for artistic ideas and theatrical performances to enter rock music. This show follows Pink Floyd and David Bowie.
3. Blank Generation (Punk 1973-1980) – The diversity of London and New York, the music made a fundamental shift. This show shows the differences between them through a couple different bands.
   
4. Never Say Die (Heavy Metal 1971-1991) – Shows the controversial genre of heavy metal rock. Follows the highs and lows of the Black Sabbath we well as Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica.
   
5. We are the Champions (Stadium Rock 1965-1993) – Follows the development of Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Police and Dire Straits as well as the rise of MTV and how culture and politics have influenced rock throughout the years.
   
6. Left of the Dial (Alternative Rock 1980-1994) – Takes a look of the rise of alternative rock in the USA. Explores the Seattle scene as well at the tragic loss of Kurt Conain.
   
7. What the World is Waiting For (Indie 1980-2007) - Shows how Indie lost its intimacy and integrity at the Oasis Knebworth in 1996 and how it is returning to it roots with bands such as Franz Ferdinand who is in most clubs and bars now. 
   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/

Top rock festivals in the world

Every year there are thousands of concerts, festivals and shows put on by artists trying to get their music out to the masses. To try and make even a small percentage of these shows would be humanly impossible, but luckily for us, their are dedicated groups of people who are willing to spend the time and effort into putting on music festivals on a grand scale. Here are some of top rock music festivals (in no particular order) in the world along with a bit of information on each.

Roskilde Festival

Perhaps one of the oldest and most celebrated rock music festivals in the world, the festival began in 1971 and is held in Roskilde, Denmark. Last year more than 170 bands attracted more than 80,000 fans. (http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/annualeventstraditions/qt/roskildefestivl.htm) Featured artists include The Smashing Pumpkins, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oasis, and Nine Inch Nails. Every year on Saturday, the festival features the "Roskilde Naked Run", with the winner receiving tickets to next years festival . Roskilde usually runs for a week and is held in summer at the beginning of July.

Rockstar Mayhem Festival

Beginning in 2008, Rockstar Mayhem Festival may bring some of the loudest, hardest rock bands to cities all across the US. The first festival featured artists such as Slipknot and Disturbed, while this years lineup headlines with Marliyn Manson, Slayer and Killswitch Engage. The festival runs from July to August.

Rock on the Range

Bringing rock bands together for one weekend every year, Rock on the Range sets up its stages in Columbus, Ohio. The festivals motto, "Where rock lives," holds true, with bands such as Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Kid Rock and Hinder performing on stage. With ticket sales growing every year, Rock on the Range will bring an additional tour date for Canadian residents to rock their faces off.

Reading Festival

Taking it's name from the location of the festival, Reading, England, the Reading Festival takes place every year during the last weekend in August. Rock bands from all genres have made appearances, and this year is no excpetion with groups such as Kings of Leon, Eagles of Death Metal and Deftones to play on stage. One of the more memorable moments came in 1992 when Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was brought onstage in a wheelchair, hinting at rumors of his addiction to drugs and declining health. (http://www.readingfestival.com/home/index.aspx)

Ozzfest

Possibly one of the most famous hard rock and metal festivals in the world, Ozzfest is run by ex-Black Sabbath member Ozzy Osbourne. Beginning in 1996, the festival grew in popularity as it went from a weekend festival to a traveling tour. Some highlights include bands such as Tool, Velvet Revolover, and System of a Dowm. However, the festival has shown signs of slowing in the last couple years, in 2008 the festival was only a one-day show, and Ozzy has said that it will not run in 2009, as he is working on a new studio album. Plans are already in the making for a 2010 tour. (http://www.ozzfest.com/)

Lollapalooza

Started in the early 1990's by Jane's Addictions frontman Perry Farrel, Lolloapalooza originally was a touring festival featuring on rock bands such as Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. However it was relaunched in 2005 as weekend festival taking place in Grant Park, Chicago and has been reworked to include a wider variety of musical acts, with Kanye West and the Hold Steady taking the stages.

Projekt Revolution

Debuting in 2002, Projekt Revolution does not occur every year, it depends on the availability of the events' organizers, Linkin Park. When the event does take place, however, it debuts a solid foundation of rock and hip-hop artists from around the world. The aim of this festival is to infuse the best of two worlds, rock and hip-hop, into one musical entity. Featured performers include Chris Cornell, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, and Korn and has now expanded its tour dates to include cities in Europe.

Not to be confused about drugs

Following the last post, I thought I would clarify a few things...namely songs which many people think are about drugs, but which have nothing to do with drugs at all.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles

Likewise, with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" many people think it is about LSD, even the title spells LSD, but John says about the title, "...I swear to God...I had no idea spelled LSD." (Rolling Stone Interviews, Wenner, Jann S. Back Bay Books, 2007) Lennon got the inspiration for the song from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which he entitled "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Happiness is a Warm Gun - The Beatles

Many people think this song was written about heroin, which can make sense if lyrics are taken at face value, yet John Lennon has been quoted saying that the song is simply no more then a quote taken from the cover of a gun magazine. The term 'warm gun' simply means that you just shot something.

Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix

Another song that is commonly thought of as a drug song, Purple Haze is thought to be about the strain of marijuana with the same name. Another interpretation is that the song is about a form of LSD common during that time which was sold in a purple capsule, called Delysid. (Miller, Richard Lawrence (2002). Drugs of abuse : a reference guide to their history and use). In fact this song is about a dream which Hendrix had in which he was walking around under the sea and his faith in Jesus saves him. An early manuscript of the song had the title as "Purple Haze, Jesus Saves." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_haze#Common_Mondegreen) "I dream a lot and I put a lot of my dreams down as songs. I wrote one called 'First Around the Corner' and another called 'The Purple Haze,' which was all about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea," said Hendrix in a 1969 interview with the New Musical Express. (Shapiro and Glebbeek, Jimi Hendrix, Electric Gypsy, 148)

Puff the Magic Dragon - Peter, Paul and Mary

The song, which was brought up in the movie "Meet the Parents", has long been thought by many people to be about smoking marijuana. Taking the lyrics, people have reinterpreted the words in the song to mean something else, such as the words 'puff' and respelling 'Dragon' as 'draggin,' both interpreted as imagery to smoking a joint. Since the beginning, the band has stated adamantly that the song is not related to drugs at all. Peter Yarrow, one of the band members has stated that "Puff" is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. He has also said of the song that it "never had any meaning other than the obvious one". ( Puff, the Magic Dragon at Snopes.com)

Drugs Don't Work - The Verve

This song is not about the lack of effect that drugs may have had on composer Richard Ashcroft, instead it is about his father and the drugs he was taking. The song talks about the use of the cancer drugs that were suppoed to be making his father better and keep him alive longer, but instead how the drugs were not working and making him worse.

-Kris

Songs about drugs

Many people love the rock n' roll lifestyle because of the image it portrays. The saying 'sex, drugs and rock n' roll' have held a certain mystique with the "ordinary" people, always wondering what the rockers life would be like. But that saying has put sex and drugs before the music, and many rock stars of our time have done just that with their lives, and have told us about it through their lyrics, giving us a glimpse into the rockers world for at least one song. The following is a list of popular rock songs that have been written about drugs and drug use.

White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said:
"Feed your head
Feed your head
Feed your head"

The lyrics obviously point to the use of psychedelic drugs, and compares the hallucinogenic nature of these drugs, such as magic mushrooms, with images from the books by Lewis Carol, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." Grace Slick, who wrote the song, said it was a response toward parents who asked their kids why they were taking drugs.

Jane Says - Jane's Addiction

This song is about a heroin addict who used to live with the lead singer of Jane's Addiction. The song talks about this addict who, by day, works in an office, and by night, uses heroin. Their are references to drugs in the song, such as "kick," which means to stop using.

Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Although this song may not at first seem like it has to do with drugs, their is an underlying interpretation. The song deals with the celebration of death and rebirth, and talks about the bands situation before they released Californication when their guitarist, John Frusciante, left the group and spent the following six years as a drug addict, at one point almost dying, before he became clean and rejoined the group.

Mother's Little Helper - The Rolling Stones

Kids are different today, I hear ev'ry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day

This song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and deals with the darker side of prescription drugs and the housewives who were abusing them.

Last Dance With Mary Jane - Tom Petty

The lyrics in this song talk about Mary Jane, a slang term often used to talk about marijuana. Although many people think this song was written deliberately about smoking weed, when asked, guitarist Mike Campbell said, "My take on it is it can be whatever you want it to be. A lot of people think it's a drug reference, and if that's what you want to think, it very well could be, but it could also just be a goodbye love song." (http://www.songfacts.com/int/2008/01/mike-campbell.html)

Got to Get You Into My Life - The Beatles

Unfortunately, this song is not a love song to some girl. Instead, this song is about marijuana and Paul McCartney wanting to bring a little more of the drug into his life.

Cocaine - Eric Clapton

Don't confuse this song as Eric Clapton's way of telling people to use drugs, it is not. In fact, this song is actually an anti-drug statement, adding the line 'that dirty cocaine' into his live shows to emphasize the anti-drug message. Clapton says, "It’s no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that. It would disturb them to have someone else shoving something down their throat. So the best thing to do is offer something that seems ambiguous—that on study or on reflection actually can be seen to be ‘anti’—which the song "Cocaine" is actually an anti-cocaine song. If you study it or look at it with a little bit of thought... from a distance... or as it goes by... it just sounds like a song about cocaine. But actually, it is quite cleverly anti-cocaine." (The Best of Everything Show, with Dan Neer)

The Doors

Although not a song, the bands name itself is related to drugs. The name 'The Doors' is a reference to a book originally written by Aldous Huxley named "The Doors of Perception." Huxley wrote this book about his experiences with the drug mescaline.

Although there are hundreds of songs written about drugs and drug use, it is beyond the scope of this blog to detail them all. However, someone has done it for you, and if you are interested to read into it more, you can check out Mojo Magazine's Top 100 drug songs of all time at this link: http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view?list_id=171187&show=25&start=75.

-Kris

Females in the Rock Industry

Do you ever wonder why rock music industry is dominated by males? What ever happened to the females? Many people believe that females should not be in the music industry but others believe that gender shouldn’t matter. What’s the right answer?

I believe that there is no answer. In the late 70s rock music was becoming very popular. Many bands were trying out different types of music as well as females where entering into the music industry.

One rock band that came up a lot when I was researching was Fanny. They are a rock group that formed in the 1970. The group consists of four females that broke down the barrier for female musicians in rock. They never became superstars but ended up receiving a couple or awards later on for their achievements. David Bowie had this to say about them in 1999, "One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace. And that is Fanny. They were one of the finest fucking rock bands of their time..."

Female artists do get judged in so many ways, but the ones that come out of the piles are the ones that you know will succeed. And that is what happened with the band Fanny!

AC/DC still on top of the rock ladder

Bon Scott sung the lyrics- "Let there be light, sound, drums, guitar... Let there be rock!" What better way to put it. Let there be rock, and that is exactly what AC/DC have and are still doing today. The band today is made up of Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Malcom Young, Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd. AC/DC have produced 'rock anthems' that have captured the world, songs like; 'It's a long way to the top,' 'Highway to Hell' and 'You shook me all night long,' the list is evidentially endless.

Bon Scott was the band's first lead singer, who tragically passed away in 1980. Scott's great voice is heard on many tracks such as 'High Voltage' and 'Whole lotta Rosie.' However since, Brian Johnson has lead the band for a number of years and produced sales in album records. The band released the album "Black Ice," in 2008 and soon will kick off their Australian wide live tour. With their hard guitar riffs and pure rock anthems, AC/DC will perform at their greatest and show Australia that they are proud to be home.

Record sales in concert tickets have shocked ticket holders, for instance in Western Australia (Bon Scott's home town), concert promoters have asked the band to stage a third show following record ticket sales. The concert has been named by the West Australian paper as the fastest concert sold in Australian history. The first Perth concert sold out in just seven minutes, beating Sydney fans that purchased the last ticket to Sydney in just fifteen minutes.

The show itself requires forty-eight semi trailers to cart the stage, equipment and needs. I personally, couldn't think of a better way to bring one of Australia's greatest rock bands back home. For you Bon, let there be rock....!!!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Cleveland, Ohio. It dedicates the best-known and most influential musicians of rock and roll. The first induction ceremony was held in 1986, which included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Fats Domino.

To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, it does not take place until around 25 years after your first album as recorded. There are a couple of different categories that you can be recognized in: Performers (five each year), Non-Performers (one each year), Early Influences, and Sideman.

There are a few controversial issues relating to the hall of fame. One being that the Hall of Fame and Museum was chosen to be placed in Cleveland. There could have been a better city chosen that would have a more musical background but because Cleveland had the best financial package, it was placed there. Another criticism that the Hall of Fame has is the nomination process. Many of the individuals that chose the nominees do not even have a musical background.

There are many controversies but I believe that the hall of fames has all of the favorites and well performed artists and bands. I think that many people have different opinions when it comes to music and when it comes down to it, there are many different people voting and the majority wins. The Hall of Fame is one of the finest awards you can receive and would love to meet some of the people in it. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame

Green Day

Green Day was formed in 1987 as an American rock trio. The band consists of Billy Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirny (bass guitar, vocals) and Tre Cool (drums, percussion). It first breakthrough album come in 1994 with Dookie. With that album, Green Day won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album and was nominated for nine MTV Music Awards. It ended up having a falling out with a couple albums not doing so well, Nimrod and Warning. But in 2004, Green Day created the American Idiot ablum, which topped the charts right away. In 2005 they went on the longest tour of their careers. They visited Japan, Australia, South America and the UK. In 2006, Green Day won another Grammy Award for Record of the Year for Boulevard of Broken Dream that spent 16 weeks at the number one position on the Billboards. They have recently come out with a new album 21^st Century Breakdown and is on tour now for that album.

This band is an example of a different type of rock. This more modern type of rock is very different from the rock of ACDC and The Eagles but is considered rock. As stated by Eriling in an article we read for week 5, “The genesis of genre is therefore to be found in our natural and irrepressible tendency to classify.” We as individuals have to classify between two different types of rock, whether it be ACDC or Green Day, they are both considered Rock but have different sounds. 

Led Zeppelin were made up of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Jon Paul Jones and John Bonham. They each brought an amazing musical element to the band, whether it was John Bonham's 'animal' like skills on drums, to Jimmy Page's all time guitar playing skills, or Jon Paul Jones' eery clever piano sounds or to the driving, mind-blowing voice of Robert Plant. Led Zeppelin as a band boosted rock music to it's all time greatest.
Led Zeppelin's fourth album was released in 1971, no title and no name, just the band's logos were placed on the cover. Within that album lay the track, "Stairway to Heaven." The song goes for an incredible eight minutes, where some describe it as the 'eight minute miracle.' Stairway to Heaven, was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs.It is the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States, despite never having been released as a single there. In November 2007, through download sales promoting Led Zeppelin's Mothership release, the song hit #37 on the UK Singles Chart.
So is Stairway to Heaven one of the greatest rock songs of all time? Is it true that all rock songs have several characteristics that make it a good rock song? Well Chuck Eddy, author of "Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums inthe Universe:" suggests that Stairway to Heaven is one of the greatest rock songs of all time because Led Zeppelin have joined the two forms of hardrock and this sort of corny medievalism. It's tremendous. Also proof thatwords don't have to mean anything to be meaningful.
Others suggest that the lyrics enable open interpretation, however, for a true fan like myself, I believe that the song as a whole, makes it one of the greatest. Has anyone heard such a impacting guitar solo that makes you go wow everytime you hear it? I feel as though the song is written like a story, and we as the listeners are open to the introduction, story and ending so cleverly through the songs rhythmic patterns and change of melody. All units that are Led Zeppelin shine in this song. It is evident in the clever chords that Jimmy Page produces, the whistling like tune of Jon Paul Jones' keyboard, John Bonham's drums finish the song off to blow your mind, and Robert's voice is like a growing attraction.
Opinions vary however as a rock lover everyone should value the band who were Led Zeppelin.

Rock music today

What can we as an audience look for in rock music in 2009?


I don't believe that there is a formula that describes rock music in the day of 2009. Music has created sub-genres that have influenced, changed and created new music, sounds and lyrics. Personally for me, I hear the music of the Foo Fighters and instantly think thankgoodness for them, if we as an audience were without them rock music would probably not exist. However, is this only because, my rock music tastes surround the likes of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin? Both of these bands produce a forceful, hard hitting sound, therefore are my music tastes producing my idea of a good rock group in 2009? Well yes, I believe they are. Musical bands such as Coldplay, who live, are one of the greatest I have ever seen, produce less forceful hard hitting music, however they are described as an "alternative rock group." Therefore, in 2009 I believe that the elements to rock music have intensely grown due to the formulation of sub-genres and new ideas. The leading singer/man Chris Martin once described Coldplay's music as "limestone rock."




The change in rock music is a tremendous and life-changing one. Sub-genres like punk, grunge, blues, and even as Martin describes as "limestone," have emulated and formed the comprimisation of rock music today. I truly wonder what rock music will be like in twenty to thirty years, will musicians be going back to the times of Elvis Presely and Bill Haley? Or will they formulate another new operation to what is rock music??

The Best Rock Album of 2009: A Track by Track Review

Released in Australia on March 10, 2009, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's album It's Blitz! is still the best rock album of 2009. Based on musicianship, the album surpasses more critically acclaimed rock albums of 2009 such as Greenday's 21st Century Breakdown or U2's No Line on the Horizon. The 10 track album consists of extraordinary contrasts and limited weaknesses. Here is a track by track glance:

1. Zero

The first single released off the album, Zero is a hard-hitting, appropriate opener. The song begins with an aura of quiet-confidence. The first minute contains non-ambitious vocals and a simple re-curring synth line before it stops the teasing and smothers the vocals with a heavy bass line and hard-hitting drumming. The chorus is fairly unassuming with the real power of the song in the outro, when lead singer Karen O appropriately inquires to the listener over and over again "What's your name?" Before she takes you on a journey through the album.

2. Heads Will Roll

The impressive aspect of this song lies in the lyrics. While not the most melodic of songs on the album, the music is over shadowed by echoed lyrics of "Off with your head / Dance 'til you're dead / Heads will roll, heads will roll / Heads will roll on the floor". These dire lyrics are emphasised over a simple drum beat and a simple 3-chord pattern, nothing to take the focus away from the powerful lyric.

3. Soft Shock

This is a relaxed and unassuming song with a consistent melody. The song is perhaps used merely as a bridging device for the track that is to follow.

4. Skeletons

Arguably the highlight of the album (Listen to it here). Skeletons shows a coming of age for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. It is an ambitious song which reveals the bands ability to record delicate music. The song sets the scene brilliantly with a musical backdrop of epic proportions: it sounds larger than life. Karen O barely raises her voice higher than a whisper as she yearns "Love, don't cry". It truly is one of the best rock ballads of the past decade.

5. Dull Life

This track doesn't provide the same punch as Skeletons or Zero. It tends to be more concerned with attempting to be technically different rather than driving it home with the melody. Nevertheless, the song does contain a strong build up to the final chorus as it repeats the lyric "We've seen the nightmare of your lives."

6. Shame and Fortune

This song is dominated by a heavy, distorted and reasonably simple bass line. It wouldn't break any records in terms of musicianship and could probably be placed alongside Soft Shock as the weaker songs on the album.

7. Runaway

Things pick back up to pace with this song. It is extremely melodic with a catchy, repetitive chorus. The first 2 minutes play as a soft build up to the loud and thumping 3 minutes that follow. The outro sees Karen O merely "hooo" and "aaaaah" while a wall of sound dominates the ending.

8. Dragon Queen

This song has an eerie aura to it. It is disturbing in it's low sounding vocals and funky guitar riff. It is a real like it or hate it type of song. But none can deny that the chorus is catchy and addictive.

9. Hysteric

This is another real highlight of the album (Listen to it here). It is craftily put together each part of the song being more awakening to the listener than the last. The climactic chorus is a series of "oh's" and "ah's" that lift higher and higher in tune with the backing synthesizer. When the lyrics are replaced with a trumpet in the final chorus the true beauty of the song is fulfilled.

10. Little Shadow

A slow-paced and epic closer. As the song goes on the delicate vocals become more and more engulfed in sound. It consists of verse after verse with no real deviation into a chorus. It's beauty lies within its simplicity. The album comes to a rest with Karen O asking "Little shadow, to the night will you follow me?"

Salaries in Music

There are a variety of different salaries out in the world. From accounting to sales to waiter, salaries are paid in a variety of different ways. I did some research on the web to find out how much the top sports athletes receives compared to musicians. Kevin Garnett who is a basketball player who plays for the Boston Celtics receives $24,750,000 American each year. That was the first salary that I looked up. I thought that was a ton for what they do for their job. They play the sport they love and get paid millions for it. I proceeded to look up what musicians make. Beyonce is one of the top worldwide musicians; she receives around 50,000,000 a tour. She usually does a tour every other year lets say so she makes close to $25,000,000 a year as well. I would say that either one of those jobs you are well off for the rest of your life. After seeing those results, I was curious to see what a rock stars salary was. I looked up Paul McCartney from the Beatles and he is worth 710,000,000 from his career of being a rock star. So if you are looking for a job, look into either playing a sport you love professionally or sing for your living on tours. 

http://money.uk.msn.com/guides/salarycentre/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=8913008&dub-gallery-photo-number=15

Rock Band!

Rock band allows players to perform in a virtual band by providing up to four players with the ability to play three different peripheral modeled after music instruments. These peripherals are used to simulate the playing of rock music by hitting scrolling notes on-screen (Wikipedia).

Getting a physical in body experience while playing gets you in the mood as a player to listen to music. With all the music being rock, it gives the audience an incentive to listen to that music as well as listen to it in the future with purchases of a variety of rock artists that appear in the game.

In the game, there are a variety of different modes of playing. One I found interesting is Band World Tour Mode. It allows you to form a band with others via the Internet. You can create logos and your character and then “play” in a variety of different cities throughout the world. It is making a world wide audience with this game and shows how interesting rock music can be. 

20 songs with "rock" in the title

20 Song with “Rock” in the Title that definitely do not rock

1.     Falco- Rock me

2.     Rod Stewart- Rock

3.     Huey Lewis and the News – The Heart of Rock & Roll

4.     Shenandoah – Rock my Baby

5.     Robby Day- Rockin’ Robin

6.     B-52s – Rock Lobster

7.     Bill Haley – Rock Around the Clock

8.     Travis -  All I want to do is Rock

9.     Afrika Bambaataa -  Planet Rock

10. Janet Jackson- Rock with U

11. Lionrock – Rude Boy Rock

12. Michael Damien – Rock On

13. Def Leppard – Rock On

14. Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock

15. Aretha Franklin – Rock-a-lott

16. Aaron Tippin – Ready to Rock in a country kind of way

17. Paul Kantner – The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra

18. John Tesh – Roundball Rock

19. Herbie Hancock – Rockit

20. Billy Joel – It’s still Rock and roll to me

It is interesting that some people generalize a type of music into such a broad area. You would think rock has a distinct sound but as you can see many artists don’t even know what that is. Either that or they like the word ‘rock’ and uses it in lyrics and titles.

 

Image of Rock Stars

Many people have an image in their head of what a rock star looks like. Usually it consists of the picture to the right. The long hair with the leather jacket and pants. Usually doing something crazy. 

But that "Rock Star" look goes back to the early days of rock. It has gone through many different phases with the bell-bottom jeans to the leather jackets as the picture. The clothing has died down and now is mostly just a t-shirt with a fancy print on it. An article I found said that the wild and crazy outfits is what makes a rock star. They need to be adventurous and stick out. We have found that out in many different ways.

Another article that I found gave peoples stereotypes of rock and the ones who perform it and a lot of people thought that the people in rock are the ones who do drugs and don’t accomplish anything in life. But on that same site I found people who thought the complete opposite. I think it is funny how there is many different viewpoints on what the stereotype is and how it can be so drastic. 

What is rock music?: An answer in 8 sentences

In the simplest terms, rock music can be identified as a sub-genre of popular music which developed in America and Europe in the 1950's. Many believe Elvis Presley was one of the pioneers of rock music (Hawkins, 2009). Generally, rock music can be identified as "hard-edged music performed with electric guitars, bass, and drums and usually accompanied by lyrics sung by a vocalist." (Grierson 2007)

Rock music itself contains several sub-genres. These may include grunge bands such as Nirvana, Britpop acts such as Oasis, indie music such as The Killers, alternative music such as Smashing Pumpkins, punk rock bands such as Blink 182 or electronic bands such as Cut Copy. Essentially, the term rock music encompasses these and many other genres of today's music. Anything that cannot be classified as country, R&B, Classical or Dance music can most likely suitably be labeled as rock music. As a result, this blog page contains a wide scope for analysis and comment.

The Insignificance of Lyrics

As was shown in my last post, the importance of lyrics, in terms of creating a successful song, is questionable. This was proved by revealing songs that have achieved international acclaim and yet contain lyrics that either don't make sense or are just blatantly simple. Frith argues in his book Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies that "lyrics are an excuse to have a voice participating in or at the most an illustration of the music" (p34). I would argue that this is a reasonable statement. Lyrics can be seen as merely another instrument in creating the desired sound. It must be rare for a fan at a live concert to be standing in the mosh pit with ears alert to lyrics the performer is saying. Just imagine a mosh-pitter bumping into a fellow fan and that fan saying "Um, excuse me, can you stop shouting, i'm trying to hear the lyrics." To think that the lyrics outweigh the music in such a situation seems ridiculous. Nevertheless, perhaps in more intimate settings the significance of the lyrics rises.

'The National Year of Reading' campaign questioned 4000 people to gauge the importance of lyrics. Interestingly, it claimed that 90% of participants found reading the words helped them to gain a full appreciation of the music. And also, that the emotional importance of lyrics remained consistent across people from 16-65 years of age. This suggests that lyrics do indeed play a pivotal part in the consumption of music. Nevertheless, it is the context that must be considered when investigating the significance of lyrics. I would argue that they could be described as insignificant at music festivals. I would also argue that they could be seen as merely another instrument which adds to the sound when listening to an album for the first time. And, at a live intimate acoustic performance, perhaps then could they be seen as having some significance.

Successful Stupid Rock Lyrics

Rock music has certainly provided us with some abysmal lyrics. There have been songs that have received international acclaim due to their overwhelming consumption by the mass audience and yet it is amazing to see how many of these songs contain blatantly stupid or nonsensical lyrics, or perhaps lyrics that could have been scribed by an intelligent three year old. Here are 5 examples of such successful stupid lyrics:

1. "I would do anything for love
But I won't do that"
Artist: Meatloaf
Song: I'd do anything for love
Hmm. So you will do anything for love hey? Ohhh, except for that... of course! And this song reached number 1 on the charts in over 28 countries! (Wikipedia)

2. "I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow"
Artist: Coldplay
Song: Yellow
This sounds as though it were written by a 3 year old. Well done Chris Martin, you drew a line! And it was all yellow! And 'Yellow' was the bands first Top Ten hit on the UK charts (Wikipedia) essentially kick-starting their careers

3. "Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball"
Artist: Oasis
Song: Champagne Supernova
I would have thought that a cannonball travels fairly fast down a hall! And this song features in NME's 50 greatest rock songs ever! (Wikipedia)

4. "You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
It's true"
Artist: James Blunt
Song: You're Beautiful
Wow. So enlightening James! Way to run out of things to say. And this song reached Number 1 on the Billboard charts! (Wikipedia)

5. "Leaving was never my proud"
Artist: Rem
Song: Leaving New York
This clearly makes no sense. Pretty sure proud is not a noun Rem!

While these are just a few examples, it says a lot about the importance of lyrics in order to create a successful rock song. In my opinion, I think lyrics rank very low in the list to creating a successful tune. Put a beat, a riff and a baseline into a song and the lyrics become superfluous! Stay posted for more on this argument over the next few days!

The Top 5 Best Rock Singles of the Moment

1. M83 - We Own The Sky
Album: Saturdays = Youth
Listen to it here

2. Phoenix - Lisztomania
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Listen to it here

3. Bloc Party - Halo
Album: Intimacy
Listen to it here

4. The Killers - This Is Your Life
Album: Day and Age
Listen to it here

5. Sigur Ros - Vio Spilum Endalaust
Album: Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Listen to it here