Rolling Stone is a US magazine that started in 1967 in San Francisco in which it publishes every two weeks. The magazine has changed significantly since it started. It started with identifying with the hippie counterculture but rapidly moved into the politics in 1970. By 1980s the publication operation was moved to New York to be closer advertizing and financial industry centers. It is now devoted to music, politics and popular culture. The magazine is known for its diversity content, although always synonymous with the rock and roll way of life. It has also started to target younger readers and offering more sex-oriented content. Although the magazine has changed, it has many of the same features as it did when it stated such as, National Affairs and Rock and Roll.

A magazine like this is a great way for artists to make a headline. “The right kind of music criticism at the right time has become an integral step in the business of selling records and sustaining a musical career" said by Brennan in the article read in week 10. The audiences that Rolling Stone gets are those interested in artists and music so whatever press you get in this magazine can either hurt or boost the ratings.

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

http://www.magazine-agent.com/rolling-stone/magazine

http://www.dtmagazine.com/cmopg1924/rs1.html

The Eagles

Desperados, Loiterers, Millionaire Misanthropes, The Boys in the Band, Greedy Bastards, The Egos, Hall of Fame Inductees or the most known, The Eagles are one of the most popular rock bands of all time. They are under the rock and roll hall of fame as well as receiving many music awards on top of that. The members of the band consisit of: Don Felder (guitar), Glenn Frey(guitar, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon(guitar, mandolin, banjo), Randy Meisner (bass, vocals), Timothy Schmit (bass, vocals), and Joe Walsh (guitar, vocals).  They all met up in Los Angeles in 1971 when they came up with many hit songs which eventually led to them going on concert in 1971. They made 5 albums together but by the middle of making the 6^th album, The Long Run, they had hit a breaking point. “The peak of the eagles was around the time of Hotel California,” noted Henley in an interview in 1982.

After breaking off for a while, The Eagles decided to do a comeback tour in 1994. They recorded a new song as well as played a total or 12 songs from the past. It was a success, which eventually let them to create their greatest hits 1971-1975 CD that sold 26 million copies. The Eagles were nominated for a 2008 CMA Award in the Vocal Group of the Year category in the 2008 CMAs and is currently going on tour now.

If you don’t consider the Eagle as one of the most well known and successful rock groups, I don’t know what you would consider successful. If I had the money, I would love to see them in concert. The tickets are currently going for $200 a piece throughout the world.

http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/the-eagles

http://www.eaglesband.com/news.php

http://www.eaglesfans.com/band/members.htm

The Impact of Rock Music

The term 'rock music' is loosely defined as a genre of music that entered the popular music world during the mid to late 1950's. The basic sounds of rock music orginate from the sounds of the electric and acoustic guitar, with a strong backing of bass guitar and drums.

The early 1950's saw the new wave of 'rock and roll' hit the music scene; artists such as Bill Haley and Chuck Berry stole this era in music. To now in 2009 we see rock music mixed with electronic sounds; MGMT is an example of an electronic rock band.

Although what kind of impact has rock music in general made upon its audience to date? Rolling Stone magazine describes the impact as being, "unique and dominating..." but really has rock music impacted the way some of us live? Has it impacted our emotions and our moods? Has it helped us through tough and terrible situations? Yes, I strongly believe that it has.

Silverchair are an essentially rock based group of musicians, they released their album "Neon Ballroom" in 1999, encased was the hit single, "Anthem for the year 2000;" This song was a perfect depiction of the youthful energy that rock music can bring oneself. The impact on popular music was huge, the song soared to number three on the music charts and it became a type of anthem for rock grunge lovers of the 20th Century.

The impact of rock music has written one of the biggest chapters in the history of music in our time. Rock music has brought us the concept of music festivals such as "Woodstock." We now can watch on DVD concerts and festivals such as "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" and see how rock music shaped a mass culture. This particular DVD is interesting in that it depicts the impact of rock music in a character form. We see Mick Jagger dressed as the circus master and a whole audience dressed in "tents" dancing non stop to the sounds of Jethro Tull and The Rolling Stones. The impact of the rockin' 60's I believe is one of the most influential in music history to date.

One of the biggest impacts in rock music is in none other the less Aaron Elvis Presely. In the interesting book entitled "The story of Rock" Buddy Holly quotes, "if it wasn't for Elvis we wouldn't be doing what we do today." Elvis Presely allowed a type of rebellion to come through in his music which has today, defined in stone the elements of rock music. The impact of rock music has clearly been a cultural and social one. It has given its audience members a clear idea of how great and influential this genre of music can and has been.

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!