Thursday, March 27, 2008

What Are Your All-Time Favorite Rock Music Videos?

rock music videosThis is definitely a subject that comes up often. With the advent of MTV in the 1980's, rock music videos have been created ever since and the different styles that we have seen over the years is truly amazing. Some of these directors have moved on to other kinds of projects, while some have stayed in the same business.

Some of my personal favorites are the videos for "Pets" by Porno For Pyros, "Lithium" by Nirvana, "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, "Epic" by Faith No More, "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam, and "Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol. Of course, many of these music videos are older and I think that is why I like them so much. This was a very experimental art form, and the technology was somewhat limited during these years. Of course, there have been plenty of great music videos that were created in recent years. This type of art is very progressive and it will not stop until something else takes its place.

Although it does have its negative aspects, YouTube is a great resource for rock music videos. Whenever you need to kill some time, search for some of your favorite artists and see what you come up with. You will probably find videos for songs that never even made it onto MTV.

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

What Style of 80's Rock Music Do You Like?

80s rock musicWe all know that the 1980's were a very transitional period for rock and roll music, and sometimes I am amazed at how many different styles were present during this time. One of the greatest parts of making music is experimentation, and it is obvious that a lot of this was happening during the 80's.

80's rock music can range anywhere from Metallica to The Cars to The Sex Pistols. There are various degrees of how "hard" a band or musician can rock, and these degrees even existed in decades prior to the 1980's. A few of the sub-genres that were huge included heavy metal, punk, new wave, alternative and soft rock. While bands like Metallica were writing elaborate and intricate songs with the help of heavy distortion and fast rhythms, other bands like Devo were pushing the boundaries with how weird one can get with synthesizers and other electronic instruments. In most cases, you really can't say that a band plays just "rock & roll" because there are too many different styles that have stemmed off of it.

I recommend that you do some research of your own to learn about some of the underground rock bands that were making music in the 1980's. You may have heard of The Talking Heads, but have you ever heard of Roxy Music? For every popular band or musician, there are 5 other underground artists that never got the recognition that they deserved. Your local record store is always a great place to check for some obscure music, but it can sometimes limit you. I personally think that one of the best resources for finding music is www.rhapsody.com, and if I am not mistaken, you can browse through their library free of charge.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

The Wonderful World of Soft Rock Music

soft rock musicSoft Rock Music is a sub-genre of Rock & Roll that has created a large following over the past few decades. Although it has some of the same characteristics as regular Rock & Roll, soft rock has a much calmer sound. Soft rock bands use the same instruments as any other rock band, but a lot more emphasis is put on the vocals. The singer is usually performing in a calm manner and the lyrics tend to have a complete absence of anger. However, this does not mean that every soft rock song that you hear is a happy one.

Some bands that are popular in this genre are Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago and Elton John. I personally think that Hall & Oates are one of the more influential soft rock bands of previous years but apparently they are classified as "blue-eyed soul".

I am willing to bet that there is a radio station in your area that only plays this type of music, and if you have an interest in soft rock then you should find out which one it is. This music is great for relaxing at home, driving in your car or listening to before you go to bed.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Great Source for Christian Rock Music

christian rock musicChristianrock.net has plenty of information for fans of Christian Rock Music, as well as 24-hour Internet radio. One of the nice things about this website is that their revenue comes mainly from donations, advertising and t-shirt sales, which means that most of their resources are put into providing quality content. If you want to learn about different artists, news, upcoming CD releases, concerts and much more then I suggest that you check out this website.

Another thing that you will notice when you visit this website is that they have 3 different sister sites for other types of music. These include hard rock, hip-hop and power praise. Each website is designed in the same way and has the same interface as the next. You can also make song requests if you wish to hear something specific on their one of their stations, which can be hard to find with most Internet radio websites.

If you are an avid listener of Christian rock music then you will definitely like this website. Check out www.christianrock.net and be sure to visit their other 3 music stations as well. Also, make a tax-deductible donation if you want to support what these people are doing.

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Some Ways To Find Rock Music Lyrics

rock music lyricsThe best way to memorize a song is to listen to it as often as you can tolerate. The liner notes in your CD booklet will sometimes include all of the lyrics, but not always. However, sometimes the singer in the band is too incoherent and it can be hard to understand what is being said. In this case, I suggest that you check out a couple of different websites that specialize in providing song lyrics. When I search for song lyrics, I am usually directed to two different websites. One is located at www.azlyrics.com, and the other is located at www.sing365.com. These two websites are probably the most common, and both of them have large e-libraries filled with rock music lyrics from many famous artists and bands.

There is one other thing that I would like to mention. If you ever hear a song on the radio or in a record store, and you would like to know the artist and the title, all you need to do is remember one line from the song. If you can understand the lyrics, then write down one of the lines on a piece of paper. The next time you are on the Internet, go to Google and type in the lyrics with quotation marks around the entire phrase. Not only is this one of the easiest ways to find the name of a song, but it also saves you the frustration and anger that occurs when a radio DJ fails to tell you what you just heard.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Importance of Blues Rock Music

blues rock musicDepending on your personal tastes, blues rock music may or may not be appropriate for your ears. Of course, when I say this I mean one of two things. Either your musical palette is broad enough to accept the blues and you understand its history, or you just haven't sunk your teeth deep enough into the world of Rock and Roll. Many individuals continue to surprise me, however. While one would assume that fans of heavy metal would not enjoy blues rock music, this is often not the case. I don't know how many times I have read an interview with a heavy metal or hard rock musician who said that some of their major influences were Muddy Waters, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, etc. This genre of music is still alive and kicking as well, and it is important to know where it all came from.

If you really have an interest in the blues and you would like to learn more, I suggest that you check out a couple books at your library. Try to find ones that explain its history as well as the many influences that it has had on other forms of music. Jazz, rockabilly and soul are just a few of the other genres that have connections to this unique style of music. Not to mention, many believe that it is one of the most enjoyable styles of music to play on the guitar.

On the other hand, blues rock might be something that you don't really care for and you have no desire to listen to it. You might think it's boring, too slow, or monotonous. Just keep in mind, however, that it is very likely that the music you enjoy today would probably not exist if it weren't for the invention of the blues.

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Friday, March 7, 2008

Shoutweb Can Help You Find New Rock Music

new rock musicHave you ever heard of Shoutweb? If you are looking for fresh releases from new rock music artists then this is a great place to check once in a while. Upcoming album releases are updated consistently on the home page, as well as tour information. Shoutweb also has a decent amount of links to other rock music resources that can keep you up-to-date on band events and other happenings.

Shoutweb functions somewhat like a blog, where it is updated sporadically with brief posts including news, videos, and more. I like the fact that it also has an artist spotlight section that can let me know about some new bands that are coming up in the industry. This website does still need a little bit of work, however, because it appears to be rather new. Give it some time and I have a feeling that it will progress very quickly.

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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Want to Discover More Alternative Rock Music?

alternative rock musicIf you are a major fan of alternative rock music then you should know about some ways to discover other good artists that you may not know much about. If you know the producers of your favorite sounds, then you can find other songs that have similar styles. For example, fans of Sublime might be interested in some of the other work that producer Paul Leary did, including music of his own.

Another great way to find Alternative rock music is through a music program called Rhapsody. This program does have a small monthly fee, but I think that it is worth the cost. Rhapsody allows you to stream full-quality music from a library of millions of songs. It is also organized in a way that persuades the user to try new music regularly.

These are just two of the ways that you can find new music. Check record stores, download, and talk to other music fans so that you can continue to develop your palette.

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