Rock Music by Argent - An Excellent Progressive Rock Band

After the Zombies called it quits, Rod Argent felt like it was not time to stop making music. "Argent" was born in 1969 with Rod leading the way and their moderate success is still considered to be a significant part of rock music history. Although most people probably only remember their classic hit, "Hold Your Head Up", this band still produced a decent amount of songs that were well-written and great to jam out to.

I personally disagree, but I have heard some people say that rock music by Argent did not have any unique elements and that they began to conform to a more popular sound after the Zombies had split up. However, rock and roll fans and musicians who have heard a lot of Argent's music know that they had a very diverse sound. The song "Dance in the Smoke" is a very underrated track that is probably a much better representation of the band than "Hold Your Head Up".

For more information about this classic group of musicians, check out rodargent.com. I also recommend that you try to get a copy of the anthology album that they put out back in 1984.

Rock Music Videos From MTV

YouTube is probably the best place to go for rock music videos, but I would also keep MTV's website in your bookmarks as well. MTV has a huge database of free streaming rock music videos and I must say that I am rather impressed with the quality that they have provided. Internet visitors can browse through various video lists, but I think that you will have a much better time just searching for videos by your favorite artists.

I was surprised to see that MTV even had music videos from very old artists. Pink Floyd even has a couple of videos on this website, including "Arnold Layne" and "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1". I also did a search for Deftones videos, considering that I used to be a big fan of them. There were plenty of Deftones videos in the database, including one of my favorites, "Change (In the House of Flies)".

Be sure to visit MTV.com and search for videos by your favorite artists. Also, remember that they have music videos from every genre, not just rock and roll.

Important Band in Japanese Rock Music

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant is an influential Japanese rock music act that had a substantial amount of success. The band released 9 studio albums, with their first album being self-produced and self-released. This band has sometimes been referred to as the "Japanese Ramones," but not everyone may agree with this label. I suggest that you check out their music and decide for yourself.

TMGE was discovered by The Brian Jonestown Massacre while performing at a venue in Los Angeles. Alive Records heard the news about this hot Japanese rock band and eventually signed them. Following this, TMGE released an album in the states called, "Gear Blues."

This band has even been ranked number 77 in the top 100 Japanese musicians of all time. Although they split up in 2003, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant still goes down in history as one of the most influential rock bands to come out of Japan.

Classic Rock Music Artists That Should Not Be Forgotten

Classic rock music is loved by people of almost every age, and I have noticed that a lot of teenagers and young adults enjoy listening to this kind of music. Of course, most young people only know about the legendary bands like Led Zeppelin, CCR, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix. I think that there are several other bands that should be given the same appreciation, and they came from this same exact era. Jeff Beck, for example, is one of the greatest guitar players of all time and the influence that he had during his time with The Yardbirds was incredible. Most classic rock fans are aware of Jeff Beck's status as a guitar legend, but I think there are plenty of young individuals who will never know his name.

Another great band from this genre was The James Gang, which had Joe Walsh as a member for quite some time. Funk #49 and The Bomber are two of their most popular songs, and I think that their sound was just as unique as Led Zeppelin's or The Who's. If you have not familiarized yourself with The James Gang yet then I suggest that you do so. Some other less-appreciated artists that you should check out are The Band, Traffic, CSNY, and of course, The Kinks.

Important Bands in Hardcore Punk Rock Music

As I had mentioned in my previous post, there are plenty of different types of rock music. Sometimes, there are so many kinds that it can actually become overwhelming. However, if you choose to focus on a particular type of rock music, such as punk, you will then notice that there are a few more kinds of rock that branch off of it. Punk rock music has many different sub genres, such as old school, hardcore, emo and anarcho. I personally feel that hardcore punk is one of the rawest forms of this type of music, and there are several different bands that helped create and maintain this style.

Black Flag is probably one of the most influential hardcore punk bands to ever exist. Initially created in the late 70's by Greg Ginn, this band planned to exploit their sound with a message of anarchy and anger. Some may see this as a pessimistic way to play music, while others find it to be one of the most passionate. This band did not have a lot of the prefabricated ideas that you regularly see today, and from what I understand, the band members themselves had everything to do with the way they sounded and the image that they portrayed.

Other hardcore punk bands that made their marks in the 70's, 80's and 90's were Bad Brains and Minor Threat. The excessive aggression and intense power that these bands obviously showed were some of the things that had people saying that they were ahead of their time. Following the death of a musical fad like disco, this was a refreshing way to revamp the music scene in the United States. If you are a fan of punk music but have not heard much about the bands that I mentioned, then it appears that you have a little bit of homework to do.

The Many Different Types of Rock Music

All this time, I have been speaking about specific sub-genres of rock music. Since it is long overdue, I feel as though I should briefly talk about what different types of rock music actually exist in this world of ours.

Many will argue that old blues music is the first rock music, but I disagree. Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and the great Robert Johnson may have all played guitar but that does not mean that they were rock musicians. Blues has a very rich history with solid meaning behind it, and that is why it is in a class of its own.

Rock music, most will agree, began in the 1950's in the U.K. John Lennon was one of the many musicians to start a rock band during this time, and his was called The Quarry Men. Shortly after this band, however, was the one that you were probably thinking of. Other bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks were contributing to this growing scene, and eventually it became an international sensation once the Beatles had reached the U.S. in the early 60's.

From this point forward, the types of rock music that branched off could not be counted on two hands and two feet. Those that come to mind at this very moment include surf rock, psychedelic rock, soft rock, funk rock, jazz-rock, punk rock, heavy metal, industrial, indie rock, emo rock, and country rock. There are plenty of other sub-genres to be mentioned, since I only made reference to a handful of them. Not to mention, classic rock even became a type of rock music once enough time had passed since the 1960's and 1970's. Basically, if you put enough of a twist on rock and roll, you are now in a whole different category.

One of the Less Appreciated Bands of Classic Rock Music

When a band has a long and successful career, there is no doubt that they are going to evolve and get their feet wet with several different styles. There are some very talented bands that have been able to hold on to elements of their original style over the decades, but their sounds had still changed with the times. One of my favorite classic rock music bands, The Kinks, actively made music from 1963 to 1996 and sometimes I get the feeling that they do not get the recognition that they deserve. I will admit, however, that although I consider myself to be a big fan of The Kinks, I do not like every single album that they have recorded. This is natural, of course, considering the fact that they recorded a total of 28 studio albums, in addition to all of their live albums and compilations.

In my opinion, one of the best albums that The Kinks ever recorded was "The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society." Tracks like, "Do You Remember, Walter?", "Animal Farm", and "Big Sky" are all arranged beautifully with brilliant melodies. If you have not heard these tracks, I recommend that you check them out. I would also like to mention that this band is considered by many to be one of the most influential rock bands of all time, but the fact that they were overshadowed by the success of bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Beatles made it difficult for them to shine just as brightly. Their unique sound, which some might say has qualities similar to those of The Beatles, made it very evident that each musician had versatility and incredible songwriting abilities.

It is likely that you have already experienced the sound of The Kinks. However, I am willing to bet that there are some albums that you have probably never heard, and I feel that individuals who truly appreciate classic rock music should hear them to get an idea of how these musicians progressed throughout their lengthy careers.

80's Rock Music From The Underground

If you were heavily involved with the music scene in the 1980's then you are probably aware of some of the underground acts that were starting to get popular. When I say underground, I am of course referring to the bands that had huge followings but never really had much exposure on the radio. Bands like The Pixies, The Meat Puppets, The Cure, New Order, and many others had large fan bases with dedicated supporters but the mainstream public never really gave them much of a listen.

The Pixies are one of my all-time favorite 80's rock music acts, especially since front man Frank Black had such a unique vocal style. Songs like Monkey Gone To Heaven, Something Against You, Mr. Grieves, Wave of Mutilation, and of course, Where is My Mind, are all classic tracks by a band that I would say got just the right amount of recognition. If the Pixies had blown up and the whole world knew about them, then maybe I would not like them as much as I do today. If you have never heard of the Pixies, then I suggest that you check out some of the music that they produced in the late 80's and early 90's.

Beatles Rock and Roll Music - A Little Bit Extra

An individual by the name of Piero Scaruffi has created an excellent website that gives a brief but sufficient history of how the Beatles became the legendary music act that we know them as today. This website also contains a chronological order of their works between the years of 1963 and 1970. When you visit this page, which is located at scaruffi.com/vol1/beatles.html, be aware that the left column of information is written in Italian and the right column is written in English.

This is not the absolute best resource for learning about The Beatles, and it may even contain everything that you already know. However, the reason that I wanted to share this link with you is because it is coming from an ordinary individual like you or me who obviously knows a lot about the Beatles as well as the music industry from that time period. I also felt that this was a more unconventional way to share some information with everyone, rather than just giving a link to wikipedia.org. Having a diverse group of sources is a good way to eliminate bias.