And big thanks goes out to all the musicians who supported him! If it weren’t for their music, music videos and viral videos on the internet, the younger population wouldn’t have bothered. Yep, elections are definitely won by popular media these days.. But that’s not to say that President-Elect Barack Obama didn’t work hard — coz he did. Right from the very start. So, Mr. Obama, rock on!!
That’s what Billboard.com is reporting! The rock band’s surviving members is apparently ready to disregard Robert Plant if he refuses to join their latest tour. And the frontman that Led Zeppelin is considering is Myles Kennedy, who has most recently led the rock outfit Alter Bridge. He has already rehearsed with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer Jason Bonham on several occasions according to sources. In a recent BBC interview, John Paul Jones confirmed the band is indeed planning to tour.
Although he performed for a one-off reunion last December 2007 in London, Robert Plant has declined to tour with Led Zeppelin several times. Last September, he issued a statement saying he has “no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next two years” and wished co-band members Page, Jones and Bonham “nothing but success with any future projects.” Hmm, guess his age is catching up with him. Who wouldn’t want to tour with groupies in tow?? Rockers live hard!
Now that you have a background of the different kinds of rock in the music world (see previous posts), it’s time to introduce Pop Rock! And who better to feature under it than the comeback princess Britney Spears? Yup, she’s back with yummylicious songs, edgier and rockier than her usual bubblegum pop. And recently, she unveiled the album cover of her latest album, CIRCUS. She’s so hot! The gold matte finish seems to enhance her flawless beauty even more:
britney spears - circus album cover
Britney Spears’ new album will drop on December 2 on major music outlets. The first single out of Circus, Womanizer, was a megahit. And now the second single, Circus, is out. It is an up-tempo track and was produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. The grouch Simon Cowell has even praised Britney Spears’ new song: “I’m really excited about it, because she’s got her act together now and the new record’s terrific. She’s come back from a very dark place and is a great artist”.
Soft rock is still alive and kicking, even all these years after it first came on the scene. Soft rock is like anything else, it enjoys a great start, fizzles out a little and keeps enjoying revivals. It was though, in the 70’s and the 80’s that soft rock enjoyed its most popular time.
Soft rock is the sound of mellow instruments, kind lyrics, gentle arrangements and songs all about romance, love and heartbreak. The main reason this form of rock music was so soft was to appeal not only to the teenagers, but to the parents. Soft rock is sometimes thought of as boring, offering the rock fans nothing but dull lyrics and easy sounds. However, there is a huge amount of quality, timeless songs that came from the soft rock era.
Many rock fans though of soft rock as far too easy going to be cool. Soft rock purposely avoided being involved in controversy and sometimes received criticism because of this.
The main artists within the soft rock era were James Taylor, Bread, Foreigner, Firefall, Chicago, America and many others. Their soothing, dulcet tones with the combination of the soft guitars and the gentle beats were what made them popular. The quality of the songs and the lyrics were second to none.
Rock and roll music has evolved into lots of different types of music over the years. Soft rock is just one of the ways in which it has changed through the times.
Country music has an unfair stigma attached to it. Many people think it is UN cool, UN hip and well, boring. However, even though most rock fans would hate the thought of listening to country music, they should be aware that they probably already are listening to it.
It is hard to deny the influence that country music has had on rock music today. Sounds of country twangs, guitars and voices can still be heard in a large variety of rock artists now. The Eagles, Neil Young and the Doobie brothers are all rock artists that credit country music with their sound and style.
It is thought that the first person to make country rock songs was Gram Parsons who died living the typical rock and roll lifestyle. However, country music ion rock music goes all the way back to the beginning of rock music in the 40’s and the 50’s.
Neil Young has a huge country sound to his music and is probably the most well known country rock artist in the world. Bob Dylan was another artists that successfully fused the country sound and the rock beat into his music – and very successfully too.
Whatever your opinion on country music, there is no denying the fusion between country and rock works perfectly.
Arena rock or stadium rock as it was also known was to play huge crowds in huge venues and have the loudest bands. It began in the 70’s when bands such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner and Boston were playing to sell out crowds in the biggest arenas available.
It was also in the 80’s that crowds saw bands and artists playing at even larger venues and to even bigger crowds. Arena rock saw the commercialism of rock and roll and wowed audiences all over the world.
Other Arena rock bands and artists were Skid row, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister and many others. They were typified by streamlining the sound of rock music with almost mainstream popularity.
Power ballads mixed with rock and roll sounds were the forefront of the arena rock motion and gave us nearly a whole decade’s worth of love songs that were not your typical mushy sounds. They mixed in love lyrics with heavy beats, loud guitar riffs, banging drums and electric keyboards or pianos.
Other songs that made the arena rock popular were titles such as Eye of the tiger, caught up in you and Open arms.
Heavy metal was still trying to ignore the popularity of arena rock and wanted to be kept under separate categories. Def Leppard was a hard rock band that made the transition from hard rock to popular arena rock perfectly. They soon became mainstream and had some very popular hits.
Blues rock was popular during the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s. The name Blues Rock is a magic fusion between blues music and rock and roll music. In the blues rock sound, the guitars take centre stage and create a fast paced and heavy sound. Long guitar riffs are prominent in blues rock and artists love to show off their guitar playing skills!
The main artist/band that people associate with the sound of blues rock is John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in the 60’s. John Mayall employed some of the world’s best musicians of the generation: people such as Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton. Mick Taylor and Peter Green to name but a few. People he employed in the Bluesbreakers went on to create some of the best bands in the 1970’s – Free, Fleetwood Mac, Cream and Savoy Brown.
Black musicians also enjoyed a revival in interest during the blues rock era in the 70’s. Artists such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Ronnie Earl became famous, international music stars.
It was in the mid 70’s that blues rock started to wane a little and other forms of rock music were to become the new sound – Heavy metal, hard rock and southern rock were to become insanely popular.
Some blues rock tracks are Born in Chicago by Paul Butterfield blues band, Have you ever loved a woman by Eric Clapton and Tell Mama by Savoy Brown.