Blog Directory

From the category archives:

Rock

The Rolling Stones

by zl3n on 01/27/2010

By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late ’60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based [...]

{ 0 comments }

Queen

by zl3n on 09/20/2009

Few bands embodied the pure excess of the ’70s like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated pomp of prog rock and heavy metal, as well as vaudevillian music hall, the British quartet delved deeply into camp and bombast, creating a huge, mock-operatic sound with layered guitars and overdubbed vocals. Queen’s music was a bizarre yet highly accessible [...]

{ 0 comments }

Bon Jovi

by zl3n on 07/15/2009

Few bands embodied the era of pop-metal like Bon Jovi. By merging Def Leppard’s loud but tuneful metal with Bruce Springsteen’s working-class sensibilities, the New Jersey-based quintet developed an ingratiatingly melodic and professional variation of hard rock — one that appealed as much to teenagers as to housewives. Bon Jovi skillfully employed professional songwriters to [...]

{ 1 comment }

U2

by zl3n on 07/10/2009

Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the ’80s. They were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal, equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion. The Edge [...]

{ 3 comments }

The All American Rejects

by zl3n on 05/12/2009

Vocalist/bassist Tyson Ritter and guitarist Nick Wheeler both hail from Stillwater, OK, where the pair first embraced music as an appealing diversion from the ho-hum life of small-town America. Citing such influences as AC/DC, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi, they formed the emo-pop group All-American Rejects in 2000, while both members were still in high [...]

{ 0 comments }