For a time, it appeared that shoegaze was ordained to go down as a short-lived moment in indie rock. Originating in the United Kingdom during the late ‘80s, the subgenre initially fascinated critics and listeners alike with it’s abstract use of guitar effects, and vocalized melodies. Then, however, the sound’s popularity was diminished when grunge and Brit-pop began to takeoff in the early 90s. Eventually, many of the pivotal bands that gestated shoegaze broke up in the coming years, and the Shoegaze movement seemed to have become all but passé.
Now, however, the sound has seemed to have made a comeback for alternative rock. Bands like Deafheaven and Whirr have introduced a modern take on the style, and many of the forebears for the genre have reformed for reunion tours. In light of the renewed interest in shoegaze music, I’ve taking it upon myself to make an approximate list of the five greatest shoegaze bands.
Lush. Lush is possibly the only band from the initial shoegaze movement to visibly morph into a Brit-pop band. While carried by dreamy songs like the rest of their peers, Lush was also certainly catchier than most other shoegaze bands, and their lyrics more lucid. By the time they came to their final album (1996’s Lovelife), the band had almost abandoned their beginnings for a sound that was definitively pop (even to the
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Considered one of the chief influences on the sound as they, along with others, had a penchant for staring at the stage during their performances, which was what cited the British press to refer to the music as “shoegazing”. Ride was one of the most accessible shoegaze bands as they weren’t as concerned with distortion, as they were making direct melodies, and the Oxford quartet regularly proved themselves to be some of the best pop song writers of their time. Their music led to them becoming highly successful in England, and their debut album, Nowhere, is rightfully considered one of the very best albums the genre has
Today's music scene is slowly growing, and differentiating in styles. One of the newest styles of music that has broken out is a generally unrecognized genre of music called "Geek Rock." By taking the meaningful lyrics of Emo, the heavy guitar riffs of Grunge, and the do-it-yourself attitude of Indie rock, this genre forms a new-wave approach to music. Many new artists have been categorized under this label, including Ben Kweller, Ozma, and Rooney. Rivers Cuomo, front man and lyricist of Weezer, is predominantly responsible for this underground rock movement. By transferring his life experiences into a musical statement, Rivers Cuomo has the ability to appeal to his fans on a new level.
Their work encompasses many genres into one. The band’s musical influences are comprised of jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, and country. Also, the band began to gain popularity during the movement of psychedelia. Psychedelic elements can be heard in almost all of their albums.
In Rock- The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Yorke provides a chronological approach to rock and roll from 1877- 1974. Although it is not extremely detailed, a general overview of each year’s music is presented. Throughout the book, many descriptive summaries of individual artists may be found along with classic pictures.
Rock and Roll, as a music genre, has evolved greatly with each decade; some of this is attributed to technology. One of the biggest leaps forward made for technology and the music genre is the widespread commercial popularity of the television. Since its introduction, television has caused the growing genre to rapidly reach mainstream audiences. Though it is this day hard to pinpoint the full impact of this invention to Rock n’ Roll, it is hard to argue that it didn’t help shape it into the powerful industry that it is today. From the Rockabilly era, to the British Invasion, all the way to the formation of MTV; television has attributed to these eras and changes seen in this genre. The importance of television is very high as it allowed stars to be made and stars to be pushed aside. Television has also allowed even the most remote people to know what the latest stars were doing. It can be said that Rock n’ Roll would not have gained its social acceptance without television to bring it into the lime light and causing it to rapidly reach the youths of the era.
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.
The hippie aesthetic era was an important time in rock and roll during the late 60’s and on into the early 80’s. It was a time were rock had a sense of purpose. They sung about the issues that plagued the country. It was also a time where technology would play an important roll in the sound of music, with the advancement in recording and synthesizer technology (Covach, “The Hippie Aesthetic”). The hippie aesthetic was not immune to the advancement of music. This essay will go over three songs that represent the different aspects of this era. It’ll will review a song that is predominately hippie aesthetic, a song that is a little of both, and finally a song that has no trace of hippie aesthetic.
The rise of rock and roll into the limelight is to a large extent attributed to the teenagers of the 1950’s. Early rock music listened to by teenagers during the 1950’s was formed by blending together Rhythm and blues with country music. This kind of ...
Although the style of ‘Rock music’ is easily adaptable to many different sounds, it is still thoroughly identified by its definingly amplified rhythm. The sudden worldwide popularity of rock and roll resulted in an unparalleled social impact. Rock ‘n’ Roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. The social impact is so large that rock stars are worshipped worldwide. In its early years, many adults condemned the style of music, placing a stigma on its name, and forbid their children from listening and following its ways.
long forgotten era of rock and roll. The only problem with this new rock is
Rock music is a term that should be familiar. Originally dubbed “rock and roll” in the 1940’s and 1950’s, rock and roll is almost always fronted by an electrical guitar and heavily influenced by blues, R&B, and even country music. By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s rock and roll began to be shortened to just “rock music”, and the entire style starting branching out into other sub-genres such as punk rock, heavy metal, garage rock, hard rock, among others. The sub-genre in question however is Alternative Rock, which is generally defined as despite following the fundamentals of rock music, it strays away from what is considered “mainstream” at the time by using concepts such as extensive underground music association, muddied or distorted guitars, more prominent use of power chords, and even a sort of rebellious or defiant attitude in lyrics and sound.
A few sound factors that have been influential are the fusion of different genres, and the sounds that are categorized as blues, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock. Their look was also extremely influential because of how different it was. They wore furs and velvet, along with ringmaster hats and flag capes. Their revealing jumpsuits and kohl eyeliner started to become their signature look at the peak of their career, along with printed neck scarves and wide brimmed velvet hats. Their sleek jackets and skintight pants are still very popular among modern British rock bands.
Our entire lives have been shaped by the events happening around us. Along with us many factors in our day to day lives have evolved too, including musical genre. One such genre is rock. Rock is a genre for the youth, by the youth, it has evolved to stay with the times and stand up for what’s right. In this essay I will prove why rock is a good example to show how genre has been defined, maintained, constructed and negotiated through the past 60-70 years since the very first Proto Rock song came out.
This assignment introduced me to the sound and message of the rapping duo: Black Sheep. The group consist of New York natives Dres and Mista Lawnge. My search for the album to review started with skimming through the table of context of Brian Coleman’s Check the Technique Volume 2 and listening to snippets of each album. I initially was going to review a 3rd bass album because of the familiar samples; however, one song from the Black Sheep album stood out and made this album a clear choice. In this assignment, I hope to examine most tracks on the album and analyze the collective message of this twenty-two track project.
Novara and Henry argue that its “independence from major labels is of fundamental importance” for the genre however it goes beyond this vague definition, “this factor alone is not enough”. Among many characteristics, according to Novara and Henry, are a “careful balancing of pop accessibility with noise, a “manipulation of pop”, honest and thought “sensitive lyrics”. They all form part of a “shared pool” of characteristics that represent the genre. To produce music under these settings is a small part of the recipe for indie rock (Novara and Henry
In a decade of synth-pop and mumble rap, wilder music styles tend to fly under the radar. But, zooming in on the lens of ever-evolving music culture, 3-chord pop music and catchy hooks give way to other styles. The most controversial of them all is the ear-crunching, string-bending phenomenon that’s known as metal. From claims of cult satanism and glorifying gore and violence, metal has faced backlash since its birth in the 1960’s when bands like Zeppelin and Hendrix shattered the musical surface with a revolutionary force. OTHER SIDE: