Pearl Jam
IN retrospect, when we look back at the earlier rantings of grunge today it hovers nebulously like some foggy hangover intermingled with the bittersweet scent of alienation and teen spirit. We remember the blonde haired saviour and martyr Kurt Cobain who will never fade from our memories and remain as the most anguished of them all. We think of Llayne Stayley and Alice In Chains and the intense violence of Chris Cornell and Soundgarden.
Alice In Chains have disseminated themselves further into dark and eerie, dusty and arid sparseness while Soundgarden embrace the hoary and psychedelic rock of eras gone by and Nirvana, well, they will always remain alive in our hearts. When Kurt Cobain took his life, the eyes of the world suddenly looked desperately for a new hero to claim as its own. It didn't have far to go until it's eyes rested solemnly upon the uncomfortable and wiry form of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam.
Vedder with his pained expression, howling vocals and mass of vulnerability begrudgingly carried the torch, even if at times his load became heavy and he seemed ready to throw it into the arms of anyone but himself. Neil Young, realising Vedder's dilemma and approach towards the swirling abyss of a nervous breakdown or potentail overdose, suddenly took him under his wing. The press hounded the next-in-line-to-the-throne relentlessly to see if he would accept the burden and the crown. Vedder, true to himself refused and sought obscurity.
When Pearl Jam's last discordant and cerebral tome Vitalogy hit the record shelves both the public and the critics were soon deep in debate as to whether the album was the pinnacle or the catalyst and soundtrack to the inevitable downward spiral. Only time would offer an...
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The dense throb and catchy melodies of Mankind sounds eerily like a poppy slice of REM and so far removed from Pearl Jam that its unrecognisable while Around The Bend is a shuffling ballad with a twang of country & western blues. No doubt Neil Young's essence and influence was running through Vedder's veins when he penned and recorded this beautiful and Hawaiian-tinged ode.
Upon the looming release of No Code there is bound to be much conflict between the Pearl Jam fans of old and those seeking a sign of evolvement into new and unfamiliar terrains. No Code definitely belongs to the latter and differs greatly from Vitalogy.
This is an album where discordancy, rage and frustration is left outside the studio door and is a beautiful coming of age album steeped in vulnerability for a man and band who deserve to be making albums for many more years to come yet.
The Grateful Dead spread their message of peace love and mind expansion across the globe for the better part of three decades. Few believe that there has ever been a more influential band in modern history. But all of this didn't come without great strife. From the beginning there have been several ups and downs with the band and its various members, from personal problems, to lable issues, to the issues they have always had with being on tour for so long. Very few bands are able to keep the same sound to their
album contains an amazing combination of poetic lyrics and edgy music that make it an
“Why The Grateful Dead Were the Greatest American Rock Band:, BlogCritics, BlogCritics, 2014, web, 16 April 2014
In Justin Pearson's memoir, From the Graveyard of the arousal Industry, he recounts the events that occured from his early years of adolesence to the latter years of his adulthood telling the story of his unforgiving and candid life. Set in the late 1970s "Punk" rock era, From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry offers a valuable perspective about the role culture takes in our lives, how we interact with it and how it differs from ideology.
One of the songs on this album, "Gravedigger" might stand out to one who has listened to the band before. Instead of displaying a hippie, live life to its fullest theme, the idea in this song is of life leading to death. The narrator, Dave, is introducing us in first person to four different people who are all in turn brought together by a gravedigger. Dave speaks to the gravedigger, although never answered, in the song by asking, " Will...
The album begins with the hard-rocker “Come Together”. The song is a perfect example of John Lennon’s rock influence in the Beatles. “Come Together” is a song that’s popularity has been revived due to its appearances in many commercials. Its trademark chorus, “Come together right now over me”, is known just about everywhere. Ringo’s heavy drums and John’s deep poetic lyrics drive the song, while Paul’s voice and George’s sharp guitar contribute to the body of this song. John Lennon was well known for his creative lyrics. His mind provided lyrics for such insightful songs such as “Across the Universe” and “A Day in the Life”.
The biggest influential song on Nirvana’s Nevermind album was the first song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It reached number 6 on the Top 40 Charts. This song was groundbreaking for Nirvana and the alternative music scene as a whole. After the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” white, middle-class youth of the United States finally had a style of music to call their own and express their “teenage anthems” (Stuessy, Joe). This was the first song to emerge from alternative rock and to be known in the mainstream of rock and roll, expressing their generation’s expectations, “...here we are now, entertain us”(Stuessy, Joe). “Smells like Teen Spirit” was Curt Cobain’s “attempt to write the ultimate pop song”(Nevermind, Nirvana). He used the soft-loud dynamics of his favorite band, the Pixies. The insidious hooks also showed his admiration for the Beatle’s John Lennon(Nevermind, Nirvana). The style used in this song is simple, plain, loud, and straight-forward. Musically, there is nothing very “innovative” or difficult. However, the reason it is important to rock history is because it brought America’s attention to the once before underground style of grunge. “A driving drum beat, powered by Novelsek’s rhythmic bass, and a memorable guitar riff and solo, mix perfectly with Kurt Cobain’s depressing yet humorous lyrics” (Kastner, Patrick). While it has certainly been overplayed in the past years, it is still an essential part of Rock history.
Josh Tillman, a.k.a. Father John Misty, is a man who sees himself as a kind of modern day prophet for skepticism and cynicism. One would be hard-pressed to find a more unique, modern musician. He carries himself with a kind of raw, mountain-man type crudity, which is then manifested in his violently honest and intelligent lyrics. Specifically in reference to his latest album, ‘I Love You, Honeybear,’ one finds an honest, self-aware, yet pervasively cynical Tillman. The anti-hero in a love album which is decidedly an anti-love album.
Most things have their beginnings in something small: a word, a breath, or idea; but not music. Music begins with a single vibration. It explodes and carries on, morphing worlds of unrelated personas. It lives rampantly in the mouths of millions of unruly and free-spirited teenagers, like a fever. The rock 'n roll trend that defiantly rose against the conformist ideology of the mid-twentieth century left remnants that commenced the start of a progressing society: a culture that redefined the rules of society and pushed social and moral limits while addressing social concerns.
Jerry Garcia’s life was filled with wonderful things, many of which he never expected in the first place. After an almost fatal heroin overdose in 1986, “ Garcia philosophically stated, ‘ I’m 45 years old, I’m ready for anything, I didn’t even plan on living this long so all this shit is just add-on stuff.’ ” (“Garcia”) This attitude shows why Garcia did all of the things he did and even how some of them came about. Garcia, who “functioned as the preeminent pied piper of the rock era,” led a life of great artistic ability which he used in many ways(“Grateful Dead_ Rockhall”).
On November 9, 2013 I witnessed a band called Paramore perform at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. This performance was one of the stops in their tour called The Self-Titled Tour. The tour also consist of two other bands called Metric and Hellogoodbye. The tour began in Bangkok, Asia on February 12, 2013. And it will end on March 11, 2014 on small island in Miami called the Great Stirrup Cay. Even though Paramore music is given the characteristic of being emo because most of their fans are emo and the image the band members have while performing, its identity is an alternative rock band that combines punk rock music with pop music. Paramore is identified as religious because their creativity and inspiration comes from their Christian religion and is then shown in their lyrics.
The early days were not easy for the bnd. They had few gigs to play and received little money. They had great confidence in themselves. They knew they could make it. The gigs they did play were at small colleges, or pubs. They were glad to show their ability even if the crowd was small. The songs they wrote were improving, and they were learning how to execute an exciting live show. Before long, they were hungry for a record deal. They went to every company, but no one would sign them. Finally in 1972 Trident records signed Queen, along with two other bands as a package. Atleast now, Queen had sufficient studio time. Meanwhile they were making a name for themselves with their live performances. They were loud and energetic, and a following was beginning to assemble. Recording for Trident was not all they had hoped it would be. They...
...orgettable. Research shows that “There’s this unifying force that comes from the music and we don’t get that from other things.”(Landau) Bruce Springsteen is a great storyteller and has captured some of the experiences of the American working class. Even when the lyrics are dark or the subject matter is depressing, he manages to provide hope, too. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been playing Springsteen’s music. When I hear a song of his now, it reminds me of driving down the road with the windows down belting out a song with my mom. As Dave Marsh from Creem Magazine prophetically wrote in 1975, “Springsteen’s music is often strange because is has an almost traditional sense of beauty, an inkling of the awe you can feel when, say, first falling in love or finally discovering that the magic in the music is also in you.” (Bruce Springsteen Biography 2)
Their musical stint as a band lasted just under a decade, but their musical prowess still echoes