Rock and Alternative Music Appreciation and Practices

I heard a song recently, a pop single entitled tik tok by: Ke$ha. The songs lyrics include lines such as: “all da boys want to touch my junk”, “and brush my teeth with a bottle of jack, caus when I leave, I know I aint coming back”.

This song is a prime example of the trashy “lets party and have sex with many patners” pattern of lyrics I have noticed in many recent songs. Now il admit that some of my favorite bands have sung about things close to nonesense like R.E.M. and some Pixies tunes, but at least these guys didnt give a blatantly bad influence like Ke-dollar sign-ha.

I love punks. The Sex Pistols werent good people. John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), the frontman, was and still is a seriously @#$%ed up individual (ex/two arrests for sexual assault and much more). Dont get me started on Mr. Vicious. But, they did have passion. Their rough abrasive songs embodied all of their rage against society. Just listen to the dripping sarcasm of “God Save the Queen”. Their music had purpose. And that, in my opinion is art!! At least the pistols were artists.

Other artists have given true meaning to their music as well. The clash wrote songs about such topics as racial opression, growing up in an urban enviroment, and being unsatisfied with the government. Pink Floyd wrote about true human nature and the simple desire that their founding member was well enough to continue playing with them, (ex/wish you were here). Patti Smith was a rock artist who basically sang her poetry while her band played, check out the album “Horses”, to find out what I mean.

Im not saying that I despise music without a deep human meaning behind it. A great indie band I was recently introduced to called “The Drums”, writes songs about going surfing, being dumped, and youth in general. Kind of like “The Beach Boys”. Check them out.

http://www.myspace.com/thedrumsforever

I came across a post on Theindierockdigest. It discussed how free music downloads can actualy help someone trying to profit off of their music. The article tells about how anybody trying to strictly market their music online will never have their music heard. It states that pirating is the way people can discover music faster and easier. The band or artist can then become known in their community and land more gigs.

I agree that no matter how much I hate it, pirating could help me get my music heard some day. I believe nowadays a band must rely on landing solid gigs and selling merchandise. I mean how often do you hear a teenage girl say “mom, can you drive me to best buy so I can get the new ___ album?” not very often, in reality she just logs onto her computer to limewire and get the album herself, free of charge.

So becoming heard by the public is a lot harder than it used to be. Guys in bands must continue gigging and hope that rowdy college dude at their gig begins to tell his buddies about the totally righteous band he heard at the bar the other night. You just have to keep trying and gigging. However, if a band gains recognition by the public and somehow gets a major recording contract, in my opinion, they should back off.

Todays mainstream pretty much forces you to sell your soul. I say, remember where you came from, stay true to your rusty indie roots, it looks virtuous to do so too.
check out the article im talking about below
http://www.theindiedigest.com/article/4-reasons-give-your-music-away-free

Hey Anthony, this is a school project I was told to ping you, please respond my man.
I chose your latest post to ping
http://moranmustangs.org/anthony/2009/10/07/what-are-my-interest/

Rock is more than notes and chords, it is a soulful expression. When I put in an album like Dark Side of the Moon, Sgt. Pepper, or Doolittle. I dont just listen, I get chills and feel the music course up my spine. Im not crazy. And if your a fan, you’ll understand.

Im not sure what it is that causes these emotions. It could be a strong drum beat like in “wave of mutilation”, an awesome lead guitar like in “where is my mind?”, or deep philosophical lyrics like in “breath”, I just cant explain it. Rock has been used to express many things.

1970s punk rockers like the Sex Pistols focused all their rage against British society into their abrasive songs. Pink Floyd wrote songs about revealing deep human truths. The Beach Boys wrote about life youthful living in california. And many wrote and continue to write about love, however one must be warned, writing uninspired love songs can lead one away from creativity and a true opportunity to express ones true self in the music.

If you want to learn about the evolution of rock then check this out

Time

Hey, this is the first post of my rock/alternative based blog. I have never been a fan of rap and appreciate old rock and alternative music.

I learned some guitar for about a year and have now started bass playing. My ultimate goal is to learn how to make my own brand of rock by learning music theory and play in a band. However, school and my other commitments often block these goals for me. I am not able to practice that often.

I still love the music want to spread that love to you. My favorite musicians are: The Clash, Pink Floyd, Pixies, Coldplay, David Bowie, and of course The Beatles. I also like Radiohead, The Doors, Chicago and a lot more.

Debaser (click for an awesome Pixies song)