I Like It Loud!
“I like rock music” this simple statement makes people think I enjoy loud music with an electric guitar score, sung by skinny dudes with long unkempt hair, clothes ripped in random places, who are addicted to alcohol and a variety of drugs. First of all that is hard metal, this is only a type of rock music!
Rock music is volatile and an unpredictable kind of music that has been redefined through the years since its emergence in the 1940s. In the past sixty years there emerged different kinds of rock music, classic, punk, progressive, alternative, soft, indie, disco and rock and roll.
It all began in the 1940s where, the popular styles of country and blues were morphed together along with the aid of electric guitar and a steady drum beat to form the early rock music. Most of the music was based on the structure of blues like that of Elvis Presley and Fat Dominos. Chuck Barry, the Rolling Stones and The Beatles embraced sexual freedom and youthful rebellion and shocked the conservative society. They brought rock music to a new cultural height.
The 1970s saw the birth of heavy metal and punk rock. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath gave rock a darker, heavier tone in the form of heavy metal. It remains till date the most popular and misunderstood form of rock music and also has the most loyal fan base. Punk bands like Pink Floyd, Sex Pistols and The Clash adopted rude attitude, loud guitars and enraged singing. They were considered the voice of the popular hippie movement at that time.
In the 1980s and 1990s mainstream rock lost its commercial value. Alternative form of rock became popular. Grunge, which is a mixture of hard rock and Punk, became dominant. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and The U-Men were an integral part of the Grunge movement.
Indie rock, bands that re signed by small- independently owned labels are popular. Oasis, Arctic Monkeys managed to bring a new kind of rock. Linken Park fuses Hip-hop and metal, while 3 Doors Down is a hard rock band with a contemporary spin.
Rock bands in the 21st century have found their own perfect blend of different kinds of music. Coldplay, U2, Jimmy Eat World, Counting Crows, Simple Plan, Green Day, Paramore, Slipknot and ACDC are all united under the banner of rock music but have their own separate kind of sound.
