Artists we liked

The artists that stood out to me the most in class were The Police, Talking Heads, and The Romantics. The Police are a true band, more so than what we call Blondie or even KISS. The Police consistently deliver a variety of songs within their own style, but are willing to experiment with different types of music. We listened to their album Synchronicity, and while there were times when I wanted the music to just stop and skip to the next song while they experimented with sound, they delivered with some gems such as Miss Gradenko and Synchronicity II. Talking Heads had an awesome song called Burning Down the House, which is simply hard not to sing along to. The Romantics had one really big hit- What I Like About You, but also had some other cool songs like Talking in Your Sleep and Rock You Up.

1981 song choice

Joan Jett's "I Love Rock n' Roll" shared the name of the album it was featured on, which she recorded with her back group, The Blackhearts. The anthem-like song caught anyone's attention and accounted for plenty of success. Joan Jett was the most prominent female musician since Blondie, and used her image of a "rough around the edges" character to benefit songs such as this.

70s vs the 80s

The 1970s saw the rise of arena rock with the world introduction to the godliness of Led Zeppelin and the mastery of The Rolling Stones. This saw the megastar, Bruce Springsteen, take over the nation by storm and become a patriotic symbols of music.
The 1980s gave a stage to synth rock music and the decade stressed the importance of music on television (MTV) as a cornerstone to success or failure. Music videos helped the likes of Devo and Genesis, two synth rock groups. The decade hosted excellence that came in the form of U2 and R.E.M., which truly took popularity across the nation by storm.

70s synopsis

The era of the 1970s was comprised of some big names, as well as some not as well known big hits from some smaller-following groups. It ranged from catchy pop music from bands such as Journey, Kansas, and Chicago to the harder rock by Lynrd Skynrd and the hybrid Bee Gees. Some more rock crowds that grew prominent were Aerosmith, Kiss, and even Alice Cooper. Of course, there was always the popular Bruce Springsteen who drew gigantic followings throughout the decade.

77/78 like/dislike

In 1977 and 1978, there were several artists that we listened to in class. Among them were Blondie and Fleetwood Mac. Blondie gained fame through the punk scene, and released an ultra hit with "One Way Or Another", a catchy and repetitive anthem sound, and "Hanging on the Telephone". Blondie became as well liked as disliked by those who saw the songs as annoying. I can see both sides, but personally thought Blondie was kind of unnerving at times. Fleetwood Mac released a very listenable, near masterpiece of an album with Rumours in 1977, which contained a calm "Songbird" and a melodic "Dreams". I really enjoyed listening to Fleetwood Mac, and would certainly buy the album.

Punk vs Rock

In the latest era we've gone over in class, punk rock and rock and roll have been the prominent genres. Among the big names are the Police, Iggy Pop, and Blondie. These groups defined punk rock through theatrics and carelessness for both how they behaved and how they treated the crowd at times. They seemed to have this "it" factor that venues looked for, namely CBGB and Hilly Krystal. Rock's big names were Fleetwood Mac, Cheap Trick, and Chicago. These bands were huge during the time and reached their peak during this era. Taste in music was considered to be limited to one of the two genres, meaning a split between favorites.

Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen

Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen have both been known to write about relatable struggled through superior songwriting and performance, resulting in massive success and fanbases. Tom Petty, known for his passion and conviction on stage, the group was self-defined by Damn the Torpedoes, a make it or break it type album that actually sounded like a Greatest Hits album. Springsteen found success by winning over crowds with a system to buy into. This was most apparent with the super-patriot, borderline cheesy "Born in the U.S.A.".

Music in 1975

The year of 1975 was comprised of significant events and band accomplishments in music. Elton John's Greatest Hits were released to start off the year, which made ripples. But this was followed up by the huge release of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. Bob Dylan left his mark with the Number 1 album Blood on the Tracks. The cult-following band, Nazareth, had a top ten hit with "Love Hurts". Aerosmith had a huge year with the release of Toys in the Attic, a re-release of "Dream On" and a top 40 hit with Sweet Emotion. The group with the considerably biggest year was The Eagles, with a number one album and three top 5 hits off of that, including "One of These Nights", which went number one.

Rush 2112 and Led Zeppelin IV album comparison

Both Rush's 2112 and Led Zeppelin's IV were stand out albums for each band. But while Led Zeppelin was already on the music scene, Rush's major breakthrough was in the form of this album. Relatively unknow earlier, the Canadian band burst onto the scene with their definitive spacey-sounding album, complete with guitar emphasis, constant drums, and pleasantly strained vocals. Led Zeppelin was a fairly successful group before their groundbreaking album and their classic single Stairway to Heaven, but that didn't stop them from creating the most modeled guitar instrumentals of any song in the history of Rock n' Roll with Stairway to Heaven. Zeppelin's IV and Rush's 2112, were both the staple albums of the groups that made them.

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon- Album Opinion Review

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon may be one of the most complete and space-like albums I've heard. It was nothing like the bands with one hit wonders hidden like a diamond in the rough of their album. It was a continuation of a masterpiece of musical experimentation that even the dub-step DJ's of today would adore. The beginnings of each songs made me think to myself that "there's no way they could form this into a melody", but deeper in it all comes together and it's just impressive. The collage of sound in songs such as "Speak To Me" and "Time" seemed so modern to my ears that I was amazed that this kind of music could have been made in 1973.

1970's "Glam" Rock Era

The "glam" era of Rock n' Roll consisted of talented musicians with a twist on performance styles. The time period of glamorous musicians became the norm as artists were resorting to, thriving off of, and eventually expected to, be just as entertaining to watch as they were to listen to. For some artists, such as David Bowie and his reptilian appearance, and Identity Crisis who dressed in full drag, the glam trend became a lifestyle. Artists of the era were known not only for their glittering femininity while performing, but some bands had their classically constructed styles of writing music.