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.".