We Will, We Will Rock You- An Article on Rock Music

Mankind has expressed itself in myriad ways. We have drawn, we have written, we have sung. This is an article about singing. It is about music. It features the genre rock. The funniest part of this genre is that there is no genre called rock. When we say rock we mean a number of things. It could be classic rock like The Beatles or The Who; it could be psychedelic rock like The Grateful Dead, it could be soft rock like Dire Straits. It could have power chords, it could be acoustic...the possibilities are endless.

I am going to try to talk about rock for a while and why it appeals to us. A good rock song is like a really attractive person- it plays with your senses. Just like the person has certain qualities you like such as their smile or the way they walk, a rock song has it's chords and its lyrics. Sometimes its the lyrics that stand out- they can be simple ones like in The Beatles hit Help!: "Help me get my feet back on the ground" or they can be complicated like in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody which is an a Capella, ballad as well as an opera in one.

Do you see the versatility here? The many permutations and combinations that can be pulled off with just a few guitars and a set of drums? Bit by bit, beat by beat, riff by riff a rock song is born. Look at the opening of Dire Straits' Money for Nothing as an example. Powerful drumming backed up by a riff that is in sync. Guns and Roses  gave us Sweet Child o Mine with a riff so iconic that it's all you need  to identify the song and the band. Pink Floyd did it with their words: "We don't need no education" . You don't. You don't even need an ear. You just need to understand English to appreciate rock. Perhaps that is why it is the genre everyone uses to introduce their children to music.

Rock is simple, but oh so complex. Look at Led Zeppelin. Look at Stairway to Heaven. Look at Tangerine. Look at The Who with their song My Generation. Look at The Grateful Dead's Scarlet Begonias. These songs gave birth to progressive rock. Without these bands there would be no Arctic Monkeys or Porcupine Tree.

Growing up, I had Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, The Beatles, The Eagles, Oasis, Nirvana, Cream, The Who and so many other bands to listen to. They all appealed to me. They were all simple yet complex. Some made me want be a guitarist. Others made me sad. They were all attractive.

I guess that is what rock is. A powerful electromagnet that attracts you to it, pulls you into its field and doesn't let you go. Rock is a friend in need, a companion in times of loneliness and an aphrodisiac rolled into one.

So turn the volume up and listen! 

The Bilge Master