Okay, This is my essay for English. Its a bit shorter than 5 pages, but it is seriously killing me.
Throwing yourself down on the bed, angry. Sleepless nights spent crying. Repressed feelings of rage, regret and remorse. Sound familiar? How can anyone possibly deal with this? Listening to music.
Webster dictionary defines music as the “the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity”. Technically, yes, yes it is. But not truly. Music is like the stars decided to spit out unicorns who carry the weak until they get stronger. Music is what feelings sound like. Music is our friend when everyone else leaves.
Choosing my favorite type of music is difficult. Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Blues, R&B, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Latino. Each one speaks to me, tugging at my heart a little more with each new song. Rock, though. Rock is my absolute favorite. Just in general, I couldn’t ever pick my favorite sub-genre.
Speaking of sub-genres, there are a lot. Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Folk Rock, Alternative Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop Rock, Punk Rock, Progressive Rock…. and so many more. Each of these spawned at least one hundred others, each growing off in different directions, with people putting their spin on it and making it their own.
Garage Rock bands include The White Stripes, The Black Keys, The Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys. Psychedelic Rocks bands, like the legendary Pink Floyd, are bands such as the The Bees, The Move, and The Dead. Examples of Blues Rock are The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton. Mumford and Sons, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young sing Folk Rock. Nirvana, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, and Green Day are all Alt. Rock. Heavy Metal is Metallica, Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue. Pop Rock is more what you’d call soft or fruity or whichever adjective you wish, with Avril Lavigne, The Plain White Tees, Maroon 5, and OneRepublic(one of my favorites). Punk Rock has Fall Out Boy, The Offspring, Blink 182, and Dead Kennedys. Progressive Rock is like Yes, Genisis, and Gentle Giants.
If you were to ask me what my favorite band is, I’d have a terrible time trying to answer you. I love so many, and they all sing differently so its ridiculous to ask me a question like that. Hollywood Undead is a major yes, don’t say a word against them as my love is immense and I am liable to yell at you. If classified, they would be Rap Rock, like Linkin Park. Their most popular songs are probably Bullet and We Are, which are amazing songs. Dead In Ditches, City, and The Diary are some of favorites, but it is a threat to my health to actually choose. Their new song, Day of the Dead, is a gift to humanity, I promise you.
Another favorite of mine is Twenty One Pilots. Electronic/Punk, it’s made of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. They have a record deal with Fueled by Ramen, (Which, in case you didn’t know, is a pretty awesome company. They have deals with a lot of other good bands, like Paramore and Panic! At the Disco.) and they have one album with them, called Vessel, as well as two self-released albums. Car Radio is probably the one you’ve heard, if you listen to the right radio stations. Every single one of their songs makes me feel like “Hey, I’m not by myself”. I love Migraine, Guns for Hands, and Semi-Automatic. And Holding on to You. And Fake You Out, and Ode to Sleep. I believe you get the picture.
As I mentioned before, OneRepublic is one of my favorites. They are a Pop Rock band that has a following that includes people from all walks of life. The lead singer’s name is Ryan Tedder, and he founded the band in 2002. Mr.Tedder here is a soul-speaker. His voice is heaven, and I still haven’t heard a song of theirs I don’t like, although I prefer their older music to the new. Their most well known song is probably Secrets (In the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.!), but my favorite is All We Are.
I also have a thing for Pierce the Veil. Vic Fuentes, Mike Fuentes, Jaime Preciado, and Tony Perry are quite perfect looking. They released their debut album in 2007, called “A Flair for the Dramatic”. Everyone says King for a Day and Bulletproof Love are their best songs, but I disagree. Stay Away From My Friends is my favorite, because I get that. Mine. Don’t touch. I need them to carry me.
Recently, I’ve had an infatuation with The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I mean, I’ve always liked them, but in the past two week I’ve been listening to them a lot. Scar Tissue is an excellent song, and who hasn’t experienced the loneliness he speaks about? I really like Can’t Stop, and the video is sick. They are an old band, as they formed in 1983, but their music lives on. Their music still speaks to the kids of this generation, and I believe they will be one of those bandsthat are remembered for centuries.
Green Day, the Canadian band of guys who don’t want to be American idiots, is another wonderful band. Everyone seems to know at least one of their songs, and they get that life sucks, you lose people you care about, and that being in love can hurt. Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and 21 Guns, if you were wondering. Fronted by Billy Joe Armstrong has fronted the band since the beginning in 1987, along with Mike Dirnt, the bassist. In 2012 Jason White became a full member after being a sub guitarist and playing while they were on tour for 13 years, and Tre Cool has been their drummer since 1990(He replaced John Kiffmeyer). They currently have 16 studio albums, nearly 300,000 subscribers on Youtube, and millions of people who love them entirely.
Blink 182 is another oldie, but I still love them a lot. The trio is made up of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker, and the band formed 22 years ago. Their songs consist of many different elements. Their most popular song -ever- is All The Small Things, but I love After Midnight. It’s one of their new songs, and the video shows a boy and a girl sneaking around in their psychiatric ward after midnight. It’s really quite beautiful, and I still haven’t gotten tired of playing it. It’s on the album Neighborhoods, last of eight albums.
Everyone has their opinions about what genre of music is best. I suppose there isn’t a right answer, not for everyone. There are major differences in music genres, and then very very minor ones where they merge together. All types of music relate to one another, yet they can contrast drastically.
Country vs. Rock is a much debated subject, and I shall give you my reasons as to why Rock could beat Country up. First, rock artists tend to use more complicated music, with more complicated chord progressions, a more complicated melody, and a wider range of chords. While this isn’t true for all artists, as it could be vice versa, this tends to be the case. For example, if you were to try and learn to play a rock song vs. a country song, the country song would be easier to learn. Second, there is variety. It’s easier to distinguish rock artists from one another, while it’s harder to distinguish country artists. I do realize this isn’t true for all people, and I am able to tell who a lot of country artists are by their voice, but it’s much simpler in rock. Third, Rock music has more meaning. Popular country music is basically the same thing in every song; they want to hook up. Please see Girl In A Country Song by Maddie&Tae. Rock music speaks of feelings, raw emotion that needs to be expressed, and that people can relate to. Fourth, rock music is better to dance and party too.
Now as to Rock vs. Rap. I like rap, although I’m a bit picky about it. The majority of popular rap is about sex and drugs, but you can find plenty about touchier subjects. Eminem, for example, is one of the most well known rappers there is, and for a good reason. He can make the words flow effortlessly, and his words mean something. He can touch the heart of anyone, if he tried hard enough. Rap is great party music, but its more for dancing. You can head-bang to rock, you can get in the mosh pit and scream and merge with every other soul in the room. Rock tends to be more instrument based, with guitars, drums, and bass to express feelings through noise. Rap is more vocally centered, expressing it through words as a movement rather than basing a lot of it in the beat of the music.
the problems not the problem 