SR-71 is an rock band that was formed right next door in Baltimore, Maryland. As you may know, SR-71 is also the name of a supersonic aircraft that is used by the U.S. Air Force. SR-71 has gained renown for their singles "Right Now" and "Tomorrow."
Korn is an American metal band that was formed in 1993. Korn has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and have won two Grammy awards (they were nominated six times in total). Korn is seen as a pioneer band for the genre of nu metal even though the band's members don't all agree that this is the proper genre for their music. The members state that the term nu metal doesn't mean anything. Korn is simply Korn and nothing else.
Tenacious D is a band that was formed from the acoustic duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Critics have dubbed the duo's style of music as mock rock. This is because of their rock music which is used as a basis for absurd and vulgar songs. At times they also use music to tell stories, an example of such as song is "Tribute." Tenacious D has been the subject of a television series as well as a movie. The members played themselves in both the series and the movie, but the plots of both movies are fictional.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I generally listen to 98 Rock in the afternoons. During the morning however, I prefer to listen to Mix 106.5. Just like 98 Rock, they play songs in the afternoons and have a talk show portion in the morning. Surprisingly though, the talk show for this station is very entertaining. They have contests and giveaways every day. It's always fun to listen to.
Many people have the belief that people play Guitar Hero because they can't play any actual instruments and they want to feel like they can. I feel that this idea is ludicrous. I play Guitar Hero because I like to listen to songs and the game presents a challenge that I can't resist. Obviously, I don't believe that I can play guitar just because I can play Guitar Hero. Anyone who does definitely has a different mentality than me.
Ever since I started taking Digital Audio at my school, I began to listen more closely to any music that I hear. A result of this was evident while I was playing Zelda the other day. Since then, I have been listening to game soundtracks to find what I thought was my favorite. I must say that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has the best soundtrack out of any game that I have played. If you have ever played the game, you may know some of how I feel. Also, when we watched Koyaanisqatsi in class it seemed like I was the only person who actually liked most of it. I think that the movie was just a tad bit long, but overall I enjoyed the experience because of the amazing music.
Too many times I have heard bands that I like being insulted as "emo" music. Really? What type of music would be made if a song was devoid of emotion? Okay, techno is an exception to this rule, but that is the only exception. Just because a song is a little bit different in communicating it's message doesn't mean the message or the messenger is any less legitimate. Another sub-category to the emo music is dubbed "screemo." Now this is just ridiculous. Every other music genre known to man has been named based on the style of music played. Emo music is dubbed such just because of the lyrics. This encompasses such a large group of music that it makes no sense. Don't profile music in such an unfair way. Some music can actually fit with this title, but it still doesn't make the music bad.
Radio is a topic that I have yet to cover on this blog and one that I hope to get more into soon. 98 Rock is one of the two stations that I listen to most often in my car. 98 Rock is characterized by it's morning talk show with Mickey, Amelia, and Spiegel and it's dedication to rock music. Really, the morning show is the only downside to the station in my eyes. Sometimes they can be funny, but I'd usually rather listen to the music they could play in the morning. The music they play suits my tastes quite well, so I generally listen to 98 Rock every day one the way home from school.
Bands that use music as a form of comedy seem to be severely underrated nowadays. Frankly, music is one of the best forms of comedy to me. Jonathan Coulton is one singer who uses comedy a great deal simply because his songs don't make much sense otherwise. Flight of the Conchords is another band which focuses mainly on comedy and has enjoyed a great deal of success. On the other hand, I recently saw a comedian named Stephen Lynch who mainly uses music as a median for his comedy act. Both are fully legitimate in both aspects, and I never tire of the hilarious songs.
There is one good thing that I will say about country, and that is it's being distinctly American in origin. Other than that I really hate country. Now, I realized that some people have varying opinions on different types of music and I understand that many people like the style. I just can't bring myself to like a style which, for the most part, seems to be based on lyrics. Lyrics are important, but I also need a variety of instruments in my music. Just saying, that's what I think.
