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Description of Rock/Pop

 
Just as a Supreme Court justice famously declared that he couldn't define pornography but he knew it when he saw it, there's something silly about trying to describe rock. A basic beat, a little electricity, a hint of sexual abandon, and generous helpings of youth and rebellion have always been the essential ingredients, though fashion and circumstance tend to emphasize different parts of the recipe (and the youthful rebellion is getting harder to spot as wrinkled pioneers the Rolling Stones and the Who plod on). In rock's nascent days, "pop artist" was shorthand for commercially successful, mop-topped musicians. As rock became more ambitious, pop came to denote anything short and sugarcoated with bright melodies and infectious hooks.
 

Rock/Pop Key Artists

 
ABBA

This Swedish foursome's
hooky pop is as popular in
the new millennium as it
was in the group's 1970s
heyday. The name Abba...

AC/DC

There is only one AC/DC.
They play rock 'n' roll that's
more punk than punk and
more metal than metal.
They rule. AC/DC formed i...

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne not only
writes her own songs, she
was the executive
producer of her 2007 album
The Best Damn Thing. She...

Bob Dylan

Whether he's playing folk,
country, rock or blues, Bob
Dylan always channels
songs that are timeless. Bob
Dylan legally changed his...

Dave Matthews Band

South African
singer/guitarist Dave
Matthews formed his funky
pop/rock outfit in Virginia in
the early '90s. Like Q-Tip...

David Bowie

A performer whose career
flagrantly defies convention
with such finesse that fans
not only forgive him, they
worship him. It seems like...

Elvis Presley

From his humble Rockabilly
beginning to his swaggering,
sweaty Las Vegas persona,
Elvis embodied all that was
rock 'n' roll. Elvis cut his f...

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters members have
also played in the Germs,
Sunny Day Real Estate and
(of course) Nirvana. Foo
Fighters were named afte...

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson's warm,
emotive voice and
acoustic-based music often
gets mistaken for Dave
Matthews. Pick a career:...

Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix used feedback,
heavy blues and LSD to
create enduring, influential
rock that expanded the
language of the guitar. Ja...

Led Zeppelin

Zeppelin took the blues and
injected it with satanism,
horniness, and light-speed
guitars, the result became
heavy metal. The name Le...

Linkin Park

Linkin Park are
guitar-slinging scratch
wizards who simultaneously
glorify the big riff while
bowing down to hip-hop....

Madonna

One of pop's most
successful artists, Madonna
is admired for her music as
much as for her maverick
personality. Madonna left...

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's
domination of radio and
television in the 1980s
earned him the nickname
"King of Pop." His first solo...

Neil Young

Since the mid-1960s Neil
Young has staked out the
ground where country,
rock and feedback meet.
From Buffalo Springfield t...

Nickelback

Nickelback are an
Alberta-based nu-metal
band whose track "Leader
of Men" was an alt radio hit.
Initially, Nickelback was a...

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam went from grunge
also-rans to one of the most
popular stadium rock bands
of the 1990s and beyond.
After Mother Love Bone si...

Pink Floyd

The premier psychedelic
band of the 1970s, Pink
Floyd formed in 1965,
incorporating jazz and
insanity into their music....

Prince

A suave Svengali and the
savior of post-Parliament
funk, Prince has found love
on the pop charts since the
1980s. Prince has been co...

Radiohead

Radiohead are one of the
most revered bands of the
1990s and beyond. Quite a
change from their initial
one-hit wonder tag. Radio...

The Beatles

The Beatles gained
enormous popularity with
genius songwriting,
beautiful harmonies and
non-stop experimentation...

The Byrds

The Byrds applied ringing
guitars to Dylan songs,
explored the outer reaches
of psychedelia and
kick-started Country Roc...

The Rolling Stones

Forever the greatest rock
band on the planet, the
Stones have turned their
bluesy brilliance into a way
of life. The Stones' foundi...

U2

The evolution of U2's music
is ongoing, and each record
seems to bring a
never-before-encountered
style to their oeuvre. Oth...

Van Halen

The premier American hard
rock band of the late '70s
and early '80s. Eddie Van
Halen influenced a
generation of guitarists. V...

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