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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

Australian
hard-rock/heavy-metal
band AC/DC features
knickers-clad guitarist
Angus Young, who becam...

Avril Lavigne

The logical next step after
the late-'90s/early-'00s
teen-pop explosion was a
more rock-oriented but
every bit as market-teste...

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

The Dave Matthews Band
(DMB) emblazoned the 1990s
with its hybrid of jazz, folk,
and world music with a
distinct pop sensibility. B...

David Bowie

A consummate musical
chameleon, David Bowie
created a career in the '60s
and '70s that featured his
many guises: folksinger, a...

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

The Foo Fighters were the
first and most successful
success to emerge from the
ashes of Nirvana, but the
band's roots were in the...

Jack Johnson

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

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was one of
rock's few true originals.
He was one of the most
innovative and influential
rock guitarists of the late '...

Led Zeppelin

It wasn't just Led Zeppelin's
thunderous volume,
sledgehammer beat, and
edge-of-mayhem
arrangements that made it...

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

The Rolling Stones began
calling themselves the
"World's Greatest Rock & Roll
Band" in the late '60s, and
few disputed the claim. T...

U2

U2 began the '80s as a
virtually unknown
"alternative" group and
ended the century as one
of the most widely follow...

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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