Archive for the ‘Country Music’ Category
Friday, September 5th, 2008 |
The blues is a form of music that can be vocal, instrumental (blues guitar) or both. It utilises the ‘blue’ notes which are accomplished on a ‘minor pentatonic’ scale almost all the time, otherwise recognised as the blues scale.
Blues music was inferred from the African-American communities in the U.S. out of job songs, spiritual songs, field hollers, chants, shouts and elementary ballads that rhymed. A lot of aspects of the blues are indicitive of African roots
The call-and-response aspect of the music came immediately from African origins and there were a lot of riffs that would get duplicated thrice or more. This later developed into a line repeating twice and then on the third time around there would be an ‘answer line’. You will be able to still discover these characteristics of early blues in modern day music, especially hip-hop.
The term ‘The Blues’ refers to the ‘blue devils’ which signifies down spirits or unhappiness.
The blues guitar brings a essential role in blues music as well as modern-day music. It has influenced Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Bluegrass and even heavy rock genres The original blues of the early 1900′s, otherwise known as “poor man’s blues” was usually associated with hard times, oppressiveness from white folk, cruelness of the police, gambling, economic depression, floods, magic, farming and dry periods. This music was fueled by a lot of brokenheartedness and anger. Typically a lost loved one or an overall harsh surrounding prompted the lyrics and the tone of the blues guitar.
After the world war, you start to see blues songs that were about relationships and sex. Also, wit was widened to the mix. Here is a funny example:
“That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… I said That must be your woman, cause mine don’t look like that… Have you seen my baby? She’s so big and fat…”
The blues guitar style came forth from the American South’s instruments of the time which were the banjo and the Diddley Bow. This was a home made one stringed instrument that was popular in the early 20th century. Figures such as Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Son House and Blind Willie McTell were a part of the delta blues style which used a lot of finger picking techniques and slide guitar innovations.
Eventually, after WWII ‘electric blues’ became increasingly popular where the blues guitar was played on electric guitars as were the bass guitars. This was most prevalent in the Chicago area.
The history of blues guitar and poor man’s blues is rich with culture and chronicles of good times and bad. I could go on for days about the history of the blues guitar but let’s make this part 1 so you don’t fall asleep on me!
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Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 |
There are so many methods for any avid fan to download 90′s rock music. The 90′s is indeed such a huge decade in the history of rock music. This is because around this time, many rock bands in the music industry have certainly come up with their own innovative styles, which in turn, have defined them even more.
There are actually a lot of reasons why the option to download 90′s rock music from the Internet is becoming quite popular these days. For one thing, the Internet has long become one of the most turn-to resources for just about anything under the sun.
It did not take too long for webmasters all over the world to recognize the fact that much money can indeed come from downloading music online. This has certainly become more than a fad right now because this is indeed one of the many online businesses that are garnering much profit.
The first batch of online music sites that offered music files were the $0.99 per download services. At that price, you may download a piece of music or song. However, as time goes by and newer music file formats appearing on the scene, even $0.99 is apparently too expensive.
Peer-to-peer was a great idea for people to share home brew music files over the internet. But careless users have abused the networks by flooding them with songs that are patented or carry a degree of copyright. This led to music infringement policies to prevent such abuse. That however made way to paid music services that allow you to download 90′s rock music without getting into any form of trouble.
For the most part, these websites offer its visitors a chance to download music files to their heart’s content. However, you still need to become a member of the site itself, and to become a member, you will have to pay a monthly fee. Once this payment has been made, you can then have unlimited access to all of their music files, and you can download all kinds of rock music already.
Another significant benefit is the wide selection of music genres. You get more than just 90′s rock music. If you are a hip hop fan, you will find your hip hop music there. If you are a fan of R&B, rap, pop or classical music, be sure to search their libraries for your desired titles. It is different from free sites as the downloading is done in a secured interface protected from adware, spyware and viruses.
Such an option is a no-brainer for most music lovers as many can now download 90′s rock music safely and affordably.
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Friday, August 29th, 2008 |
You can now buy rock music easily. We are not referring to buying physical CDs of course. Anyone can now download and buy rock music from online services. Nowadays, the web has opened many doors for music fanatics to get all genres of music conveniently.
Even though there is a camp of diehard CD fans, it is an undisputed fact that to buy rock music online is where the future is. Have you ever find yourself in a situation where you only like 1 song in a CD but is forced to buy the entire album? I am sure many of us have at one point of time been in such a dilemma. It can be costly isn’t it? Buying songs online means that you can just purchase the exact song you want.
There are many websites online that offers such download services. Simply do a search using Google, Yahoo or MSN and you probably will land yourself on tons of results and sites to choose from.
If you do not find the idea of buying music online as a new one, then you surely must have heard of that racket of buying songs for 99 cents a piece not too long ago. This service did garner much popularity; however, the same degree of popularity just does not exist today. With the advent of MP3s and such, this option no longer holds well with music fans all over the world. This brings us to latest racket in purchasing rock music, which are the paid membership sites.
These are the websites that allow you to download rock music to your heart’s content. However, you would have to pay a monthly membership fee to have unlimited access to their vast collection of music files. Best of all, this is a legal service, so you won’t have to worry about violating any music infringement policies anymore.
Yet, we understand that some would rather still opt for the free download sites. However, you need to know that many users have complained about the risk of exposing their MP3 players and computers to damage from corrupted files, viruses and malware. These are the perils when you download rock music from them.
As such, it is always advisable to purchase rock music from paid membership services.
What’s more, these paid membership sites are legally affiliated with major record labels all over the world. Thus, when you buy rock music from them, you are still giving the rock musicians the money that they deserve to get from you.
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Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 |
On this thirteenth birthday, an English boy – an illegitimate son of a soldier – picked up his first acoustic guitar from his grandparents.
Despite his love for blues music, he found learning to play so challenging he almost gave up. He practised for many long hours, hanging on to learn chords and trying to imitate and mimic the sounds and tone of his blues guitar idols like Big Bill Broonzy by listening to them on his tape machine.
Finding that the study of stained glass design at England’s Kingston College of Art wasn’t right for him, he busked around Kingston, Richmond and London’s West End before joining his first band at age 17 – the Roosters – an R&B outfit, in 1963. From there, Eric Clapton went on to a stunning musical career as an incredibly talented guitar player, singer and songwriter.
His versatility is remarkable, with hits in genres from Delta blues (‘Me & Mr Johnson’), pop (‘Change the world’) and reggae (‘I shot the sheriff’). Nicknamed ‘Slowhand’ for his string-bending blues riffs, Clapton is known as one of the most successful musicians of the 20th century. Do you know that Eric was ‘christened’ Slowhand by the manager of The Yardbirds because when he broke a string [only had 1 telecaster] he took his time replacing it on stage …and let everone wait…including the audience.
With his love of the instrument demonstrated in his amazing collection of about 750 guitars, Eric Clapton is hailed as one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time. How is your musical journey progressing?
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Friday, August 22nd, 2008 |
Her parents are Andrea and Scott Swift. Her brother is Austin Swift. She has written over 200 songs.Her song ‘Mary’s Song (Oh My, My, My)’ was written based on her next door neighbor’s relationship. She never actually dated the boy named Cory in her song ‘Stay Beautiful’.
Her song ‘Tied Together with a Smile’ is about one of her best friends, who was absolutely beautiful. All the girls wanted to be her, all the guys wanted to be with her and then Taylor was shocked to find out that she had an eating disorder. Her song ‘The Outside’ was one of the first song she wrote (she was twelve) and she felt like a complete outcast a school. She wrote the song ‘A Place in this World’ when she was thirteen and had just moved to Nashville. She said that she knew where she wanted to be she just didn’t know how to get there, and through the album, she had found that place.
When Taylor gets bored she likes to conduct random baking experiments in her kitchen. When Taylor is in Tennessee she likes to drive by her ex boyfriends houses.
Taylor’s Favorite Things
Color: White. I know, boring (but, now, think a flowing white cotton skirt blowing in the wind) Food: Cheesecake – yum. Holiday: Christmas Hobby: Driving FAST. Place: Anyplace around a creek. Season: Summer Thing to do: Write songs Thing to write about: LOVE of course! Guitar: Taylor Guitars Artists: Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw Song: “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’” by Tim McGraw Quality in other people : Honesty and sarcasm Movie: “Love Actually”
Taylor Swift was nominated in the Best New Artist category at the 50th Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, she lost to Amy Winehouse. In 2007 Taylor Swift toured with Brad Paisley. In 2007 she won CMT’s “Breakthrough Video of the Year” for her video “Tim McGraw” and was nominated for ACM’s “Top New Female Vocalist”.
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Friday, August 22nd, 2008 |
Seventeen year-old Taylor Swift is the only female artist in Country music history to write or co-write every song on a Platinum selling debut.
Taylor has enjoyed a near meteoric rise to stardom in recent months. One year ago, she was riding around in a rental car visiting radio stations, promoting her first single, “Tim McGraw.” By May of this year, she had just been awarded the fan-voted CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video, and provided one of those “awww” moments during the ACM Awards show, when she serenaded Tim McGraw with his namesake song, then introduced herself to him, “Hi, I’m Taylor.”
Other highlights of Taylor’s debut year have included:
Tours with Rascal Flatts, George Strait and Kenny Chesney. She is currently on tour with Brad Paisley and will join Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul 2007 tour for several dates next month.
Taylor continues to sell in excess of 30,000 albums a week–every week, outselling many of the genre’s superstars. Taylor Swift debuted on the Billboard sales chart at #3 in October of last year, and has been one of Country’s Top 10 sellers for 26 weeks. The CD was RIAA certified Gold in just 13 weeks, and is now Platinum (sales of over 1,000,000 units).
Taylor was named one of AOL’s Best New Artists of the Year, was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as “One to Watch in 2007,” was nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Best New Female Vocalist, and was honored as a breakthrough artist by Music Row magazine with their prestigious Critic’s Pick award.
Taylor’s debut single “Tim McGraw” hit the Top 5 of the country radio charts, reaching over 30 million listeners a week. The song has sold more than 500,000 digital downloads and has been certified Digital Gold, one of only eleven country singles to ever reach this milestone. Her current single, “Teardrops on My Guitar,” is rapidly approaching country’s Top 10, this week reaching #12 with a bullet.
The videos for both of Taylor’s singles have received massive airplay on both CMT and GAC, and both clips have topped the country video charts. She is currently the only country artist with a video in the Top 25 on the Yahoo music chart.
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Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 |
The hillbilly music of the south is a genre of music that is beginning to grow at an immense rate throughout the United States. Originating in Bristol Tennessee, country music is a type of music that integrates the blues, jazz and originally some “hillbilly folk” with a bit of swing, and just recently some pop has been added to the sound. The lyrics represent the “faithfully charted vicissitudes of the working-class life; as Charlie Rich put it, “life’s little ups and downs”. The music is nearly 73 years old, and is just now starting to touch people.
In 1927, a man by the name of Ralph Peer signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, who would later set the sound for country music. Jimmie Rodgers was born in Mississippi and his favorite type of music to sing was “nigger blues”, which is what he brought to the country industry.
African American musicians wound up having a huge impact on the country music sound. Mainly because on one side there was the “colored section” and the “white trash” section. Because of how close the two communities were, the songs that each would sing would influence the other (Scherman, 1994). A lot of the African American sound can be heard through jazz and blues. Many of the early country artists were “hillbillies”, singing their folk music. However, country music is NOT folk music.
When Gene Autry went to Hollywood in 1934 and became “the movies first singing cowboy” the image of the cowboy stuck with the “hillbilly sound” (Scherman, 1994). Gene Autry’s biggest rival was Roy Rogers. Roy Rogers starred in over 100 movies and headed his own television show (Walker, 1997). Roy Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988.
It was only a few years later when he was on top of the charts once again (Walker 1997). In 1934, Rogers formed the Sons of the Pioneers, an early country western band (Walker 1997).
With the help of Bob Wills, western swing was born. “The style was a blend of big band, blues, dixieland, and jazz among others” (Walker, 1997). Originating in Texas and Oklahoma in the 1930′s (Walker, 1997). Bob Wills famous “falsetto cry” of “Ah-hahh” was adopted by the WWII American pilots, whenever the pilots would celebrate a hit. During this time, Southern California became America’s western swing capital (Scherman, 1994).
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Thursday, August 7th, 2008 |
Music fans are always keen to know which are the coolest places to download rock music videos. With MP3 player sales skyrocketing and more generous built-in disk spaces, many are not satisfied with the number of music videos they can get from mainstream sites. There are dozens of websites that offer free downloads while others offer them for a fee. Which are the better ones? Read on and we will know.
Artist Direct is one of the mainstream music video stores where you can find quality video and audio downloads. This is a giant today considering its heavy patronage. Every month, more than 10 million visitors visit them, resulting in well over 270 million page views which is no mean feat at all.
The reason why fans like Artist Direct is simple. They offer a huge range of genres and subgenres. This is like a parent site or online music “encyclopaedia”.
Popular genres and subgenres under the Rock Music category includes Folk Rock, Glam Rock, Garage Rock, Hair Metal, Progressive Rock, Soft Rock, Speed Metal, Southern Rock and so on are available there.
While this is a good choice, Artist Direct does charge a fee for its visitors to download rock music videos from their site.
Another site that makes a great stop to download rock music videos is SectionZ. This can easily become the premier site for downloading music videos for any rock music aficionado. Aside from the impressive features of downloading rock music videos, the website also offers social networking services for its members and visitors.
Whether you are a fan or rock musician, there is a platform for music sharing, discussion on bands, albums and anything related to music. This is fast becoming the gathering hotspot of rock music aficionados. It is also a hotbed for aspiring rock musicians who are starting out.
The third option is to use paid or free services. Free services offer free music but they are notorious for poor security and slow transfer speeds. The paid services on the other hand offer the download service for a flat fee. Once the payment is made, you can download rock music videos as well as songs and music files of all other genres. These are excellent choices for the music fan of this age who wants choices, a wide selection and an easy on the pocket source of music.
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Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 |
Make the most out of the trendy Zune media player by getting your hands on the latest Zune MP3 downloads. It’s quite easy to get these download files since the net is cluttered with Zune download sites. You can even use your creativity and use MP3 resources other than the internet.
To enjoy Zune MP3 downloads, you have to have Zune software ready in your computer. This software enables you to import the files you have downloaded from the internet or already have in your computer. In other words, Zune software manages your Zune files for you and makes using your Zune a lot easier.
Searching online is one of the easiest ways to get a hold of the latest Zune MP3 downloads. One of the best places to go to is Zune Marketplace. This is a websites that asks for a reasonable subscription fee and also uses the Mircrosoft point system. The Zune Marketplace offers unlimited download choices for its members, so why not have a go at it?
There are other websites online that you can consider, too. Zune Pro is one of the best websites to go to if you want only the recent in everything. This site has a huge database and it even gets updated regularly. You don’t have to worry about falling behind in the Zune trend when you access Zune Pro.
Z Downloads is also one website that has managed to stay on one of the top spots. This is a great place to get other media files aside from Zune MP3 downloads like movies, games, and cool software. Visit Z Downloads for a hassle-free download.
Yet another website that has grabbed the attention of many Zune enthusiasts is Zune Downloads. The reason for the rising public interest is their fast download speed. When you download from this website, you don’t have to wait too long to get your hands on your favorite MP3s. Your Zune listening pleasure is literally just a few minutes away in this website.
Veering from the web, another safe way for you to get MP3s to your Zune is by ripping your CD. If you have Zune software, this will get the job done easier for you as it supports audio CD ripping, too. After you’ve ripped your favorite audio files, all you need to do is to convert them to a playable format and put them into your Zune player for you to enjoy.
Visit my blog to learn more about the best places to go for the latest Zune MP3 downloads.
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Monday, June 2nd, 2008 |
The Dixie Chicks are a country/rock music trio from the United States comprising Emily Robison, Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines. They are the highest-selling female band in any musical genre, having sold 36 million albums as of June 2006.
The Dixie Chicks was founded by the sisters Martie and Emily Erwin along with Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy. The Erwin sisters have since married and changed their names to Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, respectively. The Erwin sisters provided the instrumental firepower for the band while Lynch and Macy were the lead singers. All four original members of the Dixie Chicks graduated from Greenhill School in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
Robin Lynn Macy left in late 1992, for a “purer” bluegrass approach, and remained active in the Dallas music scene.
Laura Lynch was replaced in late 1995 by Natalie Maines, the daughter of producer, steel guitar player, and former Chicks’ session player Lloyd Maines. Around the same time, Sony scouted the Chicks and signed them to the newly revived Monument Records label.”Wide Open Spaces” (1998), is the first album released after the original lead vocalist Laura Lynch was replaced by Natalie Maines, the album was the biggest commercial success and sold 12 million copies in U.S.
The Chicks also delivered gleeful revenge epics such as “Goodbye Earl,” the tale of a woman who murders her abusive husband and gets away with it, or raucous, ribald numbers such as “Sin Wagon,” a concert staple rave-up. Both of these tracks contained thematic elements that led to some radio stations removing the Chicks from their playlists, but the group was consistently unapologetic.
The Dixie Chicks became involved in a dispute with their record label regarding royalties and accounting procedures. After the trio quit in disgust, Sony sued the group for failure to complete their contract. The group countersued.
After the two parties reconciled their differences, Home, independently produced by Lloyd Maines, was released in 2002. For tracks not written by the group, outside songwriters were solicited for personal songs that were considered “uncommercial”. Unlike the Chicks’ two previous records, Home was recorded without drums and is dominated by very up-tempo bluegrass and pensive ballads. In addition, the lyrics of the opening track and first single, “Long Time Gone,” explicitly attacked contemporary country music radio, accusing it of ignoring the soul of the genre as exemplified by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams.
Maines’ remark sparked intense criticism; many Americans believed that she should not criticize George Bush. Maines insists, however, “I said it there ’cause that’s where I was.”
By the time of the Dixie Chicks’ August 3 Atlanta show, Maines remarked that they had not heard any boos for a couple of shows; some were heard that night, but the Chicks felt that it was okay, as they supported freedom of speech.
In a September 2003 interview, Maguire told the German magazine Der Spiegel: “We don’t feel a part of the country scene any longer, it can’t be our home anymore.” She noted a lack of support from country stars, and being shunned at the 2003 ACM awards. “Instead, we won three Grammys against much stronger competition. So we now consider ourselves part of the big rock ‘n’ roll family.” However, in an open letter to fans on the Chicks’ website, Maines said Maguire had been misquoted.
In June 2006 an article in the Telegraph quoted Emily Robison on the lack of support from other country music performers, “A lot of artists cashed in on being against what we said or what we stood for because that was promoting their career, which was a horrible thing to do.” Robison continued, “A lot of pandering started going on, and you’d see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism.” Maines commented, “The entire country may disagree with me, but I don’t understand the necessity for patriotism. Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country … I don’t see why people care about patriotism.”Wikinews has related news:Dixie Chicks show documentary at TIFF
The group’s Accidents & Accusations Tour began in July 2006. Ticket sales were strong in Canada and in some Northeastern markets, but notably weak in other areas. A number of shows were cancelled or relocated to smaller venues due to poor sales, and in Houston, Texas, tickets never even went on sale when local radio stations refused to accept advertising for the event. In August, a re-routed tour schedule was announced with a greater emphasis on Canadian dates, where Taking the Long Way had gone five-times-platinum. The tour’s shows themselves generally refrained from any explicit verbal political comments, letting the music, especially the central performance of Not Ready to Make Nice, speak for itself. At a Nov. 5, 2006 concert in Calgary, Alberta the Chicks received a thunderous ovation when the song was over, and the band held up a handwritten sign from a fan that read “Nobody likes a nasty Bush.”
The music video for “Not Ready to Make Nice” was nominated for the 2007 CMT Music Video Awards in the categories of “Video of the Year” and “Group Video of the Year,” however, the video did not win in its nominated categories.
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