ROCK MUSIC SUBGENRES

A Brief History Of The Evolution Of Rock Music

Rock and Roll■ Rock music originated with rock and roll music in late 1940s /early 1950s USA■ Hybrid genre which had origins in African American music and included

elements of rhythm and blues, gospel, blues, jazz, and country. ■ Combination of black music (rhythm and blues, gospel, blues, jazz) with

elements of country led to a music genre with an interracial audience■ Musicians in this genre included: Bill Haley and His Comets, Elvis Presley,

Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Chuck Berry ■ Rock and roll splintered into the subgenres of rockabilly and doo wop■ Rockabilly was a combination of rock and roll with country (“hillbilly”) music

while doo wop had multi-vocal harmonies and nonsensical background lyrics■ Declined in the late 1950s and early 1960s

Surf Music■ Emerged in the early 1960s■ It got its name from the ‘wet’ sound of the music■ Acoustic■ Influenced by Middle Eastern and Mexican music■ Surf music originated in Southern California■ Musicians included The Del-Tones, The Beach Boys and The Bel-Airs

British Invasion

■ Began in the 1960s.■ Involved British rock bands who used the conventions of American

rock and roll music but also used a high energy beat■ Popular in both Britain and the USA, which is how it gained its name of

the British Invasion■ Contained catchy melodies but often had an aggressive, sexual or

anti-establishment tone■ Bands included The Beatles, The Animals, Them, The Rolling Stones,

and The Yardbirds

Garage Rock

■ Developed in North America in the mid 1960s■ Gained name from the sound being as if it had been rehearsed in a

suburban garage■ Sound was aggressive, incoherent and repetitive■ Bands included the Sonics, the Hunted, Unrelated Segments, and Paul

Revere and the Raiders.

Pop Rock

■ Popular music with a rock sound■ Softer tone than rock and roll to attract a wider audience, allowing this

genre to become mainstream thus more commercial■ Aimed at young people■ Contrasted to previous genres as it avoided being countercultural to

enable it to have a larger audience■ Musicians such as The Everly Brothers, Michael Jackson, Coldplay,

Prince, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Rod Stewart

Classic Rock ■ Rock music focused on a wider context■ Included extended works■ Focused on artistic values, live performance■ Progressive rather than commercial as it didn’t follow trends■ Included a range of subgenres■ These included blues rock, folk rock (traditional and acoustic),

psychedelic rock (experimental and arty), progressive rock (experimented structure and instruments) and glam rock (flamboyant clothing and makeup)

Roots Rock

■ Marked a move away from perceived ‘excesses’ of classic rock■ More ‘stripped back’■ Back to the basics of rock and roll with influences of country and folk■ Bands included the Byrds, Lynrd Skynrd and the Eagles

Mainstream■ As a result of becoming more mainstream, rock divided into

subgenres: soft, hard, and heavy metal■ Soft rock included musicians such as Cat Stevens, Billy Joel and

Fleetwood Mac■ Hard rock included AC/DC, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, and Black Sabbath■ Heavy metal included Judas Priest, UFO, and Mötorhead

Christian Rock■ Rock has frequently been criticised by Christian groups and accused

of being Satanic and anti-Christian■ As a response to this, Christian rock was developed■ Influenced by pop music and gospel■ Musicians included Cliff Richard and some of the music of Elvis Presley

Punk ■ Developed in the 1970s and 1980s■ Heavily associated to a subculture involving distinctive clothing and an

alternative ideology and was characterised with an emphasis on rebellion■ Began with punk rock, which was stripped down in terms of instruments,

industrial, DIY and anti-establishment■ Punk rock included the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash.■ Punk was developed through New Wave as this was less aggressive and more

artistic, allowing it to be more commercial■ New Wave bands included the Police and the Pretenders■ Towards the late 1970s, post-punk emerged as a more artistic and emotional

alternative■ Heartland rock was also developed during this time period■ Heartland rock was concerned with the lives of the Midwestern blue collar

workers in an attempt to represent an often ignored group

Alternative■ There are various subgenres associated with the alternative scene but they are all

considered to differentiate from mainstream music■ Grunge emerged in the 1980s and contrasted to the well-groomed appearances of

other rock musicians as it was known for its ‘dirty’ and unkempt sound and look■ Britpop emerged in the early 1990s after the decline of grunge and was inspired by

both the Madchester scene and the British Invasion of the 1960s■ Post-grunge was a more mainstream variation of grunge which included elements

of other rock genres while being cynical of the rock scene■ Indie rock was musicians who were signed to small independent labels and were

less commercial yet had a large underground following due to associated fanzines■ Rap rock was a hybrid genre of rap/ hip hop and rock music used to describe artists

who did not fit into one genre or other, such as the Beastie Boys■ Nu Metal was a genre of rock music with a more metallic sound which also

contained elements of other genres■ Emo was a more emotional and expressive genre which contained loud ‘barking’ or

screaming.

Riot Grrrl

■ Riot Grrrl was a group of feminist musicians and bands who focused on providing female empowerment and equality through punk music

■ This included a subculture who wore punk clothing and had similar ideals to the punk subculture except that they were focused on women

■ It was also seen as an opportunity for women to express themselves through music in same way that men have done in the past

■ It addressed social issues which often affected females such as rape, ageism, domestic abuse, and racism

■ It also explored the subject of sexuality■ Riot Grrrl grew from a music subgenre to an online movement through the use of

social media and Web 2.0 as members of the subculture to spread their ideas about third-wave feminism.

What I Can Take From This

■ Rock music is very hard to categorise because of the range of subgenres which often take elements from each other.

■ Rock largely follows the similar codes and conventions regardless of the subgenre although this may be more exaggerated in some subgenres.

■ Rock music is heavily influenced by the subgenres that have come before and this has a large affect on the subgenres that can come after.

■ Rock in general is associated with subgenres but these differ between different subgenres e.g. the emo subculture wear a lot of black clothing and makeup, classic rock is associated with long hair and leather jackets and more recent rock music has included colourful hair colours.