An-Mag.com | Art Nouveau Magazine | Art, Culture, Style, Music, Ideas » Rock Music http://www.an-mag.com Art Is Everywhere Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:45:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 theDOLLDAZE – Blind Wilder (MP3) http://www.an-mag.com/blindwilder/ http://www.an-mag.com/blindwilder/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:20:32 +0000 Kendrick 'GREATeclectic' Daye http://www.an-mag.com/?p=10726

“You ever been love blind?” theDOLLDAZE asks on her latest single “Blind Wilder” right before a crash of mood music hits. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it, theDOLLDAZE doesn’t sing, she doesn’t even sang, this is my friends is a tour de force of vocal acrobatics. A girl with a guitar, the voice–not a voice and legs to die for. What’s not to like? The track is a buzz single from her upcoming album Mystic Novel: to be cont… Listen and download “Blind Wilder” below.

You can catch theDOLLDAZE performing live in Atlanta, April 14 at GreatEclectic’s debut solos exhibition Want To See A Sad Boy Smile? Pay Him at Studio 900.

]]> http://www.an-mag.com/blindwilder/feed/ 0 A Day in the Life of a Rock Star: Why Black People Don’t Listen to Rock Music http://www.an-mag.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-rock-star-why-black-people-don%e2%80%99t-listen-to-rock-music/ http://www.an-mag.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-rock-star-why-black-people-don%e2%80%99t-listen-to-rock-music/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:53:32 +0000 Benjamin Carson http://artnouveaumagazine.com/blog5/?p=1445 Yesterday, I had the pleasure of showing my friends Corinne and Kendrick a few photos and videos of one of my favorite bands, Nirvana. I showed them a couple of pictures from Google and they seemed to like them.

I think I almost had them sold until I started showing them several of their videos, including the music video for “Heart-Shaped Box.” Instantly, upon seeing the videos, Corinne exclaimed that Kurt Cobain seemed so dark and depressed and that you could hear it in his music. What made it even more unconvincing was their music videos “Come As You Are” and “Heart-Shaped Box.” These two videos displayed dark and somewhat disturbing images such as a gun sinking in water and a dog with one of those lamp shades on his neck in “Come As You Are.”

Although I am an avid Nirvana fan, I strongly believe that images like that would make anyone who saw them on tv, change the channel immediately. As explained by Corinne and Kendrick, it’s not that the song is bad, it’s just that the music videos are so eerie and unappealing that it makes you not even give the song a chance. I pretty much give anything a first try, but I do remember those days when I would see a music video on MTV and upon seeing several weird images, I would just turn the channel. When I start to think, I often wonder, “is this why black people don’t listen to rock music?” I mean if I, a person who accepts anything, could be turned off by certain things in their music videos, I know that normal black person would not pay any attention to it.

Television can make a big impression on viewers and if something is visually unappealing then people will get turned off by it completely. I can only remember looking at certain rock videos in the past and thinking “what the heck is this?” For instance, when I first saw Nirvana’s video for “Heart-Shaped Box,” I thought the video was quite disturbing with the images of an old man as Jesus on the cross, an old guy as the Pope, a lady with a big suit on the shows the inside of her body, and a little kid jumping around with a KKK outfit on. The song “Heart-Shaped Box” is one of my favorite Nirvana songs (despite how popular Guitar Hero has made it) but that video makes me not want to listen to the song because I’ll be reminded of the disturbing images. So when I think about someone who doesn’t know anything about Nirvana and they see that video, they will automatically have bad thoughts about them (unless they like little kids in KKK outfits) and the song.
I think it’s sad because most rock bands are pretty decent but because they are portrayed in a negative way, it makes them so unappealing. Take Black Sabbath for instance: They are portrayed as this devil worshiping band that spreads Satin’s music, and with Ozzy’s offstage antics, it only boosts their negative image. It was only until I heard the song “Paranoid” on Vh1 that I finally started liking their music and after hearing it, I thought to myself “well that wasn’t so bad.” I mean it was nothing demonic about it at all. Sure the lyrics were a little out there but the music was great with their bluesy riffs and wicked bass lines. I believe that if most people just listened to Black Sabbath and other bands that have been tarnished throughout time, then they will find that these bands are more than what you see on tv.

Despite the troubling images of most rock videos, mostly from the 90’s, I believe that everyone will could find something to like in most rock bands and their music. If you take the time to listen to a song without all of the disturbing images, then you might come to realize that you actually like the song. Truthfully, most rock music and hip hop are virtually the same with tight bass lines, nice melodies, and catchy lyrics. Even the hardest genre in rock music, being Metal, has great rhythms that anybody could catch onto. Every time I go to a rock concert, I often see the audience nodding their heads in the same way an audience would at a hip hop concert. Of course nodding in Metal soon evolved into head banging, but it’s really all the same. The same way people go to the club and jump around and act a fool is the exact same way people act at a rock concert in the mosh pit.

Last night was an eye opener for me in seeing how people who don’t watch or listen to rock music react to it. It was also relieving to hear that it’s not really the music but it’s just the way it’s portrayed. I have noticed that when I play a couple of songs in my car that my friends would actually like what I’m playing. So from this experience, I can see that it’s not that people really don’t like it, but they just haven’t been exposed to it. My suggestion to anyone is to pick out a rock song that they semi like, listen to it, and then listen to some of their other songs from the same artist. You may like what you hear and then you can listen to other artists that sound like them. It could be the beginning of a beautiful journey.

Later Days…

Nirvana: Come As You Are

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOL5cpwTkes

Nirvana: Heart-Shaped Box

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK7Ai9dWrRQ&feature=channel

Black Sabbath: Snow Blind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MoRaSkGVKs&feature=related

]]> http://www.an-mag.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-rock-star-why-black-people-don%e2%80%99t-listen-to-rock-music/feed/ 7