Fearless appreciation of rock music since 2012
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Rock, in all its subgenre confusion, is my favorite kind of music and pretty much the only music I enjoy at home. Roughly half of my favorite bands are hard rock, and 8 of my 10 favorite albums fall within…
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What Is Hard Rock? (The Final Boss Definition)
To summarize, hard rock is rock and roll music played with distorted guitars, loud drums, aggressive vocals, and high-energy tempos. Many hard rock bands incorporate keyboards and synthesizers, but electric guitar remains the designated driver of the sound. In its…
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32 Songs About Family
When I consider songs about family, I’m drawn to oddball perspectives and appalled by the populist feelgood drivel of “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge and “Daughters” by John Mayer. However, having a 14-year-old son is a daily reminder that…
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I’m Not Here for That: The Most Overrated Rock Bands of All Time
Here’s your daily reminder that opinions about music are essentially worthless, and anything I have to say about the most overrated rock bands of all time is not going to change your life or your mind. I’m here for entertainment…
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Calling Bullsh*t: 25 Overrated Rock Albums
As a rule, Black Sunshine Media is a good karma website, meaning, I don’t write negative stuff unless it’s exclusively within the context (or boundaries) of whatever I’m writing about. For example, in Top Rock Guitarists of All Time (According…
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Hated vs. Overrated in Rock Music: Definitions & Distinctions
If you’ve read anything on BSM, you know that I have more than a few strong opinions about rock music. However, if this is your first time reading my work, the distinction between “hated” and “overrated” might get lost in…
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Top Rock Music Producers of the 1990s and 2000s
[Grandpa enters the room and slumps into an easy chair. He slowly pivots his head toward the camera, lowering his gaze.] You see, I have a love/hate relationship with rock music from the 1990s to present, and likewise, a vague…
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25 Songs About Sex
Seventy percent of rock music is fundamentally and/or tangentially about sex. The other 30 percent of rock music is about guys who can’t seem to get any sex. The phrase “rocking and rolling” originally described the movement of a ship…
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Top 60 Rock Keyboardists (According to Me)
I’ve been reluctant to publish this post about rock keyboard players—or keyboardists—because technically and theoretically, I’m not a pianist or keyboardist. If somebody asks, yes, I can play keyboards, but I’m no Edgar Winter. However, piano was the first instrument…
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Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1999–2000)
It’s been a 10-year slog through the list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (edited by Robert Dimery), and I’m just now getting around to 1999–2000. The total album count is 1,083 albums, for those of you…
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150+ Yacht Rock and/or Pool Party Songs to Set the Tone
Do you have a boat with a sound system that needs a rock-oriented playlist for your next soireé at sea? Are you planning an adult pool party but don’t have time to curate a soundtrack? Having some friends over tonight…
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Yacht Rock Explained: The Story of Adult-Oriented Rock aka Smooth Music
Yacht rock is a playfully mocking term for an ample range of glossy, intelligent jazz rock, pop rock, soft rock, and occasionally hard rock that permeated FM radio airwaves from the mid 1970s to mid 1980s. Also associated with adult…
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Top 50 Progressive Rock Guitarists (According to Me)
I don’t consider myself a progressive rock guitarist, but prog is an important part of my skill set. The verse section of “The Spirit of Radio” by Rush was the first lick I learned to play by ear. Yessongs (1973)…
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Top 30 Alternative Rock Guitarists (According to Me)
Alternative rock is mostly guitar-centric, so it’s no surprise that the genre is loaded with talent. I’ve got my favorites because I basically grew up during the hey-days of alternative (1983–1999), and the closely related genres of new wave and…
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Top Progressive Rock Albums of All Time (According to Me)
Progressive rock emerged in the late 1960s when rock musicians were empowered to move away from the singles format and into the album era, and likewise, allowed to explore conceptual and instrumental boundaries. This artistic and commercial freedom resulted in…
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Top 50+ Alternative Rock Albums (According to Me)
Like many comparable types of rock music, alternative rock music went through phases or waves of emergence, peak saturation, and ultimate decline. Our task is to parse and evaluate the best albums from the period, which isn’t easy. It begs…
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What Is Progressive Rock? The Ultimate Explainer
Frank Zappa said that “progressive rock is anything that doesn’t sound like regular rock [music].” By regular rock music, he meant all rock music that gets played on the radio and MTV. When asked if he thought Genesis was progressive…
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What Is Alternative Rock? The Ultimate Explainer
Alternative rock functions less as a singular aesthetic and more as a sprawling ideological umbrella that sheltered the fringes of guitar music for nearly two decades. It emerged as a direct rebuttal to the polished, synthesized sheen of 1980s pop…
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Rock Genres Beginning With U–Z
Ten months, 370+ rock genres, and roughly 100,000 words later, the alphabetical odyssey has reached a destination. Rock Genres Explained arrives at a comfortable place to rest, though it’s not the end. New genres will continue to emerge from the…
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Rock Genres Beginning With T
As we move through the list of rock genres, we arrive at a letter that represents some of the most intense and distinct movements in musical history. The letter T represents a fascinating crossroads for the Rock Genres Explained series.…
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Rock Genres Beginning With S (Sp–Sy)
As far as rock genres go, the letter S often signifies a profound shift in focus, home to subgenres defined equally by attitude and sound. This is where rock genres get surgical. We move past general categories and focus on…
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Rock Genres Beginning With S (Sa–So)
We’re getting near the end of the Rock Genres Explained series and I’m vaguely relieved to see a glimmer of hope at the terminus. I have never so deeply underestimated a project from conception to completion. What I thought would…
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Discovery of the Week: Harry Nilsson | All Time Greatest Hits
I bought Harry Nilsson’s All Time Greatest Hits (1989) during the same CD-buying binge in San Francisco that’s responsible for Discovery of the Week: The Beta Band | The Three EPs. Somehow, All Time Greatest Hits wound up in Taipei,…
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Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1997–1998)
If this is your first exposure to my journey through 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not, I highly, no, strongly recommend that you browse the introduction before reading any further. However, I know that many of you…
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25 Songs About Chicago
Chicago is my hometown. Born on the West Side and raised in the suburbs of DuPage County, I spent the first 30 years of my life in the Windy City, including a five-year stretch on the North Side (Bucktown). I…
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