Tag: Music
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Discovery of the Week: The Introduction
As a long-term expat, I’m keenly aware of stuff, and by stuff, I mean shit you own and take for granted at home. Books, records, lamps, furniture, appliances, etc. For many aspiring and current expatriates, the main source of anxiety about leaving is: What Am I Gonna Do With All My Stuff? It’s one of…
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18 Great 70s Rock Artists (You Might Have Missed)
Great 1970s rock bands have a habit of falling through the cracks. For every Kiss and Led Zeppelin, thousands of overlooked artists were as good, if not better, than the superstars. The bands and artists on this list aren’t one-hit wonders or obscure local favorites. With one exception, I’m talking about bands actively putting out…
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Rock Genres Beginning with B
The second installment of my regrettable rock genres project, Rock Genres Explained, in which I attempt to explain every genre on this list of rock genres (copy-pasted from Wikipedia and doctored with numerous additions). “While strategizing for the 2025 website overhaul, I thought it might be cool to annotate the list from start to finish. It seemed…
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Weird and Quirky Cover Versions of Great Rock Songs
I’m a sucker for a good cover song, whether sincere or satirical. I’ve spent entire weeks listening to nothing but Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine, the Mike Flowers Pops, and Pat Boone’s In a Metal Mood (2007). I’d be a bigger fan of Weird Al if he didn’t have that damn accordion. These…
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10 Great Rock Songs (Surprisingly) Inspired by Books and Literature
Rock music is littered with songs and albums inspired by great literature. Some heavy metal bands don’t have much to say if they’re not retelling “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The Cure have consistently dropped tracks inspired by Robert Smith‘s reading habits. Radiohead is quite fond of books, too. Some of the greatest songs…
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Rock Genres Beginning with A
One of our most popular pages on BSM (in terms of organic search traffic) is a barebones list of rock genres from A to Z (copy-pasted from Wikipedia and doctored with numerous additions). It didn’t even have a featured image until recently. The list has sat unmolested for over a decade, collecting clicks. For whatever…
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Top 50 Rock Vocalists of All Time (According to Me)
My relationship with the role of lead vocalist in a rock band has always been ambivalent, at best. I grew up with dueling songbirds in the house — my mother and sister were both excellent singers. My mom took opera lessons and led the church choir; my sister sang in choir and starred in high…