Roxor Blog

Gypsy jazz guitar is a popular music genre which has its roots in the music of Django Reinhardt, a popular guitar player. The fact that made gyspy jazz guitar genre so much appreciated by the music enthusiasts is its unique element, the presence of only the barre chords. This again had a very interesting history. Due to a major injury Django was able to use only his first and second fingers to play the guitar so moving up and down in the fretboard was found to be very limited.

If one gives a closer look at the gypsy jazz guitar music genre, he/she would find that Django made very little use of sevenths in his innovative music form. If by now you have already developed a good deal of interest in this form of music, you can try to get hold of some CDs of two Americans Pearl Django and John Jorgenson, who have contributed immensely to this genre.

Emo, another sub-genre of hard-core rock punk initiated itself to popularity somewhere in the mid 90s era and was always referred to as the ‘indie scene’ which derived its inspiration mainly from Fugazi. But in the recent times, the term has been expanded to a much broader horizon and deeper significance. The origin of the genre could however be traced back to the 1980s era in Washington DC. Later on the emotional hardcore performances of the bands were used to add significance to its name.

The Emo music genre has also been acknowledged as a subculture by numerous sources of media. It is also been directly associated with contemporary fashion, for instance, Emo hairstyles, (long fringes with one side brushed over the eye) which are sported by many top-notch Hollywood celebrities as well. The earlier Emo trends were restricted only to tight sweaters and straight unparted hair. With the passage of time, the expression of Emo music genre is adopting newer trends to get closer to that of its die-hard fans.

Punk rock is known to be one of the most fiercely anti-establishment genres of music that your parents would hate to listen to at any point of time. The origin of this popular music genre can be traced back to the years between 11974 and 1977 in the region of UK, US and Australia. The major feature of this music form is that it is stripped down to instrumentation with harder, political and nihilistic lyrics. Some of the lyrics of punk rock even brazen out relationships and sex as its predominant themes.

The punk rock became most popular with the youth due to its anti-sentimentality. It also had to confront many scandals due to the change in the way the youth started living lives by adopting particular dressing style and anti-authoritarian philosophies. In the recent times, this music genre has been made a center of much appreciation by new pop punk rock bands such as ‘Green Day’.

Fado, a very popular Portuguese music genre is always known to create waves in the Portuguese music industry. The early history of Fado can be traced back to the 1820s, but the exact origin of this music genre is still untraceable. In the earlier era, Fado was an eclectic mix of African slave rhythms and the traditional sailors’ music of Portuguese origin.

Fado is chiefly characterized by mournful lyrics and tunes. It is by far the most famous music genre of Portugal and the exact term ‘Fado’ can be signified as ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’. In the country, Fado is also regarded as a rewarding experience. The first Fado singer who rose to great heights in the early nineteenth century was Maria Severa Onofriana. Carlos Paredes and his father Artur Paredes, the pioneers of this music genre, made a significant contribution to this art form. However, the later version of Fado music materialized only in the twentieth century and today it is accepted with much warmth and grace.

Jamaican Reggae Music is known to be a dynamic form of music which is continuously in the process of changing and evolving itself and continues to do the same till date. It is a form of musical expression in which the artists discuss topics ranging from anything like culture to society. The origin of this music genre can be traced back to the era of 1950.
There are various jargons in Reggae music which pertains to its various genres:

• Ska: This is a style of Reggae music which was created for the first time in Jamaica in the years between 1950 and 1960. This form is driven heavily by that of bass guitar and drum beats.
• Rock Steady: This is another genre of Reggae music and is basically similar to that of Ska. However, in this music form the bass and drum are played with a different intensity, the pace being a bit slow than the former.

Dub, Toasting, Rockers, Roots and Culture are some of the best known forms of Jamaican Reggae music genre.

Lloyd again returns with a bang and has succeeded for the consecutive third time to steal the heart of the music-lovers. In June 2008, he has released his third music album ‘Lessons in Love’, the infectious beats of which has managed to set the whole world rocking. Throughout the album Llyod gives the impression as if he is having a gala time dishing out come-ons and adding an ardent exuberance to each one of them.

The theme of the album is based on the various facets of loves experienced by a matured singer as well as songwriter who has taken life as a rollercoaster ride since the beginning of his career in the year 2000. This album also features a varied production sound which nicely blends into the nostalgia of the 1980s with that of slow yet poppy jams and also oversexed R&B camps. The only setback of the album is the monotony which sets in the act of relating the subject matter.

Hip hop music, where did it all begin? Believe it or not but Americans and Latinos were among the first ones to play hip hop music in Bronx, New York City in the early part of the 1970s. This form of music genre is a part of hip hop culture; it consists of a rhythmic style of speaking, also known as rap, over music beats. Hip hop became quite popular almost over night and was instantly accepted with open arms by the young generation.

By the year 1979, hip hop had become a commercially recorded music genre and had started its journey to enter the American mainstream. Nonetheless, today hip hop have become one of the most respected music genre and is now performed in varying styles around the world. Rihana, Usher, Beyonce and many other hip hop stars have given great entertainment to hip hop music lovers. Songs like ‘Dilemma’, ‘Beep’ and ‘Gasolina’ have captivated the music enthusiasts by becoming the favorite chartbusters of all times.

Pop music has been gaining popularity and is ruling the music world since its inception during 1950s. No other music genre is as popular and admired by the audience as the pop genre. With young pop stars coming with inventive and sizzling numbers, this music is all set to accomplish new heights of success. Typical musical instruments like guitar, drum and electronic keyboards are used to produce the pop music.

Careless Whisper, Footloose and We are the World are some of the most astounding hits of the 1980s. During 1990s, the pop music achieved new heights of popularity with female artistes coming up with breathtaking pop music videos and songs.

Today, Britney Spears is one of the successful pop stars of the new generation. Give Me More, Oops! I did it Again and I am a Slave For You has topped the music charts internationally, increasing her popularity amongst the teenagers.

‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’. This is what Coldplay’s most recent album is called. Though the album had its official release this year, the group has been working hard on it and striving to make it a possibility since the year 2006. The first single that was unleashed from the confines of this album was the ‘Violet Hill’. 29th April 2008 was the first day it was heard on radio. About a week later, ‘Violet Hill’ was made available for download. The song did excellently after its release and has since then been heard on the best countdown shows. It has managed to hold its place both on US Top 40 and UK Top 10. The title track ‘Viva la Vida’ did no less. This is the first song from ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’ that attained the Numero Uno spot.

The radio conquerers of the 90s era have managed to rock the world with their slow yet steady pace of growth once again by releasing their third album. After about seven years of side projects, they only managed to release their third album. In spite of remaining out of limelight for a considerable span of time, the vibes of the Toadies have not altered much. They are still cherished in the heart of the artdent music lovers for their enigmatic smash hit ‘Possum Kingdom’, the songs of which have pounding rhythms and glass-shattering rhythm guitar rifts.

The band has shown great amount of exuberance in reuniting and giving the music lovers something which can be called ‘divine rhythm’. The frontman Todd Lewis shows that he has not lost his lip with time and the tracks like ‘Hell in high water’ and the title track seems to spit you with a joyful vehemence.