When most people hear "the blues", the first image that probably pops into their mind is a middle aged African American man plucking away at his acoustic guitar on a porch somewhere in Louisiana. While many of the genre's forefathers may have fit that mold, it is a restrictive and inaccurate view of a diverse and rich form of music that is the root for almost all modern music. Those that maintain this stereotypical view of the blues and assume it is "grandpa music" are missing out on a lot.

Since the electrification of the guitar shot it to the forefront of three and four piece bands, music entered an evolutionary time warp not unlike that the quantum leaps in science and technology occurring at the same time.

Some of the pioneers during the 50's were B.B. King, Albert King, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. Chuck Berry was among the first to take the blues and kick it up a notch, speeding up the tempo and creating many rock riffs and techniques that are standard vocabulary today.

By the 60's and 70's, the blues had traveled across the pond to Britain. Bands like Cream, the Who, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin all traced their roots back to the blues forefathers. Even Angus Young of AC/DC, considered metal by many(the band always maintains that they are a rock band, not metal) has a very bluesy style of playing.

By the 80's, "Blues-Rock" had become indistinguishable from "Hard Rock". It wasn't until artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan came along and took blues back to it's roots.

Some modern bands that have bluesy overtones include the Black Keys and the White Stripes.

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Black Keys

So the Black Keys broke onto the scene with their hit “Tighten Up”. To be honest, I didn't get any of their music until after I heard that single on the radio. I was truly surprised by this band. I used to be a die hard KROQ fan, but these days most of the new music isn't that good, in my opinon. In interviews that I have listened to with Dan Auerbach (guitar and vocals) and Pat Carney (drums), everything they did was almost “anti-success” in the music they played and the venues they chose. Definitely a band to check out if you haven't already. They are almost what I would call “neo blues”. Dan's moaning vocals and playing lend a blues flavor and a melancholy undertone to their music. In a few of their songs, they do have a syncopated 8ths or “shuffle feel. A very bluesy riff kicks off “Set You Free” which was released on the “School of Rock” Soundtrack. Songs like “Strange Times” bring around some funky grooves, throughout all of their music, they maintain that bues undercurrent. So if anybody feels that the blues is to music what Latin is to the spoken word, then I hoop this makes you think otherwise.
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1 comment:

  1. Brian Beaver NguyenApril 23, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    Before reading this, I did not know anything about the black keys. I did not know they had a hit called tighten up. I did not know anything but after reading this blog, it made me more interested and want to research on them. Which I will do after I am done with this comment. Great blog and hopefully I will learn more about the Black Keys.

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