Rock Bands That Shaped Us
There is something about listening to rock music from the 60s to 90s that just opens up my mind, heart, and soul like nothing else before. I have become obsessed with old rock, prog rock, metal, and most forms of rock that is out there from that time period. It has become the balm that soothes my soul from the aches and pains of constantly being on for people most days in the customer service industry for the last 15 years. It is my bed of roses so to speak. Where I come to lie down to wash the worry or feeling of the day away. There is a feeling of peace that comes from listening to the angst of others who have gone through years before we were born, what we are now going through years later. I thought I would put together a list of a few bands that you definitely have heard of, a few you might have heard of, and some I am sure you have never heard of. This will be a series over the next month or so that I will add bands too.
These are bands who over the years have shaped me, challenged my philosophy of life, helped me through depression and have changed my life for the better in so many ways.
So here we go, get ready to get soaked!
1. Guns N’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction, Use Your Illusions 1.
Now I don’t’ know about you, but this band was my late teens and early twenties in a nutshell. I was looking to rebel and they gave me the whole package of Rock’n’Roll angst. The songs that became my favourite were November Rain when I was feeling sad or down, Sweet Child’O’Mine, Welcome to the Jungle, and Patience were all classic hits that took you to a place you lost yourself inside of the music. I became obsessed with their music, and with Slash’s incredible guitar solos and the vocals of Axl Rose screaming into your ear, it created a world of beauty within chaos and channeled the teenage angst and anger I had. I still enjoy this band immensely, but more for the beauty of the music and the lyrics that I find poetic and raw.
2. Nirvana: Nevermind.
Nirvana is one of those bands that screams teen angst and an inner struggle, as we know how much Kurt Cobain struggled internally with as much and more of the inner demons we all face in our younger years. I know that this album was one I could turn on and disappear into, shutting the world out and just getting lost in music. This album was the first album that featured drummer Dave Grohl with Nirvana as well as being originally called Sheep as an inside joke of the bands as they knew that the masses would flock like “sheep” to the album. Nirvana’s album epitomized the punk rock era of my late twenties that I came to love, still having an LP of this album. This album was one of the first rock albums that I ever owned, and is still one of my favorites to this day. On days that I feel alone and lost in the world, I will turn this on and become immersed in Cobain’s world.
3. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours, Tusk, The Dance, and Fleetwood Mac the Album.
Now these four albums have completely changed the way that I listen to music. Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks completely shaped my early twenties and changed the way that I look at the world around me. I do not know how many times I have listened to the album Rumours and the calm I felt just letting the music take a hold of my letting me know that things are going to be ok. Fleetwood Mac was introduced to me by my first serious girlfriend (I know, how could I let her get away!) and whenever I hear them I am taken back to that time of my life. I love the beauty of the vocals, the guitar working its way through you, taking you to another world, breaking your heart, taking you by the hand, drying your eyes and leading you towards a bright future.. There is no band more nostalgic to me that continues to this day make me fall in love all over again.
4. Dire Straits: Everything they ever put out.
Dire Straits for me, is one of the greatest bands to ever record. Now I know many people will get upset over that, and talk about how other bands are better in their performances, wrote better lyrically, had better guitar, etc etc… But for me this band for me, is one of the greatest to ever play. Mark Knopfler was born with a guitar in his hands and the ability to create music that touches your soul. Brothers in Arms is one of those songs, that if you ever been in service, or even to a memorial service, gets you right in your core. This song was written in commemoration of the 10-day Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982, being written that same year. The slow lyrical beauty of this song creates a feeling of deep sorrow and loss within you that makes you almost feel like you were there, losing one of your brothers-in-arms. I will never forget the day I first heard this band, I became obsessed and ended up finding everything I could by them and listening to it for months on end. Some music that you listen to makes time stand still, and Dire Straits does that over and over again for me.
5. Pink Floyd: Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall.
Pink Floyd for me represents a feeling of coming of age, the feeling of becoming who I am meant to become, rising into myself and going forward towards who I am meant to become. The music they portray made me feel empowered to become a better person, that even if it doesn’t feel ok right now, things will get better. Once in awhile a band comes along that influences a genre of music. Pink Floyd was one such band, heavily influencing the progressive rock scene, with their psychedelic sound and the way that David Gilmore used his guitar to create beautifully toned music. Influencing a generation of rock guitarists after him. I know for me he was one of the most influential guitarists that I was immediately drawn to over and over again for inspiration. Not just the guitar but the lyrics that came out of this band were beautifully constructed by Roger Waters and David Gilmore who took time to craft something not just musically pleasing, but also lyrically stunning, taking you on a trip around the universe, spinning on this ball of rock through the solar system.
These are some of the bands that shaped my teens and early twenties, and still to this day I am listening to all of them regularly, as well as many many others. I find that there is always going to be more music to discover and that is one of my favorite things about life, music makes this world such a better place. This is in no way an exhaustive list of bands that I love, there are more like Metallica, Camel, Whitesnake, KISS, Joan Jett, and many many more. Comment below and let me know some of your favorite bands that changed your life and that you love. Thank you for reading!
