In class we listened to some early hip-hop from the 80's that I  liked because of its simplicty in terms of the beat and/or the limited presence of other effects like in Slick Rick Doug E. Fresh's La Di Da Di where it was a complete absence of machine/instruments and the beat was beatboxed by Doug E. (you wouldn't be able to tell the difference) and Rick's lone voice with straight calm/paced lyrics. In contrast, early hip-hop could also get in depth and detailed with lyrics  that were delivered with an amazing flow.

Though what Mr. A showed us in class (hair metal) made up a large amount of rock present in the 80's, I was a bit surprised that we didn't listen to or mention some of the other rock genres/bands that were also as prominent as some hair metal acts and sounded a lot better, one that comes to mind being Guns N' Roses and Appetite for Destruction,  an album and band that had a more aggressive heavy metal sound  and course I'm referring to the best lineup it's had (duff, izzy, axl, steven, slash-thankfully he didn't go with poison) that featured a mix of heavy songs led by distorted guitars and an aggressive attitude, a couple of these being Night Train and of course, Welcome to the Jungle  while it also had its slowed down, less agressive songs like Mr. Brownstone, Paradise City, the well known riff and solo in Sweet Child o' Mine and the combination in Rocket Queen that made this album several times better than most if not all hair metal albums. I'll put links when youtube decides to work.

80's-90ish

This week everything we listened to I liked, or didn't completely mind which differs from what normally happens where there's one thing (or more) that we listened to that I wouldn't really like, but this week was different.  From MJ's Thriller to 80's rock (I'll go into more detail on the second blog on this subject) and early rap/ hip hop, I enjoyed everything we listened which hasn't happened since we listened 50's-60's (yeah the 70's killed it a bit). I'm not saying that the 80's didn't have it's own set of god-awful songs and looks, but what Mr. A showed us wasn't horrible though my least preferred song came from Poison if I do recall correctly and yes, 30 years later Brett Michaels still kind of looks like a girl.

Disco

I've never really liked disco at all, though I disliked it a lot more before we listened to it more in-depth in class where I found some aspects of it interesting. I did enjoy some of the funky guitar hooks such as Staying Alive that gets your head nodding almost instantaneously. I still don't have a great taste for disco but now it's not as horrible as it was before.

Elvis Costello

We listened to his album and I enjoyed most if not all of it and how some of his songs have lyrics that require one to go over them a bit slower (or making a small inference) to get the true meaning or message in songs such as Alison. I definitely enjoyed the album more than I thought I would (I initially thought the album would've just passed by without much of an effect on me).

Well, I was really only in class monday but I heard we listened to The Sex Pistols who bring forward a very punk sound

STRFKR-Starfucker

                 I've been meaning to write about this band for a while now but I haven't gotten the time to, so now I might as well. STRFKR or Starfucker depending on what's best to use for the situation at hand, is an indie-electronica band from Portland, Oregon. One of the first things you notice is the distinct relaxed vocals that often seems to scream indie at to people who live in the top 40 loop. What I definitely attracted me was this very laid back, relaxed, slightly psychedelic sound that accompanies many of their songs and is the dominating sound throughout their newest album Miracle Mile. Though many of their songs are very relaxed, don't expect it to be a dull, downtempo song with a beat that could put someone in a coma, no they manage to produce very upbeat songs with an active drumbeat and various sounds that still manage to maintain a calm tone, primarily due to the vocals that remain somewhat long and relaxed.
                Certain albums such as Reptilians manage to explore a party pooping subject such as death and feature interludes of a man addressing the black lugger and still make the album sound as happy as Mr.A with his coffee playing Madison Square Garden and one could go through the entire album without the slightest idea of a theme (well, minus Bury Us Alive, Death as A Fetish, and Hungry Ghost, which all sound kind of dark/depressing by the title until you actually listen to them). I particularly enjoy this album just a bit more than the others due to the fact that it features the first song (Reptilians) and favorite (The White of Noon) I heard by them and this was the first of their albums that I resulted devouring (followed by many others). The White of Noon begins with a piano/synth intro that resonates throughout the song that is anchored by a complex but steady beat that grip your ears until the vocals finish you off. Also they're coming next week so I'll probably go to that.

I'll put links later