The difference between the music and the musician.

Musicians make incredible music, and we love it, so we should be able to enjoy the music without ever knowing who was behind it. Often the music remains brilliant despite the fall of some of the world’s favorite musicians.

So, you hear a song and really love it, so much so that you can’t get the tune out of your head and you rush to buy a download of it. Sometimes, however, the musicians behind the music make mistakes. The media and paparazzi blow up their personal lives and mistakes. These images and stories of beloved musicians often sour the popularity of their music.

It could be said that musicians, writers, and painters are about their work, and their work could become more famous and recognizable than themselves. The music should surpass the musician.

Whilst the music was good, it’s now connected with bad press, huge mistakes, and sometimes horrifying truths souring the whole picture. Music is an association game, everything is interelated and intertwined.

Role models are supposed to be people that we can learn from, and improve upon, and that help to make society stronger. Despite some of the bad reputations and not-so-great-behavior, the world improves with music.

What about simply listening to great music?

Scientists have worked out that listening to music that we really like, is just as enjoyable as sex. Listening to it activates the same pleasure region in the brain as during sex by releasing the hormone dopamine.

Darwin declared that, “Musical notes and rhythm were first acquired by the male or female progenitors of mankind for the sake of charming the opposite sex.”

Themes of lust and love dominate rock music and 92% of Top Ten Billboard songs are about sex. Music is about love and desire. It can be melancholy, it can be pleasure, it can be soothing, it can be potent, or delicate, lively, or calming or an emotional roller coaster.

Finally, rock music is still all about coming of age, of bucking the trends, and proclaiming your independence. It’s about the restless heart of adventurers who want to experience life.

Rock is definitely alive and kicking.

Rock and roll have been a huge cultural force since it erupted onto the musical scene in the 1950s. Not only did it drastically alter the evolution of popular music, but it also influenced fashion, human behavior, and cultural norms in general.

Rock music has always been trendy among younger adults and teenagers. The music was associated with revolution and youth.

In 2017, R&B and hip-hop became the leading genre in the US, and according to Nielsen Music, outshined rock music. Critics often wondered if rock is dead or argued that rock would never reclaim its throne.

Then suddenly, 2019 was hailed as one of rock’s biggest years to date. Huge bands reunited, and underground stars suddenly got famous. And the people reuniting behind these musical subcultures made too much noise for the critics to dismiss.

2020 was supposed to be the riff that sounded across the globe, but Covid-19 postponed all that, yet bands were still reunited, and underground stars were still famous.

‘My Chemical Romance’ announced their return to the stage and fans went wild! Artists from every genre of music were enthusiastic and excited.

These days bands are more motivated to bring easy-to-beat openers or rap stars just to expand crowds. So, the idea of bringing together three such gigantic names as Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer in rock music is extraordinary, yet, it happened, once again proving that rock is very much alive.

The way the critics and those in the know have been talking, one could have been forgiven for thinking that hip-hop far outshined rock. But Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Ghostemane and the late Juice WRLD have been open about listening to lots of cynical guitar-based music and loving it.

The GRAMMY Awards has always at best ignored and at worst utterly botched the rock music genre. But the victory for High on Fire, and nominations of bands like Candlemass and Death Angel, makes one hope that this is the beginning of a trend that could go on into the future. Maybe more of rock’s genuine stars can at last receive recognition.

Some of the biggest rock concerts in history

Huge stadium rock concerts are a fixture on the calendar, and some rock shows are clearly bigger than most.

When Monsters of Rock came to Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was always going to be a mighty happening. Over 1.6 million fervent rock fans packed into the Tushino Airfield near Moscow to see stars like Metallica, AC/DC, Pantera and the Black Crowes. And for a bonus appearance, the Russian heavy metal band E.S.T. played to wild audiences.

The concert in Rio de Janeiro in 1984 by the Beatles icon Paul McCartney was one of the largest ticketed shows ever put on by a solo performer. The show was electrifying and part of it was that it was on his Paul McCartney World Tour after a long ten years of inactivity.