Essential Sounds

3. Stone Temple Pilots

One grunge band from outside of Seattle is Stone Temple Pilots. STP had so much going on for them that made it as one of the more prominent names in the genre of 1990s alternative. The group had over 17 million albums sold in the United States alone, fifteen singles topped the Billboard charts, a Best Hard Rock Performance” Grammy award, and a number of American Music awards.

Alongside STP’s fame was a load of harsh criticisms against them. They rose so quickly upon the release of their debut album Core� and their fans grew more and more. The Rolling Stone magazine declared them as the Best New Band� but their music critics said otherwise Worst New Band�. However, before actually disbanding in the year 2002, the group released four more albums that were all successful, and this made STP leave a deep mark in the grunge music scene.

The rise of alternative rock in the USA. From its early underground days where bands like Black Flag drew inspiration from the DIY ethos of punk, Left Of The Dial traces the history of the network of fans, clubs and fanzines that sustained the scene and launched the careers of bands like R.E.M., The Pixies and Husker Du. The film takes a fresh look at the explosion of the Seattle scene, culminating in the success of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain, an artist whose triumph and tragedy continues to cast an inescapable shadow.Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/programmes/left-of-the-dial/

4. Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains, formed in 1987, is also from Seattle. The band released three albums as well as an EP entitled Jar of Flies�. To date, this EP was the one which sold over ten million copies around the world. Alice in Chains signature was their intense guitar and distortion music and such was truly manifested in their album Dirt.
However, the popularity of grunge music and its bad side effects took toll on the band. Alice in Chains was truly successful with its career but vocalist Layne Staleys problem with drug addiction greatly affected the future of the band. His death due to substance overdose led to the unofficial disbanding of the grunge group.

Women just love men with guitars – well, men who can play them well, at least. And while John Mayer’s reputation as a ladies’ man (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Anniston, to name a few [he does seem to like them 'Js' doesn't he?]) doesn’t exactly fit in with the songs that he writes, it nevertheless is a fact that he makes good music.

Mayer started out after dropping out of the Berklee College of Music, and was a part of the LoFi Masters, a two man band he shared with friend Clay Cook. They went their separate ways when John started pursuing a more pop-acoustic musical direction and went solo, spawning hits like “Back to You”, “No Such Thing” and “Your Body is a Wonderland”. Mayer slowly gained popularity and in 2003, won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song “Your Body Is a Wonderland”.

One of the most successful Irish bands ever to stem from the conflict torn land that was Ireland, at a time when it was still hoping for full autonomy from the British who have ruled and enforced rule on its people for years. The band started out as remnants of Limerick, the two brothers Noel Anthony and Michael Gerard Hogan teamed up with Fergal Lawler a drummer to form the group with Niall Quin as lead vocals. The band placed an add for a female lead which Dolores O’Riordan took up and when she brought a rough version of “Linger” in, she was hired immediately setting of the band as one of the most successful alternative bands ever. Their first album “Everybody else is doing it , So why can’t we?” was released in 1993 followed by the single “Dreams” further established their place on the charts.
Their fame brought initiative to get into their own acts with the band last performing as a group in 2003. There have been a lot of rumors as to when and if the band will be re-grouping and once again work together but they have all shown signs that the time has not yet come for they are still enjoying their individual careers, as of the moment. The band’s music is a diverse mix of Alternative, Indie and Celtic styles which has helped them gain popularity all over the world. Time will come when the band might decide to re-group and grace the world of music which eagerly awaits their return.

The RIAA has been saying it a lot these past couple of years, though ineffective the flow of free music has ballooned so much that even high-rollers are giving it away (well, not all of them a few teasers do the trick). The story goes with an artist known as Corey Smith who was a school teacher that loved music so much, he did weekend gigs for added income. Having succeeded in getting his music and name out, his manager started to do the craziest thing on earth, he started giving his music away for free. With that in mind, everybody in the industry expected him to lose a lot but as it turns out he brings in $US 4.2 million this year for even if the music was free, people still had to buy it off iTunes which gave him that amount. Counter intuitive you may say, well get this, his free music gets him so famous he now has a full time music career and does concerts (so cheap anyone can afford it $5). Corey loves music, music fans love him back, bam! 4.2 mil, end of story, apparently not for the free giveaway stuff doesn’t always work. Call it luck or call it pure unadulterated talent, he had a dream and he had the passion for his music it saw him through. Nice going and more power.

写真提供: tjfanclub.com

15年後、トム・ジョーンズがようやく最新アルバム、「24時間」を11月25日にリリースします。彼は毎年の忙しいスケジュールを縫ってようやくスタジオ録音のアルバムを作りました。彼は一年間に200以上のショーをこなします。彼自身も彼の世界中の成功は米国でリリースされたアルバムによるものではないと認めています。彼の最後のアルバム、リロードはヨーロッパだけでも五百万枚売れました。 トム・ジョーンズのカムバック・アルバムはまたもや鮮やかで華やかなアルバムになること請け合いです。

写真提供：davidosler.com

ハウス・ミュージックは、年を追って変わりました。 もっとさらにセンスの良いサウンドに発達しました。留まるところを知らず、 多くのファンを増やし続けています。 西暦2000年を迎える前には、音楽は簡単なPCが有れば見事なものが出来るという理由で、著しい発展を遂げました。 いえ、それほど簡単ではありませんが。 今でもソフトウエアをサポートできるように、高い技術が必要です。 ハウス・ミュージックのすごいところは、最新流行で希少価値が有るという事です。 あなた独自のスタイルを作って、ビートに乗って、ちょっと手を入れて…さあ出来上がりです。 ハウス・ミュージックは、大体寿命が2ヶ月です。そしてその後、皆が踊って乗れる別のクリエィティブな曲を作ることが出来ます。

Image Source: extendedplay.org

Solas is an Irish group that started in the 90s as a project band, a supergroup that would consist of a number of musicians who have other bands touring already. The first time the band took the audience’s notice was their performance on A Prairie Home Companion last 1996. Since that time, Solas became one of the most popular Irish group in the globe today. Solas music is bets described as the perfect fusion of traditional Irish Songs with their own brand of Irish tradition based compositions. Often resembling a pop or a country song. There’s this one song that they covered from Ricky Lee Jones called the Sailor Song which they released in 2008 album, For Love and Laughter.

Image Source: tjfanclub.com

After 15 years, Tom Jones will finally release his newest album called, 24 Hours on November 25. He has managed to come up with the studio album amidst the busy schedule he has every year. In a year, he performs more than 200 shows. Not at all bad for the veteran singer. He had been wanting to record the album for a long time. He admits that his success worldwide were never from the albums that were released in the US. His last release was Reload which sold 5 million copies in Europe alone. Tom Jone’s comeback album promises to be a splashy boombastic experience.