Episode 70: Butt Rock

    What is "butt rock"? Here's the definition as provided by Houston Press, which they got from Urban Dictionary:

"A derogatory term for any hard-rock music.

The term comes from a nationwide advertising campaign on hard-rock radio stations in the 1990s that used the tagline "Rock. Nothing but Rock." Listeners quickly changed that to "Nothing Butt Rock." Though it refers to anything played on hard-rock stations, it commonly is used to refer to 'hair-bands' or used by people to distinguish the 'bad' butt rock from the hard rock that they like."

    When I was a kid in school, I remember kids listening to edgy rock bands like Black Veil Brides, Avenged Sevenfold, and Chevelle. 

   The problem with so many rock bands for so many decades is that a format materializes. Bands start sounding the same. They lose their uniqueness and have nothing special to offer. All just lyrics about pain and breakups set to music of heavy guitar and drums. 

    I don't really mean to make fun of other people's taste in music. I absolutely hate it when someone makes fun of my music, so I don't wanna be that guy. If you like generic rock bands, I'm glad you enjoy them. I just don't get bands who don't have much of anything unique to offer.

    Take Bastille, my favorite band, for example. Their first three albums center around a theme of the end of the world while their fourth is the beginning of a new era. They, especially on their second album, include a bunch of soundbites from various media in their songs. Their songs cover a wide range of topics and are about all kinds of things. They strive to be unique and pull it off. They aren't guys who just learned how to sing and/or play instruments just so they could complain about their ex-girlfriend while a bass guitar goes "dirnt dirnt dirnt" behind them.

    Okay, yeah. I'm making fun of generic rock bands. I said I didn't wanna do it but I'm doing it. But I'm not gonna do it to anyone's face if they like generic rock bands. That's mean.

    AJR, my second favorite band, is also unique. They're a trio of brothers who mostly focus on growing up and trying to be an adult. It could be said to be generic that most of their songs follow this theme, but they make up for it with their unique sound. They kind of have a doo-wop barbershop kinda thing but also electronic, indie, and pop. Plus, they literally make their music in their living room, hence the title of their debut album (you guessed it- it's called Living Room).

     My third favorite band, The Killers, is unique because you can hear their sound evolve by the album. They also have a wide range of the kind of music they make, from a heavy song about a man murdering his girlfriend ("Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine") to a crooning ballad about the love story of the lead singer's parents and his mother's eventual passing away to cancer ("A Dustland Fairytale").

    I just wanted to talk about my top three bands to show how they are not butt rock and how butt rock bands could learn some things from them to be more unique. Admittedly, I do like some bands that do feel kinda generic. I guess I could understand, reluctantly, if someone were to label Imagine Dragons or Green Day as butt rock, and I love those bands.

    The moral of the story is that if you're gonna be in a band, don't make the same kinda music that everyone's heard a million times. Put something special out into the world. 

Anyway, see you next week!

https://www.houstonpress.com/music/top-10-butt-rock-bands-of-all-time-6519109#:~:text=What%20is%20butt%2Drock%2C%20you,that%20used%20the%20tagline%20%22Rock.

Uhuhuhuhuh. I said "butt". Like, a lot. Cool.