AC Music 200 Blog

Beginnings:   The electric guitar has an interesting history of evolution. Classical and acoustic guitars were what people had been using for quite some time, but as bands and orchestras grew, the need for greater volume in the guitar instruments also grew ( Electric Guitar ). There had been experiments with producing an electric stringed instrument as far back as the early 20th century, giving rise to instruments such as the frying pan, the first commercially produced electric-stringed instrument ( Electric Guitar ) . However, many of these endeavors resulted in quiet instruments that weren't very practical or popular ( Electric Guitar ). In about 1936, Charlie Christian, a jazz guitarist, attached a pickup to an acoustic guitar, causing what some consider to be the birth of the electric guitar, despite various other developments by other people and companies during the time ( The Origins of the Electric Guitar: The birth of the electric guitar ). Evolution: Rather than using vib...

I'm Only Joking by KONGOS, is one of my favorite songs. No matter what mood I'm in, I always enjoy listening to it, despite the large amount of cursing that makes up the chorus. This song instantly makes me feel like bobbing my head and rocking out. This is mostly due to the insane drumming throughout the song and loud presentation of the lyrics.  This song was composed by Jesse Kongos, one of the four Kongos brothers who make up the band. Since they had grown up in Africa, they initially released their song in 2011 in South Africa, waiting until 2013 to release it in the US. Although it was released in South Africa first, it was written and composed in Phoenix, Arizona ( Kongos (band) ).   Here is the song. Lyrics The lyrics to this song are a little strange and confusing, but also have a deeper meaning. Most of the lyrics are just the chorus being repeated; however, there are also some very interesting lyrics during the song that people interpret in a variety of ways. Some ...

I go through phases of listening to one song for quite a while, then discovering a new one, and listening to it for days . We Didn't Start the Fire , by Billy Joel, is one such song for me. Listening to this song often makes me feel a bit pumped up (because of the quick rhythm) and simultaneously nostalgic. My family would often listen to it at a friend's house when we were hanging out and having a good time. Whenever I hear it, I am reminded of being little and how things used to be. Also, "We didn't start the fire" is a powerful lyric. Things have been going wrong, and bad things have been happening, forever. No one feels like they started it though, it is just a part of history. This song was composed by Billy Joel, in the US, and released in 1989. Soon after its release, it became the number one song on Billboard's Hot 100 (Greene). Here is the song and the original video to it. Lyrics In my opinion, the lyrics to this song are the main reason that it...