Which is better: Rock or Pop (Music)

T

train

Guest
I'm an anything goes kind of person - but if it had to be one or the other - I'd do pop...:cool:
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
How would you define each (broadly or stereotypically), just so I have an idea of what I'm comparing...
 
R

rokapoke

Guest
I may not have been alive during the era, but the music from the 60's and 70's is the best -- classic rock for my tastes.
 
T

train

Guest
Spiderman;290108 said:
How would you define each (broadly or stereotypically), just so I have an idea of what I'm comparing...
In my mind:
Pop is mainly the billboard/american top 40. Nickelback, Brittany Spears, Mariah Carey.
Rock is more the older school route - Stones, Van Halen, some 80's bands (Whitesnake, Def Leppard, etc.)
 
E

EricBess

Guest
I like to understand the lyrics. There is some rock (by your definition) that I really like, but overall I would probably have to say pop.
 
E

EricBess

Guest
I think sometimes it on the song almost more than the group. Nickelback definitely has songs that I wouldn't classify as pop, but they also have a lot of songs that could very easily be considered pop.
 

TomB

Administrator
Staff member
EricBess;290118 said:
I think sometimes it on the song almost more than the group. Nickelback definitely has songs that I wouldn't classify as pop, but they also have a lot of songs that could very easily be considered pop.
I wouldn't say a LOT of them, but yeah, I guess a few of them could be considered so. And, of course, those are the tunes that most everybody knows them for because they're the ones that got the most airplay across the widest variety of radio stations and video shows...meh. I still like their harder-edged stuff, so I guess I have to publicly admit to liking a band that has a pop hit or 2.

How embarrassing...:eek:
 
T

train

Guest
I've got nickelbacks albums and they ahve some harder stuff - but I can't put them at a rock level... Just doesn't seem to fit - in my mind...
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
This one is kind of weird because rock is a sort of umbrella genre anyway. I mean, there's progressive rock, hard rock, soft rock, arena rock, Southern rock, funk rock, and even pop rock. Historically, rock has sometimes defeated its foes just by devouring them entirely. Where I work, if I want to find a CD with surf music, I can be pretty much positive that it's going to be cataloged in the rock section.

But if rock is an umbrella genre, pop is whatever the next step beyond that might be. Pop consists of disparate musical styles for which the only common ground is that the songs are commercially successful.

There's a huge amount of overlap between these two. However, all that being said...

...Turgy and Mooseman totally win this thread. Rock on.

Rock is the greatest genre of music ever. Like America, it owes much of its greatness from its tendency to simply take something good that is technically already associated with something else, and claim it for its own. It's probably done this to jazz innumerable times. Pink Floyd even stole both words in their name from jazz artists.

Also, rock is so awesome that it boasts a great many songs the theme of which is, well, rock itself. Rock probably has more self-glorifying songs than the total number of songs that even exist in many other genres. You know, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me. Rockin' the Suburbs. The Heart of Rock and Roll. God Gave Rock and Roll to You. Rock You Like a Hurricane. And so on. I don't know how many there are, but there are a lot. The only song about pop that I can think of is "Pop Muzik" by M, and I wish I couldn't think of it because the song sucks.
 
R

rokapoke

Guest
AC-DC said it best...

"For those about to rock, we salute you!"
 
E

EricBess

Guest
Oversoul;290173 said:
...Rock probably has more self-glorifying songs than the total number of songs that even exist in many other genres. You know, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.
That's great. I'm a huge Billie Joel fan myself, but would you consider his music "Rock"? I think most people would consider him pop (along with Huwey Luis and a few of the others you mentioned).

But I think this actually adds to your point. "Rock" is a very broad category and much of "pop" could actually be considered "rock" by certain standards, even if most people would only consider "Light rock" to be "pop". :D
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
turgy22;290196 said:
That song is about sex, not music. You forgot an obvious one, though - Rock and Roll All Night by Kiss.
It has the word "rock" in the title as a verb, so it still counts. Also, sex goes with rock and roll anyway, which is yet another point in its favor. And yeah, Rock and Roll All Night is a pretty famous one and all, it's just that one of the first ones that popped into my head was God Gave Rock and Roll to You and that's also by Kiss (as a cover, but I was thinking of their version anyway). But I suppose I should have included that one (among others).

EricBess;290203 said:
That's great. I'm a huge Billie Joel fan myself, but would you consider his music "Rock"? I think most people would consider him pop (along with Huwey Luis and a few of the others you mentioned).
I think he's definitely an example of an artist who is considered to be in both categories.

But I think this actually adds to your point. "Rock" is a very broad category and much of "pop" could actually be considered "rock" by certain standards, even if most people would only consider "Light rock" to be "pop". :D
You know, the old crooners are technically labeled as pop singers. But who thinks of them upon hearing "pop music"?
 
T

train

Guest
Well - this got more discussion about what is or isn't, so that's still kind of cool...

I'll see if other topics can be more specific...
 
Top