Over the last hundred or so years there have been many musicians and groups appearing and disappearing from the music industry. And while there are many genres of music for us to choose from, rock musicians (especially the British ones) during the sixties and seventies have had a log success worldwide. And in today’s day and age other bands and musicians are incorporating that beloved “rock ‘n roll” sound into their own modern take. That is why I believe that impactful genre of music is rock, from the sixties and seventies. 

For starters, The Beatles. Millions fell in love with their impeccable looks and outstanding musical abilities. There was, and is, no reason for you to not love the Fab Four back when they first started. Most obviously, their music was absolutely phenomenal! From Please Please Me to Abbey Road, it is absolute perfection to the point where it’s scary. (I’m highly convinced that I was a crazy fangirl in another life.) One really good example of an amazing work of theirs is The White Album. The songs in that album, such as Glass Onion, Piggies, and Wild Honey Pie  have a variety of psychedelic sounds embedded into it, like the sounds of guitars swirling in the background, and the very odd animal references, accompanied by the vocals of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. In addition to having well written songs, none of their songs ever sound similar to another. Sure they’ve added in mentions of other songs and sounds but other than that totally brand new and different. It’s just become so fascinating to me that these four British guys had the whole world practically wrapped around their fingers 24/7 for so many years. Even though I wasn’t alive when all of them were, the impact these four have had on my life and the lives of others will be there forever to stay and I’ll be grateful a Long, Long, Long time. 

Another really good example of an outstanding sixties and seventies, that I’ll never get to see in person, is Pink Floyd. This band consists of Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Rick Wright, and Roger “Syd” Barrett/David Gilmour. With these amazing five musicians have had their fair share of success and the section I’ll be focusing on is the early era with Syd Barrett. I really don’t think that Pink Floyd (my sister and I call them Pinky) would’ve been the same willout David Gilmour, that’s just a fact, but I do recognize that The Father of Pink Floyd deserves a lot of credit for what he left behind. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, for example, portrays Syd’s overall childish and psychedelic sounds in the music very well and clearly grabbed the attention of many since everyone who came across them was amazed. The guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, everything aligned perfectly with each other. There was a random element to the way they played their music that was so strange, yet intriguing, and when I think about Syd it makes me wish he was still there during Pink Floyd’s later years. It’s sad really, the amount of talent he had was undeniable. I mean if David hadn’t joined we wouldn’t have The Wall, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, or Dark Side of the Moon, but it sucks cause I really think Syd would have contributed some good ideas even in the later years of Pink Floyd. 

         Now that I’ve mentioned two of the most overrated (but amazing) bands on the face of the earth, I’ll share with you a couple more bands/musicians that are incorporating old-timey sounds to modern music. 

         The first one is a band named Greta Van Fleet (I seriously think you’re missing out if you haven’t heard of these guys before). This American band includes Josh Kiszka, Jake Kiszka, Sam Kiszka and Danny Wagner. Their literally the definition of a band not from this generation. The two albums they’ve made have pure guitar, drums and everything done by them and it sounds the same as like, something AC/DC would make (although they do get compared to Led Zeppelin a lot), it’s incredible. Just listen to A Change Is Gonna Come, you won’t regret it, the guitar, the vocals, everything great. They’re music is really giving me hope in modern music since a large portion of today’s music is not well produced. So I’m excited to hear their next album and to see what old sounds they’re going to throw at me next. Also the overall groove their music has is just—indescribable, now words can express the gratitude I have for finding their stuff unintentionally. 

         The most modern and “pop” person on my list is my favorite: Harry Styles. Even though he came from a very pop-based boy band, I could care less because his album is just… wow. He’s the reason I listen to The Beatles in the first place and I wish I could thank him for that. A really good example of the older sound he’s been doing is his song Women. (And, yes, this still sounds very much like a pop-rock album rather than a raw rock album, but it’s worth listening to when there is so much music around that isn’t good quality whatsoever.) The 4:40 minute song, Woman, showcases very cliche lyrics, but when you listen to that guitar solo at 2:40… you’re just left speechless. It’s odd because I have no musical talent at all, yet I’m the most picky person when it comes to what I will and won’t listen to I know what I like. And my mom paid money for me to see this guy in the nosebleeds, which is fine because he was absolutely amazing live, a thousand percent am seeing again. Plus, he’s being all secretive about what he’s been up to lately, and I am very suspicious that new album and tour season is upon us, so I can’t wait. 

Now that I’ve mentioned how much of a sucker I am for bands I encourage many, especially younger people like myself, to listen to older sounds, to want to learn more about the good and the not so good people who created the most influential music in history. This goes beyond the music, in general I think we’ve become so blinded by tomorrow that we don’t even think about the people of our past, to me, these are the people we should be recognizing and paying close attention to what they did and why they were so influential to society. All in all, I stand strong by the idea that the sixties and seventies rock music is the best music to ever be produced.