Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue 1 (March 1999)
Issue 2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue 7 (May 2000)

Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)

Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)

Categories
Sport: 1 2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2 3
Commentary: 1 2 3
Review: 1 2 3
Writing: 1 2 3
Event: 1 2 3

Pop vs Rock

Roisin Garvey
Ballincollig CS, Cork

We teenagers feel compelled to have a favourite type of music. Many are quick to regard all rock music as violent but boring rubbish and therefore, tend to choose the safe, colourful, old reliable world of pop. It's not that I am against people listening to 'happy' music that they can jump around to, I enjoy relatively lively music also. But where they opt for the likes of the somewhat artistically challenged Steps, S Club 7 or, God forbid, the Vengaboys, I tend to look towards albums such as Mudhoney's 'March to Fuzz', Pearl Jam's 'Ten', Silverchair's 'Frogstomp' or even Nirvana's 'Incesticide'.

To the uninitiated, Nirvana's music is depressing, angst-ridden noise. But, in fact, Kurt Cobain wrote some of the liveliest music our generation has ever heard. Still not convinced? Then I suggest you listen to songs such as 'Dive', 'Aero Zeppelin', 'Blew' or even the widely acclaimed 'Smells like Teen Spirit', to name but a few. Yes, the lyrics may scream teenage angst and tackle sensitive social issues, but these dark lyrics are riddled with metaphors. Teamed with bouncy, melodic guitar riffs and fast drums, they allow for one giant satirical package - and therein lies their genius. The lyrics aren't as annoyingly obvious as many pop songs - in some instances further reading is needed. For example, Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Under the Bridge' is a beautiful song written about the happy topic of heroin addiction and Nirvana's 'Rape Me' is a biting response to the way in which Kurt Cobain had been treated by the world's press.

Some people believe that a good song can be judged on music alone, that the lyrics are just a decoration. Backing this point up with the example of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' seems appropriate. A guitar riff that everyone recognises, but the lyrics? Robert Plant decides to spice up Jimmy Page's guitar effort by singing about an old woman and the peculiar bustle in her hedgerow. I see their point. For me, unclear lyrics can be one of the most appealing parts of a song as they require some thought. No one is 100% sure what Kurt Cobain is saying in Nirvana's 'Teen Spirit', one of the most popular songs of the nineties (I mean, come on, it was named after a deodorant!). Rock musicians rarely explain the meanings of their songs, leaving them open for interpretation (Eddie Vedder is a brilliant babbler when it comes to explaining his lyrics). This allows for a certain song to be received by numerous people for entirely different reasons.

Back to the top