A Blog about Robert Johnson. Because he, too, was American...and Awesome

So I thought it'd be fun to blog about Robert Johnson this week. Who was Robert Johnson you ask? A badass, that's who. Robert Johnson was a blues musician who was born in 1911 and died in 1938. He is known as a master of the Mississippi Delta Blues, which was a style of blues that was born around 1920 and is characterized by the use of Harmonicas, slide guitar played on steel guitars and fiery and passionate vocals.

 

Robert Johnson. How cool is that?

Johnson was born in 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. around 1932, Johnson would play on street corners and in front of Barbershops. He played popular music, along with his blues compositions. In 1936, Johnson started recording in a hotel in San Antonio, Texas called the Gunter Hotel. He recorded in room 414 and played his guitar facing the wall because it made the music louder while recording. Johnson called this, "corner loading". 

Kind Hearted Woman Blues

Robert Johnson has inspired many of today's most well-known musicians such as Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc..  Eric Clapton once said that Johnson,"..was the most important blues singer that ever lived".  I chose to write about him this week because he was just plain awesome and rock music probably wouldn't be the same without him. Thanks, Robert Johnson. <3

Eric Clapton- Crossroads

Free- Crossroads

John Mayer- Crossroads

Rush- Crossroads

Cream- Crossroads

And of course, The original. Robert Johnson- Crossroads

A Blog about Beck. Because He's American

So when I first discover that I like something, I have a tendency to become sort of obsessed with it until something else comes along for me to become obsessed with. Currently, I'm going through a Beck phase. So for my first blog, I will talk about him.

Beck was born in Los Angeles, California in 1970.  His first big hit, "loser", came out in 1994 on the,"Mellow Gold" album. Beck has experimented with various styles of music, ranging from his earlier punk-influenced albums to bluesy, acoustic music. He's even written some country music, such as his song, "Rowboat", which was actually covered by Johnny cash (You know you're cool if Johnny Cash has covered your music).

Johnny cash talks about Beck
I guess the reason I like Beck so much is because he has tried out so many different styles, which is very evident when listening to the several albums that he's released over the years. My personal favorite album of Beck's would probably be, "Sea Change", which is primarily just acoustic. If you're interested in listening to Beck's earlier, funkier, punkier material, Mellow Gold is probably your best bet.

Also, Beck has very recently contributed some of his songs to a new video game called Sound Shapes, a game in which the music played in the background acts as the obstacles that your character must overcome to reach the end of the stage. I found this to be particularly rad.

Sound Shapes- "Cities"