Rock & Roll III - the final cut down

Ok, let’s get down to what is missing on my R&R ‘trilogy’.

Who am I talking about? Well…they look geeky, they have an unoriginal band name, they are what I call an ‘out-of-the-box’ kind of thing - they make it all seem so ‘weird’. This band has released 5 albums in the past 10 years and they should be the reference for any wanna-be (real) Rock band.

A unique style from a unique duo, ladies and gentlemen I present you…The Black Keys:

And for something else...

Rock & Roll II - from back to bottom

Let's face it, when we talk about true Rock & Roll we need to come back to the 60's / 70's. That was the real thing, Zeppelin, Doors, the Stones, Jimi, and why not, Pink Floyd, Bowie and ZZ Top. Since then, they've confused R&R with pop / indie / alternative / electro (just name it). Things have never been the same. Yes, I know you are going to say ‘what about Nirvana?’. Ok, don't get me wrong but they never got it going – they lacked in quality, revolutionary status and total power. Kurt got the charisma, he got the drugs, but he wasn't no Mick, Jim nor Hendrix.

And that's when someone - hopefully the parents - gave birth to a certain Mr. Jack White. Yes, I call him Mister – capital m. But let's not focus - for now - on Jack and his post-break up Stripes folder, let's just talk about what he did to Rock & Roll during the past decade. He brought inspiration, he was – in my opinion - the breath of fresh air that allowed R&R's reincarnation. He and his 'Seven Nation Army'. During this interesting musical revolution, I bumped into two bands that have recently - with or without public justice – become the main reason for me to get up in the morning. They come from different R&R schools, one brings us back to the fuck-yeah-smash-my-brains-off R&R and the other to the work-up-my-mind-and-bring-me-scotch R&R. Let me introduce our first guest - will let you figure out which one is, certainly not that difficult. Watch & learn :

Rock & Roll

Opinions need to be respected, but when it comes to Rolling Stones opinions simply don’t count. What Mick & co. did for Rock & Roll is just priceless and I feel I couldn’t start a music blog without sharing that.

Enough said, and because I’m a nice person (and MJ deserves everyone to see his wonderful outfit) I will leave you with the live performance of 'Brown Sugar' @ top of the pops:

Black Kids

Intro: in 2008 they brought an interesting vibe to Indie Rock music using a nice mix of simple melodies, easy lyrics and pop honesty.

Live video of 'Hurricane Jane' (one of my favorites) :