Why did I decide to start yet another music blog since there are so many out there already? Well the answer is quite simple. There are so many cool blogs, magazines, websites, bands, record labels and radio shows and stations out there that I was constantly frustrated trying to maintain my ever growing list of bookmarks which inevitably meant that I was doing more organizing of my computer than reading and listening to the cool rock and roll that I was finding on the ‘Net. Originally I wanted to set up some kind of an online directory but it was too complicated and kinda boring. Then I discovered blogging and like a lot of people I was hooked. And so The Rock and Roll Report was born.
The original blog was started on Blogger on June 29th, 2003 and all the posts from it have been imported here. As you can see from a scan of these posts, I have used The Rock and Roll Report as a forum to highlight record labels, radio shows, magazines, web sites, local rock and roll scenes from all over the world and bands that I consider to be worthy of note, who define for me what rock and roll is and what it can be as well as penning the odd opinion piece or rock and roll related story about something that piques my rock and roll curiosity. Now, my interests are pretty varied and I enjoy my rock and roll in a wide variety of “sub-genres” such as garage punk, psychedelic, power pop, mod, freak beat, modern rock, classic rock, ‘60s pop, indie pop etc. but since I hate classifying music, I just lump it all together as rock and roll (or as I have recently started to call it “niche-free rock and roll), as well as it should be. And my “vision” of rock and roll does not end or begin in any particular decade or place, far from it as I feel that some of the best music ever played is being played right now and I’ll probably say the same thing in 5 years (unless I’ve become a cool jazz hep cat daddy-o). As has been pointed out by some prominent rock and rollers like Greg Shaw, Lenny Kaye, Peter Buck, Little Steven and Keith Richards, the whole point of rock and roll has always been to take from multiple influences and synthesize them into something new and exciting and so The Rock and Roll Report attempts to further the cause. I consider myself to be something of a (minor) cheerleader for these bands, labels and magazines that are often struggling to put out great big slabs of meaty rock and roll grooviness for your listening and reading enjoyment and so this is my primary goal in creating The Rock and Roll Report.
Secondary to that but of no less importance is to encourage you to wave your freak flag high and jump on the magic bus of rock and roll weirdness. Whether it’s starting a band, radio station, web site or magazine or just using your hard earned bucks to support some of these maniacs I write about, you not only open yourself up to a wider and funner (is that a word?) world but you encourage others in this great rock and roll ecosystem to keep going and pump out even more cool sounds and hip words. To that end I plan on posting about various tools and sources of info that will help you to do just that.
Finally, I have to point out some of the shitty stuff. Corporate control of record labels, the increase in media concentration, lack of radio diversity, Kelly Osbourne (just kidding) and other stuff that we would like to ignore but can’t but I promise that it won’t overwhelm the good stuff (and if it does just let me know) but it is an unfortunate fact of rock and roll life.
In closing, The Rock and Roll Report will hopefully not just be me yapping. It will evolve and change and I welcome contributions of any kind. Hints, tips, links, criticisms (not too much tho) and recommendations are all welcome please, since I need to know, in the words of the immortal (but sadly Sid Barret-less) Pink Floyd “Is there anybody out there?” Thanks for visiting.
Later.
Share This
Ok, I’m officially jumping on the 
