About
This is yet another music blog. There is music and music-related discussion on it. I define ‘music’ quite broadly. What more can I say? MP3s will only be up for a limited time, and if you represent the band in question and want a track removed, please contact admin@killrockmusic.com.
Really, I just like music. It’s as simple as that. I like listening to it but I’m pretty rubbish at playing it. So, I do the next best thing (in my mind at least) and write about it. I like Elvis Costello alright, but his quote (or Miles Davis’, or Frank Zappa’s, depending on who you believe) that writing about music is like dancing about architecture is idiotic and dangerous to, I don’t know, democracy or something. Why not write about music? I think good music writing can impart the passion one person feels for music and help to create a shared experience over the love of something emotional, visceral and important. The best music writing I’ve read has given me new insight into songs I already love, led me to re-evaluate music I previously ignored and given me a different perspective on something that is meaningful to me. It shows me that there’s no universal truth even in the mathematical precision of metronomic beats and well-tuned guitars playing in recognised keys, and I like that uncertainty. It’s good. I desire disorder. Good music writing also cures cancer and works well as a marinade. Probably.
I have no grand plans for this website/blog thing. There are many music blogs out there and probably better ones. However, I find many music blogs tend to get a little too deep into the bleeding edge, ignoring a lot of the passion of music (not to mention old gems) in favour of breaking news. Conversely, a lot of the mainstream press offers little new in terms of breaking new bands (I just heard about this bright new rising band called Coldplay…). I want to aim this somewhere in the middle, maybe introducing some new bands or new insight on familiar bands, without worrying about staying cutting edge, although I’ll cover new releases and bands that interest me. I see music as thematic and part of life, so my writing will likely reflect that. I like many types of music, which I know is what everybody says and nobody really means it. However, I don’t pay enough attention to be able to clearly outline types and styles I listen to, so each week might cover very divergent areas. You, make-believe reader, will eventually figure out my particular likes, at least if you stick with it past a week. I guess one thing I respect in music is sincerity in intent. That’s why I can enjoy a good pop song that knows it’s a good pop song, and I can’t enjoy an indie act who is too calculated in their attempts to be different. Let’s face it though – my distinctions are arbitrary, as are everybody’s. My musical choices are wide-ranging but spotty. I like music that excites me and moves me, and I’m idiosyncratic in what accomplishes that. We all are, and that’s pretty cool. I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, so there might be some pretty dire stuff on here from time to time, and I make no apologies. I’m based out of Sheffield, UK at the moment, which has a great music scene, so I hope to cover some local bands as well. All in all, what I choose will not necessarily be cutting edge or hip, but hopefully you find something you like.
Also, here’s a quick note about the name: obviously, I don’t actually want to kill rock music. I am being ironic, as apparently the kids love that sort of thing these days. If you want to get deep, maybe it’s my reaction to the relentless categorisation of music, until people define their musical tastes by infinitely-hyphenated, ultimately meaningless reductions of what’s all, essentially, music. Can’t I like everything from ambient piano to atonal jazz squawking, right through the middle of power pop and heavy metal? Whatever, I think the title sounds cool.
