Music makes the world go round. It is definitely a universal language. Listen to it, dance to it, open up your lungs and sing the music that inspires your soul!
There has been 10 years that Rock in Rio does not take place in Rio de Janeiro, and last Friday, September 23rd, the festival started all over again! We had Claudia Leitte, Rihanna, Kate Perry and the best presentation of the day: Elton John.
Elton John was born on March 25th, 1947 in London and in the 60’s he wrote some songs with his friends from The Beatles. He has won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Can you Feel the Love Tonight”, one Golden Globe Award for the same song, six Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award for Best Original Musical Score for “Aida”. Now he sings alone and he will be the last attraction of the first day in Rock in Rio 2011 because he has a great history in the Rock and Roll around the world.
Do you like Elton John? Was he the best presentation of the night?
Classical Music in Rock in Rio
As Rock in Rio is about to start we shouldn't forget that there are other types of music. For instance, Classical Music.
Classical Music is the traditional and secular art music, but believe it or not, the instruments used in most classical music include the electric guitar. Classical Music can also take the form of a concerto, symphony, sonata, opera, dance music, suite, étude, symphonic poem and others.
This type of music, we suppose everybody likes, will be represented in Rock in Rio by Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in the Symphonic Concert with the rock band Legião Urbana, Dado Villa-Lobos, Milton Nascimento and Marcelo Bonfá. At this show it will be possible to bring classical music and popular music together.
Isn’t awesome? What do you think about it?
Take a look at this video of Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rock in Rio this year.
Analyzing that small actions are able to produce good effects, it was created a movement of awareness called SWU (Starts with you). This project involves mixture of music, culture and sustainable development which it gathers several national and international celebrities of music.
The aim of this festival is to make people change their actions in favor of the environment, giving ways to become their routine more sustainable.
The first edition was in October 2010 in Itu - São Paulo. The outcome of the festival was so good that in this year the event is going to happen again on 12, 13 and 14 of November.
Among international attractions we can highlight The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Snoop Dog, which represent American music.
However, there will be not so famous bands like: Modest Mouse (see the video below), a band of indie rock from USA; '311' band that mixes punk rock, funk rock and reggae. These groups will share the stage with Black Eyed Peas and Kanye West.
Bad points about SWU 2010:
Last year the gates were opened with a delay of two hours, people had problems with the card system and found it difficult to leave the festival.
The same drinks were sold with different prizes and the food was not enough. After the last show, the food was over, creating a lot of panic, people in queue started complaining and yelling at the staff.
On camping the check-in caused queues because they had to open each handbag for security reasons and there was a specific limit of time to have a shower.
It’s expected that the organization of the event fix these points so that people enjoy it and there can be more editions.
In the song “Don´t stop the party” by Black Eyed Peas, we can hear the line “music is my medicine”. Then we started to think about that. Is music real in my life? OK, we listen to music all the time. It is a good way to identify our feelings, isn´t it? When we are depressed or upset there is probably a song about it that makes us feel better. Would you rather be at a party with or without music?
On this blog, it isn´t our intention to talk about famous singers. We want to show you ours stories and know yours, through the comments. Our musical taste can be different from one another but we all agree that life with music is FUNNIER!
Music for relaxing
“Music is vital in my life because it helps me think about things which make me happier. Music is also helpful when I am stressed out. It helps me to overcome problems.”
“When I listen to music is just to get into another world because music takes me a higher level. I usually imagine fascinating stories which are only in my mind. I can live many lives, create many places and situations that the song allows me to.
Whenever I am down in the dumps and I would like to be happy, I listen to special songs which have messages that fit the experience I am going through.”
Music at work
“As a teacher I reckon music is very important in a gym, especially in the treadmill room. Running is the kind of exercise that most requires a surrounding sound because there is an internal battle to continue running and forget the pain or stop the exercise. Music helps the mind forget tiredness. A study showed that the performance can be improved 20% when the person is listening to music. Next time you start exercising, don't forget to carry your MP4 player because your performance will be much better.”
“The music in my life is present at moments of relaxation and my studies. As I study History of Music at University, it's also important for my job. I read some academic paper about music. It's so interesting to listen to it when you know its historical context.”
Music in family
“I grew up in a musical family. Music has always taken part in our lives, listening to the radio or learning from a music teacher who used to teach me, my brothers and sisters. I always thought of being a singer. At the same time I was studying to be an architect, I had voice lessons. I think about music all the time and everything I do during the day is with music.”
“My musical taste, influenced by my parents reflects on my personality. Since I was a child, I’ve listened to bands that weren’t for kids: Elton John, Sade, Lighthouse Family, Counting Crows, Cat Stevens…. I don’t know how, but listening to that turned me and my sister into more mature people.”
“Music has always been part of my life. My father's taste for classical, romantic composers and traditional jazz is present in my emotional memory. The contact with this art of high standard, which started in my childhood, was essential to the development of my musical esthetic sensibility. In my adolescence music played such important role in my life to the point of discovering that it would bring me professional fulfillment. After finishing academic studies and experiencing some of these aspects, I can say today that my life would me almost impossible without music.”
“I can't imagine my life without music since I was born music has always been present. My motherwas a pianist and also played the guitar. She used to get together with my cousins every weekend to have fun by playing and singing. Then I grew up in a musical family. Of course this turned out to be my profession and my history. Music is essential to me. It makes me dream and unwind. I think life without music would be as if I were totally in darkness.”
Legions of fans are looking forward to witnessing one of the most famous music events that is finally back to Rio and that has attracted millions of people strongly desiring to see artists from all over the world performing live: Rock in Rio.
The festival has faced some changes since its first edition in 1985. Firstly, it was an event focused on rock only, but after some time pop artists, for instance, were invited to join the list. Also, differently from what the name may suggest, the event did not take place only in Rio: it has also landed in Portugal and Spain due to its great success.
But the fact is: despite having embraced different music genres, the festival is still as successful as it was in the past, so much so that in a few days all tickets for this edition were sold out.
Today’s post aims at recalling momentous performances concerning the 3 most significant music genres that can be encountered in the event. We hope you like it! So… Let's rock!
Rock:
Queen:
The concert performed in the first edition in 1985, received 30% of the votes, being considered the most remarkable of all editions.
Well, if that show was really the most remarkable one of all editions we cannot guarantee, but it was indeed a thrilling presentation. Check it out:
This video immortalized the song “Love of My Life” in Brazil, where the voices of thousands of people add to Freddie Mercury’s.
Guns N' Roses:
They have performed in Rock in Rio twice and these two shows were considered their best performances of all time according to the lead singer Axl Rose. Moreover, it was in Rock in Rio 2 that the drummer Matt Sorum and the keyboardist Dizzy Reed made their debut.
Last but not least, the band took advantage of the opportunity to introduce some new songs - that would only be released at the end of that year – just to see the reaction of the public.
Metallica:
When asked about which band they would like to see in the festival, the public voted for Metallica, which is performing on the third day.
The group members are: Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar) and Robert Trujillo (bass).
The band is one of the most influential and popular heavy metal groups.
Pop:
The first time that the Pop groups or singers appeared in Rock in Rio was in Rock in Rio 2 with the famous American boy band New Kids On The Block. They became famous in Brazil with their single Step by Step.
In Rock in Rio 3 there was a day especially designed for adolescents in which Pop groups and singers were the main attractions. N'Sync , Britney Spears, Five, Aaron Carter and Sandy & Junior, to name but a few, were present.
Having invited Pop singers to perform in the festival proved to be a great success as it managed to attract more people to the event.
Now, in Rock in Rio 4, names such as Rihanna, Katy Perry and Shakira, for example, are going to drive fans to frenzy.
Axé Music:
One of the most popular Brazilian rhythms present in Rock in Rio is Axé music. The first Axé presentation was in 2001 and this genre wasn't very well accepted by the crowd, so much so that some people threw bottles on the stage during Carlinhos Brown’s performance.
However, in the following years, artists like Ivete Sangalo and Daniela Mercury presented in the festival too and were responsible for increasing the acceptability of Axé and attracting crowds to the event. This year, Axé will be represented by the new star, Claudia Leitte, and the veteran Ivete Sangalo, who will certainly be a huge success!
Now we would like to hear from you:
Do you think Rock in Rio should only be a rock event or do you think having performances in different genres makes it even more successful?
