Guides

  1. The Forgotten Art of the Rock Album’s B-SideFor decades, the B-side was rock’s secret handshake. It sat behind the single, away from radio programmers and casual listeners, waiting for the fan willing to…
  2. When Rock Music Challenged Racial BarriersRock music emerged from a collision of Black rhythm and blues, gospel, boogie-woogie, country and swing. In the 1950s, that mixture travelled through…
  3. The Stratocaster And The Guitar That Changed Rock HistoryFew electric guitars have become as recognisable as the Fender Stratocaster. Its sculpted body, three-pickup layout and sharp, glassy tone helped define the…
  4. The best rock songs about ghost towns and abandoned placesFew rock images carry as much emotional weight as the empty settlement: rusted signs, boarded windows, a pub with no customers, and a road disappearing into…
  5. Why Pacific Northwest Rock Has a Pulse All Its OwnThe Pacific Northwest has always sounded like a place rather than a genre. Seattle’s rain, Portland’s restless creativity, Vancouver’s coastal isolation and…
  6. Review: Black Wattle’s Folk Rock Meets Heavy MetalBlack Wattle’s new EP, Ashes Under Gumtrees, sounds like it was forged between a country pub stage and a smoke-filled metal room. The Melbourne quartet blends…
  7. How the Motorcycle And Electric Guitar Became Symbols Of RebellionThe motorcycle and the electric guitar emerged from different machines, yet both became shorthand for refusing to behave. One turned the open road into a…
  8. The Rock Lyrics That Made Censors Reach for the Red PenRock has always treated polite language as an invitation to cause trouble. A sharp lyric can challenge a government, mock religion, expose hypocrisy or simply…
  9. The Rise Of The Rock Cover Band: Tribute Or Rip-Off?Rock has always been built on borrowed sparks. A riff crosses a border, a chorus enters the pub canon, and a new generation learns the songs that shaped the…
  10. The Hidden Influence Of Native American Rhythms On Classic RockClassic rock is often told as a British-American story of blues, gospel, country and psychedelia. That version leaves out a quieter current: the presence of…