Possibly, I could not say the name of any current Rock group, nor do I think I knew how to recognize groups of another type … I am from that generation of the 80s that musically speaking, was anchored a few decades ago and I refuse to move forward.
And it’s not that I don’t like any of the music of now, but I prefer the one from before. 20 years ago I worked as a “pincha” in a pub at a time when we mixed Maná with the Wizard of Oz and Thalia. All the songs that were playing then stuck with me and I’m not able to change the repertoire much.
My husband, who is much older than me, has even better musical taste and has instilled in our son his complete love for Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury. You should have seen a couple of years ago when the boy was 8 and in a hotel with animation began to guess all those songs from before to the surprise of those present.
So between them, it is difficult for “new” music to enter this house, we are too attached to past decades.
So when I saw the cover of the book we review today, featuring Freddie Mercury, Amy Winehouse, ACDC and Janis Joplin, I knew I had to get my hands on it.
Pss, pss. This is Rock!
In the 50s rock appeared as an earthquake that shook the world. Many thought it was a passing fad, but they were totally wrong.
That sound promoted by artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis got people dancing and unleashed a collective madness that survives to this day.
It was kept alive by artists such as The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Ramones, Queen, Blondie, Bruce Springsteen and Joan Jett, among many others who complete these pages.
They are the gateways for new generations to a fascinating world.
Before starting, the author recommends us to read the book with our children. I think it’s excellent advice, because we can talk at length about the groups / singers you are going to see and who knows, you may end up liking them and we discover that we have something else in common.
In my case I know that it is so, because my son has grown up under the musical influence of the father, who has not added new artists to his repertoire for 20 years.
I tend to believe that all the parents who read to me are my age, but I am fully aware that most of them will be (will be) disgustingly young and I am already 41. Even so, you will surely know most of the artists and groups mentioned.
Maybe we do not know who Chuck Berry, The Supremes or Janis Joplin is because by age they catch us further, but they were among the first in this Rock, in the years in which other artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix or Elvis Presley were also known … impossible not to know who the king of Rock is.
This is a great opportunity for parents to discover artists from the past that we may not have heard of and to refresh what we know about the rest.
Its first pages deal with groups or singers since 1957, starting with a Jerry Lee Lewis who his parents expected to be a priest and who was dedicated to pounding the instruments in the church to play in his own way, creating rock n’ roll. Does it sound like you’ve seen a guy playing a piano on fire? That’s right, that was him.
From the 70′ the names become better known to everyone: Led Zeppelin, the incombustible ACDC, the white Duke David Bowie, our beloved Queen or the Rolling Stones.
These are not complete biographies of all of them, remember that it is a children’s book and not an encyclopedia of music. It is a small review of great rock stars where they tell us some curiosity that surely we did not know about each of them.
He finishes the book (for now) in 2006 with an artist we all know and who unfortunately is not with us, Amy Winehouse. A woman who, like us, preferred to look to the past to do what she was so good at: new rock that sounded like the old rock of yesteryear.
A wonderful musical journey into the past.
Javier Becerra takes us for a walk to a time of less technology and more experiences. It is the fifth book published by this Galician journalist who loves music and good rock.
The 80s are considered the golden age of music, the moment in which musical styles and genres emerged and that served as a catapult for artists recognized worldwide today.
My favorite decade is undoubtedly the 90s, perhaps because it was the one that touched me to enjoy at full capacity in my adolescence. There are themes and songs that always sound in my head and no matter how many years pass, I recognize them immediately when they start playing.
I thank Javier Becerra for awakening those memories with his book and teleporting me to my already distant 16-20 years through music.
If I had to say one negative aspect of this book… It would be that it tastes little. It undoubtedly leaves us wanting more. From the first moment you start seeing it and saying names out loud, songs start playing in your head and unlocking memories. Well, at least I already have my years. Needless to say, I’ve run to get another of his books: This is pop!
Once you start you can’t stop, and it’s a book to watch, read and listen to calmly. Yes, I said listen.
On each page he suggests a title to run to youtube to listen to the recommended song. A fabulous way to enjoy this book with our children, with our eyes and ears.
If we talk about the illustrations we have to emphasize that it is a delight to guess who the singer or group is before seeing the title, just for the image. All the artists are perfectly captured and are 100% recognizable in the strokes of Catuxa not only in the physical, but also in the attitude.
I also find it a wonderful literary tool to use in elementary school. I grew up with boring solfège classes, stats and flutes at school. Children now have fun classes where they listen to their favorite artists, play games with their songs and create their own instruments.
Using this book combined with new technologies to listen to songs on YouTube will undoubtedly bring you a little closer to rock n’ roll.
What do you think your children will say when they see the groups and singers in the book in action? Do not stay with the doubt, go putting each song and let them be infected by the spirit of rock.
