Aerosmith

Aerosmith adalah kelompok musik rock Amerika Serikat, dibentuk di Boston, Massachusetts. Tiga anggotanya, Steven Tallarico (Tyler), Joe Perry dan Tom Hamilton bertemu di Sunapee, New Hampshire pada akhir 1960-an, namun tidak langsung membentuk band.

Tyler yang berasal dari Yonkers, New York, kemudian Perry dari Hopedale, Massachusetts dan Hamilton dari New London, New Hampshire itu, baru pada 1970, ketiganya memutuskan untuk membentuk band, dan pindah ke Boston, Massachusetts.

Joe Perry dan Tom Hamilton pindah ke Boston pada September 1970. Di sana mereka bertemu dengan Joey Kramer, yang kebetulan berasal dari Yonkers, New York, dan berkenalan juga dengan Steven Tallarico.

Setelah mereka mendengar Perry dan Hamilton bermain dan Kramer setuju untuk bergabung, Steven Tyler kemudian datang ke Boston Oktober 1970 dan Aerosmith mereka bentuk.

Mulanya Ray Tabano bermain rhythm gitar namun ia digantikan pada 1971 oleh Brad Whitford dari Reading, Massachusetts. Inilah formasi terakhir Aerosmith.

Guns N' Roses

A colossal hard rock force of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Guns N’ Roses may have suffered a serious dent to their reputation in subsequent years, but for a short time they set the gold standard for rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Led by temperamental frontman Axl Rose, who is the only remaining member from its commercial heyday, Guns N’ Roses fused punk intensity and classic-rock song structure that proved to be a more authentic slice of hard rock and metal than their hair-metal contemporaries could ever hope to deliver.

Early Days:

Guns N’ Roses formed in the mid-‘80s in Los Angeles. Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, who had been in a band together called Hollywood Rose, teamed up with some members of L.A. Guns to start a new group. But after much lineup shuffling, none of the L.A. Guns members remained, replaced by guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. Calling themselves Guns N’ Roses, the band successfully toured on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, signing to Geffen Records in 1986. After releasing a quickie EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, the band set to work on their first full-length album.

Unleashing 'Appetite for Destruction':

1987’s Appetite for Destruction is arguably the definitive hard rock album of the 1980s, a scary, compelling, oddly beautiful look at depravity, addiction and desperate stabs at love. Unlike much of the good-time rock ‘n’ roll being peddled by hair-metal bands of the era, there was nothing safe about the sex-and-drugs vision Guns N’ Roses sold to their audience. Rose’s vocals – high-pitched but lethal – and Slash’s muscular hard rock solos matched up perfectly with a crushing rhythm section to give a sense of authenticity to Appetite’s songs. The album has since gone 18-times platinum.

Controversy:

Wanting to continue the sales momentum made possible by Appetite, the band released G N' R Lies the following year. Combining the Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP with some new tracks, Lies was mostly a way to wring more dollars out of GNR’s fans before the official follow-up, but it turned out to cause nothing but headaches for the band. One of the new tracks, “One in a Million,” received immediate criticism for its homophobic and bigoted lyrics, opening the door to accusations that Guns N’ Roses weren’t so much documenters of the seedy side of life but actually revelers in its ugliest aspects.

A Sprawling Double Album:

Trying to top Appetite, Guns N’ Roses got insanely ambitious on their next release. Clocking in at around 150 minutes and divided into two separate albums, 1991’s Use Your Illusion records didn’t have the focus of Appetite for Destruction, but their stylistic breadth was astounding, covering everything from orchestral ballads to techno to classic rock. Though enormously successful, the records also reflected band tension – drummer Matt Sorum had replaced Steven Adler, and Izzy Stradlin was unhappy with Rose’s desire to expand the group’s reach beyond hard rock.

The Beginning of the End:

The wheels fell off after the Illusion albums. After releasing an album of covers called "The Spaghetti Incident?" in 1993, the band essentially ceased to exist. The pivotal moment most fans point to was Slash’s decision to leave the band in ’96, which, coupled with the defections of other core members, gave Rose sole control of the Guns N’ Roses brand. Undeterred, Rose continued to work on material, recruiting different session players and hiring new band members, only to see them leave and be replaced by other musicians. Slash went on to form Velvet Revolver with other former GNR members and never looked back.

What Is 'Chinese Democracy'?:

Chinese Democracy, Axl Rose’s long-gestating follow-up to the Use Your Illusion records, has been rumored to come out on several different occasions. Leaked songs, allegedly from the Chinese Democracy sessions, have surfaced from time to time, but the critical response to them was tepid at best. Best Buy announced that its chain stores would exclusively sell Chinese Democracy in 2008, but after years of promised release dates that never came to fruition, fans were understandably not holding their breath. Nevertheless, the album was officially released on November 23.

Guns N’ Roses Discography:

Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide (EP) (1986)
Appetite for Destruction (1987)
G N' R Lies (1988)
Use Your Illusion I (1991)
Use Your Illusion II (1991)
"The Spaghetti Incident?" (cover album) (1993)
Live Era '87-'93 (live album) (1999)
Greatest Hits (best-of) (2004)
Chinese Democracy (2008)

Guns N' Roses Quotes:

Axl Rose, on the bands that imitate Guns N' Roses.
"It doesn't bother me at all except when I feel bands aren't pushing themselves creatively. I don't enjoy being imitated; I'd rather inspire than be imitated … We never tried to be like AC/DC or the Rolling Stones, but we were certainly massively inspired by them."

Slash, on his initial thoughts about "Sweet Child o' Mine," their breakthrough single.
"I hated it for years. Even writing and rehearsing to make it a complete song was like pulling teeth. For me, at the time, it was a very sappy ballad."

Axl Rose, on his reputation for starting shows late.
"I pretty much follow my own internal clock, and I perform better later at night. Nothing seems to work out for me until later at night. And it is our show. I don't want to make people sit around and wait - it drives me nuts. That hour-and-a-half or two-hour time period that I'm late going onstage is living hell, because I'm wishing there was any way on earth I could get out of where I am and knowing I'm not going to be able to make it."

NIRVANA

Nirvana changed the landscape of rock music over the course of only a few years, but in the beginning, they were just one more struggling group deciding on a lineup and a name. In 1985, guitarist/singer Kurt Cobain met bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, instantly bonding over their mutual love of the punk-metal band the Melvins. The duo brought in several different drummers over the next couple years, eventually settling on Chad Channing. Meanwhile, the group shuffled through different band names (including the Stiff Woodies, Pen Cap Chew and Skid Row) before opting for Nirvana.

Nirvana's Promising First Album:

After recording a series of demos in 1988, Nirvana landed a deal with Seattle label Sub Pop. A year later, the group released their first record, Bleach. Though it only sold about 35,000 copies, Bleach established Cobain’s penchant for angry, compelling songs about society’s outsiders. Leaning heavily on hard rock and metal, Bleach didn’t sport the same pop hooks that Nirvana’s later albums would feature, although “About a Girl” demonstrated his early flair for catchy pop songs akin to the Beatles.

A New Decade and a New Drummer:

As the band entered the '90s, Cobain’s songwriting would continue to blossom. Another important improvement occurred around the same time: Channing left the group and was replaced by Dave Grohl, the former drummer of the punk band Scream. Bleach had won the admiration of respected groups such as Sonic Youth, and demos of subsequent sessions began attracting the attention of major labels. Signing with DGC and with Growl now in tow, Nirvana recorded their follow-up, an album called Nevermind. It would have been the furthest thought from any of the band members’ minds at the time, but superstardom was on the horizon.

Breaking Through to the Mainstream:

Released in September of 1991, Nevermind wasn’t an immediate blockbuster, but on the strength of its first single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the album reached the top of the charts by January 1992. At a time when pop and hair metal were extraordinarily popular, Nevermind signaled a cultural shift toward more urgent, intense music sparked by introspective, sometimes caustic, lyrics. The album generated four singles and catapulted the band from the tiny Washington city to superstar status.

Drug Addiction:

Though Cobain now enjoyed universal acclaim and exceptional sales, he couldn’t fully savor his moment in the sun, as he was in the midst of a horrible heroin addiction that had been developing from before Nevermind. Questions about his health circulated as Nirvana returned to the studio in 1993 to record their next album. The willfully prickly In Utero proved to be less listener-friendly, but Cobain’s commitment to hook-laden songs transcended the album's surface aggressiveness. In Utero may have scared off causal fans who simply wanted Nevermind II, but it was an instant critical success and a strong seller.

Going Acoustic:

Near the end of 1993, Nirvana filmed an installment of the popular Unplugged series on MTV which featured bands performing acoustic versions of their songs. Staying away from their best-known material, Cobain focused on album cuts and covers of tracks from his musical heroes, such as David Bowie and blues artist Leadbelly. The program, later released as a stand-alone album, emphasized Cobain’s dark outlook on life through powerful, funereal versions of his songs. Intentionally or not, the MTV special soon proved to be prophetic when Cobain’s life took a turn toward the tragic.

Tragedy:

On April 8, 1994, Cobain’s body was found in his home in Seattle. The cause of death was determined to be suicide from a shotgun blast to the head. It had not been Cobain’s first suicide attempt, but the news of his death nevertheless was a shock to his many fans.

Life After Nirvana:

Though Nirvana disbanded shortly thereafter, their legacy remains unscarred, with the band’s biggest hits still a staple of rock radio. Grohl, Novoselic and Cobain’s widow Courtney Love (of the band Hole) have subsequently released live albums and compilations, including a greatest-hits package and a box set of rare tracks. Novoselic has played in a few bands since Nirvana’s dissolution, while Grohl has focused his energy on his own band, Foo Fighters.

Nirvana Members:

Kurt Cobain – guitars, vocals
Dave Grohl - drums
Krist Novoselic - bass

Essential Nirvana Album:

Nevermind
After Nevermind’s release, Kurt Cobain feared that he had compromised his songs’ integrity by adorning their anger in impossibly catchy melodies. But in reality, these 12 tracks are only more furious because the band (with producer Butch Vig) spent the time to make sure every single guitar riff exploded on contact. Rarely has one man’s misanthropy sounded so universal and so liberating.

Sumber : http://rock.about.com/od/nirvana/p/Nirvana.htm