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Heads banging. Drums on the verge of breaking. Guitars shredding solos to pieces. Screaming lyrics so loud that the words aren’t even distinguishable. Ear splitting bass shaking the ground. Rock out signs to the sky. Crowd surfing. The soundtrack of a rebellious teenage-hood. Parents telling you to turn it down. Such are symptoms of the awesome genre of rock.

Since the 60s, with the invention of the electric guitar and devastating sweep of Beatlemania, people everywhere have been rocking out. From the old classic bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rolling Stones, and Radiohead (basically most bands in Rock Band), to heavy metal groups like Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against, Cancer Bats, Metallica, and AC/DC (intense stuffs), to Punk Billy Talent, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Simple Plan, and All-American Rejects (the best), to even the fusion of rap rock artists Down with Webster, rock has a huge variety.

I used to have an (amateur) band with a group of guys and we were the most hardcore EVER (called the Bumblebees). But since we all went off to different high schools, it’s been harder and harder to get together, and I’ve stopped playing electric guitar completely, and even started to shift to listening to Hip Hop. I mean, Hip Hop gives a nice deep bass, but it doesn’t give the same hyper feeling of rock.

Recently, I picked up my old sunburst strat and totally remembered the feeling of the music rushing through my fingers and just being a part of something big. When drums, guitar, and bass come together, magic can happen. It’s impossible to not feel energized, or at least bob your head a bit. It’s a huge shame our department’s so small, because music is something amazing. “Feels better and lasts longer than sex,” I think I remember some famous person saying.

For representing emo, goth, and hippie cultures, or for political activism and even drug use, or just for the sake of making noise and not giving a damn, rock music will live on. Let heads continue to bang like we’re insane, because we are.