Beer, Beef & B-Sides: The Sound of South African Rock South Africa has never struggled to produce world-class rock music. The problem is that much of it never crossed the ocean. While the rest of the world was obsessing over grunge in Seattle or Britpop in Manchester, local fans were packing clubs, buying CDs, and singing along to bands that deserved a place on the global stage. This isn't a story about chart-toppers or nostalgia. It's about the songs that still hit hard today—the ones that remind us that South African rock has its own heartbeat, its own attitude, and its own unmistakable identity. So, What Makes South African Rock Different? The easy answer would be to say that South African musicians took influences from Britain, America and elsewhere and put their own spin on them. But that's only part of the story. South African rock has always been a melting pot. Punk, new wave, alternative, pop, metal, folk, African rhythms and good old-fashioned guitar rock hav...
Sunday Easy Listening Party Pop Stars with Rock Souls Sunday. A day for slowing down, putting your feet up, opening the windows and letting the music do the talking. For some people, Sunday easy listening means soft rock, gentle melodies and songs that don't demand too much from you. Nothing wrong with that. But what if we turned the volume up just a little? Because some of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s and early '90s had a serious rock side. Behind the polished production, the power ballads and the radio-friendly hooks were crunchy guitars, big drums, attitude and, occasionally, enough rock 'n' roll to make your Sunday afternoon considerably louder than intended. So today, we're taking it easy. Just not that easy. When Bryan Adams Turned Up the Volume Let's start with and Kids Wanna Rock. The title rather gives the game away. Adams may have become one of the biggest names in mainstream rock and pop, but this is a reminder of just how much straight-ahead...