Lombardo 1 Jake Lombardo Ms.

Olding ENG 200 4 November 2013 Rhetorical Essay Music reaches many types of genres. Two of the different genres are classic rock and glam metal. In these two genres, two artists stand as some of the most successful. Bruce Springsteen in classic rock and Kiss in glam metal have become worldwide music legends. Though in far different genres, they do share some similarities through their music even on top of their differences. Bruce Springsteen got his start with his E Street Band in the early 1970s. His first two albums with the band were both released in 1973. Although the first two albums were successful, he put himself and his band on the map forever in the August of 1975 with the release of his album Born to Run. This album was Bruce and the E Street Bands arriving party. Through releasing close to twenty studio albums, many released compilations and concerts, Springsteen has become a world- wide rock legend and one of the most popular musicians of all time. In 1992, Springsteen released his album Lucky Town. The first song on the album, Better Days is one of the three most well- known of the album. The main points of the song are that one should make sure he or she is living his or her own life to the fullest capacity and that with love in ones heart, anyone can have a great life and better days ahead. Bruce conveys

Lombardo 2 this message in a few ways. One way is of course the lyrics of the song. One of the best examples is when he writes, Yeah just sittin around waitin for my life to begin. While it was all just slippin away (www.lyricsfreak.com). This goes into what he is trying to say about living life fully. He answers this later by saying I got a new suit of clothes and a pretty red rose. And a woman I can call my friend. These are better days (www.lyricsfreak.com). This ties in to him saying that we cant stand by while our life happens. We must act on love in life to reach good times and happiness. Another way Bruce conveys his meaning is the way he sings in this song. He sings with an upbeat tempo that emphasizes energy. Through this way of singing, it is as if Bruce is trying to tell the listeners to be upbeat and energetic in life. He is saying that to reach our good days and times that we must be vigorous in our approach to life, and always have an energetic conviction, just like his voice. His singing style conveys that we must live our lives with great enthusiasm and consistency to reach our goal of having great days in the future. The last way how Bruce conveys what hes trying to say is by the instrumentation of the song. The song has a nice steady beat that never gets too slow or too fast. The background vocals give a sound that might be attempting to instill hope in the listener, so that as the listener, we know that no matter how tough things can get, we can persevere and come out on top. Even though the lyrics are serious, the instrumental combination of drums, guitars, tambourine, and other instruments gives the song a somewhat light- hearted feeling because of its consistency and lack of any dramatic breaks in the rhythm. This is almost as if Bruce is attempting not to overwhelm the listener with emotion, but to instill calmness in his audience. When combined with the lead vocals, it is as if Bruce is attempting to say that the pursuit of the good in life must be a steady effort, because his singing is steady, and the instrumentation is steady as well.

Lombardo 3 Achieving better days in life is a lifelong goal, and the steady rhythm of the song, the consistent beat, and the vocals reflect that. With the combination of all of these factors, this is a great song, and a true example of classic rock. Kiss was formed in the early 1970s. Their two founding members are Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Starting in the band Wicked Lester, Simmons and Stanley broke away from this band in 1972. Later that year they found a drummer, Peter Criss, and a guitarist, Ace Frehley in early 1973 (www.kissonline.com). After breaking away from Wicked Lester, and now with a complete band, Kiss was born. Although band members have changed, Kiss has been going for over forty years and is regarded as one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all-time (www.kissonline.com). In February of 1974, Kiss released its first album, Kiss. The first song on this first album is Strutter. This song is mainly about a woman who is very good looking and struts around because she knows that she is very attractive. There is not much of an underlying deep life message in this song as in Springsteens Better Days. If there is a message, it is the basic one of a frustrated young man chasing a woman. There are also a few ways that this message is conveyed. The first is through the lyrics also. The woman in the song is described as being very beautiful And the lady knows its understood (www.lyricsfreak.com) that she is. The woman takes advantage of how attractive she is, and gets her way just like a child (www.lyricsfreak.com). The woman also seems to use her knowledge to frustrate her would be courters. She drives you wild (www.lyricsfreak.com) because shell let you walk the street

Lombardo 4 beside her. But when she wants shell pass you by (www.lyricsfreak.com). The woman seems to enjoy the fact that she gets her way, but she also enjoys not getting involved with any man. A second way that the message is conveyed in this song is the way that Paul Stanley sings it. Usually Gene Simmons did the lead vocals for the band, but in Strutter, Stanley took the lead. In this song, Stanly perfectly balances an angry sounding voice with an almost desperate sounding voice. This is all in an effort to emphasize the meaning of the lyrics. He is angry that the woman is not willing to get involved with any man, and of course desperate in his desire to have the woman. The third way that the message is emphasized is the instrumentation. Although it is a great song to party to, the non- vocal music in this song is also supposed to instill a feeling of anger. There is a lot of hard guitar and drums. This gives the effect of an angry kind of sound, because it is so intense. Overall, this is a great song and through all of these factors, is a great example of glam metal. These two songs show many similarities. First of all, the lyrics in both songs have a deeper meaning than what is actually lyricized with Springsteen singing about life lessons and Kiss singing about the desperation to date a beautiful woman. Secondly, the ways the lyrics are sung are immensely important. This is because the artists sang in specific ways to help convey what the lyrics should mean. Springsteen sang with a steady rhythm that when joined with the instrumentation presented a feeling of always being steady when approaching life. Kisss song was sung with more emotion that was easy to feel as the listener, just as the singer was desperate to have his woman. Thirdly, the instrumentation in both songs also helps to convey what the lyrics should really mean. Springsteen used his steady beat and sounds to support his voice, and

Lombardo 5 Kiss used the harder sounds to emphasize desperation of trying to get the girl. The greatest similarity however is the fact that both songs are, above all, classic songs in their respective genres of rock. There are also great differences on display in these songs. First and maybe most importantly, is that the lyrics of these songs are about greatly different topics. While Springsteens talks about life lessons, Kisss talks about a very attractive woman, at their most basic interpretations. Secondly, Kisss song is able to be a song for a party, while Springsteens is not. This also reflects their respective genres. Springsteen wrote about deep life lessons, while Kisss song is just about a physically beautiful woman. Glam metal (just a division of glam rock) and classic rock are different just as these songs are different. Overall, these songs are great songs and great ways to compare classic rock and glam metal because of how they show the similarities and differences of the two genres.

Lombardo 6 Work Cited Www.kissonline.com. KissOnline. Web. Accessed 24 October 2013. Www.lyricsfreak.com. LyricsFreak. Web. Accessed 24 October 2013.