New York, NY (Top40 Charts) SongMango showcases an elite group of 'DNA Source Songs,' nearly 200 of the most meaningful, most essential tracks of all time.
Is rock really dead, as many music critics continue to claim? The founders of the new rock-and-roll website, SongMango.com, say those are "blowhard claims" that hold about as much water as a two-gallon bucket with a three-gallon hole.
"To claim rock is dead is ludicrous," says SongMango's Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder
Peter Wendel. "There are still plenty of great rock songs out there, but a crowded field has made the best artists and tracks hard to find amid the mountain of clutter. We weed through it all so our audience doesn't have to."
SongMango's creators take an entirely positive, celebratory look at rock music's storied 60-year body of work - its impacts and its influences. The site's "top shelf" approach distinguishes it from traditional online music-review outlets. There's no negativity or pretentious critic's eye. If it isn't high-quality output, this site doesn't cover it.
SongMango's mission is "to celebrate, instigate and propagate" rock music. The site's founders aim to cement the genre's standing as "the height of musical creation," and to debunk the pervading myth that rock is dead.
No doubt, there is talk that rock has lost its mojo - the once-legendary swagger degenerating into a tired amble toward the old-age home. Some say the talent pool and the audience are thinning, and that the once-steady stream of rock's smash hits has slowed to a trickle. Some have even suggested that rock music is becoming irrelevant.
"We're here to call bullshit," says Creative
Director and Co-founder Bob DiLallo. "If you care at all about the facts - like rock's dominance in record sales and its majority share of the Billboard charts - the claims that rock and roll is dead are absolutely absurd, not to mention infuriating."
In making their case for rock's virility, DiLallo and Wendel have assembled and profiled an elite group of DNA Source Songs, nearly 200 of the best rock songs of all time - the most meaningful, most essential tracks.
A glance at the list of SongMango's DNA songs provides an embarrassment of rock's riches, including (in no particular order): Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man," "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, "Clampdown" by the Clash, Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl," "Salt of the Earth," by the Rolling Stones, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Hendrix, Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" and "
The Rising" by Springsteen.
Although SongMango.com is steeped in the classics, it does shine a light on some newer gems, like the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give," "Walking In The Streets" by Mad Staring Eyes, "Frankie's Gun" by the Felice Brothers, Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Going Down" and "Paris (Ooh La La)" by
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
The new site offers extensive content beyond the flagship DNA Source Songs, including:
News Muse: What's new in the world of rock music, from album releases to artist birthdays to concert updates. Recent articles include a tribute to the late
Bobby Keys, the talented Rolling Stones' saxophonist and an update on the possible reunion of the
Grateful Dead (minus Jerry Garcia).
Top ROCK 20: Picks for the best new rock songs - and they're all rock and roll. There's no pop, hip-hop or rap on this list. Artists in the current Top 20 include: Trigger Hippy, Parquet Courts, Jeff Tweedy, Cage the Elephant and Lucinda Williams.
On the Bus (blog): Covers mainly the
Grateful Dead but billed as "the ultimate jam band experience." Great blog for Jerry Garcia fans.
'64 and Before (blog): The rock-and-roll landscape before the Beatles. And yes, there was rock music before the arrival of the Fab Four.
Up the Country (blog): Call it "The Moonshine Effect" - along with the blues, country has had a profound impact on rock music.
From the Floor (blog): Eyewitness reports from concerts across the country with a focus on the best rock songs of the night. Posts cover recent performances of Phish,
Robert Plant and Paul McCartney.
LyricsBase: The correct words to 144,000 of the best rock songs.
Tour Primer: The dope on current A-list rock tours - like the Who and the
Eagles - prepares fans for upcoming shows with setlists, must-hear songs, pics, videos, concert T-shirts, and plenty of informative commentary.
Merchandise: A one-stop shop for rock merch, such as albums, MP3s, DVDs, books, posters, T-shirts and even concert tickets.
