Lawson

Lawson are a four-piece British band signed that are signed to Polydor Records. The band consists of Andy Brown, Ryan Fletcher, Joel Peat and Adam Pitts, who are originally from Liverpool, Chesterfield, Mansfield and Brighton respectively. The band are currently based in London. Their debut album, Chapman Square, is due for release on 22 October 2012. It has been preceded by the top five singles "When She Was Mine" and "Taking Over Me'", with their third single "Standing in the Dark", released on 14 October 2012.

After finishing at BIMM Brighton (Brighton Institute of Modern Music), drummer Adam Pitts began searching for a singer-songwriter. He contacted Andy Brown, through his acoustic Myspace page, and just over three months later, the pair met up in London. Brown introduced Pitts to bass player Ryan Fletcher, who he had previously met a few years earlier at The Academy of Contemporary Music. They agreed to form a band, bringing in guitarist Joel Peat, whom Fletcher knew from his childhood, to complete the line-up. The band came up with the name "The Grove" after visiting an American shopping centre of the same name. The band began recording material in early 2010, and their debut recording, "When She Was Mine", became one of the highest-rated songs on YouTube within a week. They soon began playing gigs around the United Kingdom, including the Wireless Festival and the Ultrasound Festival. "The Grove" decided to change their name after lead singer Brown was diagnosed with a brain tumour. His surgeon, Dr Lawson, completed a successful operation to remove it, and in honour of his successful recovery, the band renamed themselves "Lawson". The next day, Adam Pitts sketched the all-new 'Lawson' logo freehand on an envelope.

The album is amazing. The best song being Standing In The Dark 

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. His five albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys, and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos.[9] About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.[10] On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game."

A few of his good songs are:
Power
Gorgeous
Stronger

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Well if it isn’t the man that the media loves to hate. Back again, with his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West had plenty to prove after the sappy, bleak collection of dark pop that was 808s and Heartbreak and he did just that with this latest LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

This time around we get classic Kanye, but with a twist: the landscape is full of dark, ominous strings mixed with hard-hitting classic drum samples and one other thing – his rhymes are better than ever before, after his last album being primarily singing auto-tuned breakup songs.

Recorded entirely at Diamond Head Studios in Hawaii, Kanye called upon a list of his closest friends and collaborators to record with him: Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Pusha T, Big Sean and even G.O.O.D. Music newcomer Cyhi da Prince. The most important contributors, however, are the producers. West enlisted mentor No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, RZA and Ken Lewis to ensure this would be one of his greatest, most ambitious works of art yet, and they did just that.

“Power,” the lead single is built upon a pulsating beat that samples the chaotic chant of Continental No. 6’s “Afromerica,” paired with the grueling guitar of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.” This is West’s return to boom-bap hip hop and it’s a good one. The other standouts on the album are those most meticulously produced. The Raekwon and Kid Cudi-assisted “Gorgeous” meets a heavy climax with a street-perceptive verse from Raekwon the Chef as Kanye brings the real drums in midway through the verse.

The indie rocker assisted “Lost in the World” samples Bon Iver’s “Woods,” proving further something middle-of-the-road Hip Hop producers don’t seem to grasp in their production; a musical understanding. Not just Hip-Hop and not just breakbeats, but all genres. It also demonstrates his self-consciousness as the hook (could not be any more appropriate, following the death of West’s mother and what he told the audience of his “Runaway” film premiere were suicidal times).

“But I will not give up on life again,” West told the crowd.

Although collaboration-heavy, the key tracks of the album are the ones in which West has the most verses. Sure, “So Appalled” and “Monster” are great, but having released them as G.O.O.D. Friday tracks far before the album’s release contributed to their lack of overall presence on the album. For the listener, what’s good is what’s new as the British storytelling of Nicki Minaj leads into the epic introduction so typical of a Kanye West album.

With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, gone is the album format as there does not appear to be a club single in sight. Instead, West provides a dark landscape of hard-hitting beats and rhymes that hit home with his Hip-Hop audience. However, there is something for everyone as the Elton John piano-laced “All of the Lights” has serious potential as a single and promo for athletic events of all kinds.

If there is an issue with the album is that there are too many collaborations. A solid verse from Kanye seems to be forgotten by the verbal torture that is Fergie’s verse on “All of the Lights”. Although entirely warranted, Kanye’s verses on “Runaway” also seemed to be eclipsed by Pusha T, one-half of the rap duo Clipse and the newest addition to a very compelling roster of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music. “Invisibly set, the Rolex is faceless/i’m just young , rich and tasteless,” he raps. However, Kanye is the artist in the spotlight here, as his own production and self-conscious rhymes tell the story the media hasn’t been able to tell. This is a man still finding his place in the world and he is sharing his gifts and talents with us – his music.

“Could we get much higher?” the Mike Oldfield-sampling “Dark Fantasy” asks. The answer is, surprisingly, yes. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy marks Kanye West’s return to Hip-Hop and his rise to the top of Rap supremacy; not just as a producer, but as a lyricist.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Key Tracks: “Dark Fantasy”, “Gorgeous”, “Power”

The Doomsday Key

Was the purpose of the Domesday Book other than what is traditionally assumed by mainstream historians? And did the word “wasted” inscribed in it, as well as the peculiar red-inked markings, indicate something more sinister that could possibly rear its ugly head in our time and somehow threaten the world? And does the island of Bardsey hold a clue to saving the world? If you're a James Rollins fan, you know that the answer will almost certainly be a resounding "yes."

Rollins' newest Sigma Force action thriller opens with a handful of mysterious events: a strange and loathsome disease wipes out an English village in the spring of 1086; an archaeologist is hunted down and killed inside the Vatican for the contents of a tiny satchel; and a U.S. senator's son working on genetically engineered crops in Africa is murdered in a brutal attack on the GM project site. The link between all these compelling events? A mysterious symbol in the shape of a cross, branded into all of the victims.

Part of what makes Rollins' thrillers so enjoyable is the way in which he weaves ancient legends and symbols into myths entirely of his own making by including modern day plots and technological threats. In The Doomsday Key Rollins not only treats us to the ancient evils and myths of the English Isles, which hide the secret to the Doomsday Key, he unleashes modern day dangers of genetic crop modification and bioprospecting into the mix.

Genetically modified crops are an area that's open wide to all kinds of experimentation, much of which is not as far out as the storyline in The Doomsday Key seems to suggest. For instance, in 2001 a biotechnology company called Epicyte created a crop with the ability to reduce human fertility. This is one of the facts that Rollins sprinkles throughout his yarn. How far off are the events of Rollins' story? And what abuses have been enacted but slipped undetected? One can only speculate. Bioprospecting offers its own possibilities for danger, too: think long-buried plagues brought back to life. Though most of such research is motivated by noble motives, Rollins asks, what if the wrong people used the technology in order to advance their twisted aims?

Sigma Force Commander Gray Pierce is thrust into a dangerous hunt for clues in just such a scenario when he must fly to Rome in order to help his friend Rachel Verona. It was her uncle who arranged a meeting between himself and the archaeologist inside the Vatican, a meeting that someone wanted to prevent. Now as he lays in a Rome hospital comatose from the blast Rachel wants to discover who killed the archaeologist researching the roots of Celtic Christianity and why. Her clue? A tiny satchel she recovered while snooping the crime scene. But another woman from Gray's past makes an appearance in Rome, the treacherous assassin known as Seichan. Soon the trio are fighting in the streets of Rome, including a spectacular action sequence through the Coliseum as agents of a mysterious cabal spare nothing in order to stop them in their tracks.

Rollins orchestrates other crescendos of action as battles over the Doomsday Key between the Sigma team and Guild agents are fought in, among other exotic locales, the English peat country, where a fiery apocalypse leaves the team singed but not stirred; and the frozen Norwegian wastelands, home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault where crusty polar bears do not take too kindly to all the ruckus. In the end, treachery forces Pierce to make a choice between the woman he loves and the future of the world's food supply.

Though in some of his thrillers action seems to predominate — 2004's Ice Hunt comes to mind here — Rollins strikes an balanced approach in his latest thriller, allowing the reader some recovery time between the rough and tumble of the action. And though, for now, this is the last Sigma Force book, The Doomsday Key leaves room for more: “A war is coming,” Pierce says. Stay tuned. Rollins has surely more up his sleeve.

Science And Faith- The Script

The Script are the type of band every struggling musician who has busked, borrowed and begged to be signed would love to hate.

The release of their first single We Cry in 2008 garnered enough airplay to secure an impressive slot in the top 20 of the UK singles charts, and its follow-up The Man Who Can't be Moved charted at Number 2 less than six months later.

As if that wasn't enough to rid them indefinitely of the label of being a one-trick pony, the Dublin born trio's self-titled debut album shot to Number 1 in the UK album charts the same year and netted worldwide sales of more than two million copies. Add to this a personal invite from Sir Paul McCartney to support him for the US leg of his recent world tour, and you are somewhere close to gauging The Script's rise to fame.

How does a band who've achieved all this commercial success ensure more of it? As Maroon 5 have already demonstrated, it takes more than a painful break-up and a catalogue of heart-felt memories to sustain a commercial band's career.

From a band who make no apologies for penning the most unashamed lyrics about being in love and all the emotions derived from it, listeners can expect the same cocktail of melodies unravelling tales of break-ups, make-ups and this time unemployment in their second album Science & Faith.

The opening track You Wont Feel A Thing is a rock-pop grower which oozes with heroic chivalry and there is no mistaking the fearless falsetto of singer/songwriter Danny O'Donoghue who sings "Coz everything the world could throw, I'll stand in front I'll take the blow for you." This is classic The Script - and you'll either love it or hate it.

For The First Time is the tale of a couple who reignite their relationship after they both find themselves unemployed. Never has a song about joining the dole queue been so alluring - or, in 2010 Britain, so timely. This narrative songwriting is typically formulaic of the Dublin three and illustrates their ability to marry lyrics and music with ease but at the compromise of neither.

The stylistic intro to the album's namesake Science & Faith leaves no question as to its creator. A classic love song looped with boy band harmonies and accompanied by a non-intrusive guitar riff, it has all the chart-fodder makings of another Top 10 hit.

Walk Away and This = Love are upbeat, tightly produced pop numbers with definite RnB infusions, the latter of which sees the band try their hand at a modest rap indicative of Mark Sheehan (guitarist) and O'Donoghue's formative years spent in the USA.

Following on from the success of their debut album was always going to be a hard act to follow. Rather than spending months, weeks or some cases years deliberating on how to reinvent themselves, The Script have clearly channelled their energies into a tried and tested formula. Business as usual then, as The Script stick to the script.

A solid 3.5 out of 5

A few good songs in the album are:

For The First Time

Nothing

Mike Posner

Michael Posner is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Posner released his debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, on August 10, 2010. The album includes the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 single "Cooler Than Me", as well as his second single, "Please Don't Go".

31 Minutes to Takeoff, his debut album was released on August 10, 2010. The first single from the album, "Cooler Than Me", produced by Gigamesh, climbed the Billboard Hot 100 to reach No. 6 before going on to attain global success. He performed at Bonnaroo and the 2010 Warped Tour in the summer. A second single, "Please Don't Go", was issued on July 20, 2010.

Posner performed on national television for the first time on the talk show Last Call with Carson Daly on Tuesday, 27 October 2009. He also performed his song "Cooler Than Me" on America's Got Talent on July 28, 2010. He also performed at John Barleycorn in Schaumburg, Illinois, on July 31, on Live with Regis and Kelly on August 3, and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on August 4. He performed "Cooler Than Me" on The Wendy Williams Show on August 5, 2010, and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 9, 2010. Mike Posner has collaborated with artists like Kid Cudi, Wale, Big Sean, Bun B, One Be Lo, Eric Holljes, and 3OH!3.

Taio Cruz

Taio Cruz is an English singer, songwriter and music producer. In 2008 he released his debut album Departure. Written, arranged and produced by himself, it achieved initial success in the UK and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In October 2009, he released his follow up album Rokstarr in the UK. It included his UK and U.S. No. 1 single "Break Your Heart" (his U.S. debut single).

Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album Departure appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17. This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album Catfights & Spotlights, which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.

A few of his good songs are:
Dynamite
Break Your Heart
I Can Be
Come On Girl

Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez was born in 1985,and is better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. He is known for lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, as well as his own Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart number-one single "Just the Way You Are". He also co-wrote the international hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Kesha and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan.

He is an amazing songwriter and a few of his amazing songs are
Just The Way You Are
Billionaire

Maroon 5- Hands All Over

It says something serious about Maroon 5’s commitment to professional polish that this popular L.A. outfit — already one of rock’s slickest — opted to make its third studio disc with Robert “Mutt” Lange. He’s the reclusive production whiz behind such radio-bait blockbusters as Def Leppard’s “Hysteria” and “Come on Over” by his ex-wife, Shania Twain.

And, indeed, on “Hands All Over,” Lange successfully pushes Maroon 5’s music to newly glossy heights: James Valentine’s guitar in “Get Back in My Life” is more or less indistinguishable from Jesse Carmichael’s keyboard, while “Don’t Know Nothing” sounds like some forgotten Motown tune taken apart and reassembled by robots. Even the lightly country-fried closer, “Out of Goodbyes” (with a lush vocal cameo by Lady Antebellum), glimmers with a kind of space station sheen.

All that craft is deeply satisfying to ears accustomed to current pop’s computerized precision; a light-funk groove as neatly executed as the one in “Give a Little More,” for instance, is its own reward.

Yet “Hands All Over” reveals less about who frontman Adam Levine is than did Maroon 5’s previous records; too often the songs cleave to opaque generalities. Coming from a guy who’s written as frankly about psychosexual drama as anyone else on the Top 40, that’s a disappointment, especially when Levine flashes the occasional reminder of his old idiosyncrasy.

In lead single “Misery,” the latest in a long line of Maroon 5 songs concerning romantic obsession, Levine zooms in on the image of “your salty skin,” and for a second you realize that humans built this machine.

A few of the good songs in this album are:

Never Going To Leave This Bed

Just A Feeling

Give A Little More

Train

Train is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan (lead vocalist), Jimmy Stafford (guitar) and Scott Underwood (drummer).

Train achieved mainstream success with their debut album, Train, which was released in 1998. Their second album, Drops of Jupiter (2001) brought the band massive popularity. The lead single from the album, "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", was an international hit and won two Grammy Awards in 2002. The album was certified double platinum in the United States and Canada and remains the band's best-selling album to date.

Their third studio album, My Private Nation, released in 2003, continued the band's success, and was certified platinum in the United States. The band released their fourth album, For Me, It's You in 2006. Despite a generally positive reception from critics, the album was commercially unsuccessful. Train then went on a three-year hiatus.

Train re-united and released their latest album, Save Me San Francisco in 2009. The first single from the album, "Hey, Soul Sister" became the band's most successful single in their career, charting in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the top ten in several other countries.

A few of their great songs are:
Drops Of Jupiter
Hey Soul Sister

Heeey heeeey heeeeey

Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains
I knew I wouldn't forget you
And so I went and let you blow my mind
Your sweet moonbeam
The smell of you in every single dream I dream
I knew when we collided you're the one I have decided
Who's one of my kind

Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair you know
Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight

Heeey heeeey heeeey

Just in time, I'm so glad you have a one track mind like me
You gave my life direction
A game show love connection, we can't deny
I'm so obsessed
My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest
I believe in you, like a virgin, you're Madonna
And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind

Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair you know
Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight

The way you can cut a rug
Watching you is the only drug I need
So gangster, I'm so thug
You're the only one I'm dreaming of
You see I can be myself now finally
In fact there's nothing I can't be
I want the world to see you'll be with me

Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo
The way you move ain't fair you know
Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight
Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight
Heeey heeeey heeeeey (tonight)
Heeey heeeey heeeeey (tonight)

Howie Day

Howard Kern "Howie" Day (born January 15, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself.He self-financed and self-released his first album, Australia, in 2000.

Day eventually signed a recording contract with major label Epic Records in 2002 and has since re-released his debut as well as producing a follow up, Stop All The World Now. Despite initially sluggish sales, Stop All The World Now was certified gold in early 2005 and has produced a number of singles, including "Collide", Day's most successful to date, and the hit "She Says".The track became Epic Records’ first platinum single, eventually selling 1.5 million downloads.

After a five year tour before the release of Stop All The World Now followed by a three year tour, Day took some time off and focused on writing music. Day released his Be There EP in May 2009 followed by Sound The Alarm, released on September 8, 2009.

Some of his good songs are:

• She says
• Collide
• Standing in the sun
• Ghost
• Be there
  

INXS

INXS (pronounced "in excess", In-X-S) are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax. For twenty years, they were fronted by Michael Hutchence on lead vocals, whose "sultry good looks" and magnetic stage presence made him the focal point of the band.Initially known for their New Wave/ska/pop style, they later developed a harder pub rock style, including funk and dance elements.

INXS achieved international success with a series of hit recordings through the 1980s and 1990s, including the albums Listen Like Thieves, Kick, X and Welcome to Wherever You Are and the singles "Original Sin", "Need You Tonight", "Devil Inside" and "New Sensation".

Hutchence died in 1997 and INXS did not perform publicly for a year. The band made appearances with several guest singers including Jimmy Barnes, Terence Trent D'Arby, and Jon Stevens; Stevens formally joined the band for a tour and recording session in 2002. In 2005, members of INXS participated in a reality television series, broadcast worldwide, culminating in the selection of their new lead singer, Canadian J. D. Fortune, and the release of "Pretty Vegas" and "Afterglow" as singles, and its album Switch.

INXS has won six Australian Recording Industry Association awards including three for 'Best Group' in 1987, 1989 and 1992, and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001.To date INXS have sold more than 30 million records.

Some of their good songs are:

• Afterglow
• Need You Tonight
• New Sensation
• Original Sin
  

Gareth Gates

Gareth Paul Gates (12 July 1984 in Bradford, England), is an English singer. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK alone.He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly. Gates used the McGuire Programme to correct the problem and is now a speech coach with the programme

Gates' first single, a cover of "Unchained Melody" entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. The single went double-platinum in the UK, and was voted 2002's The Record of the Year by ITV viewers. This was followed by another number-one single, "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)". His third single, "The Long and Winding Road", a duet with Pop Idol winner Will Young, also reached number one. His fourth, "What My Heart Wants to Say" reached number five. The now-defunct Smash Hits magazine dedicated 7 October 2002 as International Gareth Gates Day.

His debut album, What My Heart Wants to Say achieved first week sales of 100,000 copies, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart, and eventually earned double platinum status in the UK.In 2003, Gates sang the 2003 Comic Relief charity single, "Spirit in the Sky", with The Kumars. The single was a UK number-one for two weeks. He also appeared in Comic Relief's Celebrity Driving School. Through Comic Relief, he became involved with Body and Soul, a charity that helps people affected by HIV and AIDS.

His next single, "Sunshine", reached number three and were taken from his second album Go Your Own Way, which was released in October 2003. However, the album was far less successful than his debut album. It peaked at number eleven in the UK before dropping to #32 the following week, and only spent four weeks on the album chart altogether. The album enjoyed slightly more success in a number of Asian countries however, and Gates won MTV Asia's award for Best International Male in 2003/4. He was awarded the same title by MTV China and MTV Taiwan.

His next single, "Say it Isn't So", reached number four in late 2003, but proved to be Gates' last single release in the UK until April 2007. At the start of 2004 he did an arena tour of the UK, then continued to promote his album throughout Europe and Asia, before taking a break and training as a speech coach and course instructor with the McGuire Programme.

Some of his good songs are:

• Unchained Melody
• Say it isnt so
• My heart wants to stay
• Spirit in the sky
  

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band which formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andrew Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980–81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums) with Gore taking over songwriting. Wilder left the band in 1995 and since then Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have continued as a trio.

Depeche Mode have had forty-eight songs in the UK Singles Chart and #1 albums in UK, US and throughout Europe. According to EMI, Depeche Mode have sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide, making them the most successful electronic band in music history.. Q Magazine calls Depeche Mode "The most popular electronic band the world has ever known".

Some of their good songs are:

• Enjoy the Silence
• New life
• It's no good
• Home
• Useless

REM

R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Bill Berry (drums and percussion). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the band released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M.'s 1994 release Monster was a return to a more rock-oriented sound. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three band members. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Buck, Mills, and Stipe continued the group as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Some of tehir famous songs are:

• Losing my religion
• Hollow man
• Until the day is done
• Bad day
• Get up
  

The Cranberries

The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Although widely associated with alternative rock, the band's sound also incorporates indie, indie pop, rock, post-punk, Irish folk and pop rock elements. The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, which became a commercial success and sold over five million copies in the United States. The group was one of the most successful rock acts of the '90s and sold over 14.5 million albums in the United States alone. The band has achieved four top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?; No Need To Argue; To the Faithful Departed and Bury the Hatchet)^[1] and eight top 20 singles on the Modern Rock Tracks chart

In 2009 The Cranberries reunited and began a North American tour, followed by dates in Latin America and Europe in early 2010. They performed at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Irish Special Olympics games at Thomond Park on 9 June 2010, their first performance in their native city for over 15 years.

Some of their good songs are:

• Zombie
• Linger
• Dreams
• Free to Decide
• Salvation

Sting

Sting, (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner; 2 October 1951) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, activist, actor and philanthropist.

Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock music band The Police. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, and receiving an Oscar nomination for best song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Some good songs by Sting are:

• Desert Rose
• We'll be together
• Englishman in new york
• Evrything you do is Magic
  

The Police

The Police were a rock and new wave trio from London, England, formed originally in 1977. The trio consisted of Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar, vocals) and Stewart Copeland (drums, vocals, percussion). The band became globally popular in the late 1970s and are generally regarded as one of the first New Wave groups to achieve mainstream success, playing a style of rock that was influenced by jazz, punk and reggae music. Their 1983 album, Synchronicity, was number one in the UK and the US and sold over 8,000,000 copies in the US. The band broke up in 1984, but reunited in early 2007 for a one-off world tour lasting until August 2008, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their hit single "Roxanne" and also, to a lesser extent, their formation as a group. The Police have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, and became the world's highest-earning musicians in 2008, thanks to their reunion tour. Rolling Stone ranked The Police number 70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Some good songs by The Police are:

• Roxanne
• Dont stand so close to me
• King of pain
• Everything you do is magic
• Invisible sun

Scorpions

Scorpions is a German heavy metal/hard rockband from Hannover, Germany, known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and their singles "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel, "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change". The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide,and they were ranked #46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock program.Rock You Like a Hurricane" is also #18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. On January 24, 2010, after 45 years of performing, the band announced that they will be retiring after touring in support of their new album Sting in the Tail.The Scorpions sold between 100 150^[16] million albums worldwide.
Some of their best songs are:

• Rock you like a hurricane
• Eye of the tiger
• Wind of Change
• Send me an Angel
  

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald.The band's line-up has remained mostly static during their 26-year history, the only exception being the departure of Alec John Such in 1994, who was unofficially replaced by Hugh McDonald. The band have become known for writing several rock anthems, and achieved widespread recognition with their third album Slippery When Wet, released in 1986.

Throughout their career, the band have released eleven studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album, and have sold over 120 million records worldwide.They have performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans, and were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006.The band was also honored with the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and as songwriters and collaborators, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.

They have composed numerous hits including:

• Livin on a prayer
• It's my life
• You give love a bad name
• Have a nice day
• We werent born to follow
• Always