What is AOR in 2011?

[opera races]

Just curious, what does the term “AOR” as far as rock music goes mean in 2011? I was working on a project and realized that my own point of reference or definition for AOR is stuck back in late 70’s FM radio!

In the past I thought AOR meant “album rock” or the “album oriented rock” format I remember when I listened to FM radio in the late 70’s. Sadly, I just missed by a hair the freeform FM era. I remember and with one station in particular it seemed like they pretty much did their own programming and the DJ’s didn’t seem to follow too strict a playlist. On another station there was a certain lady DJ you knew when she was likely on the air because all of a sudden you would hear a lot of Led Zeppelin lol. That same station though ... it was mentioned by another DJ at the time from a different station who claimed they were indeed running on some kind of “formula” although maybe it was just because I was young and naive I thought if the album rock (including deep cuts) they played was some kind of formula it sure was a heck of a formula I enjoyed!

I have gotten the impression that AOR also went on to include what people came to refer (almost derisively) as “arena rock” or “corporate rock” and that was among the many things punk was rebelling against ... but I think I digress?

I’m also getting the impression that AOR as it is defined now might have something of a negative connotation?

I noticed Classic Rock magazine now has a spin-off publication called AOR but after looking at one issue I am not sure what their criteria is for the bands and musicians they include.

I already did a little googling around online and didn’t find what I considered an adequate answer to my question so what I’m really wanting to find out is other people’s own definition for AOR and other thoughts and opinions on the subject in their own words on this forum.

Thanks ...

P.S. I'm normally not into categorizing music and over-categorizing music into various sub-genres makes me crazy ... but for some reason I find this a burning question ... well partly because I want to be able to use the term intelligently in writing, etc.

 

[AboutAGirl]

I've never understood the usage of the term, frankly. A lot of the artists associated with AOR don't seem notably album oriented to me, and rock music as a whole is and has been album oriented since midway through The Beatles career.

 

[Rock Candy]

This seems to sum up the "genre" side quite well, albeit I've heard the "album" prefix used for this before. Maybe "adult" is solely used now to distinguish between the subgenre and radio format?

AOR (Adult Oriented Rock) is a sub-genre of Rock that emerged in the late '70s and early '80s as an amalgamation of Rock, Hard Rock and Progressive Rock. It is characterized by a rich, layered sound, slick production and a heavy reliance on pop/rock hooks, which led to its huge popularity in the late '70s and early '80s.

AOR songs are almost always synthesizer driven and catchy and very often include harmonized vocals. The catchy choruses combined with relatively short song lengths make AOR a very radio friendly genre. The songs are more melodic than straight-ahead, regular Hard Rock, but still not nearly as light as Pop/Rock.

Some of the earliest - and also the most well known - AOR bands include names like Asia, Boston, Foreigner, Journey, Survivor and Toto.

Although AOR experienced a decline in popularity in the '90s, there has been a resurgence in recent years. Some of the notable groups in this later era include Brother Firetribe, Frederiksen/Denander, Place Vendome and Pride of Lions.

Note! The genre AOR is not to be confused with the radio format AOR (Album Oriented Rock), which is a term used mostly in North America and can mean practically any Rock album ever released.

 

[Dairenn]

The definition given there is fairly accurate in my book. It certainly describes the sound of my band. I'm trying to, in fact, find other AOR bands in the LA area so we can build more buzz for our live performances.

 

[Lynch]

AOR is not solely/exclusively "Album" oriented rock but has also been referred to as "Arena Oriented Rock". For anyone not understanding the terminology with "album" in this acronym, try the second version I've given. A lot of the bands within that subgenre/category usually were bands that did a good amount of touring, even without having numerous high-charting singles.

 

[METALPRIEST]

What I never understood and found silly with "album" orientated rock, "adult" orientated rock or "arena" orientated rock is that there are bands that are not AOR that make albums and play arenas to adults.

 

[joe]

AOR has always been "Adult Oriented Rock" IMHO. Album oriented rock can include every rock rock album recorded.

It's hard to believe this genre is still alive in 2011. I don't listen to mainstream rock radio so I have no idea what artists could be 'termed' AOR but I have an idea what they would sound like.

 

[METALPRIEST]

But again my point would be like Nirvana right? They're NOT AOR but plenty of adults listen to them these days.

Labels

 

[joe]

...and Slayer is adult contemporary.

 

[Peter Norway]

AOR has always been "Adult Oriented Rock" IMHO. Album oriented rock can include every rock rock album recorded.

It's hard to believe this genre is still alive in 2011. I don't listen to mainstream rock radio so I have no idea what artists could be 'termed' AOR but I have an idea what they would sound like.

They sound like Tom Petty and Sheryl Crow.