Rock and roll, also called rock 'n' roll or rock & roll, style of popular music that originated in the United States in the mid-1950s and that evolved by the mid-1960s into the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known as rock and roll. The author shares his moments: from escaping pre-teen angst with the help of the Who to spending his teen years buried in the darkest corners of used record stores, gorging on everything from Bowie to the Clash; from carving out his own musical identity in college courtesy of R.E.M. and the Replacements and a shoebox full of Grateful Dead tapes, to still finding room for occasional musical epiphanies as an indie rock-obsessed adult.Rock and roll, also called rock 'n' roll or rock & roll, style of popular music that originated in the United States in the mid-1950s and that evolved by the mid-1960s into the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known as rock and roll. The author shares his moments: from escaping pre-teen angst with the help of the Who to spending his teen years buried in the darkest corners of used record stores, gorging on everything from Bowie to the Clash; from carving out his own musical identity in college courtesy of R.E.M. and the Replacements and a shoebox full of Grateful Dead tapes, to still finding room for occasional musical epiphanies as an indie rock-obsessed adult.