HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/term/rckmusic.txt

Text File | 1996-04-27 | 7.2 KB | 107 lines

In this essay, IÆm going to introduce to the reader a
topic not touched a lot because of its complexity and its avoidance by
conservative adults. This topic is, of course, Rock Music. During one
week, I looked for information in the library and at my house, and from
the information I gathered and my one knowledge about the topic, IÆm
going to lead the reader to a better understanding of Rock nÆ Roll. I
chose to do Rock music because I can identify myself with it. Rock music
is very complex. In fact   "ItÆs stylistic scope is to broad to be
encompassed by any single definition"  ("Rock Music", Groliers, p.1). The
nearest definition suggests a kind of music that represents and speaks
for the teenage society. This music is characterized by using a heavy
beat. In this essay, IÆm going to divide Rock music into four sections:
Rock of the 50┤s, of the 60┤s, of the 70┤s and of the 80┤s. Within these
sections IÆm also going to discuss several sub-topics such as famous
composers and groups, and characteristics of the music.
                 The first section of this essay is Rock nÆ Roll of the
1950Æs, when Rock nÆ Roll was born. It emerged from rhythm and blues, a
music similar to jazz played by blacks. This kind of music started to
attract white teenagers. Disc jockey Alan Freed was the one who
introduced this music and later gave it the name of Rock nÆ Roll. Record
companies distributed records played by whites but composed by blacks.
Whites were frustrated because there werenÆt any white artists and they
didnÆt want the blacks to be the stars until Bill Haley appeared with his
"Rock Around the Clock". In this decade, Elvis Presley introduced a music
that was sexual suggestive and outraged dull adults. In time he changed
the style of the music by adopting a country and western style and became
a national hero. By the end of this decade and the start of the next,
Rock nÆ Roll started to decline because it was formula ridden and it was
too sentimental. Teenage audiences transferred their allegiance to Folk
music.
                In 1963 the renewal of Rock nÆ Roll came when The Beatles
started to play. The Beatles, for some the best rock group ever, were
from Liverpool, England. Through the 60Æs, The Beatles dominated the
record industries and with their dominant instrumentation, which
included: electric leads, rhythm, and bass guitar, drums and sometimes an
electric organ, changed the name of Rock nÆ Roll to just Rock. During the
1960Æs many other styles of music arose from Rock like, Motown, Soul
music, Jazz-rock , Folk-rock and others.
               Folk-Rock the most appreciated of this derivations and was
first suggested by Bob Dylan. This kind of music brought to folk music a
hard beat and amplification; and to Rock, a new poetic style. California
was one of the major centers of rock activity and experimentation during
the decade. First it was characterize for its surfing music, a very
joyful music that reflected the fun people had while surfing. The Beach
Boys were the ones who introduced this kind of music.
              At the end of the century this happy kind of music changed
to a more rebellious style that was designated the name of "hippie
music". Groups that played this music were Country Joe and The Mamas and
The Papas. Along with this hippie ideas popularity of hallucinogenic
drugs produced a psychedelic style of music called Acid Rock. By the end
of the 60┤s the distinctions between Rock n┤ Roll and Rock were evident.
The early instruments- saxophone, piano, amplified guitar, and drums- had
been changed to electric guitar and bass, amplified drums and other
electronic devices. Not only did the instruments change but so did the
ideas behind the music. For example, "to the lyrics of teenage love and
adolescent concerns were added social commentary, glorification of drugs
and free-association poetry"("Rock Music", Groliers, p.1). Groups like
The Beach Boys, Crew Cuts and The Everly Brothers were replaced by more
imaginative, non-descriptive names groups like The Who, Jefferson
Airplane, Big Brother and Holding Company. The Who, the most famous of
these groups, were originally from England and were reknowned because of
their bizarre stage performances, they would destroy their instruments
after their performance finished. The Who was one of the first rock
groups.
                          In the 70┤s, the common barriers of rock broke
into more divisions, like hard rock and mellow rock. Hard Rock was
extremely loud and electronically amplified and Mellow Rock was softer
and with acoustic instruments. In 1972, in Jamaica, a new style of music
was created called Reggae. Reggae is a mixture of rock, soul, calypso and
Latin music. The king of Reggae was Bob Marley. Other styles more in
rocks borders, since Reggae was more latin than rock, were created in the
middle of this century, like: bubble gum rock, a funny playful music
directed to the youngest fans, Punk Rock, "a loud, hard rock style
derived from acid rock and marked by its extremes of costume and staging"
("Rock Music", Encarta, p.1), and Heavy Metal, which continued the
approach to Acid Rock but with a simpler musical dimension but relying
upon the power of repetitiveness, loud volume, and electronic distortion.
               One famous group of Heavy Metal was Led Zeppelin, a
British group that was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page (lead guitar), Robert
Plant    (lead singer), John Paul Jones (pianist and bassist) and John
Bonham (drummer). Most music of this decade was intended to be listened
to, but not to be danced. But this intention wasnÆt kept by Disco music
that arose in 1977 and was especially for dancing. One great group of
Disco music were the Bee Gees. Disco music was described by rock fans as
mechanical, commercial and unlyrical (which is true). At the end of this
decade, rock,  again became a dominant cultural force.
                The last but not least section of this essay is rock of
the 80Æs. At the start of this last decade, rock groups became more
production oriented, mainly because of the sudden explosion of videos.
This new sensation was a good way to sell music to the people. Heavy
metal bands were greatly pushed by videos, but most helped were the
popular performers like Michael Jackson, Prince and Boy George. The
influence of British bands of punk, disco, reggae and pop-rock was still
big in the U.S. Rock scene. At the same time, there of nostalgia to
return to the older pre rock music, like rhythm and blues, which was
suggested by played by Elvis Costello. By the middle of the 80Æs, almost
every country had begun to support indigenous music, and at the end of
this "a vigorous talk-song style called rap became extremely popular
among urban black teenagers" ("Rock Music", Encarta, p.1.).
                Rock music taught me to appreciate things in a different
way. IÆve learned this since rock is not an exact science, it can change.
In fact Rock music helps me relax ( I would have been able to finish
writing this essay with rock music). After writing this essay I have
learned the origins of rock and the branches of it, but that wasnÆt my
intention. I wrote this essay to express myself with it because I feel I
can show myself with rock music. I think rock has become social
phenomenal.