Schoolboy Rockers and the Band Aesthetic-A Grassroots Examination

Ever wonder how we got from Chuck Berry to Elvis Presley? From Little Richard to The Rolling Stones? I've always marveled at how something which emerged in close alignment with Jazz and Blues and whose pioneers were diverse in background, but very noticeably featured a large swathe of African American musicians, could have so quickly become dominated by mostly Caucasian artists and audiences. Isn't Jimmy Hendrix still the greatest Rockstar of all time? Or is he just the greatest guitarist now? I wonder. Perhaps even more importantly, how did we get to Elvis Presley from the likes of popular female artists of the day, which accounted for almost a third of artists in the singles charts prior to the emergence of Rock 'n' Roll.

Nevertheless, somewhere along the line, things must have changed. Because from the early days of Rock's emergence in the cultural mainstream, the Rock format and the aesthetic of the Rock Band has shifted to reflect a very Anglicized and male dominated picture of the culture's form and purpose.

An account of grassroots trends, participation and the production of cultural forms and aesthetics in Rock Music by William T. Bielby (2004) attempts to map these transitions, looking specifically at trends in popular music consumption, gender roles and the like, hoping to give us an insight onto the subject. Whilst previous accounts frame the emergence of the first wave of anglicised male rock bands as an expression of anti-authoritarian pre-adolescent rebellion embraced by young males mimicking the aggressive, sexually charged looks, lyrics and sounds of contemporary black musical styles, this does little to explain the absence of females from Rock n Roll bands, especially considering that the study itself indicated teenage girls held greater savvy in both consumption of popular music/culture and listened to rock music as much as males of their age.

Previous explications of the subject pointed to the greater rebelliousness of boys and the more conformative emphasis on female gender roles in society. However Bielby elucidates upon School Culture and specifically the congruence between organised sport as a status culture and participation in Rock culture as holding the key to unlocking gendered participation and the appeal of rock n roll band to males. Whilst the pursuit of status and popularity with social networks of boys and girls within educational peer groups is a perk offered by both, where these two differ is that whilst school teams are often conformative with school values and hierarchies, Rock n Roll culture and circles of those participating in the culture itself formed as what the author describes as a "deviant subcultural movement" outside of the moral, political and authoritative bounds of their parents and thus their control.

This seeking out of deviant sub-cultures is part of a process of social navigation which the author asserts, allowed boys specifically to gain greater social standing and attain better occupational outcomes in later life, primarily due to their participation in the rock scene which is comparable to "college fraternity life and careers where after-work socializing is an important part of workplace culture." allowing boys to carve these connections out in a still as of yet unfilled and undominated sub-cultural movement. The author attributes the domination of this field by males specifically to the differing social attitudes towards girl's and boys involvement in activities like drinking, dating and partying, which, in association with rock sub-culture, was permissible for boys, but not for girls whom they would tolerate no such deviance from.



References

1. Bielby, W. T. (2004), 'Rock in a Hard Place: Grassroots Cultural Production in the post-Elvis era: 2003 Presidential Address', American Sociological Review, Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 1-13

The Drugs of Rock and Roll

So I’ve always wanted to know while growing what the drugs in the “sex, drugs and rock and roll” phrase is. So here was my chance to find out. My search uncovered that early rock groups such as the Beatles start with the drug cannabis and were also one of the first bands to publically announce that they actually used the stuff. But by releasing this information into the public domain it gave rebellious youths all over the world the idea that drugs are cool because the Beatles do them. Strangely enough this revolution started around the same time as the hippie movements across the world.

It wasn’t until the late 1960’s – 1970’s that bands started to publically admit that other drugs were being sampled and even that some bands had become addicted to certain ones.much of the rock and roll cachet associated with drug use dissipated as rock music suffered a series of drug-related deaths and Although some amount of drug use remained common among rock musicians, a greater respect for the dangers of drug consumption was observed. At the peak of the drug/ rock and roll revolution drugs such as cocaine and heroin on top of the publically know use of cannabis and LSD.

So to summaries the drugs that were ushered in with the rock and roll revolution are still around today and youths still are following in the footsteps of their favorite bands and singers to try bigger and newer things. While there has been a step decline in the use 0of recreational drugs due to having a better knowledge of their effects on the human body. They are still out there.

Source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_impact_of_rock_and_roll

The LIST of ROCK!!!

Well recently I discovered a list of the various types of Rock music figured it would be an eye opener to avid fans of the genre... keep in mind this is the abridged version of the list only specifying the rock classification. I.E. no punk sub genres etc...

• Acid rock
• Action rock
• Alternative rock
• Anatolian rock
• Arena rock
• Art rock
• Avant-rock
• Avant-progressive rock
• Bisrock
• Blues-rock
• Brazilian rock
• Cello rock
• Celtic rock
• Chicano rock
• Chimp rock
• Christian rock
• Classic rock
• Cock rock
• Comedy rock
• Compressive Rock
• Country rock
• Dance-rock
• Death rock
• Detroit rock
• Electronic rock
• Experimental rock
• Folk-rock
• Funk rock
• Garage rock
• German rock
• Ghetto Rock
• Glam rock
• Gothic rock
• Hard rock
• Heartland rock
• Indie rock
• Industrial rock
• Instrumental rock
• Iranian rock
• Japanese rock
• Jam rock
• Kaizerrock
• Krautrock
• Latin rock
• Lovers rock
• Math rock
• Noise rock
• Ostrock
• Pagan rock
• Piano rock
• Pinoy rock
• Pop rock
• Porn rock
• Post-rock
• Progressive rock
• Psychedelic rock
• Punk rock
• Punta rock
• Raga rock
• Reggae rock
• Russian rock
• Samba-rock
• Shock rock
• Skate rock
• Sleaze rock
• Soft rock
• Soul rock
• Southern rock
• Space rock
• Speedrock
• Stoner rock
• Surf rock
• Swamp rock
• Symphonic rock
• Synth rock
• Thrashcore
• Trash rock
• Trip rock
• Wagnerian rock
• Wizard rock
• Yacht rock

As you can see.. this list is massive and pretty encompasses EVERY form of rock music ever created... kinda kool huh :)

Decades of Hits – The Story of U2

Many rock bands have showed that they can withstand the test of time and such is the case for U2. Formed in 1976, they became internationally recognized by the mid-1980s.

Since their conception, U2 has played over 1,000 concerts for millions of fans all over the world. In fact, they’ve become known for their live performances. In fact, it wasn’t until their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, that their success as record sellers surpassed their success with live concerts. 

There is a noticeable difference between their early albums and the release of The Joshua Tree. Not wanting to become another typical grunge rock band, the group opted to look back into the roots of rock music and become a bit more artsy and abstract. Starting in the late 1980s, U2 had officially changed their sound.  They mingled with American blues, country and gospel music and ended up expanding their fan base. 

The Johsua Tree album ended up scoring them their first two Grammy awards and put them on the front page of the music industry.

With over 145 million albums sold worldwide and 22 Grammy Awards under their belt, it’s a wonder how such rock artists could have time for anything else. Such is not the case with U2. Throughout their career, they have advocated for various human rights campaigns, including Amnesty International, the ONE Campaign and Bono’s DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) Campaign.  This may or may not be a reason why they’ve found continued success for the past 30 years.

Take a look at one of the songs that changed the path for U2 and helped them create a legacy for themselves. In this song, you can hear how they have mixed blues and gospel to create a new sound.

References

U2’s Web site, www.u2.com

Hank Bordowitz & John Swenson, 2003, ‘The U2 Reader,’ Hal Leonard Corporation

Woodstock Revisited

One of rock’s most memorable events was the original Woodstock festival, held in upstate New York in the summer of 1969. Following the Vietnam war, this festival was put on to promote peace and the love of music.

500,000 people from all walks of life ended up attending the infamous 3-day festival and, although people came from clashing backgrounds, the music helped spread peace. All in all, 

Woodstock brought peace through music during a difficult time. It’s now written in history books as one of the greatest rock concerts of all time. When havoc and destruction should have occurred, people came together instead.

On the 30^th anniversary of Woodstock in 1999, a new Woodstock took place to pay tribute to the greatest rock concert of all time. Unlike the original Woodstock, Woodstock ’99 left a negative impression on the world of rock.

Sheryl Crow, a female performer at Woodstock ’99, described the audience as disconcerting 

and said that it was the worst performing experience she’s ever had.

“These people were so full of rage and totally unappreciative of the music, kids raised without any pride in themselves. I’m still really (angry) about the event and regret being a part of it” (As said by Sheryl Crow in Cateforis, 2006, p 313).

Why the drastic change? This festival was supposed to commemorate the orginal Woodstock, in which people banned together. However, at Woodstock ’99, the crowds got out of control as they raged, rioted, looted and flashed body parts for the camera.

Maybe Woodstock is something that can’t be re-created or re-visited. It wasn’t meant to be as big and grand as it turned out to be. But, that’s the spirit of it all. Without planning and without rules – Woodstock ’69 defied the odds and ended up showing America the healing power of music. Through rock, people forgave their differences for three days and focused on nothing but peace and prosperity. Isn’t that what music is supposed to be about? You can’t re-create that feeling. Maybe – just maybe – if we stop trying, it’ll come back to us one day and the world will see another successful Woodstock. Until then – I think it’s about time we stop trying so hard to make it happen.

 

Woodstock 1969    Woodstock 1999

References

Woodstock ’69 Web site, www.woodstock69.com

Theo Cateforis, 2006, ‘The Rock History Reader,’ CRC Press