Rock Music has gone through many changes over the years. The criminal shaking of Elvis Presley's hips set the world's moral compass on its rear. Jerry Lee Lewis shook everyone up when he married his very young cousin. Then the Beatles hit the scene with their scandalous haircuts and songs that people were sure were about drugs. Parents raged and teens rebelled, has anything really changed?
In the 70's psychedelic rockers, punk rockers and whatever David Bowie can be classified as ruled the airwaves. There were even quite a few Southern rockers making a name at that time as well, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band being the most notable. Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper scared people. Kiss spent most of their time seducing women and spitting blood on audience members. Oh yes, the
70's were a rock decade in many ways.
The 80's brought about more pop/synthesizer rock, and the onslaught of hair bands. Poison, Guns n Roses, and Motley Crue were the ones that girls flocked to see, while Megadeth and Metallica managed to build quite a following as well. Judas Priest, and Ozzy were evil while Twisted Sister fought the PMRC. Again, parents raged and teens rebelled.
Enter the nineties when grunge rock came about, Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder pretty much ruined the hair band scene and teens welcomed their angry, depressing and often confusing lyrics. Green Day became a household name for rebellious youth. The nineties had some new stand out rock acts, and some hangers on from the 70's and
80's who tried to get with the times Metallica became a mainstream rock band that was heard on radio stations all over the world.
With the new millennium rock music is not so much a classification as an idea; there is emo rock, pop rock, grunge, glam, Southern, surf, garage, and even girl rock. So nowadays when Elvis' pelvis seems tame compared to Marilyn Manson's gender bending, and the Beatles haircuts are conservative in comparison to Rob Zombie’s dreadlocks, guess what is happening? That is right, parents are raging and teens are rebelling.
Rock Music is the release of teen angst, the artists know this and they give them what they want. Need is another whole issue.
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I want to say kids just "think they know what they need." Then I recall my younger days and realize I thought the same.. :-p
ReplyDeleteI come from the 70's with the hair bands. The chicks couldn't seem to get enough of the hair!
ReplyDeleteRock music in the 60's did just that, it rocked. By the 70's I didn't recognize it as rock. One of us grew up, the other didn't.
ReplyDeleteReading this blog was like taking a walk down memory lane. I was there for all of it. I particularly had to laugh about the Beatle's hair cut comment. I remember my dad telling my brother not to get any ideas about changing his flat top hairstyle.
ReplyDeleteI'm a rocker all the way. It's the only music out there today worth listening to.
ReplyDeleteHey Earl, ever heard of country and oldies. I grew up with rock too, butit's hardly the only thing worth listening to.
ReplyDelete