Rock and Thunder: Your guide to the world of rock music
Heart thumping tempos, rhapsodic guitar solos, soul-lifting vocals, and the marching beat of the drums are rock's foundational features. Many of us, in our teen years, have rhythmically banged our heads in the still air with classic bangers such as System Of A Down's Chop Suey!, had our romantic souls sucked into a void by The Killer's Mr. Brightside, and had our seeds of love planted through Def Leppard's Hysteria. Rock is a beautiful genre that has a rich history and a plethora of great hits.
Def Leppard’s Hysteria
The birth of Rock and Roll came from '50s America, bringing in a culmination of American music styles such as blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, folk, country, and pop music. Although, if you ask me to point out the start of rock music, I will not be able to answer that because music styles get amalgamated into each other, and it's hard to pinpoint who started it off first. However, the rock and roll generation consists of great artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, and many more.
Elvis Presley’s Railhouse Rock
The '60s for rock and roll saw a British uprising. After suffering the bombardments from Nazi Germany's Blitzkrieg's, the kingdom was under depravity and spent its post wars rebuilding their cities and feeding their citizens, unlike the USA, who suffered minimal damages and spent fewer resources for the war. However, the American Blues, Jazz, Country, and rock and roll were booming in the UK, allowing inspired artists to add their twists to rock and roll. I wouldn't be surprised if anyone over the age of twenty years has heard of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. These British bands were on a hot streak in the UK and Europe. The Beatles rose from the port city of Liverpool by playing covers of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and other American rock and roll artists. Their covers gave them a solid foundation, allowing them to showcase their talents in the rest of Europe. However, covers are not what made them "The Beatles," it was their symbiotic partnership, which allowed the audience to experience a style of music they had never heard before. John Lennon was inspired by rough rockers, whereas McCartney was a melodic artist. Their symbiotic relationship resulted in Lennon toughening McCartney's style, and McCartney would soften Lennon's harsher edges. Greil Marcus once mentioned, " Thr form of the Beatles contained the forms of rock and roll itself." It is an artistic delight listening to the Beatles; however, the rest of the decade showcased with artists or bands such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, and many more.
The Kinks’ Come on Now
The '60s were not only known for The Beatles, but also a creeping new age of Psychedelic Rock. 'Hippies,' as they have gained the name through media, were a class of people in San Fransisco who ingrained liberal views and attitudes which concerned personal freedom. Music in the psychedelic era was a communal activity, where the music belonged to no one but everyone. Moreover, the Vietnam war, the equal rights debate, and union strife, inspired this individualistic generation to produce music where young people could break free from conforming societal expectations.
Pink Floyd’s Astronomy Domine
The Psychedelic Experience was the precursor to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Psychedelic and Hard rock used distortion and feedback as a musical tool. Moreover, the culture of 'sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll' of the psychedelic experience was exaggerated through Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the '70s. However, this new form of music had something which the previous generations never had - Electricity. Previously, Electricity amplified the sound of the music, but later they garnered techniques such as feedback, distortion, and increasing the dynamic range of sound to release previously unavailable sound never heard before, especially in the electric guitar. Furthermore, there was another star rising from the shadows of challenging masculine identity was Glitter Rock (Yes, the '70s was a very chaotic decade for Rock Music). Rock music is a statement of power - a domain for men. When rock music was particularly feminine, it was a symbol of change. Improvements in technology gave rise to gigantic speakers and music arenas, which allowed "rockstars" to capitalize on the audience's desire for an exhibition. It also allowed artists to express themselves sexually, whether it was heterosexuality, bisexuality, transvestitism, or asexuality.
Television was booming in the '80s. Media and culture were at the forefront of everyone's faces, and music fans were experiencing music in quick successions. MTV or Music Television had taken over the world by storm. Before MTV, music videos were an unheard phenomenon, and only some existed, that too back in the ' 60s through Elvis Presley's film Jailhouse Rock. MTV allowed the audience to experience a concert in the comfort of their homes. At first, however, MTV gained a lot of criticism and controversy since it seemed to be playing only white artists. To counter the audience's perceptions, it gave the world its biggest counter-attack by bringing in Michael Jackson's Thriller. The album took over the world by storm. Thriller was a fourteen-minute mini-film, which demonstrated that music videos are a viable art form (now, I cannot imagine mainstream music without having a music video). MTV also paved for new artists such as Madonna ( a credible competitor to take away MJ's stardom), Bruce Springsteen, and Prince.
The music of the '80s is where all my favorite artists and bands lie. The decade is where I found my likeness for Heavy, Thrash, and Power Metal ( I was an angsty teenager after all). Heavy metal music is often described as fast, loud, and "heavy." These music styles consisted of the blasting of drums and the frizz of the electric guitar. They also gained the name of "Hair metal" since most artists in the genre had long wavy hair, and when they banged their heads to the beat, the hair would rise with glory and cascade with power, accurately representing the music style. Teen idols were not a concept earlier in the '60s and the '70s. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra music produced music for mature audiences. However, when The Beatles came along, music found a new fanbase. Fast forward to the '80s, heavy metal, thrash, and other power heavy genres were the symbol of teenage rebellion and freedom. The '80s was also a critical age for women to showcase their artistic abilities, instead of being sex objects. MTV had sexualized women since its incarnation; on the contrary, many females in the rock genre wanted to be taken seriously as the men in it. Although they never claimed to be feminists, many ought not to be looked as second class citizens and have control over their writing, producing, and their careers. They, like the psychedelic era, questioned gender roles through their art. Women in rock were bold and experimental, capturing the audience by grabbing gender roles in their hands and twisting it.
Finally, the '90s was the era of grunge rock. Grunge rock is an alternative form of rock that combined the forms of punk and metal. It started in Seatle. Grunge means dirt, an identity that the punk-infused-metal music bands had due to their low budget and poor quality recording, leading to a coarse and dirt-like sound. Instead of spending more capital on expensive production, most grunge bands just increased the volume of their instruments.
My first entry to the rock genre came through Grunge music in Radiohead's Creep. It was a gloomy day in Paris, France. The beguiled clouds were weeping onto the shoulders of the train. The people inside had dejected faces of nostalgia, and I was sitting all alone, taking in the sullen mood of France's barren countryside. Out of the blue, Creep started serenading through the earphones. As I was reminiscing my previous high school crushes, the music's despondent lyrics, " But I am a Creep," really struck a nerve in my soul, and a few words later, my heart filled with sorrow and traumatic tears started descending my forlorn face. I had felt a strong emotion of which I had never felt before. Since then, my interest in rock music and its sub-genres grew tenfolds. Although many people claim that rock music is dead, art never dies. The rise of pop and rap have overshadowed the genre of rock and its history. With a rich history, the decline in rock baffles me at times, but it only encourages me to share information about it. Here is my rock playlist if you would like to hear more rock music: Mélomanie
