1970's Music Analysis

Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and culture is a significant way of forming people and the way they live. Although not always seen directly culture has an overbearing influence on the music that is produced and made popular. The political Climate of the early seventies was full of fire with issues such as Vietnam and constant protest throughout the county. Later in the 70’s the end of the Vietnamese conflict brought the rise of the Watergate scandal and Iran Contra. These issues swept headlines and ingrained people’s thoughts. Social issues also played a big role in the developing culture of the seventies. Protests and constant outbreaks about gay rights and women’s rights seemed to

     Rock ‘n’ roll music came of age in the sixties which was a period in the nation’s history when a young generation expressed their anguish and sense of alienation to the country’s social establishments by searching for new answers to the age-old questions concerning the meaning of life, the value of the individual, and the nature of truth and spirituality (Harris 306). The classic rock music which was created during this period gave form and substance to this search. Songs such as “My Generation” by the Who recorded the keen sense of alienation that young people felt from the past and the “Establishment” and it also showed the keen sense of community they felt among themselves.      Classic albums such as the Beatles’ “White Album,” the Who’s “Who’s Next,” Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited, and Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” capture what was essential about the time because they were both a result of that time and because they helped to produce it by reinforcing the younger generation’s feelings of alienation and separation.      Although

The 1960s was crammed full of many impacting events and important figures. From Hitchcock releasing one of the greatest thrillers of all time, Psycho, to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely death, to the infamous Woodstock festival. This era changed history completely and made the United States think twice about its youth. Events of the 1960s are still impacting our country as we know it today. The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is first and foremost the album that gave rise to 'hopes of progress in pop music" (The Times, 29 May 1967)

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

Rock ‘n’ roll has played a major role in some known historical developments post World War 2. Music plays a significant part in America 's Cold War culture. Music gave us a sense of new technologies and helped the world to prosper. It also is linked with African Americans living in the South. Music was known for shaping the lives of the people during the 1950s and 1960s. Music was geared towards the youth, race, ethnicity, gender and class. “All Shook Up: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America” by Altschuler, Glenn C, tells us the story of the birth of rock and roll during the concrete years of 1955 to 1965. Altschuler gives us a overview of how rock ‘n’ roll has an historical context. “ For two years the Times printed dozens of

The grunge music of the 90’s might be a product of the times and changing of opinions, it still has a strong presence and legacy in the modern age. Music critics can argue about whether grunge music’s effects on rock music were positive or negative but the main point is that it did affect the music, fashion, and cultural world in a huge way. The grunge movement affected not only the music world and but the overall society of the 90’s and every decade that followed. Grunge emerged from Seattle in the late 1980s. This genre of rock and roll helped create a bridge between mainstream 1980s heavy metal–hard rock and post-punk alternative rock. Eventually, grunge faded—partly because of the death in 1994 of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, who had become a generational spokesman. Some people say that “grunge music ruined rock and roll” when in reality it gave way to new forms of the genre and helped bring harder rock songs to the mainstream audiences of the time.

Frank Zappa as a musician set himself apart in comparison to many other popular artist of his time. Unlike the others, Frank Zappa wasn’t afraid to have lyrics that addressed controversial topics, as well as have orchestrated music that strayed away from the norm. Because of this, many say he was one of the few artist that brought attention to a different style of music; said style is now often referred to as the alternative rock genre. Because of Frank’s eye for originality, many of his songs are considered to be culturally unpopular, but one that managed to slip through to the public would be no other than the song “Valley Girl.”

One band some may know that was a popular grunge band in the 90’s was Nirvana, which consisted of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic. This band was most popular for their hit album “Nevermind”. “One of their most popular songs on this album, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, has been and always will be a rebellion anthem for adolescents, empowering them. This message and it’s meaning make this one of the most popular songs by this band to date.”

During the mid-80’s,in the rainy city of Seattle, a musical movement was born. The “Seattle Sound”, commonly called Grunge, is best known for its distorted guitars, heavy drumming, and flannel shirts. The grunge aesthetic is basic, if not dirty, as many grunge musicians were noted for their messy appearances and rejection of anything dramatic. The success of bands, such as Soundgarden and Nirvana, exponentially increased the popularity of grunge and helped it become the favored form of hard rock music during the late 80’s-mid 90’s. Regardless of the fact that most grunge bands disbanded or faded away by the late 1990s, their influence still continues to affect rock music today.

All these bands contributed to the Grunge Revolution, but it was Nirvana that really took everyone on a whirlwind. Right before the Grunge Revolution, Rock music had become something of a show with all the glitz and glamour and puffed hair and make-up. At this point people were yearning for real rock music to make a comeback, people wanted something meaningful and the new 90’s generation wanted a new voice. This is what Nirvana gave the people, through music, and through Kurt Cobain’s radicalness and “I don’t care what you think about me, this is who I am” attitude, he made it known that it was ok to be who you are. No matter what you’re going through or think, there was no judgment in his music, but more rebellion and the people wanted to rebel against all that society believed was perceived as correct, even if it wasn’t. It is no secret that Kurt struggled with many things, he struggled with his fame that sky rocketed overnight, struggled with the emotions of a very harsh childhood, and then came drugs to numb it all. All these emotions though, flowed through his music, and people felt as if they knew him personally and a lot of the generation of the 90’s felt they could relate to his music. What he didn’t realize is that he was inadvertently bringing back the realness and rawness to Rock that everyone was yearning for.

Grunge was not just a type of music, it was a movement and a culture that served as a voice of revolt against negative changes in 1990’s America. The events and changes at the time helped make Grunge successful. Events such as globalization, and the change of Seattle becoming more middle class, built anger towards a corporate America. The success of Nirvana, which can be attributed to Sub-Pop Records and MTV, made Grunge a desired culture, rather than a genre of music. Finally, Nirvana’s success opened the Grunge scene to women and inspired the Riot Grrrl movement.

Some social factors that influenced music in the 1970s was mainly clothing, television, rebellion, love, vehicle's, fashion, religion and racism which were what was mainly happening in society. Clothing worn by men were tight fitted clothing such as what Michael Jackson wore in “Blame it on the Boogie”, and many songs had to do with mainly love that the song artists have had such as the song I Feel For You made by prince saying that he has a feeling for a person he might like because in the line where he says “ I feel for you - I think I love you” saying that he loves someone. These are many of the things that were happening socially in society in the 1970’s which could have caused the creation of many songs. Many political factors in the

The 1960's was a decade of tremendous social and political upheaval. In the United States, many movements occurred by groups of people seeking to make positive changes in society.

In 1992, Michael Jackson’s Dangerous fell from the number one spot on the Billboard music charts, replaced by grunge rock band Nirvana’s sophomore album, Nevermind, bringing alternative rock to mainstream and commercial success. Nirvana had started out in Seattle’s underground music scene and consisted of lead singer and songwriter Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl. Their sound was a subgenre of alternative rock known as grunge, a combination of punk rock and heavy metal characterized by heavy feedback and nihilistic lyrics. Their first album, Bleach, was released under independent label Sub-pop and found moderate success in the underground punk scene, but it was not until they were bought out by major label DCG Records that Nirvana was able to reach commercial success. This was significant for two reasons; one, it introduced a completely different sound of music to the mainstream audience and two, the songs were written by and represented Generation X. For these very reasons, Nevermind was able to reach the top of the music charts.