The Hippie Aesthetic Era of Rock and Roll Essay

In this essay I will be discussing the ‘hippie’ culture and style, their impact on the 60s and their continued impact in modern life. In today 's world, hippies are known because of the distinct way in which they behave, dress and their overall lifestyles. There are also some who have come to believe that hippies are synonymous with drugs or that they have radical political views on environmentalism, capitalism, religion e.t.c. The dictionary defines a hippie as "one who doesn’t conform to society’s standards and advocates a liberal attitude and lifestyle". What I am interested in is whether this definition is true. Polhemus (2007) says "who is real? Who is a replicant? Who cares? Life is a fancy-dress party, Enjoy”. I will be discussing this quote in more depth, relating it to the hippie culture as well as explaining how the hippie culture developed and what it means to be a hippie today.

Loud, soothing, meaningful, and deep, rock music has many characteristics. These characteristics are ones that rock music fans appreciate. But, many people have different preferences of music, such as pop, rap, country, and other genres. Although there are several types of music, most modern music comes back to the foundation of rock and roll. Many artists have been influenced by the heart-wrenching power of rock music. Most people that enjoy rock music do not know how rock started. It is a genre that has evolved over the years.

The hippie movements of the sixties were driven by a plethora of factors. There were many new technologies that were being introduced in this period, a war against Communism around the globe, internal struggles against several types of injustices, a growing drug culture, and several other important developments. To say the least, it was a volatile period in American history and many sub-cultures were actively seeking to carve out new paths that were starkly different than the traditional norms. These generations who rejected traditional culture helped carve out a new trajectory for the United States and the movements influences can still be felt to this day.

The counterculture and hippies are becoming extremely popular in our society today. The hippie culture focused on outward signs of nonconformity. The counterculture promoted rock music, free love, and the use of psychedelic drugs. Haight-Ashbury is the place is if you want to be a part of the culture, and go to San Francisco and be a part of love. The counterculture is about new ideas, and going against the social norms. The bright colors, feathers, leather, and hair. There are pop art and rock music. Go have fun, and be a part of the

The music of the sixties went through tremendous change. It shaped mush of the music we hear today. From New Orleans came Jazz, from the East Coast came rock, from the West Coast came Psychedelic rock, and from England came the Invasion.

“Hippies were called Flower Children because they gave flowers to communicate gentleness and love” (Salge). The Hippie Movement was a popular counter culture during the 60’s-70’s. Hippies are best known for their practice of psychedelic drug use, interesting political views, where they took up living quarters, and their unique fashion sense.

Rock ‘n’ roll presented us with the emergence of a cultural phenomenon, which the book lays out for us. Altschuler sees rock as a “metaphor for integration, as the focal point for anxiety that cultural life in the U.S. had become “sexualized”, a catalyst

Rock and roll has developed a long way throughout the years from a dance craze in the 1950’s to a political and cultural landscape that is recognized worldwide. Rock and roll has come to define the roots of teenage rebellion, people who don’t follow the norms, and have disrespect for authority. The style of rock and roll itself is a melting pot of music, a combination of sounds that include jazz, country, blues, ragtime, gospel, swing, classical, and ethnic music. It can be a simple variation of three chords to a complex chromatic scale combination. It can convey emotions such as love, hate, fear, lust, sadness, joy, disillusion, or a strong sense of reality. Many things can be said about rock but the fact is that it is the most widely

The emergence of Rock and Roll was one of the most pivotal moments of our nation’s history. The impact that this genre of music made is still evident in our culture. However, before this genre was able to gain momentum, it faced many cultural conflicts. The book, All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America by Glenn C. Altschuler analyzes the impact that rock and roll music has made on American culture. It explores how the Rock and Roll culture was able to roughly integrate and later conflict with preceding cultural values. This is especially apparent in chapters regarding race and sexuality. Overall, Rock and Roll was extremely controversial amongst parents and educators. This new music genre was condemned by the previous generation as

influential in the North as well. Blacks moved from the South to the North and

In 1967 the Beatles were in Abbey Road Studios putting the finishing touches on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. At one point Paul McCartney wandered down the corridor and heard what was then a new young band called Pink Floyd working on their hypnotic debut, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. He listened for a moment, then came rushing back. "Hey guys," he reputedly said, "There's a new band in there and they're gonna steal our thunder." With their mix of blues, music hall influences, Lewis Carroll references, and dissonant experimentation, Pink Floyd was one of the key bands of the 1960s psychedelic revolution, a pop culture movement that emerged with American and British rock,

Back in Black is the seventh studio album by the Australian rock band AC/DC. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. By the late 1970s, AC/DC began to get popularity around the world and not just in their home country of Australia. In 1979, they recorded their international breakthrough, Highway to Hell. Shortly before the recording of their follow-up, lead vocalist Bon Scott died after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group continued on with ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson.

During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed

Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.

Rock music has come a long way since its development in the early 20th century. The genre, defined “as a merger between rhythm&blues and country” (Scaruffi, The History of Rock Music:1955-1966), started out more as an underground market, but ended up becoming a significant aspect of American popular music history. Rock-n-Roll music produce many legendary artists who will for ever be known as innovators of the genre. Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were some of the many artists in Rock-n-Roll who will always live on in their music.Many teenagers were also to identify it due to its rebellious nature their disapproval of the cold war. Towards the end of the 1950s, Rock-n-Roll was ending on a particularly bad note, with a brief decline: