An analysis about why the GREAT rock music received and still receive so much prejudice.

[mat.bez.lima]

Rock is really GREAT music. I believe that the reasons of why rock was received so badly by adults, songwriters and music stars in the 50s and 60s were not just the natural repulse that people have of new things (the fact that the rock bands wrote the own songs put big fear in the songwriters), but principally the ideology and way of life that even today make many people criticize rock.

Alec Wilder said that when he saw the way that rock fans and rock artistas dressed themselves (style of hair and many other things), when he saw that they used drugs, when he saw the raw feeling of rock musicians (that had not many formal studies about musical theory, something that always made Alec Wilder said that rock was music made by amateurs if compared with the songwriters of standards), when he saw the extremely polemical things that rock stars made, the feeling of indignation against the society of guys like Morrison and many others, Alec Wilder said that could not feel another thing about rock that was not hate and that rock was just a noisy sound.

Alec Wilder was not the exception, he was the rule: if was made a search in that time with adult people and also the big media opinion, the biggest musicians of that time, they would generally agree with Wilder. In fact, it was only by the mid-60s that rock began to be saw more seriously by music critics. In fact, only the quality and power of this genre made it survive all the massively negative opinions by musicians, adults, TV, radio, everybody except rock fans, that were teenagers principally, had disgust with genre in every sense, but principally considering it a corrupting force in the teenagers and sons. Rock really was the greatest symbol of counter-culture and, like the counter-culture, seen as music of tramps. Before I begin to listen Beatles, I had all these prejudices.

But the worst prejudice that rock receives is religious. Because of drugs, criticism of religion and God, ocultism and many other polemical things that rock musicians made in history, rock is seen by many christians, for example, as devil music. It is hard to argument in rock's defense when christians not only talk about drugs, personal life and opinions of many rock musicians, but principally when they pick the Bible and show versicles that say that christians must be apart of being influenced or have relations with anything that have or is influenced by ideas anti-christians or anti-any biblic idea. (this makes Imagine much criticized). I am christian and sometimes feel this conflict in my consciouness, with some christians saying that if I don't abandon rock I am putting rock above God and not being a true christian. But in fact, I will never listen an album as The Velvet Underground And Nico, my own conscience would not let me in peace. Even some much lighter Beatles songs, if compared with the album The Velvet Underground And Nico, like Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, She Said She Said and Dr. Robert make me have problem with my conciouness because of their lyrics. Sorry if I made my analysis too personal and confessional.

What do you agree or disagree about my analysis? I want your opinions and advices.

[Jonathon]

I've never put too much stock in religion. I've heard more academic attacks on rock music, when it comes to discussing rock lyrics as poetry, or discussing Rock's contributions/ greatness compared to Bach and Beethoven.

I'm sorry your faith is causing such conflict. I don't think music determines the kind of person you are.

[Nick]

Rock was hated by the "establishment" in the 50s and 60s because it was the music of the young. The same thing happens every generation. In the 1920s and 1930s people said that jazz music was evil and sinful. Then they said that Elvis was "corrupting" the youth in the 1950s because of the suggestive way he swung his hips. Then it was the rock music of the 60s and 70s that came under fire. Then it was the "satanic panic" of the 1980s, when people came together and denounced acts like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden for being evil. Then it was Tipper Gore and the PMRC and the "Parental Advisory sticker". The type of music they were after were the likes of Prince, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper, some of the biggest pop acts of the mid-80s. Then it was gangsta rap. Then it was alternative rock and grunge. Then came Columbine in 1999 and it was Marilyn Manson (who the Columbine shooters didn't even listen to).

The point is, people are going to attack the music of the young people because that's how human nature works. Human nature says that people are going to look fondly on their youth, while being wary or even fearful of the stuff that has come to replace those treasured icons of their youth. The same kids who grew up listening to Elvis ended up being the adults blaming N.W.A for their "corrupting influence" on kids. Things like drugs and religion are (for the most part) just excuses.

As for the title of your post, how "the great rock music" received and still receives so much prejudice, I think you're half right. If by the "great rock music" you mean the classic rock era, from the 1950s to mid-1970s, then yeah, a lot of that stuff got a lot of hate back when it came out. But now? The big classic rock bands are about as uncontroversial as they get. Only a very, very fringe group of people believe that listening to, say, Led Zeppelin or The Beatles or CCR or Pink Floyd is somehow "immoral" or "unholy" or "wrong".

One last thought on the topic of religion though. I know plenty of Christians who are huge rock fans. My family is full of them. This forum is full of them. I don't think listening to a song, or enjoying a song, with a belief that is somehow antithetical to yours is a bad thing. I actually think that the ability to entertain an idea or experience an alternative viewpoint on life, without necessarily believing in it, is rather noble. I will never, ever, ever try heroin, it's a terrible drug that has killed many people in my hometown. But I can still listen to Lou Reed sing about it and feel moved by his experiences. Besides, I doubt that Paul McCartney is really condoning murder simply because he sang about it in "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" anyway.

[Nick]

As an additional thought, rock music was really the first major genre of music to come about post-WW2 in America. Also, our modern day idea of what "youth culture" is and how the youth behave pretty much started in the 1950s. The lack of a major war or a great depression, and the existence of a booming economy and rapid consumerism lead to teens with a good deal of time on their hands and cash to spend. Perhaps part of the reason that early rock was so vilified wasn't just because it was what "the kids these days" were into, but also because it helped represent a fundamental shift in what youth was in America.

[Nick]

This is what http://www.ushistory.org/us/46c.asp has to say on the subject...

46c. The Invention of the Teenager

In the 19th century, the American world consisted of children and adults. Most Americans tried their best to allow their children to enjoy their youth while they were slowly prepared for the trials and tribulations of adulthood. Although child labor practices still existed, more and more states were passing restrictions against such exploitation. The average number of years spent in school for young Americans was also on the rise. Parents were waiting longer to goad their youngsters into marriage rather than pairing them off at the tender age of sixteen or seventeen. In short, it soon became apparent that a new stage of life — the teenage phase — was becoming a reality in America. American adolescents were displaying traits unknown among children and adults. Although the word teenager did not come into use until decades later, the teenage mindset dawned in the 1920s.

The single greatest factor that led to the emergence of the independent teenager was the automobile. Teens enjoyed a freedom from parental supervision unknown to previous generations. The courtship process rapidly evolved into dating. In earlier times, young boys and girls spent their first dates at home. The boy would meet the girl's parents, they would have a sitting in the parlor, followed by dinner with the entire family. Later in the evening, the couple might enjoy a few moments alone on the front porch. After several meetings, they could be lucky enough to be granted permission for an unchaperoned walk through town. The automobile simply shattered these old-fashioned traditions. Dating was removed from the watchful eyes of anxious parents. Teenagers were given privacy, and a sexual revolution swept America. Experimentation with sexual behaviors before marriage became increasingly common. Young Americans were now able to look beyond their own small towns at an enlarged dating pool.
Impact of the Automobile

Automobile technology led directly to the other major factor that fostered a teenage culture: the consolidated high school. Buses could now transport students farther from their homes, leading to the decline of the one-room schoolhouse. Furthermore, Americans were realizing the potential of a longer education, and states were adding more years to their compulsory schooling laws. As a result, a larger number of teenagers were thrown into a common space than ever before. It was only natural that discussions about commonalties would occur. Before long, schools developed their own cultural patterns, completely unlike the childhood or adult experience. School athletics and extracurricular activities only enhanced this nascent culture. The American teenager was born.

[mat.bez.lima]

Thanks for all your commentaries.