Rock Music: A Dying Revolution in Rhythm
Saksham Bahuguna
SYBSC IT, 2022-2023
Rock music branched
out from fast jazz and R&B
in the early 50s, around the time Rickenbacker and Beauchamp, major players in
the string instrument manufacturing industry, decided to fuse electricity with
guitars. Rock as we know it today wasn’t born until the famous American jazz
guitarist, 'Les Paul' decided to design a solid bodied guitar capable of
bringing a new dimension to the world of music, with a brand new range of
sound. Ever since, the genre has been evolving, with various artists coming up on stage, each with their own
innovations on the six electrified strings. Rock has always been open to
experimentation with new subgenres, kicking off with a bang, quite literally,
as soon as it started making its way into mainstream music. Earlier mainstream hit
acts included Chuck Berry and Little Richard, who were pioneers in popularising Rock as a more widespread genre in
the existing canvas, which gave country music and R&B a lot more weightage.
The earliest sounds of rock music themselves can be described as defiant to the encompassing nature which music usually has, because it brought out bold ideas from urban spaces back into the countryside when radio was the sole source of music and every device was tuned to the same channel, listening to the same song, irrespective of location. Bringing this mix of culture from one social space to another itself was a revolutionary feat. Soon after, it gained enough popularity with certain phenomenal acts like ‘The Beatles’, ‘The Rolling Stones’ and ‘The Doors’ who broke into the billboard charts’ top spots. The lyrical expressions in their songs also started to support a heavier sound. Artists and bands started to play around with words a lot more and would often talk about various social issues ranging from daily life to worldwide politics, as a direct method to send their messages to the masses in a more rhythmic manner.
One of the earliest bands to openly talk about social issues was none other than ‘The Rolling Stones’. Their bold lyrics often featured sexual undertones as well as Mick Jagger’s idiosyncratic vocal style. This can be interpreted and read through as an act which was trying to put forth the young adult angst in the new age First World, especially after the economic boom that was prevalent post the 50s. The urban youth was besieged by this sudden flow of wants and haves, which also marked the dawning of the capitalist miracle, that often made the masses feel like a pawn at the hands of advertisers. This same feeling of angst can be seen unleashed through the hit single "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" (American version), where Jagger yells about his frustrations with the constant influx of “useless information” from TVs and Radios.
For the next two decades, rock music was the fulcrum of the evolution of most genres, which helped musicians to transform and branch out to their own music styles like ‘Heavy Metal’ and ‘Hard Rock’. Some notable artists include ‘Metallica’, ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘Iron Maiden’ and for the latter, ‘Guns N Roses’ and ‘AC/DC’. The heavier sounds which these bands offered and experimented with allowed them to include a lot of political as well as social commentary in a more aggressive way than ever before, which was sensational in putting the message out there to the masses. 'Peace Sells...But who's Buying?' by ‘Megadeth’ includes an array of fast paced heavy riffs to accompany the politically charged lyrical criticism of the modern world's hypocritical foreign policies, whereas 'Master Of Puppets' by ‘Metallica’ talks about social issues and individual struggles like alcoholism and domestic abuse.
As the 90s set in, music was ubiquitous as ever before (owing to the immense popularity of Walkmans) and the average audience of popular music were teens and young adults. The sound which resonated with them the most was of their own teen angst, and hence another genre was brewed in this boiling pot of perturbation in Seattle, which gave birth to 'Grunge Rock'. The lyrics mainly consisted of relatable frustrations of the teen society and had rebellious themes as well. ‘Nirvana’ found their way, pioneering through the genre with some other bands such as ‘Pearl Jam’ and ‘Soundgarden’. One of the features which set Nirvana apart from the other bands was the vocal activism for women in their songs as well as their off-stage interviews. Some of their songs like ‘Rape Me’ and ‘Polly’ contain uncomfortable but awfully necessary lyrics that condemn sexual violence against women. They often explored themes of toxic masculinity and the hypocritical nature of humans in their songs like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.
Speaking of the psychological aspect of a person's penchant for rock or particularly heavy metal music, researchers have found some oddly specific traits about the social groups that listen to this type of music. In tandem with most lyrics, the audience has proved to have a mentality which defies higher authorities. A group of researchers discovered that metal fans, who composed mainly of a male audience, had a strong dislike for the “higher ups” and were most likely to struggle with self-esteem issues. A lot of these problems are faced by young adults and teens, which is the target audience of Rock. Maybe it is the reason that this genre spoke directly to the hearts of a whole generation.
There is no contention that, over the years, rock music has seen a gradual decline in popularity, and this has also reflected in the artists' attitudes towards the music they produce, with rock bands having a greater tendency to encourage and experiment with pop music. But one may wonder, why did rock music lose popularity in the first place? Well, a better question to ask would be: “What makes pop music so popular?” The answer lies in human psychology, as various studies have proven that the main reason for the 'feel-good-effect' (also known as good old dopamine) that music produces, is derived from the tendency of humans to anticipate, and predict the melody which they are listening to. (How Listening to Certain Songs Can Impact Our Brain and Affect Our Mood, n.d.). Subconsciously, humans find patterns in the music they listen to and this is where pop music gets really good at. Most pop songs utilise the basic major scales, which most of us have heard before, and hence we get that familiar feeling of having listened to the song before. Moreover, these songs are often under 4 minutes and follow the same exact song structure. This repetitive method proved to be the most effective way to sell records, which continued its way through the century to result in a genre which largely dominates the world of music.
Rock, in its conception, was seen as an alternative to pop and R&B music. Consequently, the lyrical matter also differed, apart from the tone of mainstream music. But in its current state, it feels as if too many other genres have been fused to make it sound more "pop-y'' and slowly the genre is losing its signature sound. While the current leading rock bands are commercially successful and bands that have a classic rock sound continue to perform, the concern is how little popular support and coverage they get from the mainstream media. While genres do change and metamorphose into new ones, music is an art form that can reach the masses and convey the message of the artists to the listeners effectively. Seeing the art form of Rock lose its true colour is an unfortunate loss for humanity.
References
Ferro, S. (2013, November 9). The
Psychology Of Loving Heavy Metal. Popular Science. Retrieved September 22,
2022, from https://www.popsci.com/article/science/psychology-loving-heavy-metal/
How Listening to Certain Songs Can
Impact Our Brain and Affect Our Mood. (n.d.). SCL Health. Retrieved September
21, 2022, from https://www.sclhealth.org/blog/2019/04/how-listening-to-certain-songs-can-impact-our-brain-and-affect-our-mood/
Hunter, J. (n.d.). grunge | Music &
Bands. Britannica. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/art/grunge-music
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