Rock v. Pop: Music of the 1970's v.

Music of the 1990's

Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and has 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 Unites States. Social issues also
played a major role in the developing culture of the seventies. Bands often used
their popularity to spread their feelings on such topics. They were, and still are,
the central of communication between all genres of all people across the world.
The music these bands produced, while broadcasting their opinion, also helped
shaped our culture. Through twenty years of constant criticism from people who
did not believe in rock music, the power of the band's opinions still affects how
our country feels about many topics. Some of the things that affects how the
public feels include lyrics, image, and sound

Both classic rock music of the seventies and modern rock music of the nineties
use music to speak to the public. They always have used their popularity to
demonstrate their feelings on wars, depressions, and beliefs. Almost all rock
music groups have had at least one point in time where they address war, and the
feeling of fighting for what is right was often found in lyrics. Many people
believed that the classic rock groups were bad for the soul or included the use of
mind-altering substances and promiscuous sex. There was more to rock music
than this, much more.

In the musician's lyrics, from the classic rock music era of the seventies to the
more modern forms of rock music of the nineties, many good things have been
extracted. Although there was the use of drugs and there were some bands that
were against authority, the musician's from both eras found their lyrics to be a
useful source of output and to let the audience and the public know how they
stood on political or social issues.

Sadly enough, however, modern rock music has taken on a different type lyrical
content. Many of the lyrics found in modern rock music is extremely vulgar,
unlike most of the music from the seventies. Modern rock music has earned a
reputation for being high impact, loud, energetic, and intense. People often
associate the message of all modern rock music as containing nothing more than
violent anti-government statements and messages of alienation, once again
stirring up ideas in the public, and having an immense impact on our society,
young people, public views on music, and other rock music bands. Often, unlike
classic rock bands, which tried to pursue peace in a more relaxed type of lyrical
content, modern bands offer nothing more than a continued sentiment of
hostility towards the fans. As a result of the belligerence, many blame the
decline in morale in young people today on the messages, which are transmitted
through lyrics and vulgarity.
The image in which all rock groups convey, including both modern and classic,
is one of rebellion and anarchy. Both genres were for the most part, rebellious of
the typical traditional way of life. In each musician's personalities, there was a
belief in which molded a band's image. Some of the beliefs include Christian
and gothic type music. Although there were many bands that fell outside of these
two categories of musical and lyrical content, almost all rock groups fell under
one of the two stereotypes. Christianity is a more relaxed and non-belligerent
form of communication and gothic is hard core and denounces organized
government and religion. Whether or not the band actually pushed their beliefs
on others, the lyrics were written and did convey certain messages to anyone
that listened to the music, whether it be a song by Led Zeppelin or Limp Bizkit.

In our modern world, most people are not afraid to speak out and most people do
so. Our society is more open to new ideas and our music reflects this thought.
Lyrics in modern rock music are much more vulgar than those of the seventies.
Part of the reason may be that because our society is open to new ideas and
thoughts, musicians can get away with progressively more vulgarity in lyrical
content. The difference in the type of lyrical content used in the seventies
compared to that of the nineties goes without question. The musicians today are
much more liberal in what they say and what they present to the public.
Although both modern and classic rock music have been almost an outcast of
society for twenty years, modern rock is more open and expresses a more gothic
gesture than most classic rock music.

There has always been a unique sound each band has that attracts certain fans.
"From the beginning of time, mankind used it's voice as well as objects such as
wood, rock, and sand in order to create harmonious melodies" (Romeu 1).
Throughout time, science progressed as well as innovation, and with this came
the dawn of new instruments such as drums, pianos, flutes, and guitars (Romeu
1). Both eras of rock used these types of musical instruments in one way or the
other. They are the essentials of music. Although there are modified forms of
instruments and there are even new types of instruments, music still manages to
convey a message of one type or another to all that listen. Music grows with
time and as the people change, so does their choice of sound. Music has evolved
in so many ways in the past five decades, that there are numerous genres of
music, including disco, pop, classical, rap and country. With the spread of ideas
between bands, comes the combination of all type of music. "Although music
styles have changed throughout the years, musicians remain the same, constantly
adapting sounds to evolving technologies" (Romeu 1). Whether or not we want
music to change, a musician's preference in which manner he expresses himself
will forever be in change. Modern rock and classic rock both evolved in their
time period. With the innovation of technology, come new sounds and that is
what makes a band unique.

Music has now evolved into a new sound known as Techno. Many of the
instruments are electronic and most bands compose the beat via keyboard.
Numerous people dislike the new sound and "Techno critics complain that the
computer-generated sounds have caused music to lose its soulful existence"
(Romeu 1). "Although there may be dissension within elctronica music circles,
the sound has united Europe and the U.S. with it's popularity" (Romeu 2). Sure
enough the new sound has started to spread rapidly throughout our once guitar-
based music culture and the speed and catchy beats amaze almost everybody.
Modern rock now utilizes electronics to do the job that a traditional drum and
bass guitar would do in a classic music based rock group. The concept of our
society accepting new ideas plays a major role in why our music changes so
much and techno is probably a direct result of this concept.

Lyrics, image and sounds of modern and classic rock music groups play a major
role in how our country feels on political and social issues. The lyrics, images
and sounds of both eras have evolved and have shaped our culture. Musicians
use their music to express their ideas, to celebrate, to mourn or to simply tell a
story (Romeu 1). People will always use music to find answers and the
musicians will use their popularity to spread message to the public. This took
place in the seventies, the nineties still has power of music and the future is sure
to have the power of music. How will the music evolve in the future? Nobody
knows, we have to leave that up to our society to figure out how our music's
lyrics, image and sounds will change.

Romeu, Jeanette. 13 February. 2001: 2 pages. On-line. Internet. Available

WWW: http://www.terra.com/specials/techno/index_lycos.html