Music, Rebellion, and Culture - Essay Example

Music, rebellion and Culture There I was completely wasting, out of work and down All inside its so frustrating as I drift from town to town Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die So I might as well begin to put some action in my life Breaking the law, breaking the law … So much for the golden future, I can’t even start I’ve had every promise broken, there’s anger in my heart You don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue If you did you’d find yourselves doing the same thing too Breaking the law, breaking the law … (Judas Priest, “Breaking the Law”) It is tough to define culture from a particular social context because this aspect cannot be elaborated with any particular terminology or set of ideas; rather culture from social perspective includes diverse range of issues that are associated with life, identity and conception of inhabitants within the society. As a child grows up to a mature human being, his conception about the society develops from the reflection that he actually perceives from his surrounding or the issues that he encounters in his process of upbringing. Such experience helps him identify his place in the society and makes him realize what role he is actually playing or being a part of the society what role the society expects him to play. However, such perception or gaining of experience is always not very positive, as, a human being, due to various socio-cultural turmoil as well as personal level hostility, perceives the society and its inhabitants essentially hostile. Due to development of such conception he also assumes that the basic requirements to live as a Human Being are not been provided to him by the social institution. Consequently, he rebels against all those systems as well as attempts to assert himself as a separate identity that is engaged in an eternal quest to gain his rights and rightful place in the socio-cultural backdrop. In the eyes of the society he becomes, thus, an outlaw, a misfit but deep inside his heart he believes that what he is doing is right because he is fighting not only for his place in the society as an individual but his rebellion is actually voicing position of several other people who also are engaged in the same quest to recover their rightful place in the society. Judging this position, such a person can be equaled with the character of Satan in Paradise Lost (Book I) where Satan wages immortal battle against God, who becomes representative of the social institutions, restraining basic rights and freedom of the common people. A mind not to be changed by place or time. The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. (Milton, 24-25) Though he knows it is very evident for him that he would proceed towards his own destruction and finally his entire quest will fail but through his music he conveys the eternal spirit of hope: All is not lost; the unconquerable will, And study to revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield, (Milton, 21) Such essence of hope for a better future, fused with the spirit of rebellion can best be perceived in music. Whenever it has come to social dynamism, radical change into the existing socio-cultural structure, and change into the cultural perspective of the existing social form, music has always voiced the reflection of common people, their perception about society and the spirit to rebel that would finally help in constructing and deconstructing the thought pattern for a better future. Such phenomenon is true in case of every society, if we make an evaluation of music from historical and cultural perspective. Taste and appreciation of popular music dynamically started changing since the post World War II period. Prior to this time we find that music and forms of its application changed gradually. Though there were enough elements of experimentation with newer musical forms, there was always a connection or even a faint link that would help the common people to understand that such musical forms have generated from existing classical, folk or pagan form of music. Such link became more evident as traits of commonality could be cited in terms of orientation of the musical forms or derivation of the aesthetic pleasure from music. However, during the six years of the Second World War, the human civilization, especially the Western society encountered such experiences that were never witnessed before. Destruction, loss of human faith, derogation of social morality dragged the human beings to such a situation where they had to accept the fact that the modern society is completely different from the society that people have perceived all these days. People talked about liberty, both spiritually and intellectually so that the older thread of fellowship can be revitalized. Social institutions and their orthodoxy that were smothering the social inhabitants gradually for their personal benefit in the post Great War II period, were rebelled against. It is during this time that music emerged as one of the most power weapons in the hands of the common people that voiced their thoughts and expectations from the society. It was evident that in this newly metamorphosed society, language, articulation, form and orientation of music will also be different so that the subjects of address or protest can explicitly understand the implication. Anger, deprivation, psychological alienation, yielding frustration of the new generation, resulted from failure to attain the bright future and sense of being deceived by the society from all the promised things, finally gave birth to such musical forms that reflect overwhelming anger of the generation. Noise, distortion, and use of explicit verbal as well as imagist connotation became an essential part of the existing western musical discourse. Regarding use of noise as a common aspect of the musical form of the 20th and 21st century musical scenario, Jacques Attali has observed, “It heralds, for it is prophetic. It has always been in its essence a herald of times to come. Thus, as we shall see, if it is true that the political organization of the twentieth century is rooted in the political thought of the nineteenth, the latter is almost entirely present in embryonic form in the music of the eighteenth century… (Attali, “Noise: The Political Economy of Music”) It is clear from such observation that 20th century political institutions have definitely been observed as such factors that have jeopardized the lives of common people. Contemporary musical theoreticians and composers used to give highest importance to human passion that may or may not include intellectual subtlety. Such basic human passion can be divided in terms of contemporary music in four categories, namely, a) irresistible enthusiasm for certain attainment, b) music as a medium to express the outburst of anger, c) strong dependence over certain ideals or belief, both personal or impersonal and finally, d) strong erotic connotation for physical union. Each of these factors ultimately gave birth to blind passion that is untamable and projection of such passion has been materialized though the frenzied physical movement, noise, and musical surge of different musical instruments, mainly drums, keyboards, electric lead guitar, bass guitar, and definitely high pitched vocal application. Rock, one of the most prevalent musical genres of the 20th century musical scenario, essentially bears all these features. 1950 onwards rock music started dominating the Western, rather U.S musical scenario and finally the rest of the Western culture was overwhelmed with its appeal. Appearance of Elvis Presley in 1954 definitely established the evolution of rock music on a stronger foundation. Till date there has been a great deal of philosophizing and experimentations over the genre of rock music. Since its inception as the ultimate musical form of protest and breaking the boundaries rock has undergone several layers of changes, classical rock, alternative rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, acid, trash, punk, hard, and now we have come to the era of metal, hard metal, death metal etc. However, several musicians including musical legends like Bruce Springsteen has expressed their doubt if the rock n’ roll genre could ever have originated without the contribution of Elvis. The angry young man image, fanatic movement of body with the shake of music, no matter how the parents disapproved such feats as “chimpanzizing” just the same way like Forrest’s mother (movie: Forrest Gump) and living according to the individual terms are three main traits that shook the whole nation. The rock n’ roll style of Elvis not only dealt with the theme of protest but also it fused within its scope the elements of fantasy and futile angst of the generation from attaining the elements of fantasy. Derek B. Scott has observed in his book, Music, culture and society, “Elvis’s two most notable contributions to the language of rock n’ roll are first, the assimilation of ‘romantic lyricism’ and second, … ‘boogification’. Both techniques can be found in classic form in his first national hit, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ (1956). This was by origin was a country and western song but its vocal has the shape of a typical blues shout.” (Scott, 139) A careful listener of this song would immediately identify that the gravity of the composition has immediately been enhanced though the richness and elegance of his pronounce that is deviated from the traditional irregular rhythmic aspect as well as “dirty intonations.” (Scott, 139) Well, the Bell hops tears keep flowin, and the desk clerks dressed in black. Well they been so long on lonely street They aint ever gonna look back. (Presley) His songs, though mostly dealing with the personal level deprivation and betrayal also carried clear evidence of the deprivation and themes of social, physical and psychological alienation. Tradition that once commenced with Elvis, was gradually reaching its culmination though introduction of several other rock bands, like, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Doors, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Sex Pistols and several others that not only focused over the aspect of passionate musical outburst both at apparent and philosophical dimension. Led Zeppelin’s opening lines of the song “Going to California” can be cited as brilliant example that elaborates truth behind such observation: Spent my days with a woman unkind, Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine. Made up my mind to make a new start, Going to California with an aching in my heart. (Led Zeppelin) Though subject of the song is a woman whose betrayal has led an individual to physical and psychological alienation, but the woman is actually a symbolic presentation of the jeopardizing situation or social viciousness that actually is creating havoc over all the people in the modern existence. Electric lead guitar has become an essential instrument to express the anxiety, frustration and psychological condition of an individual during this situation. Artists like Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen and during the 80s and 90s Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Slash of the Guns n’ Roses included exponential progress in the use of guitar expressing human emotions though the six strings. Punk rock, since the 90s onwards became a major form of the rock music to cast sarcastic and ironic criticism to the ongoing social dogmas and existing form of socio-cultural construction. Psychological liberation became one of the major themes of such musical composition and Nirvana excellently used such element to attain the desired goal. The frustrated quest of a human being becomes excellently clear though lyrical qualities, vocal intonations and with the use of electric gadgets to assert their personalized philosophy. Exploring psychological activism of a modern man though music also became one of the major aspects of experimentation during this period and finally it gave birth to the psychedelic rock, of which bands like, The Who, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Cream became exponents. Use of drugs, especially, L.S.D was encouraged as it was commonly known that it helps in exploring the mind of an individual to himself. Thus, their compositions and application of music also reflected such aspects that would enhance the perception as if it is coming out of the deepest chasms of human psyche. Pondering over the development of modern musical traditions, in the form of rock and punk, it can be said that in such musical forms, musical philosophy included with it explicit traits of lifestyle that was actually being followed by people on greater social arena. This definitely breached the limits of general perception about social existence. “Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” which became an essential theme of a generation for more than three decades and to some extent the tradition is still ongoing in the Western social backdrop, cannot be matched with the society that existed prior to 1950s. It is not that these aspects were absent in previous condition of human existence at the societal level but those have never appeared so conspicuously in the lifestyle as well as in the personal belief of common people. Musical forms of such nature definitely emerged as a rebellious approach against the society if we judge it from the traditional, social and cultural perspective. If an attempt is made to judge whether such musical transformation has at all been able to change the existing form of social construction or not, we may not always receive a definite answer but emergence of such musical tradition makes it clear that there has been a great deal of change both at social and psychical level of the human beings that has given birth to emergence of such genres in the field of music. Works Cited 1. Judas Priest, “Breaking the Law”, available at: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/judas+priest/breaking+the+law_20076041.html, retrieved on: 31st Aug, 2009 2. Led Zeppelin, “Going to California”, available at: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/led+zeppelin/going+to+california_20081904.html, retrieved on: 31st Aug, 2009 3. Presley, Elvis, Heartbreak Hotel, available at: http://www.elyrics.net/read/e/elvis-presley-lyrics/heartbreak-hotel-lyrics.html, retrieved on: 31st Aug, 2009 4. Stebbing, Henry, Milton, John, Paradise lost: a poem in twelve books, New Hampshire: Leavitt, 1851 5. Scott, Derek B., Music, culture, and society: a reader, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 6. Attali, Jacques, ““Noise: The Political Economy of Music”, (Lecture Notes) Read More