Drugs and Rock&roll - Research Paper Example

? Drugs and Rock & Roll Drugs and Rock & Roll In the United s, the abuse of drugs and popular music was first intertwined when jazz musicians in the 1930s began to smoke marijuana massively. Bop artists such as Charlie Parker, who was popular in the 1940s, perceived heroin to be a type of creative element that helped him to write music after experiencing alternate realities. Many jazz musicians at that time began to recognize the sensory-heightening abilities of drugs like marijuana and even started to use them during live performances. Rock and roll music in the fifties was quite mild. Oddly enough, it is the older generation of Americans at that time who gave it its rebellious timbre by labeling it as a subversive type of music. Rock and roll in the late 40s and 50s was mainly identified as African American music. Moreover, white middle-class youth enjoyed it immensely. These youth would go in search of dancing halls where rock and roll was the staple as the predominantly White areas would not play it. The notion that Rock and Roll music merely supports the pure expression of reality is erroneous. Since its inception in the 1950s many ‘Rock and Roll’ musicians have romanticized drug abuse and early death and have been partially responsible for the broad acceptance of psychedelic drugs in society. This scandalized their parents as they felt that White youth would inevitably adopt Black culture and mannerisms if they only listened to Black musicians. Mixing with Black people in any context was strictly forbidden in the 50s in the United States. The rock and roll beat, which was so intriguing, was viewed by the older generation of Americans as being similar to the primitive rhythms which originated in Africa. What was especially frightening for the parents of this era is that they could not seem to be able to stop their children from liking this new and foreign music. There were many attempts to quell the ‘wild’ beats used in rock and roll by using mellow White singers like Pat Boone re-do songs that were originally done by Black musicians (Evans, 1998). Moreover, this did nothing to stop the popularity of rock and roll among the youth. One of the reasons why parents were so concerned with this music genre is because the Black musicians did not make any effort to hide the fact that they believed that drugs were a necessity if one was to create good music. According to some rock and roll musicians, drugs would help the musician to explore his or her inner thoughts while simultaneously escaping the limitations of real life. This would result in enhanced creativity due to better sensory perception. Government authorities in America attempted to arrest the increased abuse of drugs but were unable to stop this trend. In 1951, Alan Freed, a White disc jockey from Cleveland launched a radio show known as "Moondog Rock 'n' Roll Party,". This station would only play music that was created by Black musicians. It has been claimed that the words ‘rock and roll’ were first heard on this station. Entire neighborhoods with White populations would tune in to this station whenever it was on air. More and more White musicians, particularly the youthful ones, began to experiment with creating music that sounded like what was heard on Alan Freed’s Moondog Rock 'n' Roll Party. Rock lyrics were not only popular because they were rhythmic, but also because they challenged the accepted rules of the mainstream society. The music motivated the youth to revolt against the social norms. At that time, it was an accepted thing that “children should be seen and not heard”. Rock music challenged this norm by encouraging every living being to seek self expression. Rock also encouraged young adults to experiment with things they were unsure of, such as drugs, in order to establish for sure that they were not good. Hollywood culture took advantage of this misunderstanding caused by, among other things, the generation gap and started to generate documents claiming to “further illuminate” rock music. Such articles were engrossing for teenagers, but shocking for parents. The social atmosphere of 1960s America Rock and roll would completely transform rock and roll. The transparency of the 1960s allowed rock musicians to be able to speak openly about how they lived on a day to day basis, which was largely chaotic (Gewen, 2008). These lifestyles were copied by Rock fans that were already stirred by the turbulence being experienced by society. The sixties saw the assassinations of national and revered leaders like Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Rock and Roll musicians in this era were very supportive of political activity like the actions of the civil rights movement. Also, the connection between rock music and drug use reached its peak in the 1960's, when rock musicians generated many famous songs when under the influence of drugs. America’s youth in the sixties was mainly prosperous due to the gains made by their parents in the 50s. Rock music allowed the youth to rebel against the lifestyles of their parents while generating new realities caused by drugs. In the well attended rock concerts of that era, rock musicians would encourage a feeling of kinship with their watching fans by passing drugs around. In the mid-sixties, the man who was identified as the ‘King of acid’, Owsley Stanley, became the main distributor of the highest quality of acid, and then proceeded to befriend various top-league people in the rock-music scene. Stanley was remarkably generous with his narcotics and felt that the drug known as LSD was healthy for Rock fans. He would contribute 100,000 tabs just for 1967 festival which was held on January 14 (Moore, 2010). Other notaries in this meeting were Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary. Every attendee partook in drug abuse while listening to rock lyrics. Many rock bands from the West Coast even used the event to launch themselves. For the attendees who had never used drugs, LSD was put in Kool-Aid which was then distributed among the rock fans (Moore, 2010). This caused LSD to become more well-known among different segments of the population. The rock music functioned as a background for the drugged experience, and the whole process was basically a precursor for that of the rock festival. Rock songs that alluded to drug use, like "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" by the group Jefferson Airplane were quite well-received. The Doors, who were signed to the recording firm Elektra, created an ode to drugs in the song "Light My Fire" which reached the top of the charts (Moore, 2010). David Crosby, a member of ‘The Byrds’, openly admitted that he only ever wrote music or played it when he was high on Marijuana and LSD (Moore, 2010). Progressive rock was a type of experimental rock and roll that developed in the late 60s due to general dissatisfaction with established rules about how to create music. Rock bands such as Electric Light Orchestra, Jethro Tull, and Pink Floyd would continue to experiment with different forms of rock music (Moore, 2010). Partly in a rejoinder to disco and progressive rock, the punk rock movement was initiated. It was this sub-genre of rock music that would, through their fast, loud, angry, and energetic music, contribute towards the popularity, in the 70s, of amphetamines. Rock fans, among other youthful American citizens living in the Sixties counterculture sincerely felt that they would be able to change the entire world through the use of love, peace, and chemicals. However, alongside this odd belief, many young people would not acknowledge the existence of the darker and far less glamorous consequence of continued drug abuse. Charlie Parker, one of the creators of rock and roll, sank further into heroin addiction in his attempts to create better rock music. He actually believed that opiates would allow him to go into supernatural realms from which he would be able to garner messages that would change the whole rock and roll scene. Aping his example, many talentless youth who had no singing abilities but wanted to live the life of rock and roll superstars began voraciously abusing drugs. By 1967, law enforcement authorities were sounding the alarm and commenting about forthcoming epidemics. The famous commune known as the ‘Haight-Ashbury’ served as a centre from which drug abusers could obtain their preferred drugs. There were riots between the frequenters of the ‘Ashbury’ and the police in 1968, and violence soon replaced 'flower-power' as society’s accepted way of overseeing transition. The Woodstock Music and Art Exhibition was held in 1969, in New York. More than 400,000 rock fans joined rock superstars such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Joan Baez on a one thousand acre ranch for three drug-filled days (Moore, 2010). Rock music in the 1970s was bigger than ever. It was not just the most lucrative genre in the music industry, but also affected everything from politics to fashion. Speed, heroin, and the marijuana became the preferred drugs of choice. Cocaine was another extremely trendy narcotic during this period (Bennett, 2006). The 70s would witness the inception of disco, a dance-oriented and high-energy type of pop music. The rock songs that were produced during this era had to compete with this new strain of music and so rock songs in this period had a faster beat. Cocaine, with its direct energy-boosting impact, fuelled rock concerts and allowed fans to be able to dance all through the night. Since the 80s, rock music has experienced different changes caused by contributions from selective international influences. Rock music has also been divided further to include other genres. Christian rock, for instance, seeks to propagate the message of the gospel. There are rock songs that are about environmental preservations and the important of curbing pollution. Rock music today is accepted as an ordinary music genre. Moreover, this acceptance has not helped to motivate rock musicians to ditch retrogressive practices such as drug abuse in favor of adopting more responsible life choices. The drug abuse that continues to plague rock musicians is not addressed but is swept under the carpet by most rock aficionados. In the 80s and 90s, there were bands that sill sang about drug abuse (Altschuler, 2003). Groups like Black Grape, Happy Mondays, Oasis, and Primal Scream all sang about the worlds that drugs can open to the senses. One extremely popular song by the rock group, Oasis, was titled "Morning Glory” and addressed the necessity of attaining artificial energy which could only come from drug abuse. The hardcore rock movement of the 80's stressed on opposing the recognized leaders of society and refusing to conform. Hardcore rock had angry lyrics, raucous beats, and violent live performances. Drug use was accepted and even encouraged among musicians as well as fans. The intrinsic connection between the creation of rock music and recreational drug use characterized the ‘Hardcore’ movement in the same way it had applied in the lives of previous rock stars. Hardcore rock was shocking to society because of its loud and angry lyrics. It also had a heavier beat and its musicians often loudly mumbled words that could not be understood. The hardcore rock musicians would scream their lyrics into their microphones while shaking their heads or bodies in repetitive ways that were almost suggestive of seizures or fits. They would then flash offending signs to the crowd which flashed them in return. The ‘shock’ element has been taken to a whole new level by rock stars such as Marilyn Manson who applied for the priesthood in the Church of Satan and often tears off pages of the bible and encourages his fans to blaspheme in his jam-packed concerts (Moore, 2010). The adherents of hardcore rock have a characteristic angst that borders on nihilism. It is overly antagonistic and anti-capitalist and encourages a lifestyle that is completely divorced from social order. It is not surprising that drugs remain as an inherent part of its culture. The fans and musicians of hard core rock prefer to use a cocktail of different drugs such as Cocaine, Qualuudes, Crystal Meth, Speed, and PCP (Moore, 2010). Most hard rock fans who may not have the financial means to buy the more expensive drugs but wish to remain awake and energetic during concerts usually purchase Speed because it is cheap and has long-lasting effects. The immediate energy-producing results brought about by speed, which are necessary for live performances and the indirect effect of reducing the appetite and, hence, ameliorating the monetary concerns of many hardcore rock musicians, made speed quite popular in the 1990s and 2000s. Many celebrated rock musicians have paid the ultimate price for their abuse of drugs. Among the famous dead, a number of whom died at the age of 27- spurring the creation in the minds of adherents of the ‘Group of 27’, are Sid Vicious, the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Dennis Wilson, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Bon Scott, Janice Joplin, Frankie Lymon, Phil Lynott, Tim Harden, and, most recently, Amy Winehouse. Amy Winehouse, who joined the infamous ‘Group of 27’ when she passed away at that age, had a very public battle with her addiction. She even wrote a number of award-winning songs about her inability to beat her addiction. The culture of rock fame, however, sustains erratic behavior. Amy Winehouse appeared to be an extremely talented young woman who believed the ‘sex, drugs, and rock and roll’ credo about the lifestyle of any musician in her preferred music genre. It would seem that she first experienced fame at an age where she was not mentally prepared to handle the pressure to conform to a ‘rough’ or ‘experienced’ ideal that brings most rock musicians the respect of rock fans. The social and personal costs of drug abuse among rock fans and musicians in today’s society are unimaginable, and yet the glorification of drug use is almost an ‘expected’ trait among rock fans. In fact, it can be argued that rock music could be viewed as being largely responsible for the widespread use of drugs in today’s society. References Altschuler, G. (2003). All shook up: How Rock 'n' Roll changed America. New York: Oxford University Press. Bennett, A. (2006). Punk's Not Dead: The Continuing Significance of Punk Rock for an Older Generation of Fans. Sociology, 40(2): 219-235 Evans, R. (1998) So Tough'? Masculinity and Rock 'N' Roll Culture in Post-War Australia. Journal of Australian Studies, (56) 125-137. Gewen, B. (2008). C’Mon, Everybody: Will Music Bring Us Together. Dissent, 55(1): 77-84 Moore, R. (2010). Sells like teen spirit: Music, youth culture, and social crisis. New York: New York University Press. Read More