Blaze Lizarraga
Higgins
3B
January 31, 2023, The Grunge Movement Intro:
The Grunge Movement was a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s, arising out of the Seattle music scene. This musical frontier changed fashion, political perspective, and popular music. Politics were significant to the pioneers of grunge like Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) ("Hunter"). They were heavily influenced by activist ideas and equality among the sexes. Grunge-influenced music expresses personal feelings that usually would not be in pop music, such as "Negative Creep" by Nirvana and "Unglued" by STP. Grunge was anti-sexism, with a "relatively high proportion of female performers and bands"
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Grunge changed music by utilizing its often introspective lyrics that touched on issues of despair, anxiety, and social alienation, which struck a chord with a generation of younger teens that felt disconnected from mainstream society and politics. In the course of grunge's rise to popularity, it emerged as a cultural force that challenged status and provided a new outlet for political expression (Azzerad). One of the biggest ways that grunge impacted politics was through the upward thrust of "anti-corporate sentiment." The anti-corporate sentiment is an idea of activism that is directed against the private sector or specifically larger corporations; in this case, it was the public agenda or norm (Ables). In this case, the idea was directed toward "societal norms," "materialism," and "conforming to the masses" (Claudia). Grunge music frequently criticized the greed of the Reagan and Bush years, and many grunge musicians used their platform to talk out in opposition to the corruption and company greed that they saw as typical in American society (Gulla). For instance, Nirvana's song "Come as You Are" challenged the belief that one had to comply with societal expectations, while Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" tackled problems of bullying and the pressure positioned on teens by society …show more content…
These voices consisted of Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Mark Arm (Mudhoney). In the end, grunge profoundly impacted the political panorama itself. The teens felt inspired and as if what they said mattered. Many young people inspired by the genre's songs and cultural messages became politically energetic and involved in social and political movements. This caused a new era of activism and political engagement, as younger people sought to make them and bring about the exchange
Rock and Roll was one of the first medias to end segregation within itself, it brought blacks and whites together and was lead by not surprisingly the youth culture.
Punk has declined into a death crawl. Due to new technology and sound mixing, the influence of changing culture with more supportive ideas, waves of individuality causing drastic changes in popular style; the transition from pure vocal to electronic overlay, to the journey from child to teenager full of angst and depression, bitterness, and fight. The change from rage to disgruntled and fragile stability and not completely complacent, shows how little the original feelings of rage have changed even though the exterior shows only growing frustration. Emotions bleed through and prove the truth in their words. Themes of life turning to death, rotting in coffins, play out alongside upbeat tempos, yelling and wailing guitar, while the lyrics prove that songs that reference dying represent life the best.
Throughout history, music has always played an important role in social justice and protest. When words fail, music has the power to urge people to take action. John Roger Stephens and Pete Seeger are two influential artists who used music to express their feelings during the Civil Rights Movement. Known as John Legend, John Roger Stephens is an American R&B and soul singer. John Legend co-wrote and performed the Oscar winning song, “Glory”, with Common.
As the 60s continued, this style suddenly merged into “folk-rock” as electrified instruments and a more clean and advanced type of song writing was introduced (“1960s: Music”). Playing these styles, famous bands included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. These well known bands and new styles greatly impacted America. All in all, music had a great impact on America and new styles, songs, bands, and instruments highly affected
The rebellious attitude of rock and roll was unsettling to the conservative white culture of the time. It was seen as a threat to the established order. Rock and roll brought together black and white cultures, which was unsettling to the conservative white culture that supported segregation The music of rock and roll was often accompanied by provocative dancing, which was considered too sexually suggestive for the conservative white culture. Rock and roll was also an anti-traditional movement that rejected the cultural norms of the time.
As a vibrant, energetic, and rebellious genre, many major cultural upheavals resulted from the powerfully expressive music, and often reflected an era of shifting views, values, and aspirations of young people. Furthermore, rock and roll came to represent the youthful enthusiasm and energy of an experimenting generation. This newfound energy ultimately attracted the interest of teenagers and kids across the nation who were looking for a dramatic change from the prevailing conservative social boundaries of the post-World War II era. (Jacobson, Lisa) Teenagers developed a deep and emotional connection to the lyrics, rhythm, and style of artists like Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, and Jerry Lee Lewis, who had a revolutionary impact on young adults. As a whole, these artists seemed to address young people's issues and experiences with specific lyrics and themes which touched on concepts like love, freedom, and most importantly self-expression.
Sean Weller COMM 3000 202761773 Critical Essay Punk: The edgy, fast paced, in your face, I don’t take no guff from no one music of the 80’s has become more relevant today than it was thirty years ago. Punks style of music is considered uneducated, raw, and rough because of the vessel in which it is administered. Kids with giant, dyed mohawks, leather jackets with studs, and screaming into a microphone was not the typical way to get your message out to the masses. However, their message of tolerance, police brutality, and corporate scams have all hit the headlines over the last decade which brings into question, is punk music uneducated, or was it considered uneducated because of the way the bands portrayed themselves?
The 1990’s was arguably the greatest decade for the music scene. This decade encountered the rise of the best musical artists and bands of all time. The music from this time was highly thought of because most bands were bringing back the rock and roll sound everyone loved from the late 60’s and 70’s. The band that really brought this sound back for generations to come was Nirvana. The band Nirvana wasn 't just considered to be rock and roll, their music could fall under several off branches of rock and that 's what made them the best.
Rock’n'Roll changed the way of thinking of the young people, and with this came the new concept of “teenagers”, who were considered for the elders as ‘rebels’ and ‘juvenile delinquency’ after they adopted the music and manners of the Rock N Roll culture, inspired by Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, The Comets and Johnny O’Keefe (the first Rock'n'roll Australian star in 1957) among others, who lead the new teenagers for dancing and enjoying as Americans. Rock’n'roll culture influenced not just the teenagers but also the radio announcers who used American accents to captivate the young audience. Unlike their parents, this new generation was interested in fashion, television, cinema, music and hairstyles, which meant that they were the new objective group for marketing. Through the movies, young Australians were influenced by movie stars like James Dean, which they wanted to imitate in his hairstyle, acting and dressing.
Leaders pushed for peaceful opposition but rallies often escalated to violence as government officials were called in to break up protests, similar to the movements of Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi. Not only were these cases of police brutality, but they furthered the credibility of the cause by showing the unnecessarily violent nature of the government. With famous names such as John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan, world-wide attention was brought to the fight to end the war; the rock and roll youth culture birthed in the 50s proved a force to be reckoned with, creating anti-war music such as “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag” by Country Joe and the Fish in 1965. (Doc 2) Slogans such as “Make love not war” are still with us to this day, while others such as “LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” forced the issue into the attention of the presidential administration. While it is true many agreed with the president’s decision, they were less vocal compared to the counterculture and peace hippies of the anti-war movement.
Early rock and roll artists like ‘Fats’ Domino, Little Richard, and Pat Boone began their musical careers as largely rhythm and blues artists, who soon developed their styles into a new sound much more appealing to the drastically changed youth culture of the 1950s. Alan Freed, a disc jockey, and the one who coined the term rock and roll, began playing their songs on his new radio show which he called Rock and Roll Party. The technology of radio is a huge reason why so many teenagers were exposed to this new sound, and contributed immensely to the growing popularity of rock and roll. At the time most people were skeptical, and criticized this idea and Freed’s radio show. However, Freed responded with, “I don’t give a shit” “That’s what I’m going to
The rebellious nature that rock and roll stood for in the 1950’s was an immediate attraction for those interested in deviating from the norms of society. What could be
It echoed major changes that were happening in American Culture. It was a major force for a generation that was fighting for gargantuan changes in society. Social Activism was a major component of popular music. There were protest songs against the Vietnam War and against racial discrimination. Bob Dylan performed many of the most popular protest songs.
The Beatles were considered political activists by using their music as a way to talk about issues happening in the real world at that time. The Beatles “were the first to really legitimize popular music as a form of political expression, and through this expression inspired political activity and participation amongst those who consumed their music; young people,”
Cultural Impact of Rock and Roll Amidst the 1960’s Jimi Hendrix formerly stated, “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.” A generation which was earnestly devoted to peace, protest, and revolution, the counterculture amongst the 1960’s yearned for change. Rock and roll was far beyond just a genre of music; it influenced lifestyles, protests, and attitudes, thus, kindling an awakening in the youth of American culture. The distinction between parental and youth culture was a persistent root of concern, considering that teens throughout the world found a sense of belonging in this style of music.