Re: My Generation as the 1st rock album/song

[mleaman@sccoast.net (Mark Leaman)]

>        I know I'm opening myself wide open to abuse here, but what exactly 
>     is rock?  I mean rock music as opposed to power pop, punk, r'n'b, etc. 
>     All this talk about The Who playing "rock" on the My Generation album 
>     just has me confused (I'd define it as power pop with a strong r'n'b 
>     taste).  So if anyone feels like going beyond the "man, if you don't 
>     know, you'll never understand" mode, please explain with examples (25 
>     pts. each).

Brian:

I suppose I should step up to the plate on this one, since I started the
whole thing. Uh, not Rock...the debate. I'll also tell you in laymen's
terms, as that is what I'm most familiar with (that's a joke, son...as in my
last name is pronounced...oh well).
In the `50s you had Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, and RnB...Chuck Berry, Elvis,
and Frankie Lymon & Teenagers for examples. These were all very definite
styles, perhaps better explained by a guitar-player beyond my experience,
but I think you can get the idea.
In the early 1961, The Beach Boys took what Chuck Berry was doing and
combined it with the harmonies of RnB. I'd still call this RnR, though. The
Beatles did the same the next year adding their own definite British
element. Then came The Stones, with their Blues/Berry sound and The Kinks
(ditto). RnR or Blues (which is actually not much more than sped-up Blues.
Townshend wrote My Generation in `65, based originally on a Blues style but
somewhere along the way the structure changed into what was
recorded...something new, which incorporated much of what had happened
before without sliding into any one style. That was Rock.
Rock, as I see it, encompasses RnR, Acid Rock, Heavy Metal, Folk Rock, Synth
Rock, Glam Rock, Punk Rock, Alternative, etc. etc. etc....all styles of
Rock. It incorporates some or all of them within the sub-genre (or they are
now being called genres). Lines are crossed all over the place.
But in the end, the band who played Rock in its purest form was...need I
say? Zep leaned toward Blues...The Beatles (while they did do some Rock
songs) leaned toward Pop...The Stones were almost always Blues/RnR...The
Kinks incorporated Dance Hall and Blues and even Dixieland in their Rock
(but I'd have to call them a Rock band as opposed to any other genre).
Does that clear it up? Or should I ramble on (just another Zep reference
there, folks)?




                   Cheers                   ML

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."  L. Long