The 60S Were A Legendary Era For Music Essay Example

the next thirty years of British rock-pop. The 60s was the decade for perfect songwriting, most bands taking inspiration from the groups mentioned earlier. But because everybody was writing songs in the same vein, as soon as the rules were laid out, it was time they were broken.

In America around one small studio in midtown Manhattan, a scene was developing.Lou Reed and his band, The Velvet Underground along with their manager, one Mr. Andy Warhol and a German singer Nico were making a fresh, new, exciting, and sometimes disturbing sound, refusing to write to any specific structure and writing some legendary songs, such as ‘White Light/White Heat’-not too difficult to guess what that song is about- and ‘Venus In Furs’ in the process. They used a viola, stripped down drums and relentless, sometimes droning guitars to create the legendary racket that has made them one of the most influential bands of the decade.In the late 1960s, Led Zeppelin and contemporaries such as Black Sabbath developed heavy metal music, using impressive instrumental experience to create energetic, stadium sounding songs-some good, some not so good-I’ll leave that to your own judgment..

. By the end of the 1960s, British rock was reaching its peak of influence, and with young people craving a movement to rival “Beatle mania” and the increasing availability of LSD “Psychedelia” was born. Spacey lyrics with poetic imagery were common, as were experimental fusions of rock with the English folk tradition, jazz and Indian music.Psychedelic bands showed a rough and forceful image, though their music and lyrics were playful and accessible, showcasing a pride in British culture that was unusual in a time when globalized

media was just beginning to dominate British society.

Psychedelia is usually said to have evolved in 1966, drawing out of revolutionary recordings from the previous year like The Who's "My Generation". Almost immediately, Indian influences crept into British popular music, with The Kinks' "See My Friends" and The Yardbirds' "Heart Full of Soul", and the sitar on The Beatles' Rubber Soul among the earliest.Soon, Glam Rock arose with artists such as David Bowie, Early T Rex and, er, Slade being born out of the Psychedelic scene. With the Kinks, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and one little known guitarist named Jimi Hendrix all making their name during this decade, you may be forgiven for thinking the charts were awash with great bands and genius songwriting, but, like all eras, there are movements and bands that we could all do without.

Unfortunately, this is when the British rock scene veered into more experimental directions, such as the further evolution and popularization of progressive rock-or “prog” bands.Bands such as King Crimson, Genesis and The Moody Blues, beloved of middle aged bankers across the country, projected their experimental vibe using stuff like bird noises and twelve minute long instrumental sections using synthesizers and ridiculous guitar solos-just think Spinal Tap and you’ve got the picture. Surviving 60s musicians, and sixties music, can still be found today performed by re-formed bands such as the who and the rolling stones, cashing in or trying to relive the glory days, no one can be sure, but the influence from their early work has carried through generations of musicians, and will be here for a long time.