The US Festival was a milestone in the history of rock music. It lasted for only two years – 1982 and 1983 – but the shows laid the groundwork for today’s enormous, week-long festivals: Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Coachella among them. The US Festival was three days – not of peace and music, but […]
Musings on the Beatles and Manson Another bizarre twist to this tale involves a little guy by the name of Charles Manson. He was so obsessed with The Beatles he thought they were sending hidden messages directly to him through their music. While this had nothing to do with the ‘Paul is dead’ controversy per […]
The nineteen sixties were a time of great upheaval in American culture. The decade saw a revolution in fashion, art, and moral attitudes. The biggest revolution by far, though, took place in popular music. Before 1964, pop music in the USA still replicated the style of the previous decade [a notable exception to this is […]
The Beatles revolutionized popular culture in the 60s, and their influence is still being felt today. Music, culture, lifestyles, hairstyles, clothing styles and attitudes all changed radically because of them. They are given proper credit for inventing the music video, along with the creation of an entire genre of film-making – the mockumentary – thanks […]
John Lennon had nothing but disdain for people who tried to interpret his music in any way shape or form. Outwardly, he was just trying to write good rock & roll songs. That was difficult enough considering the quality output he was able to consistently maintain for so many years as a Beatle. By the late […]
Author Jonathan Gould refers to the song Yer Blues as a perfect example of the “cultural realism” which distinguished the Beatles from their musical contemporaries. Yer Blues is a satirical, totally over-the-top faux-lament written by John Lennon. He mockingly acknowledges the British blues boom of the late sixties and the likes of Cream, Fleetwood Mac, […]
Rock music has always inspired a certain outlaw mentality, along with a healthy disrespect for authority and social norms. Since its beginnings in the mid- 1950’s, rock and roll music in particular has become synonymous with terms like ‘rebellion’ and ‘revolution‘. Rock music has been a powerful force behind actual social change as well, and […]
SID VICIOUS Sid Vicious never had the chance to spend any time in prison, but only because he died first. Sid’s real name was John Ritchie, and he was one of those rock stars who lucked into a career, having been asked to play bass for the Sex Pistols, the infamous British punk rock band […]
Oh, the times they are A-changin’. Music legend Bob Dylan starred in a TV commercial for Chrysler which aired during the second half of Super Bowl 2014, and now the 72-year-old singer is predictably being called a sell-out. The commercial spot generated a firestorm of controversy in the media, provoking outrage among many of Dylan’s […]
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