Рок — это широкий жанр популярной музыки , который возник в Соединенных Штатах, но также и в Соединенном Королевстве, в конце 1950-х и начале 1960-х годов, развивая множество поджанров, включая хэви-метал и панк-рок . Он имеет свои корни в рок-н-ролле 1940-х и 1950-х годов, стиле, который напрямую черпал из жанров блюза , ритм-энд-блюза и кантри-музыки . Рок также сильно черпал из таких жанров, как электрический блюз и фолк , и включал влияния джаза и других музыкальных стилей. Что касается инструментовки, рок сосредоточен на электрогитаре , обычно в составе рок-группы с электрической бас-гитарой , барабанами и одним или несколькими певцами. Обычно рок — это музыка, основанная на песнях, с4
4размер такта с использованием формы куплет-припев , но жанр стал чрезвычайно разнообразным. Как и в поп-музыке , тексты песен часто подчеркивают романтическую любовь, но также затрагивают широкий спектр других тем, которые часто являются социальными или политическими. Рок был самым популярным жанром музыки в США и большей части западного мира с 1950-х по 2010-е годы.
Рок-музыканты в середине 1960-х годов начали продвигать альбом перед синглом как доминирующую форму выражения и потребления записанной музыки, с The Beatles в авангарде этого развития. Их вклад придал жанру культурную легитимность в мейнстриме и инициировал эру рок-информированных альбомов в музыкальной индустрии на следующие несколько десятилетий. К концу 1960-х годов, в период « классического рока » [3] , возникло несколько отдельных поджанров рок-музыки, включая гибриды, такие как блюз-рок , фолк-рок , кантри-рок , южный рок , рага-рок и джаз-рок , которые способствовали развитию психоделического рока , находящегося под влиянием контркультурной психоделической и хиппи-сцены . Появились новые жанры, включая прогрессивный рок , который расширил художественные элементы, и глэм-рок , который подчеркивал зрелищность и визуальный стиль. Во второй половине 1970-х годов панк-рок отреагировал созданием упрощенной, энергичной социальной и политической критики. В 1980-х годах панк оказал влияние на новую волну , пост-панк и, в конечном итоге, альтернативный рок .
С 1990-х годов альтернативный рок начал доминировать в рок-музыке и прорываться в мейнстрим в форме гранжа , брит-попа и инди-рока . С тех пор появились дополнительные поджанры фьюжн, включая поп-панк , электронный рок , рэп-рок и рэп-метал . Некоторые движения были сознательными попытками пересмотреть историю рока, включая возрождение гаражного рока / пост-панка в 2000-х годах. С 2010-х годов рок утратил свои позиции как выдающийся жанр популярной музыки в мировой культуре, но остается коммерчески успешным. Возросшее влияние хип-хопа и электронной танцевальной музыки можно увидеть в рок-музыке, особенно на техно-поп- сцене начала 2010-х годов и возрождении поп-панка-хип-хопа 2020-х годов.
Рок также воплощал и служил средством для культурных и социальных движений, что привело к появлению крупных субкультур, включая модов и рокеров в Великобритании, движение хиппи и более широкое западное контркультурное движение , которое распространилось из Сан-Франциско в США в 1960-х годах, последнее из которых продолжается и по сей день. Аналогичным образом панк-культура 1970-х годов породила субкультуры готики , панка и эмо . Унаследовав народную традицию песни протеста , рок-музыка была связана с политическим активизмом , а также с изменениями в социальных отношениях к расе, полу и употреблению наркотиков и часто рассматривается как выражение молодежного бунта против взрослого потребительства и конформизма . В то же время она была коммерчески очень успешной, что привело к обвинениям в распродаже .
На самом деле, хорошее определение рока таково: это популярная музыка, которая в определенной степени не заботится о своей популярности.
— Билл Уайман в фильме «Стервятник» (2016) [4]
Звучание рока традиционно сосредоточено на усиленной электрогитаре, которая появилась в своей современной форме в 1950-х годах с ростом популярности рок-н-ролла. [5] На него также оказали большое влияние звуки электроблюзовых гитаристов. [6] Звук электрогитары в рок-музыке обычно поддерживается электрической бас-гитарой, которая стала пионером джазовой музыки в ту же эпоху, [7] и перкуссией, производимой ударной установкой, которая объединяет барабаны и тарелки. [8] Это трио инструментов часто дополнялось включением других инструментов, в частности клавишных, таких как фортепиано, орган Хаммонда и синтезатор. [9] Базовая рок-инструментария произошла от базовой блюзовой инструментальной группы (выдающаяся соло-гитара, второй аккордовый инструмент, бас и барабаны). [6] Группа музыкантов, исполняющих рок-музыку, называется рок-группой или рок-группой. Кроме того, она обычно состоит из трех ( силовое трио ) и пяти участников. Классическая рок-группа принимает форму квартета , участники которого выполняют одну или несколько ролей, включая вокалиста, ведущего гитариста, ритм-гитариста, бас-гитариста, барабанщика и часто клавишника или другого инструменталиста. [10]
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Рок-музыка традиционно строится на основе простых синкопированных ритмов в4
4 метр с повторяющимся малым барабаном на 2 и 4 тактах. [11] Мелодии часто берут начало из старых музыкальных ладов, таких как дорийский и миксолидийский , а также мажорный и минорный лады. Гармонии варьируются от общего трезвучия до параллельных чистых кварт и квинт и диссонирующих гармонических прогрессий. [11] С конца 1950-х годов [12] и особенно с середины 1960-х годов рок-музыка часто использовала структуру куплет-припев, заимствованную из блюза и фолк-музыки, но наблюдались значительные отклонения от этой модели. [13] Критики подчеркивали эклектичность и стилистическое разнообразие рока. [14] Из-за его сложной истории и тенденции заимствовать из других музыкальных и культурных форм утверждалось, что «невозможно привязать рок-музыку к жестко очерченному музыкальному определению». [15] По мнению музыкального журналиста Роберта Кристгау , «лучший рок встряхивает добродетели народного искусства — прямоту, полезность, естественную аудиторию — в настоящее время с кадрами современных технологий и модернистской диссоциации ». [16]
Рок-н-ролл был задуман как выход для подростковых желаний... Создание рок-н-ролла также является идеальным способом исследовать пересечение секса, любви, насилия и веселья, транслировать прелести и ограничения регионального , а также бороться с разрушительными эффектами и преимуществами самой массовой культуры .
— Роберт Кристгау в «Справочнике Кристгау» (1981) [17]
В отличие от многих более ранних стилей популярной музыки, рок-тексты затрагивают широкий спектр тем, включая романтическую любовь, секс, бунт против « истеблишмента », социальные проблемы и стили жизни. [11] Эти темы были унаследованы из различных источников, таких как поп-традиция Tin Pan Alley , фолк-музыка и ритм-энд-блюз . [18] Кристгау характеризует рок-тексты как «прохладную среду» с простой дикцией и повторяющимися рефренами и утверждает, что основная «функция» рока «относится к музыке или, в более общем смысле, к шуму ». [19] Преобладание белых, мужчин и часто музыкантов среднего класса в рок-музыке часто отмечалось, [20] и рок рассматривался как присвоение черных музыкальных форм для молодой, белой и в основном мужской аудитории. [21] В результате, он также был замечен в выражении проблем этой группы как в стиле, так и в текстах. [22] Кристгау, писавший в 1972 году, сказал, что, несмотря на некоторые исключения, «рок-н-ролл обычно подразумевает отождествление мужской сексуальности и агрессии». [23]
С тех пор как термин «рок» стал использоваться вместо «рок-н-ролла» с конца 1960-х годов, его обычно противопоставляли поп-музыке, с которой он разделял многие характеристики, но от которой его часто дистанцировали акцентом на музыкальности, живом исполнении и сосредоточенностью на серьезных и прогрессивных темах как части идеологии аутентичности , которая часто сочеталась с осознанием истории и развития жанра. [24] По словам Саймона Фрита , рок был «чем-то большим, чем поп, чем-то большим, чем рок-н-ролл», и «[р]ок-музыканты сочетали акцент на мастерстве и технике с романтической концепцией искусства как художественного выражения, оригинального и искреннего». [24]
В новом тысячелетии термин «рок» иногда использовался как общее понятие, включающее такие формы, как поп-музыка, регги , соул и даже хип-хоп , которые оказали на него влияние, но часто противопоставлялись ему на протяжении большей части его истории. [25] Кристгау использовал этот термин в широком смысле для обозначения популярной и полупопулярной музыки , которая отвечает его восприятию как «рок-н-ролльщика», включая любовь к хорошему ритму, содержательную лирику с некоторой долей остроумия и тему молодости, которая обладает «вечным притяжением», настолько объективным, «что вся молодежная музыка причастна социологии и полевым отчетам ». В своей работе «Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s» (1990) он сказал, что эта чувствительность очевидна в музыке фолк-певицы и автора песен Мишель Шокед , рэпера LL Cool J и синти-поп-дуэта Pet Shop Boys — «все дети работают над своей идентичностью» — так же, как и в музыке Чака Берри , Ramones и Replacements . [26]
Основы рок-музыки лежат в рок-н-ролле, который возник в Соединенных Штатах в конце 1940-х и начале 1950-х годов и быстро распространился на большую часть остального мира. Его непосредственные истоки лежат в слиянии различных черных музыкальных жанров того времени, включая ритм-н-блюз и госпел , с кантри и вестерном . [27]
Споры ведутся вокруг множества записей, которые были предложены как « первая рок-н-ролльная запись ». Среди претендентов — « Strange Things Happening Every Day » сестры Розетты Тарп (1944); [28] « That's All Right » Артура Крадапа (1946), [29] которую позже перепел Элвис Пресли в 1954 году; « The House of Blue Lights » Эллы Мэй Морс и Фредди Слэка (1946); [30] « Good Rocking Tonight » Винони Харриса (1948); [31] «Rock Awhile» Гори Картера (1949); [32] « Rock the Joint » Джимми Престона (1949), также перепетую Биллом Хейли и его кометами в 1952 году; [33] и « Rocket 88 » Джеки Бренстона и его группы Delta Cats (на самом деле, Айка Тернера и его группы Kings of Rhythm ), записанная Сэмом Филлипсом для Chess Records в 1951 году. [34]
В 1951 году диск-жокей из Кливленда, штат Огайо, Алан Фрид начал играть ритм-н-блюз (тогда его называли « расовой музыкой ») для многорасовой аудитории, и ему приписывают первое использование фразы «рок-н-ролл» для описания этой музыки. [35] Четыре года спустя « Rock Around the Clock » Билла Хейли (1954) стала первой рок-н-ролльной песней, возглавившей основные чарты продаж и трансляций журнала Billboard , и открыла двери по всему миру для этой новой волны популярной культуры. [36] [37] Другими артистами с ранними рок-н-ролльными хитами были Чак Берри , Бо Диддли , Фэтс Домино , Литтл Ричард , Джерри Ли Льюис и Джин Винсент . [34] Вскоре рок-н-ролл стал основной силой в продажах американских пластинок, и такие эстрадные исполнители , как Эдди Фишер , Перри Комо и Патти Пейдж , которые доминировали в популярной музыке в предыдущее десятилетие, обнаружили, что их доступ к поп-чартам значительно сократился. [38]
Рок-н-ролл рассматривается как ведущий к ряду отдельных поджанров, включая рокабилли, сочетающий рок-н-ролл с кантри-музыкой «хиллбилли», которую обычно исполняли и записывали в середине 1950-х годов белые певцы, такие как Карл Перкинс , Джерри Ли Льюис, Бадди Холли и, с наибольшим коммерческим успехом, Элвис Пресли . [39] Испаноязычные и латиноамериканские движения в рок-н-ролле, которые в конечном итоге привели к успеху латиноамериканского рока и чикано-рока в США, начали подниматься на Юго-Западе ; с музыкантом-стандартом рок-н-ролла Ричи Валенсом и даже с представителями других традиционных жанров, такими как Эл Харрикейн вместе со своими братьями Тини Морри и Бэби Габи, когда они начали сочетать рок-н-ролл с кантри- вестерном в традиционной музыке Нью-Мексико . [40] Кроме того, в 1950-х годах наблюдался рост популярности электрогитары и развитие специфического рок-н-ролльного стиля игры благодаря таким представителям, как Чак Берри, Линк Рэй и Скотти Мур . [41] Использование искажения , впервые примененного западными свинговыми гитаристами, такими как Джуниор Барнард [42] и Элдон Шамблин, было популяризировано Чаком Берри в середине 1950-х годов. [43] Использование мощных аккордов , впервые примененных Франсиско Таррегой и Эйтором Вилья-Лобосом в 19 веке, а позднее Вилли Джонсоном и Пэтом Хэром в начале 1950-х годов, было популяризировано Линком Рэем в конце 1950-х годов. [44]
Комментаторы традиционно считали, что рок-н-ролл пришел в упадок в конце 1950-х и начале 1960-х годов. К 1959 году смерть Бадди Холли, Биг Боппера и Ричи Валенса в авиакатастрофе, уход Элвиса в армию, уход Литтл Ричарда на пенсию, чтобы стать проповедником, судебное преследование Джерри Ли Льюиса и Чака Берри и раскрытие скандала с подкупом (который замешал крупных деятелей, включая Алана Фрида, во взяточничестве и коррупции при продвижении отдельных выступлений или песен) дали ощущение, что эпоха рок-н-ролла, зародившаяся в тот момент, подошла к концу. [45]
Рок быстро распространился из своих истоков в США, что связано с быстрой американизацией , которая происходила во всем мире после Второй мировой войны . [46] Клиффу Ричарду приписывают один из первых рок-н-ролльных хитов за пределами Северной Америки с песней « Move It » (1959), фактически открывшей звучание британского рока . [47] Несколько артистов, наиболее заметным из которых был Томми Стил из Великобритании, добились успеха с каверами на популярные американские рок-н-ролльные хиты до того, как записи смогли распространиться по всему миру, часто переводя их на местные языки, где это было уместно. [48] [49] В частности, Стил гастролировал по Великобритании, Скандинавии, Австралии, СССР и Южной Африке с 1955 по 1957 год, оказав влияние на глобализацию рока. [48] Пластинка Джонни О'Кифа 1958 года « Wild One » была одним из самых ранних австралийских рок-н-ролльных хитов. [50] К концу 1950-х годов, а также в западном мире, находящемся под влиянием Америки, рок был популярен в коммунистических государствах, таких как Югославия, [51] и СССР, [52], а также в таких регионах, как Южная Америка. [49]
В конце 1950-х и начале 1960-х годов американские исполнители блюзовой музыки и блюз-рока , которых превзошёл рост рок-н-ролла в США, обрели новую популярность в Великобритании, посетив страну с успешными турами. [53] Хит Лонни Донегана 1955 года « Rock Island Line » оказал большое влияние и помог развить тенденцию групп скиффл-музыки по всей стране, многие из которых, включая Quarrymen Джона Леннона ( позже The Beatles ), перешли к исполнению рок-н-ролла. [54] В то время как бывший рынок рок-н-ролла в США стал доминировать в лёгкой поп-музыке и балладах, британские рок-группы в клубах и на местных танцах развивали стиль, на который сильнее повлияли пионеры блюз-рока, и начинали играть с интенсивностью и драйвом, редко встречающимися у белых американских исполнителей; [55] это влияние продолжило формировать будущее рок-музыки через Британское вторжение . [53]
Первые четыре года 1960-х годов традиционно считаются эпохой перерыва для рок-н-ролла. [56] Совсем недавно некоторые авторы [ слова-ласка ] подчеркивали важные нововведения и тенденции в этот период, без которых будущее развитие было бы невозможным. [57] [58] В то время как ранний рок-н-ролл, особенно с появлением рокабилли, имел наибольший коммерческий успех для мужчин и белых исполнителей, в эту эпоху в жанре доминировали чернокожие и женщины-исполнители. Рок-н-ролл не исчез полностью из музыки в конце 1950-х годов, и часть его энергии можно увидеть в различных танцевальных безумствах начала 1960-х годов, начатых записью Чабби Чекера " The Twist " (1960). [58] [nb 1] Некоторые историки музыки также указали на важные и инновационные технические разработки, которые были основаны на рок-н-ролле в этот период, включая электронную обработку звука такими новаторами, как Джо Мик , и сложные методы производства Стены Звука , разработанные Филом Спектором . [58]
Инструментальный рок-н-ролл таких исполнителей, как Дуэйн Эдди , Линк Рэй и Ventures, был в дальнейшем развит Диком Дейлом , который добавил характерную «мокрую» реверберацию , быстрый альтернативный звукоряд и ближневосточные и мексиканские влияния. Он выпустил региональный хит « Let's Go Trippin ' » в 1961 году и положил начало повальному увлечению серф-музыкой, за которым последовали такие песни, как « Misirlou » (1962). [62] Как и Дейл и его Del-Tones , большинство ранних серф-групп были сформированы в Южной Калифорнии, включая Bel-Airs , Challengers и Eddie & the Showmen . [62] В 1963 году группа Chantays вошла в десятку лучших национальных хитов с песней « Pipeline », а, вероятно, самой известной серф-композицией стала песня 1963 года « Wipe Out » группы Surfaris , которая заняла 2-е и 10-е места в чартах Billboard в 1965 году. [63] В то время серф-рок также был популярен в Европе: британская группа Shadows выпустила хиты в начале 1960-х годов с такими инструментальными композициями, как « Apache » и « Kon-Tiki », в то время как шведская серф-группа Spotnicks добилась успеха как в Швеции, так и в Великобритании.
Наибольшего коммерческого успеха сёрф-музыка достигла как вокальная поп-музыка, в частности, работа Beach Boys , сформированной в 1961 году в Южной Калифорнии. Их ранние альбомы включали как инструментальный сёрф-рок (среди них каверы на музыку Дика Дейла), так и вокальные песни, основанные на рок-н-ролле и ду-вопе , а также на близких гармониях вокальных поп-исполнителей, таких как Four Freshmen . [64] Первый хит Beach Boys, « Surfin ' », в 1961 году достиг топ-100 Billboard и помог сделать увлечение сёрф-музыкой национальным явлением. [65] Часто утверждается, что увлечение сёрф-музыкой и карьера почти всех сёрф-исполнителей фактически закончились с приходом британского вторжения в 1964 году, потому что большинство хитов сёрф-музыки были записаны и выпущены между 1960 и 1965 годами. [66] [nb 2]
К концу 1962 года то, что станет британской рок-сценой, началось с бит-групп, таких как The Beatles , Gerry & the Pacemakers и The Searchers из Ливерпуля, а также Freddie and the Dreamers , Herman's Hermits и The Hollies из Манчестера. Они черпали вдохновение в широком спектре американских влияний, включая рок-н-ролл 1950-х годов, соул, ритм-энд-блюз и серф-музыку, [67] изначально переосмысливая стандартные американские мелодии и играя для танцоров. Такие группы, как The Animals из Ньюкасла и Them из Белфаста , [68] и особенно лондонские, такие как The Rolling Stones и The Yardbirds , находились под гораздо более прямым влиянием ритм-энд-блюза и более поздней блюзовой музыки. [69] Вскоре эти группы начали сочинять свой собственный материал, объединяя американские формы музыки и наполняя его энергичным битом. Бит-группы тяготели к «пружинистым, неотразимым мелодиям», в то время как ранние британские блюзовые группы тяготели к менее сексуально невинным, более агрессивным песням, часто занимая анти-истеблишментскую позицию. Однако, особенно на ранних стадиях, между этими двумя тенденциями наблюдалось значительное музыкальное пересечение. [70] К 1963 году, во главе с The Beatles, бит-группы начали добиваться национального успеха в Британии, вскоре за ними в чартах последовали более ритм-н-блюзовые группы. [71]
« I Want to Hold Your Hand » был первым хитом Beatles номер один в Billboard Hot 100 , [72] проведя семь недель на вершине и в общей сложности 15 недель в чарте. [73] [74] Их первое появление на шоу Эда Салливана 9 февраля 1964 года, собрав примерно 73 миллиона зрителей (на тот момент рекорд для американской телевизионной программы), считается вехой в американской поп-культуре. В течение недели с 4 апреля 1964 года Beatles удерживали 12 позиций в чарте синглов Billboard Hot 100 , включая всю первую пятерку. The Beatles стали самой продаваемой рок-группой всех времен, и за ними в американские чарты последовали многочисленные британские группы. [70] В течение следующих двух лет британские исполнители доминировали в своих собственных и американских чартах: Peter and Gordon , the Animals, [75] Manfred Mann , Petula Clark , [75] Freddie and the Dreamers, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders , Herman's Hermits, the Rolling Stones, [76] the Troggs и Donovan [77] — все они имели один или несколько синглов номер один. [73] Другими крупными исполнителями, которые были частью вторжения, были Kinks и Dave Clark Five . [78] [79]
Британское вторжение помогло интернационализировать производство рок-н-ролла, открыв двери для последующих британских (и ирландских) исполнителей, чтобы добиться международного успеха. [80] В Америке это, возможно, означало конец инструментальной серф-музыки, вокальных женских групп и (на какое-то время) подростковых идолов , которые доминировали в американских чартах в конце 1950-х и 1960-х годах. [81] Это пошатнуло карьеру устоявшихся R&B-исполнителей, таких как Фэтс Домино и Чабби Чекер , и даже временно сорвало успех в чартах выживших рок-н-ролльных исполнителей, включая Элвиса. [82] Британское вторжение также сыграло важную роль в становлении особого жанра рок-музыки и закрепило главенство рок-групп, основанных на гитарах и барабанах и создающих свой собственный материал как авторов-исполнителей. [83] В частности, следуя примеру, поданному Beatles в 1965 году, Rubber Soul , другие британские рок-исполнители выпустили рок-альбомы, задуманные как художественные заявления в 1966 году, включая Aftermath Rolling Stones , собственный Revolver Beatles и A Quick One Who , а также американские исполнители Beach Boys ( Pet Sounds ) и Боб Дилан ( Blonde on Blonde ). [84]
Гаражный рок был сырой формой рок-музыки, особенно распространенной в Северной Америке в середине 1960-х годов и так называемой из-за восприятия, что она репетировалась в пригородном семейном гараже. [85] [86] Песни гаражного рока часто вращались вокруг травм школьной жизни, особенно распространены были песни о «лживых девушках» и несправедливых социальных обстоятельствах. [87] Тексты и подача, как правило, были более агрессивными, чем было принято в то время, часто с рычащим или кричащим вокалом, который растворялся в бессвязном крике. [85] Они варьировались от грубой одноаккордной музыки (как Seeds ) до почти студийного качества музыкантов (включая Knickerbockers , The Remains и The Fifth Estate ). Во многих частях страны также существовали региональные вариации с процветающими сценами, особенно в Калифорнии и Техасе. [87] Тихоокеанские северо-западные штаты Вашингтон и Орегон имели, возможно, [ по мнению кого? ] наиболее определенное региональное звучание. [88]
Стиль развивался из региональных сцен ещё в 1958 году. «Tall Cool One» (1959) группы Wailers и « Louie Louie » группы Kingsmen (1963) являются основными примерами жанра на стадии его формирования. [89] К 1963 году синглы гаражных групп начали проникать в национальные чарты в большем количестве, включая Paul Revere и the Raiders (Бойсе), [90] the Trashmen (Миннеаполис) [91] и the Rivieras (Саут-Бенд, Индиана). [92] Другие влиятельные гаражные группы, такие как the Sonics (Такома, Вашингтон), никогда не попадали в Billboard Hot 100. [ 93]
Британское вторжение оказало большое влияние на гаражные группы, предоставив им национальную аудиторию, что привело многих (часто серф- или хот-род -группы) к принятию британского влияния и поощрению создания многих других групп. [87] Тысячи гаражных групп существовали в Соединенных Штатах и Канаде в ту эпоху, и сотни из них выпустили региональные хиты. [87] Несмотря на то, что десятки групп подписали контракты с крупными или крупными региональными лейблами, большинство из них были коммерчески неудачными. Общепризнано, что гаражный рок достиг пика как в коммерческом, так и в художественном плане около 1966 года. [87] К 1968 году стиль в значительной степени исчез из национальных чартов и на местном уровне, поскольку музыканты-любители столкнулись с колледжем, работой или призывом . [87] На смену гаражному року пришли новые стили. [87] [nb 3]
Хотя первое влияние британского вторжения на американскую популярную музыку было оказано через бит и R&B-исполнителей, импульс вскоре был подхвачен второй волной групп, которые черпали свое вдохновение более непосредственно из американского блюза , включая Rolling Stones и Yardbirds . [95] Британские блюзовые музыканты конца 1950-х и начала 1960-х годов вдохновлялись акустической игрой таких фигур, как Лид Белли , который оказал большое влияние на увлечение скиффлом, и Роберт Джонсон . [96] Они все чаще перенимали громкий усиленный звук, часто сосредоточенный на электрогитаре, основанный на чикагском блюзе , особенно после турне по Великобритании Мадди Уотерса в 1958 году, которое побудило Сирила Дэвиса и гитариста Алексиса Корнера создать группу Blues Incorporated . [97] Группа привлекла и вдохновила многих деятелей последующего британского блюзового бума, включая участников Rolling Stones и Cream , сочетая блюзовые стандарты и формы с рок-инструментацией и акцентами. [55]
Другим ключевым направлением для британского блюза был Джон Мейолл ; его группа, Bluesbreakers , включала Эрика Клэптона (после ухода Клэптона из Yardbirds) и позже Питера Грина . Особенно значимым был выпуск альбома Blues Breakers с Эриком Клэптоном (Бино) (1966), который считается одной из основополагающих записей британского блюза и звучание которой во многом подражали как в Великобритании, так и в Соединенных Штатах. [98] Эрик Клэптон продолжил формировать супергруппы Cream, Blind Faith и Derek and the Dominos , за которыми последовала обширная сольная карьера, которая помогла вывести блюз-рок в мейнстрим. [97] Грин вместе с ритм-секцией Bluesbreaker Миком Флитвудом и Джоном Макви сформировал Fleetwood Mac Питера Грина , которая пользовалась одним из самых больших коммерческих успехов в жанре. [97] В конце 1960-х годов Джефф Бек , также выпускник Yardbirds, переместил блюз-рок в сторону тяжелого рока со своей группой Jeff Beck Group . [97] Последним гитаристом Yardbirds был Джимми Пейдж , который впоследствии сформировал The New Yardbirds , которые быстро стали Led Zeppelin . Многие песни на их первых трех альбомах, а иногда и позже в их карьере, были расширениями традиционных блюзовых песен. [97]
В Америке блюз-рок был пионером в начале 1960-х годов гитаристом Лонни Маком , [99] но жанр начал набирать обороты в середине 1960-х годов, когда артисты разработали звучание, похожее на британских блюзовых музыкантов. Ключевые артисты включали Пола Баттерфилда (чья группа действовала как Bluesbreakers Мэйолла в Британии, став отправной точкой для многих успешных музыкантов), Canned Heat , ранний Jefferson Airplane , Дженис Джоплин , Джонни Винтер , J. Geils Band и Джими Хендрикс с его мощными трио , Jimi Hendrix Experience (в которую входили два британских участника и которая была основана в Британии) и Band of Gypsys , чья гитарная виртуозность и зрелищность стали одними из самых подражаемых в десятилетие. [97] Блюз-рок-группы из южных штатов, такие как Allman Brothers Band , Lynyrd Skynyrd и ZZ Top , включили элементы кантри в свой стиль, чтобы создать отличительный жанр Southern rock . [100]
Ранние блюз-роковые группы часто подражали джазу, играя длинные, сложные импровизации, которые позже станут основным элементом прогрессивного рока. Примерно с 1967 года такие группы, как Cream и Jimi Hendrix Experience, отошли от чисто блюзовой музыки в сторону психоделии . [101] К 1970-м годам блюз-рок стал тяжелее и более риффовым, примером чего служат работы Led Zeppelin и Deep Purple , а границы между блюз-роком и хард-роком «стали едва заметными», [101] поскольку группы начали записывать альбомы в рок-стиле. [101] Жанр продолжили развивать в 1970-х годах такие деятели, как Джордж Торогуд и Пэт Трэверс , [97] но, особенно на британской сцене (за исключением, возможно, появления таких групп, как Status Quo и Foghat , которые перешли к форме энергичного и повторяющегося буги-рока ), группы стали ориентироваться на инновации в стиле хэви-метал , и блюз-рок начал выпадать из мейнстрима. [102]
К 1960-м годам сцена, которая развилась из возрождения американской народной музыки, выросла в крупное движение, использующее традиционную музыку и новые композиции в традиционном стиле, обычно на акустических инструментах. [103] В Америке этот жанр был пионерами таких деятелей, как Вуди Гатри и Пит Сигер, и часто отождествлялся с прогрессивной или трудовой политикой . [103] В начале шестидесятых такие деятели, как Джоан Баэз и Боб Дилан, вышли на передний план в этом движении как авторы-исполнители песен. [104] Дилан начал достигать широкой аудитории с такими хитами, как « Blowin' in the Wind » (1963) и « Masters of War » (1963), которые принесли « песни протеста » более широкой публике, [105] но, хотя и начали влиять друг на друга, рок и фолк-музыка оставались в значительной степени отдельными жанрами, часто с взаимоисключающей аудиторией. [106]
Ранние попытки объединить элементы фолка и рока включали « House of the Rising Sun » группы Animals (1964), которая стала первой коммерчески успешной фолк-песней, записанной с использованием рок-н-ролльной инструментовки [107] и « I'm a Loser » группы Beatles (1964), возможно, первой песней Beatles, на которую Дилан оказал непосредственное влияние. [108] Обычно считается, что движение фолк-рока началось с записи Byrds песни Дилана « Mr. Tambourine Man », которая возглавила чарты в 1965 году. [106] С участниками, которые были частью кафе фолк-сцены в Лос-Анджелесе, Byrds переняли рок-инструменты, включая барабаны и 12-струнные гитары Rickenbacker , которые стали основным элементом звучания жанра. [106] Позже в том же году Дилан перенял электроинструменты, к большому возмущению многих фолк-пуристов, а его « Like a Rolling Stone » стал хитом в США. [106] По словам Ричи Унтербергера , Дилан (даже до того, как он начал использовать электрические инструменты) оказал влияние на рок-музыкантов, таких как The Beatles, продемонстрировав «рок-поколению в целом, что альбом может быть крупным самостоятельным заявлением без хитовых синглов», как, например, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). [109]
Фолк-рок особенно взлетел в Калифорнии, где он побудил таких исполнителей, как Mamas & the Papas и Crosby, Stills и Nash перейти на электрические инструменты, и в Нью-Йорке, где он породил таких исполнителей, как Lovin' Spoonful и Simon and Garfunkel , а акустическая композиция последнего " The Sounds of Silence " (1965) была переработана с использованием рок-инструментов и стала первым из многих хитов. [106] Эти исполнители оказали непосредственное влияние на британских исполнителей, таких как Donovan и Fairport Convention . [106] В 1969 году Fairport Convention отказались от своей смеси американских каверов и песен, вдохновленных Диланом, чтобы играть традиционную английскую народную музыку на электрических инструментах. [110] Этот британский фолк-рок был принят такими группами, как Pentangle , Steeleye Span и Albion Band , что в свою очередь побудило ирландские группы, такие как Horslips , и шотландские исполнители, такие как JSD Band , Spencer's Feat и позже Five Hand Reel , использовать свою традиционную музыку для создания бренда кельтского рока в начале 1970-х годов. [111]
Фолк-рок достиг пика коммерческой популярности в период 1967–68 годов, прежде чем многие артисты разошлись в разных направлениях, включая Дилана и The Byrds, которые начали развивать кантри-рок . [112] Однако гибридизация фолка и рока, как считается, оказала большое влияние на развитие рок-музыки, привнеся элементы психоделики и помогая развивать идеи автора-исполнителя, протестной песни и концепции «подлинности». [106] [113]
Психоделическая музыка, вдохновленная ЛСД, зародилась на фолк-сцене. [114] Первой группой, которая позиционировала себя как психоделический рок, была группа 13th Floor Elevators из Техаса. [114] The Beatles представили аудитории в этот период многие из основных элементов психоделического звучания, такие как гитарная обратная связь , индийский ситар и звуковые эффекты бэк-маскировки . [115] Психоделический рок особенно взлетел на зарождающейся музыкальной сцене Калифорнии, когда группы последовали за переходом Byrds от фолка к фолк-року с 1965 года. [115] Психоделический образ жизни, который вращался вокруг галлюциногенных наркотиков, уже развивался в Сан-Франциско, и особенно заметными продуктами этой сцены были Big Brother and the Holding Company , Grateful Dead и Jefferson Airplane . [115] [116] Джими Хендрикс , ведущий гитарист The Jimi Hendrix Experience , делал расширенные искажённые, наполненные обратной связью джемы, которые стали ключевой чертой психоделии. [115] Психоделический рок достиг своего апогея в последние годы десятилетия. В 1967 году The Beatles выпустили своё окончательное психоделическое заявление в Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , включая спорный трек " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ", The Rolling Stones ответили позже в том же году с Their Satanic Majesties Request , [115] а Pink Floyd дебютировали с The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . Ключевые записи включали Surrealistic Pillow Jefferson Airplane и одноименный дебютный альбом The Doors . Эти тенденции достигли пика на фестивале Вудсток 1969 года , на котором выступили большинство основных психоделических исполнителей. [115]
Sgt. Pepper позже был признан величайшим альбомом всех времен и отправной точкой для эры альбомов , в течение которой рок-музыка перешла от формата синглов к альбомам и достигла культурной легитимности в мейнстриме. [117] Во главе с The Beatles в середине 1960-х годов [118] рок-музыканты продвигали LP как доминирующую форму выражения и потребления записанной музыки, положив начало эре альбомов, основанной на роке, в музыкальной индустрии на следующие несколько десятилетий. [119]
Прогрессивный рок, термин, который иногда используется взаимозаменяемо с арт-роком , вышел за рамки устоявшихся музыкальных формул, экспериментируя с различными инструментами, типами песен и формами. [120] С середины 1960-х годов Left Banke , The Beatles, The Rolling Stones и The Beach Boys были пионерами включения клавесинов , духовых и струнных секций в свои записи, чтобы создать форму барочного рока , и это можно услышать в синглах, таких как « A Whiter Shade of Pale » Procol Harum (1967), с его вдохновленным Бахом вступлением. [121] Moody Blues использовали полный оркестр на своем альбоме Days of Future Passed (1967) и впоследствии создали оркестровые звуки с помощью синтезаторов. [120] Классическая оркестровка, клавишные и синтезаторы были частым дополнением к устоявшемуся рок-формату гитар, баса и барабанов в последующем прогрессивном роке. [122]
Инструментальные композиции были распространены, в то время как песни с текстами иногда были концептуальными, абстрактными или основанными на фэнтези и научной фантастике. [123] SF Sorrow (1968) группы The Pretty Things , Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969) группы The Kinks и Tommy (1969) группы The Who представили формат рок-опер и открыли дверь концептуальным альбомам , часто рассказывающим эпическую историю или затрагивающим грандиозную всеобъемлющую тему. [124] Дебютный альбом King Crimson 1969 года In the Court of the Crimson King , в котором мощные гитарные риффы и меллотрон были смешаны с джазовой и симфонической музыкой , часто считается ключевой записью в прогрессивном роке, способствовавшей широкому принятию жанра в начале 1970-х годов среди существующих блюз-роковых и психоделических групп, а также недавно образованных коллективов. [120] На яркой сцене Кентербери были представлены исполнители, следующие за Soft Machine, от психоделики, через джазовые влияния к более экспансивному хард-року, включая Caravan , Hatfield and the North , Gong и National Health . [125] Французская группа Magma под руководством барабанщика Кристиана Вандера практически в одиночку создала новый музыкальный жанр zeuhl со своими первыми альбомами в начале 1970-х годов. [126]
Greater commercial success was enjoyed by Pink Floyd, who also moved away from psychedelia after the departure of Syd Barrett in 1968, with The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), seen as a masterpiece of the genre, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.[127] There was an emphasis on instrumental virtuosity, with Yes showcasing the skills of both guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Rick Wakeman, while Emerson, Lake & Palmer were a supergroup who produced some of the genre's most technically demanding work.[120] Jethro Tull and Genesis both pursued very different, but distinctly English, brands of music.[128] Renaissance, formed in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds Jim McCarty and Keith Relf, evolved into a high-concept band featuring the three-octave voice of Annie Haslam.[129] Most British bands depended on a relatively small cult following, but a handful, including Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Jethro Tull, managed to produce top ten singles at home and break the American market.[130] The American brand of progressive rock varied from the eclectic and innovative Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and Blood, Sweat & Tears,[131] to more pop rock orientated bands like Boston, Foreigner, Kansas, Journey, and Styx.[120] These, beside British bands Supertramp and ELO, all demonstrated a prog rock influence and while ranking among the most commercially successful acts of the 1970s, heralding the era of pomp or arena rock, which would last until the costs of complex shows (often with theatrical staging and special effects), would be replaced by more economical rock festivals as major live venues in the 1990s.[citation needed]
The instrumental strand of the genre resulted in albums like Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (1973), the first record, and worldwide hit, for the Virgin Records label, which became a mainstay of the genre.[120] Instrumental rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Can, Focus (band) and Faust to circumvent the language barrier.[132] Their synthesiser-heavy "krautrock", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music), would be a major influence on subsequent electronic rock.[120] With the advent of punk rock and technological changes in the late 1970s, progressive rock was increasingly dismissed as pretentious and overblown.[133][134] Many bands broke up, but some, including Genesis, ELP, Yes, and Pink Floyd, regularly scored top ten albums with successful accompanying worldwide tours.[94] Some bands which emerged in the aftermath of punk, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ultravox, and Simple Minds, showed the influence of progressive rock, as well as their more usually recognized punk influences.[135]
In the late 1960s, jazz-rock emerged as a distinct subgenre out of the blues-rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock scenes, mixing the power of rock with the musical complexity and improvisational elements of jazz. AllMusic states that the term jazz-rock "may refer to the loudest, wildest, most electrified fusion bands from the jazz camp, but most often it describes performers coming from the rock side of the equation." Jazz-rock "...generally grew out of the most artistically ambitious rock subgenres of the late '60s and early '70s", including the singer-songwriter movement.[136] Many early US rock and roll musicians had begun in jazz and carried some of these elements into the new music. In Britain the subgenre of blues rock, and many of its leading figures, like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce of the Eric Clapton-fronted band Cream, had emerged from the British jazz scene. Often highlighted as the first true jazz-rock recording is the only album by the relatively obscure New York–based the Free Spirits with Out of Sight and Sound (1966). The first group of bands to self-consciously use the label were R&B oriented white rock bands that made use of jazzy horn sections, like Electric Flag, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago, to become some of the most commercially successful acts of the later 1960s and the early 1970s.[137]
British acts to emerge in the same period from the blues scene, to make use of the tonal and improvisational aspects of jazz, included Nucleus[138] and the Graham Bond and John Mayall spin-off Colosseum. From the psychedelic rock and the Canterbury scenes came Soft Machine, who, it has been suggested, produced one of the artistically successfully fusions of the two genres. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed fusion came from the jazz side of the equation, with Miles Davis, particularly influenced by the work of Hendrix, incorporating rock instrumentation into his sound for the album Bitches Brew (1970). It was a major influence on subsequent rock-influenced jazz artists, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Weather Report.[137] The genre began to fade in the late 1970s, as a mellower form of fusion began to take its audience,[136] but acts like Steely Dan,[136] Frank Zappa and Joni Mitchell recorded significant jazz-influenced albums in this period, and it has continued to be a major influence on rock music.[137]
Reflecting on developments that occurred in rock music in the early 1970s, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981):[17]
The decade is, of course, an arbitrary schema itself—time doesn't just execute a neat turn toward the future every ten years. But like a lot of artificial concepts—money, say—the category does take on a reality of its own once people figure out how to put it to work. "The '60s are over," a slogan one only began to hear in 1972 or so, mobilized all those eager to believe that idealism had become passe, and once they were mobilized, it had. In popular music, embracing the '70s meant both an elitist withdrawal from the messy concert and counterculture scene and a profiteering pursuit of the lowest common denominator in FM radio and album rock.
Rock saw greater commodification during this decade, turning into a multibillion-dollar industry and doubling its market while, as Christgau noted, suffering a significant "loss of cultural prestige". "Maybe the Bee Gees became more popular than the Beatles, but they were never more popular than Jesus", he said. "Insofar as the music retained any mythic power, the myth was self-referential – there were lots of songs about the rock and roll life but very few about how rock could change the world, except as a new brand of painkiller ... In the '70s the powerful took over, as rock industrialists capitalized on the national mood to reduce potent music to an often reactionary species of entertainment—and to transmute rock's popular base from the audience to market."[17]
Roots rock is the term now used to describe a move away from what some saw as the excesses of the psychedelic scene, to a more basic form of rock and roll that incorporated its original influences, particularly blues, country and folk music, leading to the creation of country rock and Southern rock.[139] In 1966 Bob Dylan went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde.[140] This, and subsequent more clearly country-influenced albums, such as Nashville Skyline, have been seen as creating the genre of country folk, a route pursued by a number of largely acoustic folk musicians.[140] Other acts that followed the back-to-basics trend were the Canadian group the Band and the California-based Creedence Clearwater Revival, both of which mixed basic rock and roll with folk, country and blues, to be among the most successful and influential bands of the late 1960s.[141] The same movement saw the beginning of the recording careers of Californian solo artists like Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt and Lowell George,[142] and influenced the work of established performers such as the Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet (1968) and the Beatles' Let It Be (1970).[115] Reflecting on this change of trends in rock music over the past few years, Christgau wrote in his June 1970 "Consumer Guide" column that this "new orthodoxy" and "cultural lag" abandoned improvisatory, studio-ornamented productions in favor of an emphasis on "tight, spare instrumentation" and song composition: "Its referents are '50s rock, country music, and rhythm-and-blues, and its key inspiration is the Band."[143]
In 1968, Gram Parsons recorded Safe at Home with the International Submarine Band, arguably the first true country rock album.[144] Later that year he joined the Byrds for Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), generally considered one of the most influential recordings in the genre.[144] The Byrds continued in the same vein, but Parsons left to be joined by another ex-Byrds member Chris Hillman in forming the Flying Burrito Brothers who helped establish the respectability and parameters of the genre, before Parsons departed to pursue a solo career.[144] Bands in California that adopted country rock included Hearts and Flowers, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage,[144] the Beau Brummels,[144] and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[145] Some performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds, including: the Everly Brothers; one-time teen idol Rick Nelson who became the frontman for the Stone Canyon Band; former Monkee Mike Nesmith who formed the First National Band; and Neil Young.[144] The Dillards were, unusually, a country act, who moved towards rock music.[144] The greatest commercial success for country rock came in the 1970s, with artists including the Doobie Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles (made up of members of the Burritos, Poco, and Stone Canyon Band), who emerged as one of the most successful rock acts of all time, producing albums that included Hotel California (1976).[146]
The founders of Southern rock are usually thought to be the Allman Brothers Band, who developed a distinctive sound, largely derived from blues rock, but incorporating elements of boogie, soul, and country in the early 1970s.[100] The most successful act to follow them were Lynyrd Skynyrd, who helped establish the "Good ol' boy" image of the subgenre and the general shape of 1970s' guitar rock.[100] Their successors included the fusion/progressive instrumentalists Dixie Dregs, the more country-influenced Outlaws, funk/R&B-leaning Wet Willie and (incorporating elements of R&B and gospel) the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.[100] After the loss of original members of the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the genre began to fade in popularity in the late 1970s, but was sustained the 1980s with acts like .38 Special, Molly Hatchet and the Marshall Tucker Band.[100]
Glam rock emerged from the English psychedelic and art rock scenes of the late 1960s and can be seen as both an extension of and reaction against those trends.[147] Musically diverse, varying between the simple rock and roll revivalism of figures like Alvin Stardust to the complex art rock of Roxy Music, and can be seen as much as a fashion as a musical subgenre.[147] Visually it was a mesh of various styles, ranging from 1930s Hollywood glamor, through 1950s pin-up sex appeal, pre-war Cabaret theatrics, Victorian literary and symbolist styles, science fiction, to ancient and occult mysticism and mythology; manifesting itself in outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots.[148] Glam is most noted for its sexual and gender ambiguity and representations of androgyny, beside extensive use of theatrics.[149] It was prefigured by the showmanship and gender-identity manipulation of American acts such as the Cockettes and Alice Cooper.[150]
The origins of glam rock are associated with Marc Bolan, who had renamed his folk duo to T. Rex and taken up electric instruments by the end of the 1960s. Often cited as the moment of inception is his appearance on the BBC music show Top of the Pops in March 1971 wearing glitter and satins, to perform what would be his second UK Top 10 hit (and first UK Number 1 hit), "Hot Love".[151] From 1971, already a minor star, David Bowie developed his Ziggy Stardust persona, incorporating elements of professional make up, mime and performance into his act.[152] These performers were soon followed in the style by acts including Roxy Music, Sweet, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Mud and Alvin Stardust.[152] While highly successful in the single charts in the United Kingdom, very few of these musicians were able to make a serious impact in the United States; Bowie was the major exception becoming an international superstar and prompting the adoption of glam styles among acts like Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, New York Dolls and Jobriath, often known as "glitter rock" and with a darker lyrical content than their British counterparts.[153] In the UK the term glitter rock was most often used to refer to the extreme version of glam pursued by Gary Glitter and his support musicians the Glitter Band, who between them achieved eighteen top ten singles in the UK between 1972 and 1976.[154] A second wave of glam rock acts, including Suzi Quatro, Roy Wood's Wizzard and Sparks, dominated the British single charts from about 1974 to 1976.[152] Existing acts, some not usually considered central to the genre, also adopted glam styles, including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Queen and, for a time, even the Rolling Stones.[152] It was also a direct influence on acts that rose to prominence later, including Kiss and Adam Ant, and less directly on the formation of gothic rock and glam metal as well as on punk rock, which helped end the fashion for glam from about 1976.[153] Glam has since enjoyed sporadic modest revivals through bands such as Chainsaw Kittens, the Darkness[155] and in R&B crossover act Prince.[156]
After the early successes of Latin rock in the 1960s, Chicano musicians like Carlos Santana and Al Hurricane continued to have successful careers throughout the 1970s. Santana opened the decade with success in his 1970 single "Black Magic Woman" on the Abraxas album.[157] His third album Santana III yielded the single "No One to Depend On", and his fourth album Caravanserai experimented with his sound to mixed reception.[158][159] He later released a series of four albums that all achieved gold status: Welcome, Borboletta, Amigos, and Festivál. Al Hurricane continued to mix his rock music with New Mexico music, though he was also experimenting more heavily with Jazz music, which led to several successful singles, especially on his Vestido Mojado album, including the eponymous "Vestido Mojado", as well as "Por Una Mujer Casada" and "Puño de Tierra"; his brothers had successful New Mexico music singles in "La Del Moño Colorado" by Tiny Morrie and "La Cumbia De San Antone" by Baby Gaby.[160] Al Hurricane Jr. also began his successful rock-infused New Mexico music recording career in the 1970s, with his 1976 rendition of "Flor De Las Flores".[161][162] Los Lobos gained popularity at this time, with their first album Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles in 1977.
A strange time, 1971—although rock's balkanization into genres was well underway, it was often hard to tell one catch-phrase from the next. "Art-rock" could mean anything from the Velvets to the Moody Blues, and although Led Zeppelin was launched and Black Sabbath celebrated, "heavy metal" remained an amorphous concept.
—Robert Christgau[163]
From the late 1960s it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies.[164] Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens and James Taylor.[164] It reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late 1970s with acts like Billy Joel, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade.[165] In contrast, hard rock was more often derived from blues-rock and was played louder and with more intensity.[166] It often emphasised the electric guitar, both as a rhythm instrument using simple repetitive riffs and as a solo lead instrument, and was more likely to be used with distortion and other effects.[166] Key acts included British Invasion bands like the Kinks, as well as psychedelic era performers like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and the Jeff Beck Group.[166] Hard rock-influenced bands that enjoyed international success in the later 1970s included Queen,[167] Thin Lizzy,[168] Aerosmith, AC/DC,[166] and Van Halen.
From the late 1960s the term "heavy metal" began to be used to describe some hard rock played with even more volume and intensity, first as an adjective and by the early 1970s as a noun.[169] The term was first used in music in Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" (1967) and began to be associated with pioneer bands like San Francisco's Blue Cheer, Cleveland's James Gang and Michigan's Grand Funk Railroad.[170] By 1970 three key British bands had developed the characteristic sounds and styles which would help shape the subgenre. Led Zeppelin added elements of fantasy to their riff laden blues-rock, Deep Purple brought in symphonic and medieval interests from their progressive rock phase and Black Sabbath introduced facets of the gothic and modal harmony, helping to produce a "darker" sound.[171] These elements were taken up by a "second generation" of heavy metal bands into the late 1970s, including: Judas Priest, UFO, Motörhead and Rainbow from Britain; Kiss, Ted Nugent, and Blue Öyster Cult from the US; Rush from Canada and Scorpions from Germany, all marking the expansion in popularity of the subgenre.[171] Despite a lack of airplay and very little presence on the singles charts, late-1970s heavy metal built a considerable following, particularly among adolescent working-class males in North America and Europe.[172] In the 1980s, bands such as Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Def Leppard saw mainstream success, with hard rock and a fusion of hard rock with pop. During the 1990s, hard rock saw a slight decline in popularity, save for some major hits like Guns N' Roses' November Rain. But in the early 2000s, Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" saw a huge increase in popularity of rock and pop rock and helped introduce the genres to a newer fanbase.
Rock, mostly the heavy metal genre, has been criticized by some Christian leaders, who have condemned it as immoral, anti-Christian and even satanic.[173] However, Christian rock began to develop in the late 1960s, particularly out of the Jesus movement beginning in Southern California, and emerged as a subgenre in the 1970s with artists like Larry Norman, usually seen as the first major "star" of Christian rock.[174] The genre was mostly a phenomenon in the United States.[175] Many Christian rock performers have ties to the contemporary Christian music scene. Starting in the 1980s Christian pop performers have had some mainstream success. While these artists were largely acceptable in Christian communities, the adoption of heavy rock and glam metal styles by bands like Stryper, who achieved considerable mainstream success in the 1980s, was more controversial.[176][177] From the 1990s there were increasing numbers of acts who attempted to avoid the Christian band label, preferring to be seen as groups who were also Christians, including P.O.D.[178]
American working-class oriented heartland rock, characterized by a straightforward musical style, and a concern with the lives of ordinary, blue-collar American people, developed in the second half of the 1970s. The term heartland rock was first used to describe Midwestern arena rock groups like Kansas, REO Speedwagon and Styx, but which came to be associated with a more socially concerned form of roots rock more directly influenced by folk, country and rock and roll.[179] It has been seen as an American Midwest and Rust Belt counterpart to West Coast country rock and the Southern rock of the American South.[180] Led by figures who had initially been identified with punk and New Wave, it was most strongly influenced by acts such as Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Van Morrison, and the basic rock of 1960s garage and the Rolling Stones.[181]
Exemplified by the commercial success of singer songwriters Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and Tom Petty, along with less widely known acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, it was partly a reaction to post-industrial urban decline in the East and Mid-West, often dwelling on issues of social disintegration and isolation, beside a form of good-time rock and roll revivalism.[181] The genre reached its commercial, artistic and influential peak in the mid-1980s, with Springsteen's Born in the USA (1984), topping the charts worldwide and spawning a series of top ten singles, together with the arrival of artists including John Mellencamp, Steve Earle and more gentle singer-songwriters such as Bruce Hornsby.[181] It can also be heard as an influence on artists as diverse as Billy Joel,[182] Kid Rock[183] and the Killers.[184]
Heartland rock faded away as a recognized genre by the early 1990s, as rock music in general, and blue-collar and white working class themes in particular, lost influence with younger audiences, and as heartland's artists turned to more personal works.[181] Many heartland rock artists continued to record with critical and commercial success, most notably Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and John Mellencamp, although their output became more personal and experimental, no longer fitting a specific genre.[185]
Punk rock was developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock.[186] They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels.[187]
By late 1976, acts such as the Ramones and Patti Smith, in New York City, and the Sex Pistols and the Clash, in London, were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement.[186] The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world. Punk quickly became a major cultural phenomenon in the UK. The Sex Pistols' live TV skirmish with Bill Grundy on 1 December 1976, was the watershed moment in British punk's transformation into a major media phenomenon, even as some stores refused to stock the records and radio airplay was hard to come by.[188] In May 1977, the Sex Pistols achieved new heights of controversy (and number two on the singles chart) with a song that referenced Queen Elizabeth II, "God Save the Queen", during her Silver Jubilee.[189] For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive clothing styles and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.[190]
By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and Oi! had become the predominant mode of punk rock.[191] This has resulted in several evolved strains of hardcore punk, such as D-beat (a distortion-heavy subgenre influenced by the UK band Discharge), anarcho-punk (such as Crass), grindcore (such as Napalm Death), and crust punk.[192] Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to New wave, post-punk and the alternative rock movement.[186]
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Although punk rock was a significant social and musical phenomenon, it achieved less in the way of record sales (being distributed by small specialty labels such as Stiff Records),[193] or American radio airplay (as the radio scene continued to be dominated by mainstream formats such as disco and album-oriented rock).[194] Punk rock had attracted devotees from the art and collegiate world and soon bands sporting a more literate, arty approach, such as Talking Heads and Devo began to infiltrate the punk scene; in some quarters the description "new wave" began to be used to differentiate these less overtly punk bands.[195] Record executives, who had been mostly mystified by the punk movement, recognized the potential of the more accessible new wave acts and began aggressively signing and marketing any band that could claim a remote connection to punk or new wave.[196] Many of these bands, such as the Cars and the Go-Go's can be seen as pop bands marketed as new wave;[197] other existing acts, including the Police, the Pretenders and Elvis Costello, used the new wave movement as the springboard for relatively long and critically successful careers,[198] while "skinny tie" bands exemplified by the Knack,[199] or the photogenic Blondie, began as punk acts and moved into more commercial territory.[200]
Between 1979 and 1985, influenced by Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, David Bowie and Gary Numan, British new wave went in the direction of such New Romantics as Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Japan, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Culture Club, Talk Talk and the Eurythmics, sometimes using the synthesizer to replace all other instruments.[201] This period coincided with the rise of MTV and led to a great deal of exposure for this brand of synth-pop, creating what has been characterised as a second British Invasion.[202] Some more traditional rock bands adapted to the video age and profited from MTV's airplay, most obviously Dire Straits, whose "Money for Nothing" gently poked fun at the station, despite the fact that it had helped make them international stars,[203] but in general, guitar-oriented rock was commercially eclipsed.[204]
If hardcore most directly pursued the stripped down aesthetic of punk, and new wave came to represent its commercial wing, post-punk emerged in the later 1970s and early 1980s as its more artistic and challenging side. Major influences beside punk bands were the Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, and the New York-based no wave scene which placed an emphasis on performance, including bands such as James Chance and the Contortions, DNA and Sonic Youth.[205] Early contributors to the genre included the US bands Pere Ubu, Devo, the Residents and Talking Heads.[205]
The first wave of British post-punk included Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, who placed less emphasis on art than their US counterparts and more on the dark emotional qualities of their music.[205] Bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, the Cure, and the Sisters of Mercy, moved increasingly in this direction to found Gothic rock, which had become the basis of a major sub-culture by the early 1980s.[206] Similar emotional territory was pursued by Australian acts like the Birthday Party and Nick Cave.[205] Members of Bauhaus and Joy Division explored new stylistic territory as Love and Rockets and New Order respectively.[205] Another early post-punk movement was the industrial music[207] developed by British bands Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire, and New York-based Suicide, using a variety of electronic and sampling techniques that emulated the sound of industrial production and which would develop into a variety of forms of post-industrial music in the 1980s.[208]
The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s, including the Fall, the Pop Group, the Mekons, Echo and the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes, tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes.[205] Arguably the most successful band to emerge from post-punk was Ireland's U2, who incorporated elements of religious imagery together with political commentary into their often anthemic music, and by the late 1980s had become one of the biggest bands in the world.[209] Although many post-punk bands continued to record and perform, it declined as a movement in the mid-1980s as acts disbanded or moved off to explore other musical areas, but it has continued to influence the development of rock music and has been seen as a major element in the creation of the alternative rock movement.[210]
The term alternative rock was coined in the early 1980s to describe rock artists who did not fit into the mainstream genres of the time. Bands dubbed "alternative" had no unified style, but were all seen as distinct from mainstream music. Alternative bands were linked by their collective debt to punk rock, through hardcore, New Wave or the post-punk movements.[211] Important alternative rock bands of the 1980s in the US included R.E.M., Hüsker Dü, Jane's Addiction, Sonic Youth, and the Pixies,[211] and in the UK the Cure, New Order, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Smiths.[212] Artists were largely confined to independent record labels, building an extensive underground music scene based on college radio, fanzines, touring, and word-of-mouth.[213] They rejected the dominant synth-pop of the early 1980s, marking a return to group-based guitar rock.[214][215][216]
Few of these early bands achieved mainstream success, although exceptions to this rule include R.E.M., the Smiths, and the Cure. Despite a general lack of spectacular album sales, the original alternative rock bands exerted a considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 1980s and ended up breaking through to mainstream success in the 1990s. Styles of alternative rock in the US during the 1980s included jangle pop, associated with the early recordings of R.E.M., which incorporated the ringing guitars of mid-1960s pop and rock, and college rock, used to describe alternative bands that began in the college circuit and college radio, including acts such as 10,000 Maniacs and the Feelies.[211] In the UK, Gothic rock was dominant in the early 1980s, but by the end of the decade, indie or dream pop[217] like Primal Scream, Bogshed, Half Man Half Biscuit and the Wedding Present, and what were dubbed shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride and Lush entered.[218] Particularly vibrant was the Madchester scene, producing such bands as Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and the Stone Roses.[212][219] The next decade would see the success of grunge in the US and Britpop in the UK, bringing alternative rock into the mainstream.
Disaffected by commercialized and highly produced pop and rock in the mid-1980s, bands in Washington state (particularly in the Seattle area) formed a new style of rock which sharply contrasted with the mainstream music of the time.[220] The developing genre came to be known as "grunge", a term descriptive of the dirty sound of the music and the unkempt appearance of most musicians, who actively rebelled against the over-groomed images of other artists.[220] Grunge fused elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal into a single sound, and made heavy use of guitar distortion, fuzz, and feedback.[220] The lyrics were typically apathetic and angst-filled, and often concerned themes such as social alienation and entrapment, although it was also known for its dark humor and parodies of commercial rock.[220]
Bands such as Green River, Soundgarden, Melvins, and Skin Yard pioneered the genre, with Mudhoney becoming the most successful by the end of the decade. Grunge remained largely a local phenomenon until 1991, when Nirvana's album Nevermind became a huge success, containing the anthemic song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".[221] Nevermind was more melodic than its predecessors, by signing to Geffen Records the band was one of the first to employ traditional corporate promotion and marketing mechanisms such as an MTV video, in store displays and the use of radio "consultants" who promoted airplay at major mainstream rock stations. During 1991 and 1992, other grunge albums such as Pearl Jam's Ten, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger, and Alice in Chains' Dirt, along with the Temple of the Dog album featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, became among the 100 top-selling albums.[222] Major record labels signed most of the remaining grunge bands in Seattle, while a second influx of acts moved to the city in the hope of success.[223] However, with the death of Kurt Cobain and the subsequent break-up of Nirvana in 1994, touring problems for Pearl Jam and the departure of Alice in Chains' lead singer Layne Staley in 1998, the genre began to decline, partly to be overshadowed by Britpop and more commercial sounding post-grunge.[224]
Britpop emerged from the British alternative rock scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands particularly influenced by British guitar music of the 1960s and 1970s.[212] The Smiths were a major influence, as were bands of the Madchester scene, which had dissolved in the early 1990s.[80] The movement has been seen partly as a reaction against various US-based, musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon and as a reassertion of a British rock identity.[212] Britpop was varied in style, but often used catchy tunes and hooks, beside lyrics with particularly British concerns and the adoption of the iconography of the 1960s British Invasion, including the symbols of British identity previously used by the mods.[225] It was launched around 1993 with releases by groups such as Suede and Blur, who were soon joined by others including Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass, and Elastica, who produced a series of successful albums and singles.[212] For a while the contest between Blur and Oasis was built by the popular press into the "Battle of Britpop", initially won by Blur, but with Oasis achieving greater long-term and international success, directly influencing later Britpop bands, such as Ocean Colour Scene and Kula Shaker.[226] Britpop groups brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British cultural movement known as Cool Britannia.[227] Although its more popular bands, particularly Blur and Oasis, were able to spread their commercial success overseas, especially to the United States, the movement had largely fallen apart by the end of the decade.[212]
The term post-grunge was coined for the generation of bands that followed the emergence into the mainstream and subsequent hiatus of the Seattle grunge bands. Post-grunge bands emulated their attitudes and music, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound.[224] Often they worked through the major labels and came to incorporate diverse influences from jangle pop, pop-punk, alternative metal or hard rock.[224] The term post-grunge originally was meant to be pejorative, suggesting that they were simply musically derivative, or a cynical response to an "authentic" rock movement.[228] Originally, grunge bands that emerged when grunge was mainstream and were suspected of emulating the grunge sound were pejoratively labelled as post-grunge.[228] From 1994, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's new band, the Foo Fighters, helped popularize the genre and define its parameters.[229]
Some post-grunge bands, like Candlebox, were from Seattle, but the subgenre was marked by a broadening of the geographical base of grunge, with bands like Los Angeles' Audioslave, and Georgia's Collective Soul and beyond the US to Australia's Silverchair and Britain's Bush, who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable subgenres of the late 1990s.[211][224] Although male bands predominated post-grunge, female solo artist Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, labelled as post-grunge, also became a multi-platinum hit.[230] Post-grunge morphed during the late 1990s as post-grunge bands like Creed and Nickelback emerged.[228] Bands like Creed and Nickelback took post-grunge into the 21st century with considerable commercial success, abandoning most of the angst and anger of the original movement for more conventional anthems, narratives and romantic songs, and were followed in this vein by newer acts including Shinedown, Seether, 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd.[228]
The origins of 1990s pop-punk can be seen in the more song-oriented bands of the 1970s punk movement like Buzzcocks and the Clash, commercially successful new wave acts such as the Jam and the Undertones, and the more hardcore-influenced elements of alternative rock in the 1980s.[231] Pop-punk tends to use power-pop melodies and chord changes with speedy punk tempos and loud guitars.[232] Punk music provided the inspiration for some California-based bands on independent labels in the early 1990s, including Rancid and Green Day.[231] In 1994 Green Day moved to a major label and produced the album Dookie, which found a new, largely teenage, audience and proved a surprise diamond-selling success, leading to a series of hit singles, including two number ones in the US.[211] They were soon followed by the eponymous debut from Weezer, which spawned three top ten singles in the US.[233] This success opened the door for the multi-platinum sales of metallic punk band the Offspring with Smash (1994).[211] This first wave of pop punk reached its commercial peak with Green Day's Nimrod (1997) and the Offspring's Americana (1998).[234]
A second wave of pop-punk was spearheaded by Blink-182, with their breakthrough album Enema of the State (1999), followed by bands such as Good Charlotte, Simple Plan and Sum 41, who made use of humour in their videos and had a more radio-friendly tone to their music, while retaining the speed, some of the attitude and even the look of 1970s punk.[231] Later pop-punk bands, including All Time Low, the All-American Rejects and Fall Out Boy, had a sound that has been described as closer to 1980s hardcore, while still achieving commercial success.[231]
In the 1980s the terms indie rock and alternative rock were used interchangeably.[235] By the mid-1990s, as elements of the movement began to attract mainstream interest, particularly grunge and then Britpop, post-grunge and pop-punk, the term alternative began to lose its meaning.[235] Those bands following the less commercial contours of the scene were increasingly referred to by the label indie.[235] They characteristically attempted to retain control of their careers by releasing albums on their own or small independent labels, while relying on touring, word-of-mouth, and airplay on independent or college radio stations for promotion.[235] Linked by an ethos more than a musical approach, the indie rock movement encompassed a wide range of styles, from hard-edged, grunge-influenced bands like the Cranberries and Superchunk, through do-it-yourself experimental bands like Pavement, to punk-folk singers such as Ani DiFranco.[211][212] It has been noted that indie rock has a relatively high proportion of female artists compared with preceding rock genres, a tendency exemplified by the development of feminist-informed Riot grrrl music.[236] Many countries have developed an extensive local indie scene, flourishing with bands with enough popularity to survive inside the respective country, but virtually unknown outside them.[237]
By the end of the 1990s many recognisable subgenres, most with their origins in the late 1980s alternative movement, were included under the umbrella of indie. Lo-fi eschewed polished recording techniques for a D.I.Y. ethos and was spearheaded by Beck, Sebadoh and Pavement.[211] The work of Talk Talk and Slint helped inspire both post rock, an experimental style influenced by jazz and electronic music, pioneered by Bark Psychosis and taken up by acts such as Tortoise, Stereolab, and Laika,[238][239] as well as leading to more dense and complex, guitar-based math rock, developed by acts like Polvo and Chavez.[240] Space rock looked back to progressive roots, with drone heavy and minimalist acts like Spacemen 3, the two bands created out of its split, Spectrum and Spiritualized, and later groups including Flying Saucer Attack, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Quickspace.[241] In contrast, Sadcore emphasised pain and suffering through melodic use of acoustic and electronic instrumentation in the music of bands like American Music Club and Red House Painters,[242] while the revival of baroque pop reacted against lo-fi and experimental music by placing an emphasis on melody and classical instrumentation, with artists like Arcade Fire, Belle and Sebastian and Rufus Wainwright.[243]
Alternative metal emerged from the hardcore scene of alternative rock in the US in the later 1980s, but gained a wider audience after grunge broke into the mainstream in the early 1990s.[244] Early alternative metal bands mixed a wide variety of genres with hardcore and heavy metal sensibilities, with acts like Jane's Addiction and Primus using progressive rock, Soundgarden and Corrosion of Conformity using garage punk, the Jesus Lizard and Helmet mixing noise rock, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails influenced by industrial music, Monster Magnet moving into psychedelia, Pantera, Sepultura and White Zombie creating groove metal, while Biohazard, Limp Bizkit and Faith No More turned to hip hop and rap.[244]
Hip hop had gained attention from rock acts in the early 1980s, including the Clash with "The Magnificent Seven" (1980) and Blondie with "Rapture" (1980).[245][246] Early crossover acts included Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.[247] Detroit rapper Esham became known for his "acid rap" style, which fused rapping with a sound that was often based in rock and heavy metal.[248][249] Rappers who sampled rock songs included Ice-T, the Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Whodini.[250] The mixing of thrash metal and rap was pioneered by Anthrax on their 1987 comedy-influenced single "I'm the Man".[250]
In 1990, Faith No More broke into the mainstream with their single "Epic", often seen as the first truly successful combination of heavy metal with rap.[251] This paved the way for the success of existing bands like 24-7 Spyz and Living Colour, and new acts including Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers, who all fused rock and hip hop among other influences.[250][252] Among the first wave of performers to gain mainstream success as rap rock were 311,[253] Bloodhound Gang,[254] and Kid Rock.[255] A more metallic sound – nu metal – was pursued by bands including Limp Bizkit, Korn and Slipknot.[250] Later in the decade this style, which contained a mix of grunge, punk, metal, rap and turntable scratching, spawned a wave of successful bands like Linkin Park, P.O.D. and Staind, who were often classified as rap metal or nu metal, the first of which are the best-selling band of the genre.[256]
In 2001, nu metal reached its peak with albums like Staind's Break the Cycle, P.O.D's Satellite, Slipknot's Iowa and Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. New bands also emerged like Disturbed, Godsmack and Papa Roach, whose major label début Infest became a platinum hit.[257] Korn's long-awaited fifth album Untouchables, and Papa Roach's second album Lovehatetragedy, did not sell as well as their previous releases, while nu metal bands were played more infrequently on rock radio stations and MTV began focusing on pop punk and emo.[258] Since then, many bands have changed to a more conventional hard rock, heavy metal, or electronic music sound.[258]
From about 1997, as dissatisfaction grew with the concept of Cool Britannia, and Britpop as a movement began to dissolve, emerging bands began to avoid the Britpop label while still producing music derived from it.[259][260] Many of these bands tended to mix elements of British traditional rock (or British trad rock),[261] particularly the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Small Faces,[262] with American influences, including post-grunge.[263][264] Drawn from across the United Kingdom (with several important bands emerging from the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the themes of their music tended to be less parochially centered on British, English and London life and more introspective than had been the case with Britpop at its height.[265][266] This, beside a greater willingness to engage with the American press and fans, may have helped some of them in achieving international success.[267] Several alternative bands that had enjoyed some success during the mid-1990s, but did not find major commercial success until the late 1990s included the Verve and Radiohead. After the decline of Britpop they began to gain more critical and popular attention. The Verve's album Urban Hymns (1997) was a worldwide hit, and Radiohead achieved near-universal critical acclaim with their experimental third album OK Computer (1997), as well as its follow-up Kid A (2000).
Post-Britpop bands have been seen as presenting the image of the rock star as an ordinary person and their increasingly melodic music was criticised for being bland or derivative.[268] Post-Britpop bands like Travis from The Man Who (1999), Stereophonics from Performance and Cocktails (1999), Feeder from Echo Park (2001), and particularly Coldplay from their debut album Parachutes (2000), achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s, arguably providing a launchpad for the subsequent garage rock revival and post-punk revival, which has also been seen as a reaction to their introspective brand of rock.[264][269][270][271]
Post-hardcore developed in the US, particularly in the Chicago and Washington, DC areas, in the early to mid-1980s, with bands that were inspired by the do-it-yourself ethics and guitar-heavy music of hardcore punk, but influenced by post-punk, adopting longer song formats, more complex musical structures and sometimes more melodic vocal styles.[272]
Emo also emerged from the hardcore scene in 1980s Washington, D.C., initially as "emocore", used as a term to describe bands who favored expressive vocals over the more common abrasive, barking style.[273] The early emo scene operated as an underground, with short-lived bands releasing small-run vinyl records on tiny independent labels.[273] Emo broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000s with the platinum-selling success of Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American (2001) and Dashboard Confessional's The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most (2003).[274] The new emo had a much more mainstream sound than in the 1990s and a far greater appeal amongst adolescents than its earlier incarnations.[274] At the same time, use of the term emo expanded beyond the musical genre, becoming associated with fashion, a hairstyle and any music that expressed emotion.[275] By 2003 post-hardcore bands had also caught the attention of major labels and began to enjoy mainstream success in the album charts.[citation needed] A number of these bands were seen as a more aggressive offshoot of emo and given the often vague label of screamo.[276]
In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock, emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterised as part of a garage rock, post-punk or New Wave revival.[277][278][279][280] Because the bands came from across the globe, cited diverse influences (from traditional blues, through New Wave to grunge), and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed.[281] There had been attempts to revive garage rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2000 scenes had grown up in several countries.[282]
The commercial breakthrough from these scenes was led by four bands: the Strokes, who emerged from the New York club scene with their début album Is This It (2001); the White Stripes, from Detroit, with their third album White Blood Cells (2001); the Hives from Sweden after their compilation album Your New Favourite Band (2001); and the Vines from Australia with Highly Evolved (2002).[283] They were christened by the media as the "The" bands, and dubbed "The saviours of rock 'n' roll", leading to accusations of hype.[284] A second wave of bands that gained international recognition due to the movement included Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Killers, Interpol and Kings of Leon from the US,[285] the Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand from the UK,[286] Jet and Wolfmother from Australia,[287] and the Datsuns and the D4 from New Zealand.[288]
In the 2000s, as computer technology became more accessible and music software advanced, it became possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer.[289] This resulted in a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the general public via the expanding internet,[290] and new forms of performance such as laptronica[289] and live coding.[291] These techniques also began to be used by existing bands and by developing genres that mixed rock with digital techniques and sounds, including indie electronic, electroclash, dance-punk and new rave.[citation needed]
During the 2010s, rock music declined from its position as the major popular music genre, now sharing with electronic dance and hip hop, the latter of which had surpassed it as the most consumed musical genre in the United States by 2017.[292][293][294] The rise of streaming and the advent of technology, which changed approaches toward music creation, were cited as major factors.[295] Ken Partridge of Genius suggested that hip-hop became more popular because it is a more transformative genre and does not need to rely on past sounds, and that there is a direct connection to the stagnation of rock music and changing social attitudes during the 2010s.[293] Bill Flanagan, in a 2016 opinion piece for The New York Times, compared the state of rock during this period to the state of jazz in the early 1980s, "slowing down and looking back."[296]
The rock bands which had chart success in the 2010s were mostly associated with the trends that had been popular in the 2000s and earlier decades rather than reflecting new scenes and sounds.[297] Some pop rock and hard rock bands continued to see commercial success during this period, including Ghost, Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Halestorm, Panic! at the Disco, Black Veil Brides, Greta Van Fleet, and The Black Keys.[298][299][300] Outside of the charts, the commercialisation of rock festivals was a major theme of the decade, with both global megafestivals such as Coachella, Glastonbury and Roskilde, and smaller-scale local festivals expanding.[301]
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought extreme changes to the rock scene worldwide. Restrictions, such as quarantine rules, caused widespread cancellations and postponements of concerts, tours, festivals, album releases, award ceremonies, and competitions.[302][303][304][305][306] Some artists resorted to giving online performances to keep their careers active.[307] Another scheme to circumvent the quarantine limitations was used at a concert of Danish rock musician Mads Langer: the audience watched the performance from inside their cars, much like in a drive-in theater.[308] Musically, the pandemic led to a surge in new releases from the slower, less energetic, and more acoustic subgenres of rock music.[309][310] The industry raised funds to help itself through efforts such as Crew Nation, a relief fund for live music crews organised by Livenation.[311]
Psychedelic and progressive styles in rock would see a major resurgence in popularity during the 2010s and 2020s. Some of the most notable acts in neo-psychedelia originated in Australia; Kevin Parker's Tame Impala released the single "Elephant" in 2012, which became a hit on alternative radio in various countries, and would be followed by the release of critically acclaimed albums by Parker such as Lonerism (2012) and Currents (2015).[312][313][314] This new style of Australian psychedelic music not only built on the psychedelic and progressive rock acts of the '60s and '70s, but also incorporated new and unique musical influences from various subgenres of rock, heavy metal, EDM, and world music.[315] A 2014 article in The Guardian described Australia as a place where "independently minded rock bands are free to develop at their own pace".[316] Other Australian psychedelic and progressive revival acts of the 2010s and 2020s include King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Bananagun, Jay Watson, The Murlocs, Stonefield, and Tropical Fuck Storm.[317][318]
Psychedelic trends in rock have also seen a revival in Europe, with European and American stoner rock groups such as Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Graveyard, Kadavar, All Them Witches, and True Widow performing a heavier, more riff-based version of neo-psychedelia containing stronger blues and metal influences.[319] Europe has been described as "really good" for new psychedelic music, with many American stoner rock bands choosing to tour in Europe as opposed to North America.[320]
At the start of the 2020s, recording artists in both pop and rap music released popular pop-punk-influenced recordings, many of them produced or assisted by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. Representing a commercial resurgence for the genre, these acts included Machine Gun Kelly, Willow Smith, Trippie Redd, Halsey, Yungblud, and Olivia Rodrigo. The popularity of the social media platform TikTok helped spark nostalgia for the angst-driven musical style among young listeners during the pandemic. Among the most successful of these releases have been Machine Gun Kelly's 2020 album Tickets to My Downfall, which topped the Billboard 200, and Rodrigo's number-one hit single "Good 4 U" (2021).[321]
In the mid-to-late 2010s and early 2020s, a new wave of post-punk bands from Britain and Ireland emerged. The groups in this scene have been described with the term "Crank Wave" by NME and The Quietus in 2019, and as "Post-Brexit New Wave" by NPR writer Matthew Perpetua in 2021.[322][323][324] Artists that have been identified as part of the style include Black Midi, Wet Leg, Squid, Black Country, New Road, Dry Cleaning, Shame, Sleaford Mods, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Idles and Yard Act.[322][323][324][325] Post-punk artists that attained prominence in the 2010s and early 2020s from other countries besides the UK included Parquet Courts, Protomartyr and Geese (United States), Preoccupations (Canada), Iceage (Denmark), and Viagra Boys (Sweden).[326][327][328]
During the mid-to-late 2010s, some mainstream rock bands began to gain notoriety for performing in a back-to-basics style of rock music meant to emulate the sound of legacy acts popular on classic rock radio. The release of Greta Van Fleet's Anthem of the Peaceful Army (2018) saw a renewed mainstream interest in earlier rock styles of the 1960s and 1970s, with Revolver describing this classic rock revival sound as "hard-hitting, swaggering, riff-driven rock 'n' roll built around a core vocal-guitar-bass-drum configuration".[329] Other groups considered to be a part of this trend include Rival Sons, the Struts, Dirty Honey, Crown Lands, Larkin Poe, and White Reaper.[330]
Different subgenres of rock were adopted by, and became central to, the identity of a large number of sub-cultures. In the 1950s and 1960s, respectively, British youths adopted the Teddy Boy and Rocker subcultures, which revolved around US rock and roll.[331] The counterculture of the 1960s was closely associated with psychedelic rock.[331] The mid-late 1970s punk subculture began in the US, but it was given a distinctive look by British designer Vivienne Westwood, a look which spread worldwide.[332] Out of the punk scene, the Goth and Emo subcultures grew, both of which presented distinctive visual styles.[333]
When an international rock culture developed, it supplanted cinema as the major sources of fashion influence.[334] Paradoxically, followers of rock music have often mistrusted the world of fashion, which has been seen as elevating image above substance.[334] Rock fashions have been seen as combining elements of different cultures and periods, as well as expressing divergent views on sexuality and gender, and rock music in general has been noted and criticised for facilitating greater sexual freedom.[334][335] Rock has also been associated with various forms of drug use, including the amphetamines taken by mods in the early to mid-1960s, through the LSD, mescaline, hashish and other hallucinogenic drugs linked with psychedelic rock in the mid-late 1960s and early 1970s; and sometimes to cannabis, cocaine and heroin, all of which have been eulogised in song.[336][337]
Rock has been credited with changing attitudes to race by opening up African-American culture to white audiences; but at the same time, rock has been accused of appropriating and exploiting that culture.[338][339] While rock music has absorbed many influences and introduced Western audiences to different musical traditions,[340] the global spread of rock music has been interpreted as a form of cultural imperialism.[341] Rock music inherited the folk tradition of protest song, making political statements on subjects such as war, religion, poverty, civil rights, justice and the environment.[342] Political activism reached a mainstream peak with the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single (1984) and Live Aid concert for Ethiopia in 1985, which, while raising awareness of world poverty and funds for aid, have also been criticised (along with similar events), for providing a stage for self-aggrandisement and increased profits for the rock stars involved.[343]
Since its early development, rock music has been associated with rebellion against social and political norms, most in early rock and roll's rejection of an adult-dominated culture, the counterculture's rejection of consumerism and conformity and punk's rejection of all forms of social convention,[344] however, it can also be seen as providing a means of commercial exploitation of such ideas and of diverting youth away from political action.[345][346]
Professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in rock genres such as heavy metal although bands such as Within Temptation have featured women as lead singers with men playing instruments. According to Schaap and Berkers, "playing in a band is a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is a peer-based ... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks.[347] They note that rock music "is often defined as a form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture."[348] (The theory of "bedroom culture" argues that society influences girls to not engage in crime and deviance by virtually trapping them in their bedroom; it was identified by a sociologist named Angela McRobbie.) In popular music, there has been a gendered "distinction between public (male) and private (female) participation" in music.[348] "Several scholars have argued that men exclude women from bands or from the bands' rehearsals, recordings, performances, and other social activities".[349] "Women are regarded as passive and private consumers of slick, prefabricated – hence, inferior – pop music ..., excluding them from participating as high status rock musicians".[349] One of the reasons that there are mixed gender bands is that "bands operate as tight-knit units in which homosocial solidarity – social bonds between people of the same sex ... – plays a crucial role".[349] In the 1960s rock music scene, "singing was sometimes an acceptable pastime for a girl, but playing an instrument ... simply wasn't done".[350]
"The rebellion of rock music was a male rebellion; the women – often, in the 1950s and '60s, girls in their teens – in rock sang songs as personæ dependent on their macho boyfriends ...". Philip Auslander says that "Although there were many women in rock by the late 1960s, most performed only as singers, a feminine position in popular music". Though some women played instruments in American all-female garage rock bands, none of these bands achieved more than regional success. So they "did not provide viable templates for women's on-going participation in rock".[351] In relation to the gender composition of heavy metal bands, it has been said that "[h]eavy metal performers are almost exclusively male"[352] "...at least until the mid-1980s"[353] apart from "...exceptions such as Girlschool".[352] However, "...now [in the 2010s] maybe more than ever–strong metal women have put up their dukes and got down to it",[354] "carv[ing] out a considerable place for [them]selves."[355] When Suzi Quatro emerged in 1973, "no other prominent female musician worked in rock simultaneously as a singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader".[351] According to Auslander, she was "kicking down the male door in rock and roll and proving that a female musician ... and this is a point I am extremely concerned about ... could play as well if not better than the boys".[351]
An all-female band is a musical group in genres such as rock and blues which is composed of female musicians. This is distinct from a girl group, in which the female members are vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed.[356]
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