Virginia Watkin
Professor Dave Graham
Music 118
November 26, 2013

Rock and Roll has Lost the Ability to Effect Meaningful Societal Change

Music has often been said to be the universal language. Rock musicians especially learned to use the power of rock music and lyrics to effect powerful changes in society, most particularly in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The early age of Rock and Roll was an exciting time for the musicians, lyricists and the mass of young people who listened to them. While it may be that rock music in all of its genres of today can still prod listeners to champion for social change, the rock music market has fragmented so dramatically that rock and roll has lost the ability to impact mass sections of the population and has therefore, lost its unique voice and ability to effect real social change in US society. The turbulence of the 1960’s, due to the escalation of the conflict in Vietnam to a full out war, the assassination of both President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and the push for civil rights for all people made for fertile ground for songwriters to encourage change for the better through their music. (Hibbard and Kaleialoha, p 122) Lyricists and composers worked in tandem to write songs to both inform the public and, in some cases, incite the public to take action against what was happening in, around and to the world. Songs such as “Blowin in the Wind, written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and “Ball of Confusion (that’s what the world is today)”, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1970 for the Temptations spoke to the listener about war and the stress of living during the confusion of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. A survey of Top-40 rock stations in Los Angeles, the second largest radio market in the United States shows that in the 1960’s there were 3 major stations that appealed to teenagers and young adults: KHJ, KFWB and KRLA. Young LA listeners could hear many different types of music all on one station, including rock, folk and Motown and some country-rock. This allowed bands to reach a great number of young people who provided open ears for the controversial, thought provoking and often life changing lyrics written by such stars as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Otis Redding, and performed by top artists of the day. Songs protesting the Vietnam War and supporting civil rights were played along with lighter musical fare from such top-40 groups as The Beach Boys and The Hollies. From the early 1960’s throughout the 1970’s and into the 1980’s, rock and roll songwriters had the ability to reach large audiences with lyrics that made an impact and spoke of social issues such as: * Sex out of marriage – “Love Child” by Diana Ross and The Supremes, album titled Love Child, which also included the song “I’m Living in Shame” * Civil Rights – “We Shall Overcome” sung at many a protest march by Joan Baez and “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown, album of the same name. * Peace and War (Vietnam and more) – “ Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon, released as a single by the Plastic Ono Band, “Universal Soldier” by Buffy St. Marie, released on It’s My Way and also performed by Donovan on his album Universal Soldier; “Blowin in the Wind”, written by Bob Dylan, released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, also released by Peter, Paul and Mary on the album The Wind. * The Environment and science – “In The Year 2525” by Denny Zager and Rick Evans, released on In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye on the album What’s Going On. * Gender equality – “I Am Woman” written and performed by Helen Reddy from the album I Don’t Know How to Love Him; “You Don’t Own Me”, by Lesley Gore on Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed Up Hearts; and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin from I Never Loved Another Man The Way That I Love You * Overall Protests – “My Generation”, by The Who released on the album My Generation; “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye on the album titled What’s Going On and “For What it’s Worth” released as a single by Buffalo Springfield. It was later added to a re-release of their first album Buffalo Springfield.
Obviously, this is just a partial list of songs confronting the social issues of the day. However, the fact that these and many other songs on social issues could be heard on rock stations across the United States and around the world helped to shake-up and shape the future of this and many other nations and peoples. Could the same thing be said of the music written and recorded today? Perhaps, but rock and roll has fragmented into many different genres over the last 20 years. This fragmentation has resulted in a corresponding decentralization of the radio market. The current radio market in Los Angeles via the airwaves or the World Wide Web now offers over 150 stations out of 279 showcasing some type of rock, country, hip-hop, metal, funk, techno, indie, rap, alternative, classic, hardcore, rhythm and blues. With call signs such as KRTH 101, AMP, Power 106 KPWR FM105.9, Jack FM, KOST, KLOS, KTWV “The Wave”, and Radio Free 102.3 KJLH, K-FROG 95.1 just to note a few, there is no shortage of the types of music to which a young adult or teen in Southern California can listen. (Streema) Listening to varying genres of rock music as research for this report has demonstrated that there are musical lyrics being recorded today that could be as strong an influence as those of the 1960’s. However, unless one is a regular listener, you can miss the significance and impact that these lyrics hope to make. An example comes from hip hop/rap artist Ben Haggerty, better known by his stage name Macklemore. The lyrics to the song “Otherwise” originally released by The Red Hot Chile Peppers, were sampled by Macklemore and his producer, Ryan Lewis to highlight and reject the growing abuse of cough syrup amongst rap and hip hop artists. The song was released on VS Redux EP. According to a report in Medical Daily, teens abusing cough syrup may not be new, but it is on the rise. “Rapper Lil Wayne recently made headlines when he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles for a reported over-dose of “Sizzurp”. (Caba)
The song “Otherwise” speaks volumes about the dangers of downing cough syrup mixed with sodas to induce euphoria and hallucinations. Currently more than three million teenagers are said to be abusing over the counter syrups containing Dextromethorphan or DXM to get high Usage has been on the increase since 2006 according to Teen-Drug-Abuse.org with many teens not understanding that their chosen high can kill. Although it is difficult to know if teens might decide against taking Sizzurp or other forms of cough syrup after listening to “Otherwise” it is certain that unless the teen regularly listens to a hip hop station in their area, they will probably never have the opportunity to hear Macklemore’s warning against doing so.
There are other rap, hip hop, rock and country artists whose lyrics and music speak to the serious issues associated with US society today. The following brief list of various modern musical artists and their rock genres was compiled after placing a request on Yahoo Answers for help with this essay. The assistance given by answerers helped locate lyrics for the following artists: * Lupe Fiasco – rap – “He Say She Say” – Food and Liquor – speaks about the difficulties raising a child as a single mother when the father is not involved. * Rise Against – punk rock – “Make it Stop (September’s Children)” from the album End Game – about teen suicide and bullying especially of gays and lesbians. During the song, the band calls out the names of five boys who died in the month of September from suicide caused by being bullied. The boys are: Tyler Clementi, age 18,Billy Lucas, age 15, Harrison Chase Brown, age 15, Cody J. Barker, age 17 and Seth Walsh, age 13. * Linkin Park – nu metal – “Hands Held High” from the album Minutes to Midnight. The lyrics verbalize frustration with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the President of the United States, as well as with the wars taking place on the streets of the United States. * Martina McBride – country – “Independence Day” from The Way That I Am addresses the issue of spousal abuse. * Miranda Lambert – country - “Gunpowder and Lead” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which also speaks to partner abuse * Macklemore – hip hop/rap – “Same Love” off the album The Heist, written in support of legalizing same-sex marriage. Macklemore explained “Misogyny and homophobia are the two acceptable means of oppression in the hip hop culture. It’s 2012. There needs to be some accountability. I think that as a society we’re evolving and I think that hip hop has always been a representation of what’s going on in the world right now”. (Macklemore)

In conclusion, while it the research done makes it clear that there are many bands writing meaningful lyrics that petition the listener to take a stand for or against social issues, I believe the audience reached by these artists is smaller because there is no single station to which one can listen to all these genres of rock music, thus the impact of the music is diminished. As there are so many social causes upon which this nation needs to have meaningful discourse and upon which a united action taken by millions of young people could make a huge impact, the loss of rock music as a catalyst is a shame. One bright spot is, I have a new appreciation of the writing done by many of the artists mentioned in this paper. However, due to the pounding rhythm, crude language on many of the songs and the amplitude of the music, it is doubtful I will become a regular listener.

Works Cited

Caba, Justin. "What is sizzurp." Medical Daily. (19 Mar 2013) <http://www.medicaldaily.com/what-sizzurp-signs-cough-syrup-abuse-teens-24468>.
Hibbard, Don J, and Carol Kaleialoha. The Roll of Rock. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1983. Print.
"Los Angeles, CA Radio Stations." Streema . Web. 18 Nov 2013. <http://streema.com/radios/Los_Angeles_CA>.
Lyrics to the following specific works were obtained for the writer’s analysis through www.lyrics.com In The Year 2525 – Zager and Evans
Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) – Marvin Gaye Otherwise – Macklemore He Say She Say – Lupe Fiasco Hands Held High – Linkin Park Make it Stop (September’s Children) – Rise Against Gunpowder and Lead – Miranda Lambert Same Love – Macklemore
Macklemore, Interview by Kurt Anderson. "Macklemore's Gay Anthem." Studio 360. 30 Nov 2012. Web. 21 Nov 2013. http://www.studio360.org/story/253801-macklemores-gay-anthem.