The Language of Rock
Modern pop began with rock’n’roll in the middle fifties and, basically, it was a mixture of two traditions – Negro rhythm’n’blues and white romantic crooning, coloured beat and white sentiment. What was new about it was its aggression, its sexuality, its sheer noise and most of this came from its beat. This was bigger and louder than any beat before it, simply because it was amplified. Mostly, pop boiled down to electric guitars. Rock’n’roll was very simple music. All that mattered was the noise it made, its drive, its aggression, its newness. All that was taboo was boredom. The lyrics were mostly non-existent, simple slogans one step away from gibberish. This wasn’t just stupidity, simple inability to write anything better. It was a kind of teen code, almost a sign language, that would make rock entirely incomprehensible to adults. For instance, the first record I ever bought was by Little Richard and, at one throw, it taught me everything I ever need to know about pop. The message went: “Tutti frutti all rootie, tutti frutti all rootie, tutti frutti all rootie, awopbopaloobop alopbamboom!” As a summing up of what rock’n’roll was really all about, this was nothing but masterly. Nik Cohn, novelist
“I like pop as I like Coca-Cola or wrapped bread or fish fingers. They’re instant and they give an illusion of nourishment. But I get very frightened when intellectuals start elevating pop to the level of important art. When they say such and such a record is great, I have to say, well Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is great, Tristan and Isolde is great, Mahler’s Song of the Earth is great; do they mean great in the same way? I presume they must. They must be making out that pop contains the same elements of emotional satisfaction and intellectual complexity as Beethoven, Brahms, or Wagner. This doesn’t seem to me to be possible.” Anthony Burgess, novelist, composer, critic
Was one to believe, for example, that the technical virtuosity of a guitarist such as Jimi Hendrix and the musical illiteracy of a group like The Love Affair Should both be described as “pop music”? They are totally different not only in degree but in kind. Was one to say that a singer with the spine-chilling anger of Bob Dylan was in the same world, let alone the same league, as a singer with the raucous, tear-jerking tastelessness of Vikki Carr? Yet, for better or worse, all four are categorized as “pop music”. Pop is more misunderstood, misquoted, misrepresented and maligned than any other comparable phenomenon today. Its products are often inflated out of existence through self-important and over-zealous praise, or else unnecessarily brought down by the adolescent and gossip-laden gruntings of many of those involved. The result has been that what is known as pop music has become confused and confusing. That some pop music may now have ceased to be popular and become music, is a possibility hardly given its proper chance to be heard. Tony Palmer, film director
¯ Rock composers have always tried to represent the authentic sound of spoken English, and have therefore written what they have heard, rather than used standard spellings. Over 50 years rock has probably spread basically American pronunciation across the world. Look at this lyric and listen to the recording.
Everybody tells me rock’n’roll is dead “Forget it, son—you gotta get a job instead.” But I’m gonna turn on my radio, gimmee my rock’n’roll shoes, I’m gonna dance all night, and sleepall day, (Repeat) ‘cos I can’t stop the music and I wanna wear out these shoes.
My mom’n’poppa say I can’t keep singin’ the blues. My brother says, “The blues just ain’t good news.” But I’m gonna turn on my radio, gimmee my rock’n’roll shoes, I’m gonna dance all night, and sleepall day, (Repeat) ‘cos I can’t stop the music and I wanna wear out these shoes.
When the songs come on the radio station gonna rock’n’roll with no hesitation, don’t wanna work from nine to five, the music’s playin’ and I come alive, your heart’s beatin’ rhythm and your sole is on fire, rock with me, baby, you’re my desire.
Oh, everybody tell me that rock’n’roll is dead. My sister says,”I can see you’re easily led.” But I’m gonna turn on my radio, gimmee my rock’n’roll shoes, I’m gonna dance all night, and sleepall day, (Repeat) ‘cos I can’t stop the music that’s beatin’ inside my head. No, I can’t stop the music That’s beatin’ inside my head. Rock’n’roll is dead by The Rats
· How many ‘non-standard’ spellings can you find? Can you ‘translate’ them into standard English? · What do you think these might mean? gonna kinda ‘bout ol’ gotta sorta ‘coz/’cos lil’ gotcha gimmee me c’mon dontcha luv d’ja runnin’ ain’t wanna sez walkin’ geroffa watcha ev’ry o’ yeah innit ‘n’ ‘em see you bin lemme git outta tho’ Have you heard any songs with them in?
· A lot of rock songs use non-standard structures too, for example: ‘We don’t need no educashion…’ ‘I ain’t got nobody…’ ‘She don’t need me no more…’ ‘We was drivin’ down the highway…’ ‘He never had no money…’
· Rock tries to reproduce speech. Today many people make a distinction between pop, rock (more serious popular music in the rock idiom) and rock’n’roll. Apop love-song might say: ‘I still love you darling, though we’re far apart you needn’t ever worry, for you’re always in my heart.’
A rock song is more likely to say: ‘Oh, babe, you sure have treated me mean, but if you keep on messin’ then I’m gonna quit the scene.’
They are both English…or are they?
¯ Speaking points. --Music in our life. --Children and music. --The kind of music necessary for the young. --Music knows no borders. What makes music the universal language of mankind? --Important music events. What programme would you suggest for a music festival? --The giants of classical music. --What is “modern music”?
¯ Do some library research and write an essay on: The development of music in the multinational countries (Russia, the USA, Canada).
Supplementary Reading
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