Is Rock And Roll Really The “Music Of Rebellion?“

3 Pages 843 Words

Is Rock and Roll really the “Music of Rebellion?”

I do not agree with this statement, it is simply unfair to the artists who perform rock music. While the authors Gracyk and Berry give interesting insight into rock musicians and why they have a bad reputation, my mind is not changed. I would agree mostly with Paglia, though a little extreme; she has a more positive outlook on rock musicians. Stating that rock is the “music of rebellion” is such a broad statement. While it may be true for certain groups, it is simply not fair to judge all musicians in the same category.
Music is such a controversial issue. After reading each authors selection I find myself agreeing with some of their opinions or statements. However, the fact still remains that it does not pertain to all of rock music and the artists as a whole. If I agreed with this opinion, I would have to include all types of music, not just rock and roll.
Theodore A. Gracyk, for example, blames the rock artists themselves for their negative reputation. He points out that the music they compose mostly has a message about sex. I would be lying by stating this is not true, as I am sure most college age students would agree. While it is unfortunate, it is just simply fact that most music today has some sort of message about sex. However, when I think of what I call “raunchy” music, rock and roll doesn’t come to my mind, rap would
probably be my first thought. In fact, I find it hard to think of rock bands that have songs talking about sex. I have no problem thinking of artists such as Eminem or Puff Daddy who take this problem to the extreme and neither of them are considered “rack stars.” Being a person who personally does not choose to listen to rock music it is hard for me to define what such artists’ message is, but even if some do exploit sex in their lyrics, “some” does not mean all.
In speaking of rap music it brings me to the section by Venis...