Both “The Wrecking Crew” and McGowan’s interview on Red Ice touched on a controversial topic of the music industry. McGowans interview spoke of the Laurel Canyon music scene and “The Wrecking Crew” discussed how the bands in the 60’s and 70’s didn’t play their own music. These band that are mentioned in both films include; The Doors, The Monkees, The Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys, and many more. McGowan’s interview however, covers an alternate side to the story.
McGowan’s interview connects on the Laurel Canyon, California bands and the 1960-1970’s hippie movement. During this time, there were many families moving to the area because of a Military base said to be in the area. Many of the bands mentioned in “The Wrecking Crew” had parents in the military, the biggest example that McGowan touched on was Jim Morrison from The Doors. McGowan discusses the possible chance that there are many bands that came out of Laurel Canyon and they didn’t play their own music, but he never came out flat and said it. At the time of his interview, not many knew what he was talking about. “The Wrecking Crew” came out six years prior, but the film did not touch base on the Laurel Canyon scene.
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The film's cast was the original cast of the band The Wrecking Crew and the narrator was a band member's son, Denny Tedesco. The film shows footage from the recording studio and also live interviews from the band member’s. These members discussed the roles that the bands had in their production of the music and also how The Wrecking Crew influenced the other bands. At the time, it is rumored that the band member’s of The Doors, The Beach Boys, etc. did not know how to play their instruments and also that they did not write their own songs. Now, this is where my mind is wrecked and I did not enjoy the films. Many of the lyrics from these bands are inspirational and also
“Why The Grateful Dead Were the Greatest American Rock Band:, BlogCritics, BlogCritics, 2014, web, 16 April 2014
Dazed and Confused is a film that follows a plethora of characters on the last day of school before summer vacation. Although lacking in tangible plot, it makes a bold attempt to encompass and present the zeitgeist of the 1970s. In my opinion it is as if Dazed and Confused was produced in hopes of making those viewers who lived through the 1970s feel a sense of nostalgia. The film’s trajectory, harnessing of zeitgeist, and soundtrack are all very similar to George Lucas’s American Graffiti—a film that also successfully rooted in nostalgia. Dazed and Confused was released in 1993 and, like American Graffiti, was able to look over its shoulder to determine what music stood the test of time. The film attempts to epitomize what it meant for someone to grow up in the 1970s. Its success depends on its ability to recreate the spirit present in that era. In this paper I will talk about how the use of the popular soundtrack functions with the overall narrative, show ways in which characters actually interact with the music, how the soundtrack functions in a specific scene, explain my personal relationship to the soundtrack, and touch briefly on how the meaning of the film has changed over the course of time.
To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in existence that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little question about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed: those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be forced themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre near the end of the Vietnam War.
The band consist of 8 members, Nathan East bassist/vocals, Andy Fairweather-Low, lead guitar/vocals, Steve Ferrone- drums, Chuck Leavell-key boardist, Ray Cooper- tambourines, Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles- vocals, and Eric Clapton- composer, rock n roll guitarist, lead vocalist. The band members dressed in casual attire. The band members were professionals, they knew exactly how to orchestrate every chord, they collaborated with the lead singer and each other in ways that wasn’t so noticeable to the audience but they knew which chords to use for every song, the band was a top notch team. The tempo of the songs were a mixture of fast, slow, to a medium style beat. The texture of the songs was homophonic and well put together lyrics. The style of the music was from the 1960s-1970s which genres were rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, jazz and blues.
In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own marks in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decays, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
Despite the success, Paradise Theatre was another theme album written by DeYoung and furthered the tension with the band (Styx). The bands manager recalled, “I remember Tommy coming into my room in Tokyo and saying, ‘Please, for God sake, lets not do another concept album. We need some rock ‘n’ roll.’” Unannounced to the band, Dennis was already working on another concept album, Kilroy was Here, a story of a future where rock & roll was outlawed. Kilroy was Here was also a rebuttal to accusations made by a California religious group that the band backward-masked satanic messages in their song Snowblind
Smith, Isabel. “History of Music.” Stories of Rock and Roll Music from 1950s Ed. New York: Plume, 1989. 87-95.
The year is1965, 8 years into the Vietnam war and 2 years in the shadow of a presidential assassination, marked the inception of an artistic vision, cut to Vinyl. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 revisited is a testament to the state of America in the 1960s, using poetic devices, and engaging rock and roll music to capture the imagination of a breadth of people, unwittingly, it would seem, brought change to the minds of Americans. Opening their eyes to what was happening and inflicting a sense of new found justice in their hearts, Living vicariously through Bob Dylan’s intense imagery, due to the events unfolding in that period, People latched on to Dylan’s lyrics and imposed their own expression and feeling onto his songs.
The Lomaxes’ brand of folk music was intended to draw on Americans’ sense of national pride during the Great Depression was used to prove that there is a United States culture (Filene 1991: 606). To accomplish this, they created a strategy that ensured that the folk music they recorded would be in its purest form by searching for songs and artists “in the ‘eddies of human society,’ self-contained homogeneous communities cut off from the corrupting influences of popular music”, which included locations such as “remote cotton plantations, cowboy ranches, lumber camps, and, with particular success, southern segregating prisons” (Filene 1991: 605). The Lomaxes created a folk-song heritage that promoted folk artists as pure, untouched by popular culture and music, and as a voice for the common man (Filene 1991: 610). Leadbelly, discovered by the Lomaxes while serving time for murder, was promoted as both pure and a voice for the common man all while be promoted as a “savage, untamed animal” due to his time in prison (Filene 1991:
Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.
“Hotel California” by The Eagles has been the recipient of much speculation since its release in 1976. Although many other interpretations exist including some which claim this song to be referencing drugs, much evidence suggests that “Hotel California” is, at least partly, making a statement about the lifestyle of drug and alcohol users particularly in the large cities of California. As with many songs, duality of meaning exists in “Hotel California.”
"We always though of the Grateful Dead as being the engine that was driving the spaceship that we were traveling on."-Ken Babbs, a former Merry Prankster
In closing, the undoubtable influence of music, more specifically of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society is responsible for a number of changes to the status quo. These range from sexual liberation and racial desegregation all culminating with other influences to create an intergenerational identity. Despite the desperate attempts of older generations to smother these influences, these changes ultimately shaped the years that followed, molding the country into what it is today. Along the way these changes as well as individual involvement in them has also eased the lives of many through empowerment and a feeling of community and purpose. Despite a lull and renewal Rock ‘n’ Roll continues to serve as an agent of influence and change in today’s youth culture and continues to burn in the heart of past generations of loyal fans.
McLeese, Don. “The Spirit of a Rocker.” New York Times. 18 October 1987. Web. 11
frequently worked with jazz bands which, in contrast to the greater isolation of the male country blues singers, provided a visible display of togetherness. For the new and struggling migrants desperately trying to create a new community in the cities, the singer and the band represented a shared communal feeling (http://www.