Violence and Rock & Roll:
Hand in Hand?
People that have been to concerts know what kind of damage goes on, and how many innocent people are hurt by the violence that goes on at these shows. This is something that needs to end. Many people have been punched, kicked, shoved, thrown, hit by flying objects, fallen, trampled, crushed and, sadly in many cases, sexually assaulted. Concert-goers have suffered from concussions, wounds, rape, and death. All this violence can be ended, but it’s getting worse and worse by the day. The more the fans get out of hand, the more injuries people will undergo. Many people don’t want to go to concerts any more, because of the fact that there is too much hostility.
Concerts nowadays are too brutal. This violence needs to end. Even the artists that play at these shows are outraged by this aggression. Even they want to make this end. “Concerts get such a band name, because of all the [violence] and everything like that,” said Limp Bizkit (a ‘flavor-of-the-month’ band) guitarist Wes Borland. Sprains and broken bones resulting from moshing (a violent form of “dance” in which fans careen off one another) and crowd surfing (a practice in which fans are passed over head by the members of the crowd) have been common at concerts for many years. As many people remember at Woodstock ’99 the destruction at the festival was at its peak. This shows how degraded popular culture has become. “The thing that I felt was unfair, in the follow-up in the press, was the demonization of a generation,” said guitarist Tom Morello of, a popular band, Rage Against the Machine, “There was just this vilification of a whole generation and the bands that they like, based on this concert. I think it’s ridiculous.” (Arizona Republic, 10-3-99) But who’s to say that this violent behavior doesn’t go on at other concerts? Well, in fact it does.
One trend that has occurred at concerts, are the numbers of sexual assaults. Many girls have been groped, sexually harassed, beat, and even in many cases raped. Just at Woodstock ’99 alone there were 8 sex offences, which included an alleged mosh pit rape, which police were aware of. Tom Morello also added that, “The one thing that is absolutely unforgivable or unpardonable are the reported sexual assaults.”(Arizona Republic; Phoenix; Oct. 3, 1999) The mosh pit scene at a recent Vans Warped Tour show in Asbury Park, N.
Rock n’ roll gave people the voice they did not have in the early years. As the genre of music became more wide spread, people actually began to speak out. Altschuler touches on the exploration of how the rock n' roll culture roughly integrated with replaced and conflicted with preceding cultural values. Many of these values were very touch topics. Besides black civil rights, sexuality were one of the most sensitive t...
On Monday March 25, some members of the baseball team, my girlfriend, and I traveled to Murray State University to watch a concert performed by Nelly and the St. Lunatics. It was a terrible night to go anywhere because it was raining and storming the whole way, but there was nothing that was going to stop us from going to the concert. We where all so hyped up about it and couldn’t wait to head out. My brother, who attends Murray State, had gotten us excellent seats about seventy-five feet away from the stage.
The job of the marching band is to entertain the audience and they work hard to do so. The least the audience could do is stay and listen to their hard work during halftime.
...stock fans that made the trip to all three festivals bearing the “Woodstock” name. It seemed that the other men and women that made up the rest of the audience were nearly all there to get drunk and destroy anything they could get their hands on. By the end of the concert, nearly all of the stage and equipment was destroyed. Women were raped and all souvenirs such as shirts and posters were stolen. (MTV Woodstock Uncensored) The acts displayed at Woodstock 99’ could be summed up in two words: destructive force. It went beyond misguided violence to such a point as to bring down some of the original Woodstock’s glory. Unfortunately now when people think of Woodstock they will also think of the destruction that occurred during its latest attempt at recreation.
Music concerts, especially those involving more brutal music, tend to attract a large and diverse crowd of people. However, just because all of these people are all attending the same show does not necessarily mean that they are all there for the same reason. Normally, a show-goer's motives and intentions can be easily recognized using simple observations of their hair, style of dress, how they act during a performer's set, and sometimes even their gender. Heck, there are even a select few who choose to attend shows like this for the sole purpose of people-watching! When doing this, one will--as expected--discover an eclectic mix of looks and attitudes and may even find them difficult to categorize due to the amount of variety. Grouping these individuals, though, is surprisingly easy. Basically, showgoers are able to be summed up into three main categories: those that are not very interested in their environment ( otherwise known as "scenesters"), those who take the entire event far too seriously ("tough guys"), and those that have found that perfect middle ground between the other two groups ("normal kids").
Because sometimes you’ll go to a concert and the crowds crazy and it’s worth it for the music but sometimes it takes away from your experience.” Since Live Nation has bought our Bonnaroo for the last two years, Sarah seemed refreshed to discuss the old Bonnaroo that she fell in love
In the modern world today crime is at an all time high. Gangs are now
Rock music has been commonly linked with violence, rebellion, hysteria, distortion, sex, and more negative characteristics. According to Cotaga (2011), Rock'n'Roll groups are thought to be constantly intoxicated or affected by substances and steady gathering individuals encompassed by young
Music plays a critical part in protesting because of its ability to inspire and reach its powerful message to millions.The movie Swing Kids is the story of a group of young men protesting against the Nazis using swing music and dancing. The Nazis thought of swing music being “Jungle Music,” and it was unsuitable for any Germans to listen to. Dreadfully, some of these young men were forced to join the Nazis. Throughout the movie, the main character, Peter struggled with being both a Nazi and a swing kid. This was the internal struggle of knowing what was ethically right and what was wrong. This is an issue many face when deciding if they are going to protest or sit back. Today’s most recent protest relates with the Swing Kids.
We play music loudly with our friends and families at social gatherings and ultimately it creates a friendly and open atmosphere. Now the last thing we would think about would be that at one of these social events one of us may die. In recent years there have been more and more deaths and injuries at musical festivals all throughout the United States. Although the number is much lower than deaths and injuries from automotive accidents they should not be over looked. Music festivals are becoming more and more popular and people are flocking to festivals all around the United States. These music festivals in today’s society have turned into drug infested parties in which people’s live are endangered and people themselves are exposed to drugs and unsafe festival conditions.
Along with the peak of several movements music began to reach a point of climax. Rock specifically began to flourish in the 1960’s, while expressing the voice of the liberated generation. It is the power of such trends that overall lead to what is known as the greatest music festival of all time: Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The festival started on August 15, 1969 on Max Yasgur’s farm in Bethel, New York. Appealing to the time period, Woodstock was designed to be Three Days of Peace and Music. However, many argue that it was more than just a musical art fair of peace, but a historically significant event that shifted American culture. While some regard Woodstock as the beginning of a cultural advancement and the end of a naïve era, others view it as ridiculous hippy festival infested with illegal drug usage. Woodstock cost over $2.4 million and attracted over 450,000 people (Tiber, 1). Despite the debate of whether Woodstock produced a positive or negative effect, it is clear that a note worthy impact was made. When discussing the overall impact of Woodstock it is important to look at the influences and creative plan and the positive and negative effects produced from the festival.
Over this semester, I attended two concerts. The first concert I went to was a performance done by the Swedish band Graveyard at the 9:30 club in DC. The second concert that I went to was at the George Mason Center for Performing Arts. This concert was a jazz competition between bands call The Battle of the Big Bands. Both concerts were performed very well and kept the audience, myself included, very entertained throughout the entire show. In this paper, I will be discussing each individual show in depth, and then continuing on to compare the two concerts.
Music, a popular outlet amongst the teen community for exploring emotions and blowing off steam. Times have changed, and the way music and lyrics are perceived has developed in a violent fashion. According to new studies, that have occurred, violent music lyrics increase aggressive thoughts and feelings. I chose this topic because music is such an influential part of our lives that it often dictates the mood we seize to exist in. If violent thoughts occur, what can come of it?
Violence in Entertainment Violence has played an important part in entertainment, even in ancient times, like Rome and Egypt. In those countries, mock killings were some sort of entertainment. Even in our time, media violence is ever increasing. Research has shown that media violence did not only increase in violence, but in graphic, sexual and sadistic ways. There have been many concerns that as violent shows and movies go global, people spend more time watching than doing other activities (Media Violence).
Then audience members who were perfect strangers who were screaming loudest would turn to each other with knowing glances and smile because they were sharing the same excitement and connecting with one another over their love of this man’s music. There was no pushing or shoving to get closer to the stage – it wasn’t that kind of crowd. Instead, there was mutual respect for one another’s space within the confines of the too-small venue. Nobody wanted to be the person who ruined it for someone else. It was this respect that made the audience members’ connections with one another that much stronger – we were all here to listen to this wonderful man’s music and see his performance – and, of course, we were here to enjoy it.