The Turbulen Sixties Essay -- essays research papers

The Turbulent Sixties Throughout American history, each generation has sought to individualize itself from all others preceding it. Decades of American history can be separated to represent a distinctive set of values, culture, and political ideals. The 1960's was a decade caught between euphoric, idealistic beginnings and a discordant, violent climax. The music of this time period produced a strong counterculture which sought to influence America in a way never before experienced. The songs were the backbone of this new age; they were the tunes which the generation danced to, marched to, and got high off of. This paper will discuss the ways popular music of the 1960's produced national awareness of the anti-war movements, led to the partialcollapse of the structure of American society, and forever changed the way current generations listen to and buy music. The songwriters of the 1960's were rarely without inspiration. Perhaps the most powerful incentive came from the movement to end the Vietnam War. Many of the most prominent musicians of that generation aided the struggle to protest against and attempt to end the war. The most popular song to be considered an anthem against the war efforts was called "Blowin' in the Wind," written by Bob Dylan in 1962 while he was living in New York. The song is centered around racism and militarism, two main focal points which were principal in many early sixties protest songs (Pichaske 58). Dylan used conventional symbols to blatantly state his point; a white dove representing peace, flying cannon balls describing war and violence, and roads and seas symbolizing the hardships and struggles there would have to be with eliminating the war. Demonstrations against the Vietnam War took place in many major cities and college campuses. While many of these demonstrations had only peaceful motives, violent methods were often used to break them up. Take for example the famous student takeover of Columbia University. Black students arguing for civil rights, and white students protesting against the Vietnam war successfully took over Hamilton Hall, the Low Library and the Dean's office, as well as three other buildings. The Grateful Dead were smuggled onto campus and played several long sets of music while students began to set up communal living, with food generously donated by outside supporters and Harlem's CORE (Co... ... labels began methodically recruiting performers and signing them to contracts. The music was becoming less oriented to free form and more constricted so as to present them on FM radio. Advertising became increasingly directed towards the hippies. Pepsi Cola began airing commercials that consisted of an eerie psychedelic renderings of urban nightlife, with the Pepsi theme sounding more like a Byrd's song than a commercial jingle (Frank 178). Many musicians began fighting a sense of deep disillusion as the sixties winded down. Perhaps Dylan, the man who spoke so poignantly about the generation understood it best, he knew that the most prominent threat to musicians of the sixties was their image, it leads to the generalization of their art and destroys it (Pichaske 177). In conclusion, the sixties were a turbulent time characterized with both optimism and despair. The music that this generation spawned has lasted as a remnant of the idealistic and hopful nature of the times. In many cases, the songs are interrelated with certain events. In other instances, music was used as a catalyst to ignite a chain of events. Whatever the case may be, music was revolutionized during the1960's.