Rockin’ To The Apocalypse
Rock’n’Roll is a part of everyday life. Whether you like it or not, it is always there. Whether it’s your favorite car chase scene, hearing the roar of the guitar, feeling the anticipation as you sit at the edge of your seat, attempting to predict the outcome. The music your parents force you to listen to in the car—you can’t help but tap your feet to that drumline. Eating the best pizza of your life, wiping the grease from your mouth, while Bohemian Rhapsody plays in the background. For some people rock is a loud inconvenience—for others, it’s a lifestyle. What some fail to realize is how much Rock’n’Roll actually shaped our nation. It isn’t just about the harmonious sound, the melodious guitar
line, or how the singer seems to invoke passion with every line. It’s the political message of Rock. How can Rock have so much political influence? Whether it be The Beatles, creating generations of fans through timeless writing; Janis Joplin, challenging puritanical and conventional roles for women; or Marvin Gaye, being a vehicle of racial equality through his powerful lyrics, Rock is much more than just a music genre. It is power; in other words, it is political. It is something that in this current time period, despite the aggressive guitar line, represents peace in a time of social and political war. Headbopping, the hair flowing, and the guitar strumming, not to
mention the thousands of screaming fans, one thing comes to mind: The Beatles, more specifically The song Revolution. The song Revolution by The Beatles is a seminal Rock song that sympathizes with peace-loving Americans who opposed the Vietnam War. This song propelled itself to be a vehicle of protest, especially as casualties mounted on both sides—ultimately, over 58,000 American soldiers and several million Vietnamese people died in this war. Throughout the song, Revolution, Lennon points out that the way to protest is not through brutality or
aggressive indignation, it’s through love and peace. Due to his major influence on the public as a musical virtuoso, Lennon was able to project his message through one of the most iconic portrayals of the Summer of Love we have today. According to Thomas Forte, “The general consensus of the American public on Vietnam seems to be that it was an unwinnable war, fought for a