Roxy music - The pioneers of a different culture in music : Music

[jasdeep]

In the 1960s, change was the order of the day. People shed the shackles of the old and customary. It was time of rebellion; a cultural revolt against the straitjacketed norms of society. People wanted the freedom to live as they wanted, do as they pleased. Much of this changed in the 1970s, when people started moving back to somewhat move structured methods of living. Suits were tailored, dresses more fitting and hairstyles more classy than the free–for–all look.
No aspect of life was left untouched – not even music. It was in the sixties that the music format of rock and roll became a true power house in the world – new musical wonders seemed to spring up from nowhere at the drop of a hat.

The seventies also saw the advent of the ‘hippies’ as they were popularly called, a name derived from the term ‘hipster’ of the sixties, that stood for the misguided children of the sixties. The hippies were notorious for getting a high mental state and their love of music, and the politically fueled music of the day was very popular. With the sweeping changes in the seventies came a shift of music towards the experimental, and the electronic ‘synthesizer’ made its presence felt. This new gadget combined the value of several instruments in one, and could bring the roof down of any stadium full of fans with its amplifiers.

The synthesizer, in turn, gave birth to many a wannabe band in England, but few grew above the level of local pubs. One of the rare ones who bred a cult following of its own was Roxy Music. This assorted group of amateur art students who did not have so much as a formal music education, and little training on instruments but for their love of music and yes, their synthesizer. They had their own motley group of fans, and their ‘different’ kind of music got labeled as ‘avant-garde’. Though they debuted in England in 1972 and had considerable success in most of Europe and even South America, they were actually raised to the level of a ‘hit’ band in America only when they covered a John Lennon song. Their type of music became a cult figure in itself, and came to be known as Roxy Music.

Roxy music was instrumental in inspiring the younger lot to start a different kind of ‘counter culture’, which metamorphosed into the British Punk movement that started in the late 1970s and lasted well into the 1980s. Even though it may be improper to lay the entire blame of this on Roxy music, but they were definitely somewhere in the lineage that encouraged it. So what if you cannot remember any of their songs- the punk that spawned the modern alternative rock culture should give you a hint. Even the popular top 40 owes its origin to them, so remember Roxy music when you hear your favorite radio show come on the next time.