Why the 70's were the best decade of rock music

Johnny-Too-Good

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I'd say the 60's was equally important in the grand scheme of things when you consider who the 60's gave birth to musically and influentially (Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Hendrix, Zeppelin, The Who, the Doors, Cream, Simon and Garfunkel, Beach Boys, Neil Young, Van Morrison)...but like a lot of that generation of rock fans on here who were born in the 60's, I only became aware of rock music in the 70's, and it did seem at the time as if that music from that period could never be surpassed, which is how it has turned out. Music changes and evolves, and so it should, so it's no good us complaining about 'modern' music and trying to tell kids these days that Grateful Dead and Wishbone Ash was real music, and Lady Gaga and hip hop and One Direction is crap, it's a generational thing, I'd be seriously worried about the state of the human race if my kids in 2012 were listening to and liking the same stuff I was into in 1978. So yes, the 70's was the best decade from where I am sitting, but I'm now something of a dinosaur culturally, so it's a pretty meaningless preference I am expressing!!

(He replies 7 months later :gig) Only just seen this thread.
You are right of course. The '60s was a time when bands were experimenting. They were all young people who thought it would last 5 minutes, and had no idea what was ahead of them. If you think about it, most of the 'monster bands' of the '70s actually got it together in the ''60s - The Stones, The Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd etc. Also a 'template' had emerged from the '60s which was recognised and taken up by bands like Queen, Aerosmith and Van Halen. I was at an age when I could watch the whole thing unroll and it was fascinating and exciting.
Re the generational thing - music just isn't as important to today's young people as it was to us. It has become disposable. Though I would add that I brainwashed my kids and two of my boys came with me to see The Floyd's Division Bell gig in '94 :heheh:
 

TheSound

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(He replies 7 months later :gig) Only just seen this thread.
You are right of course. The '60s was a time when bands were experimenting. They were all young people who thought it would last 5 minutes, and had no idea what was ahead of them. If you think about it, most of the 'monster bands' of the '70s actually got it together in the ''60s - The Stones, The Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd etc. Also a 'template' had emerged from the '60s which was recognised and taken up by bands like Queen, Aerosmith and Van Halen. I was at an age when I could watch the whole thing unroll and it was fascinating and exciting.
Re the generational thing - music just isn't as important to today's young people as it was to us. It has become disposable. Though I would add that I brainwashed my kids and two of my boys came with me to see The Floyd's Division Bell gig in '94 :heheh:

Hey JTG that's cool! ..... it's fine to agree with me 7 months later, frankly most of the stuff I write I'm still waiting for someone to agree with me 7 years later!!!

:uh:
 

oscar gamble

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Hey JTG that's cool! ..... it's fine to agree with me 7 months later, frankly most of the stuff I write I'm still waiting for someone to agree with me 7 years later!!!

:uh:

I not only agree with you but would argue that the 60's were the better musical decade. And I'm a child of the 70's.
 

Metal Health

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If you listen to any 70s music, you will find that there is an extreme amount of heart and skill put into it. Obviously, the artist has put their heart and soul into making it not just music but a work of art. Music is about having fun and expressing your feelings. If you listen to rap or pop, you won't get the same feeling. 60s and 70s music rules!
 

Soot and Stars

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If you listen to any 70s music, you will find that there is an extreme amount of heart and skill put into it. Obviously, the artist has put their heart and soul into making it not just music but a work of art. Music is about having fun and expressing your feelings. If you listen to rap or pop, you won't get the same feeling. 60s and 70s music rules!

You can connect and get feeling out of anything. I could post some very emotional rap. You may not like the tune but you could definitely see where the emotion is. As far as Pop, happiness is an emotion and that's where most pop tunes are directed towards. :) I agree that there's plenty of emotion in those decades (60's, 70's) especially within the Soul genre but I still see plenty of art and emotion in today's music. Peace! :)
 

Hurdy Gurdy Man

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While most rock historians would probably go with the 60's here(particularly 1967)due to the fact it set the template for what rock writing and production technologies would become in the 70's,there always remains a highly legitimate argument for the post-Beatle 70's being the greatest rock decade.Many have referred to "Dark Side of the Moon" as the "Sgt. Pepper" for the 70's,and a good number of classic rock admirers probably even see it as an extension of "Pepper's" obviously highly successful attempt to garner more respect for the popular music album within the art world.From a straight musical standpoint,I think the 60's have the edge.However,so many 70's artists,mostly in the progressive field,took the recording technique philosophies and equipment that began in the psychedelic 60's to a whole new level of dutiful escapism.Listen to some Yes or Emerson,Lake and Palmer for further investigation.Very difficult to compare the two decades because,at least in my mind,they were both part of the same rock continuum,a process that came to an almost complete stop in the 80's.The technologies continued to grow and develop,but the general approach was rather a departure from the 60's and 70's idioms of the hey days of Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
 

Metal Health

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You can connect and get feeling out of anything. I could post some very emotional rap. You may not like the tune but you could definitely see where the emotion is. As far as Pop, happiness is an emotion and that's where most pop tunes are directed towards. :) I agree that there's plenty of emotion in those decades (60's, 70's) especially within the Soul genre but I still see plenty of art and emotion in today's music. Peace! :)

I can see your point for pop. However, I don't think that you have much of an argument for rap. I am a HUGE rap hater. I don't listen to it. I'm sure that there is some emotion in some "songs". I have not listened to it but I have looked at the lyrics. I think that it is fair to say that most of rap lyrics are about violence. Rap is getting kids into murdering and hurting people. Surely, if these are people's emotions, they have a personal problem. This is one of the huge reasons that I don't even get into 21st century music.
 

Hurdy Gurdy Man

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Let's put it this way.Definitely,most serious music people would consider wither the 60's or 70's as the greatest era for rock/pop.The 80's were great,were a bit too streamlined and commercialized to overcome the mind blowing works of just the 60's alone.However,I CAN see someone who grew up in this period selecting it as thier favorite one for popular music,but as far as the 90's and beyond goes,anyone who chooses any period since then as the best for popular music is out of their frigen minds.There are some decent bands and singers out there,but probably there will always be such artists to some extent,but as far as I'm concerned,there will NEVER be another 60's-70's period ever again.Particualrly 1965-1975,so maybe what we have here is a tie between the second half of the 60's and the first half of the 70's................
 

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