Throughout Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad, there is a constant symbol of conformity (or lack thereof). By not representing themselves through big labels like CBS and WEA and creating music through independent labels, bands in a way are rebelling against societal standards through rebelling against the social norms within the music business. Fans of underground music and the musicians that created the underground scene, are resisting conformity not just in music, but in the way they live their lives. In the introduction Azerrad explained that “The breakthrough realization that you didn’t have to be a blow-dried guitar god to be a valid rock musician ran deep; it was liberating on many levels, especially from what many perceived as the selfishness, greed, and arrogance of Reagan’s America,” (6). People were no longer putting a huge level of importance into what the majority believed and lived by, and focusing on how amazing it is to be apart of something much deeper even if it is the minority.
There was such an obvious outbreak of superficial and fake lifestyles, it was just natural for some people to feel angry or out of place, or both. In the 1980’s when indie punk and hardcore Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. Politics is the equivalent of controversy in a general sense so of course people around the country had strong views on the vast amount of social issues that were plaguing America at the time. If you listen to some of the bands that are covered in the book you will find that there is a strong political vibe throughout a lot of their work. Many musicians in the punk and hardcore scene share the same frustration and anger towards the amount of contradiction that came with the republican and conservative values. It is so interesting to hear and see that in addition to the lyrics, the sudden bursts of noise, and the relentless aggression that you can feel while listening ties in so deeply with anti-conformity. By making music that doesn't sound pretty and is so raw and straight forward, the bands are directly and indirectly going against what was expected from the average American citizen.
In music at the time “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll” was just how rock music was. Punk and hardcore completely challenged it (or at least a large fraction of the bands). The idea was to promote individual thinking. Inspire people to not numb themselves to all of the experiences that were available to them and not limit themselves to the amount of information or ideas they could take in and process. The term “straight edge” was a word commonly expressed among this music scene. Drinking and giving into substance appeared to be just a normal or at least accepted aspect within the youth’s social world. Conforming to regular social norms was unnecessary and took away from the powerful experience. To truly understand and fully be able to form one’s own opinion, it was completely necessary to be present.
Mandy,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I would definitely introduce the motif as "nonconformity" though. That is what you are writing about, and you have some interesting examples here. Also appreciate the link!