MUSIC OF THE YOUNG

 

Before the Beatles, there had been no music addressed directly to young people. The radio broadcasted mawkish (приторный), sentimental songs which were lacking in naturalness, sincerity and vigour (энергия). The Beatles offered the young generation something new, fresh, spontaneous and completely different from anything else in form and delivery (подача). That was a real turning-point in the history of British music. At the same time the Beatles caused a revolution in youth culture. Their innovative music symbolized the rejection of the ideas and morality of the older generation. Young people immediately began to treat it as their own music which expressed their experiences, joys and sorrows. They suddenly realized that they did not want to be lectured any more; they wanted to be the power, the energy and the generation which had something important to say.

Although many people feel that no group since the Beatles has achieved the same excellence, some groups stood out in the 1960s. One of them was the Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones were deliberately provocative and anti-establishment. Their public behaviour was rude and shocking. The most popular group's hit "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" fully summarized their philosophy of frustration, decadence and ferocity (свирепость). Their uninhibited (несдерживаемый) music contributed to the development of Britain's alternative society.

Another artist considered as the most original British musician after the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the late 1960s was David Bowie. His early songs reflected the feelings of frustration and loneliness experienced by many young people at that time. There is no denying that Bowie with his many surrealistic costumes and "images" exerted a strong influence on the entire generation of rock'n'roll stars.

In the 1970s, rock seemed to lose its almost revolutionary power. Still, many groups and artists became very popular, among others Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Genesis, Queen, Yes or Electric Light Orchestra.

Nowadays there are so many different types of music and groups that it is almost impossible to list them all. The more recent styles are reggae, rap, heavy metal, hardcore, hip-hop or trance. Because of this variety, it is sometimes difficult for groups to have lots of fans or to stay long in the list of best-selling records.

The latest style which enjoys great popularity among young people is techno music. Contrary to rock, techno is not the expression of any rebellion but rather a form of relaxation and approval for technology and automation. Techno parties, often called cyber-parties, are held in big discotheque halls and attract hundreds of young yuppies[1] wearing plastic mantles, fluorescent T-shirts and silvery boots. The main motifs of techno telediscs are robots, space craft and computers. The music is generated by means of synthesizers and samplers[2], and saturated (насыщенный) with the sounds of military commands or roar of engines. The fans of techno claim that this kind of music helps to liberate serotonin, a hormone of happiness. They believe that rock has the opposite effect — it stimulates the body to generate adrenaline which causes anxiety and aggression.

 

MUSIC IN AMERICA

 

Music in America is extremely varied. Concert halls across the country daily offer performances of jazz, rock, blues, folk, country and pop bands as well as symphony orchestras and opera.

It had taken a long time before America developed its own original styles of music. The early settlers brought to their new homeland European music. The music. One of the most popular American composers of the 20th century, orchestras played Mozart, Bellini, Weber or Strauss, people sang folk songs, psalms and hymns, and they danced to polkas or minuets.

In the beginning of the 19^th century the minstrel show emerged. It was the first typically American form which included songs, dances, storytelling and banter (подшучивание). The main representative of the minstrel show was Stephen Foster, considered America's first great folk composer. Some of his songs are still popular and known by heart, for example "Oh, Suzanna". Minstrel shows gave rise to musicals, so popular in American culture.

The late 19^th century brought ragtime — rhythmic piano music which combined European classical romanticism with American folk. Ragtime had some associations with the blues, slow and mournful (печальный) music which enjoyed great popularity in America.

Out of the blues came jazz, the only music form considered to be truly American. Jazz was first played by black brass bands at parades and funerals. By 1920 it spread from the South and began to take hold around the country. The main centre of jazz was New Orleans, the birthplace of the first well-known jazz musician — Louis Armstrong (1900 - 1971). Armstrong was not only a popular trumpeter but also a brilliant jazz singer. Another great jazz composer, pianist, band-leader and arranger was Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974). In the 1960s some new and more sophisticated forms of jazz were popularized by trumpeter Miles Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane. In the 1970's jazz was blended with rock music.

Jazz, with its spontaneous improvisation and "scat"[3] singing, has been America's greatest contribution to the world's music. It has also had an enormous influence on the whole range of American George Gershwin, incorporated in his works the elements of jazz together with African music and contemporary dance. His concerto "Rhapsody in Blue" and opera "Porgy and Bess" are know all over the world.

For most people America is first of all the country of rock and roll. Before rock'n'roll, one of the most important American musicians was Frank Sinatra, the popularizer of swing. He sang easy, melodious, lyrical songs which everybody liked. When rock and roll began to gain popularity, many people complained that it ruined songs by coarsening (огрубление) them.

Still, it was rock and roll that produced some of the century's greatest songs. This new music form was originally a mixture of gospel (церковная музыка), country music and black rhythm and blues. It was first popularized in the 1950s by Bill Haley and The Comets. One of their songs, "Rock around the Clock" established the term "rock and roll". Soon, it became the most widespread and popular kind of music. It was "a second language" for American youth. The greatest rock musician and a cult figure of that time was Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock'n'Roll".

In the 1960s rock and roll was replaced by rock. The greatest rock venture (предприятие) was the famous Woodstock festival in 1969. It attracted such stars as Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, Bing Crosby or Janis Joplin. Some of them performed folk music and protest songs rather than rock. Woodstock caused a revolution in men's hairstyles, the way of dressing, and established the image of the uninhibited, free-spirited and defiant (вызывающий) hippy.

Another famous live concert held in 1986 in Philadelphia was Live Aid. It gathered almost all top pop and rock musicians who united in an effort to raise money for starving Africa.

Nowadays, the greatest American rock and pop stars are Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Madonna, Whithney Houston, Prince, Cher, Sheryl Crow, Mariah Carey, George Michael, Offspring, Backstreet Boys, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Gloria Estefan, Brithey Spears, TLC and Michael Jackson.

The description of American music would not be complete without mentioning country and western music popularized by such stars as Dolly Parton or Tommy Wynette. The centre of country music is Nashville, Tennessee.