Rock & Roll

Rock Roll

Progressive rock emerged from psychedelia and refers to the trend towards increased technical and textural presentational complexity while retaining thematic links with the `counterculture ' of the 1960s Progressive rock 's ascendant period therefore runs roughly from 1969 to late 1976 when punk rock emerged to challenge its hegemonic position (Macan 56 . As a cultural and musical phenomenon , progressive rock was dominated by British bands who , after the Beatles , were more prepared to experiment with diverse musical forms . Enormous success followed this willingness to combine diverse elements , and one of such

bands was Pink Floyd who transformed into `stadium bands ' with international audiences numbering millions (Macan 58

Pink Floyd was some of the earliest innovators and was later followed by Yes , Genesis (later with Phil Collins ) and Emerson Lake and Palmer . Pink Floyd found a keen and loyal following among the largely middle-class public in colleges , art schools and universities . Pink Floyd began writing a series of songs based around a particular theme - these were known as concept albums . Although their aims were still commercial progressive musicians now wanted to achieve them using different methods to those working elsewhere in pop . Pink Floyd went on to become highly successful in Britain and America , with their characteristic extended solos , pompous lyrics , grand orchestration and extravagant costumes . For some years they influenced many other groups in Europe and America who copied their style (Whiteley 27-28

Musically , the term covers an eclectic range . Pink Floyd turned to classical and other forms of music to enhance the texture of their own Pink Floyd used soul elements and retained more of the form of rock experimenting with more complex instrumentation including the use of mandolins , acoustic and electric guitars and synthesizers . During the 1970s the popularity of Pink Floyd , orchestrated by sophisticated marketing and promotional techniques , placed the group at the top of the rock hierarchy . At the same time Pink Floyd retained enough of the values (towards personal freedom ) of the counterculture of the 1960s to appeal to a generation (in its non-aspirational form sometimes identified as Generation X ) which was itself increasingly diverse (Whiteley 98 . As a result , the audience remained loyal despite the difference in wealth and lifestyles . Permissiveness and the liberty to experiment (with lifestyles , soft and hard drugs , sexuality , sex and so on ) remained central themes of Pink Floyd lyric . Pink Floyd lyrics also with its continued experimental and subversive use of language maintained the sense of shared values without limiting itself to precise definition (Macan 35

Another important impact of Pink Floyd was that they attempted to link a visual experience with the auditory one , as witnessed in the light shows of band . Pink Floyd also gave rise to an attempt to change the traditional format of the rock concert . They stretched the live performance into an all-night event , and as such were precursors of the rock festival . Songs also grew lengthier , such as Pink Floyd 's ten-minute `Interstellar Overdrive . Pink Floyd allowed popular music to accept influences...