by Meagan DeJong

Created on: March 19, 2009

Rock vs. Disco, and the Resulting Offspring

I have many theories about many things, but I really think that I am on to something here. It's no secret that parenting style has a lot to do with the era in which you yourself were raised, but this theory takes that concept even further to examine the divide in a specific generation between those who listened to rock and roll in their formative years, and those who listened to disco, and how this resulted in changing lifestyle and eventually parenting styles. I would also like to point out that I fully admit that I am in many ways biased to obviously favor the rock and roll crowd here, since that's what my parents were a part of, and also because I have known too many who were a product of the disco type of parents, and they suck. I think it's best to begin by pointing out the personalities and lifestyles that comprised each crowd. I'd also like to say that disco ended, while rock and roll (in some form or another) continued, so disco lost even though some douches that are actually nostalgic for this era remain. In your face disco crowd!

Beginning with the rock and roll crowd, let's start with some bands to illustrate the example. From the beginning, but especially after they started smoking pot and became hippies, the Beatles always maintained a message of love and happiness. This culminated in albums like Sgt. Peppers and Abbey Road. Even if the message wasn't exactly this, it certainly cannot be said that they had a negative message, or a self-indulgent message. Then there were bands like The Rolling Stones, who wrote about society and women and drugs. But the message still was not negative. The same can be said about Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Although they may have been self-indulgent people, the music and the scene was not self indulgent, or if it was, it was not in a way that was centered on pride. Mostly, this music, especially the music of the Beatles, was not introspective, but was more concerned with people and what people were feeling. It was concerned with humanity, war, freedom, and larger social issues.

The drug of choice for this crowd was pot, with some then moving on to other drugs like acid and mescaline. But mainly, pot gave them a sense of calm, laid-back relaxation. Everything slowed down, and a certain kind of idealism took over, in which the idea that music could change the world or positively affect the world became a real possibility instead of a fleeting notion. Most listeners were from

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