beginnings of a paper regarding the role of the beatles, and specifically sgt. peppers, in the development of the counterculture as a sociopolitical movment in the sixties.
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American journalist, and rock n' roll historian Greil Marcus called the release of The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 a "pop explosion an irresistible cultural explosion that cuts across lines of class and race."
The "pop explosion" Marcus refers to managed to transcend the boundaries of social interactions and became inextricably tied to the shifting currents of social change.
The release of the Beatles seminal work managed to break boundaries and communicate the message of an underground counterculture that was largely unheard to a massive audience whose ears were wide open.
Sgt Pepper was more than a reflection of the counterculture, however; it also became a focal point for the rapid expansion of the counterculture. The Beatles had a tremendous social power and broad fan base, making them the perfect Trojan horse to wake up as many people as possible to the message of the counterculture movement.
Sgt. Pepper was very much a product of the counterculture, but it also became the impetus for the radical expansion of that culture from a fringe group to mainstream America.
With the release of Sgt. Peppers, the most popular band in the world had just produced their masterpiece, a timely reaction to the events swirling around them. Sgt. Pepper was not entirely unique. In a sense, it merely echoed the values, assumptions, shared notions of identity felt by tens of thousands of people in the mid-Sixties. However, it was unique in the effects it generated.
Before Sgt. Pepper was released, the forces building in San Francisco were primed but lacking the spark to start the fire. With its release, an entire generation recognized the magic of the era captured for eternity in 45 minutes of music. Hundreds of thousands of people were then inspired to live out the Beatles vision. The movement grew into a profoundly political role, but many of its roots can be found in the profoundly cultural act of listening to a rock album. What makes the album so important to the sixties era, is not the musicality of an incredibly important work of popular art, it was because of the Beatles, and their echoing of the counterculture's ideals that millions were able to encounter alternative cultures, and new ideas about life, politics and society.
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still in the developmental stages, and full of holes but it still early.
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American journalist, and rock n' roll historian Greil Marcus called the release of The Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 a "pop explosion an irresistible cultural explosion that cuts across lines of class and race."
The "pop explosion" Marcus refers to managed to transcend the boundaries of social interactions and became inextricably tied to the shifting currents of social change.
The release of the Beatles seminal work managed to break boundaries and communicate the message of an underground counterculture that was largely unheard to a massive audience whose ears were wide open.
Sgt Pepper was more than a reflection of the counterculture, however; it also became a focal point for the rapid expansion of the counterculture. The Beatles had a tremendous social power and broad fan base, making them the perfect Trojan horse to wake up as many people as possible to the message of the counterculture movement.
Sgt. Pepper was very much a product of the counterculture, but it also became the impetus for the radical expansion of that culture from a fringe group to mainstream America.
With the release of Sgt. Peppers, the most popular band in the world had just produced their masterpiece, a timely reaction to the events swirling around them. Sgt. Pepper was not entirely unique. In a sense, it merely echoed the values, assumptions, shared notions of identity felt by tens of thousands of people in the mid-Sixties. However, it was unique in the effects it generated.
Before Sgt. Pepper was released, the forces building in San Francisco were primed but lacking the spark to start the fire. With its release, an entire generation recognized the magic of the era captured for eternity in 45 minutes of music. Hundreds of thousands of people were then inspired to live out the Beatles vision. The movement grew into a profoundly political role, but many of its roots can be found in the profoundly cultural act of listening to a rock album. What makes the album so important to the sixties era, is not the musicality of an incredibly important work of popular art, it was because of the Beatles, and their echoing of the counterculture's ideals that millions were able to encounter alternative cultures, and new ideas about life, politics and society.
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still in the developmental stages, and full of holes but it still early.