How I Learned To Love Rock And Roll

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I have been spending quite a lot of time listening to rock and roll (and other music from the rock and roll 'era' c.late 50s). This was sparked by a sudden and complete infatuation w/"Chantilly Lace" by the Big BOPPER.

So I wanted to ask - what do my fellow Poptimists think about rock and roll? Do you like it? Do you listen to it? How does it stack up next to pop now (or pop from a more recent then)? Is it pop at all? Is it rock? Does the path of listening to rock and roll lead inexorably to the Stray Cats? etc. etc.

Here are some things about rock and roll which relate to other Poptimist concerns:

- The tracks are generally very short.
- They are often quite goofy.
- They sound like they were done very quickly.
- They mostly came out on single.
- There was a hell of a lot of it.
- There are a lot of boys with guitars around.
- Rock and roll is pretty old.
- Chunks of it are very revered.
- It gets revived a lot.

HMMMMMM. Over to you crazy comments box cats!

Comments

Re: in a sense there is nothing that is not pop

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

well its a spectrum, hip hop, country, dub cant be as easily as tutti fruitti...

Re: in a sense there is nothing that is not pop

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

But Little Richard was UNqueering his music! His most direct forebear, Esquerita, who I mentioned above, mostly thrived on the black transvestite circuit (see also Bobby Marchan and the Clowns, Huey 'Piano' Smith and others), and Little Richard rather toned down the effeminacy of his look and sound. I say this as an interesting sidebar point rather than to disagree with you, since I don't overall.