AustLit

Country Joe McDonald (of The Fish fame) might have been over-scathingly dismissive in his observation of American society in the 1960s and 70s, but he would have felt his argument vindicated had he seen some contributions to a debate on the social significance of rock music which emerged in the conservative pages of Quadrant during 1983. The defenders of Culture and opponents of rock argued that contemporary popular music was a degenerate, pernicious musical mutant carrying several social ill-consequences ranging from sexual promiscuity and drug-addiction to ear-damage and poor listening-skills. All forms of rock should be banished, allowing a return to the "real" music that is often labelled as "serious" or "classical". As in so many areas of cultural discussion the linguistic loading was crucial: "serious" music by implication was worthwhile and socially constructive, rock music the opposite. Any attempt logically to defend rock was seen as a concession to poor taste and as a contribution to the destruction of cultural standards.