Tangent Sunset

The History of Conscious Music
by Alex Cosper

In the beginning there were beats... Then there were rhythms... Then there were melodies... Eventually there were words

Introduction... Timeless Music Can Affect Society... Conscious Music Defined... The Mainstream and Other Streams... Art Versus Commerce... Now Where's the Real Money?... Downturn of the Century... Listening for Clues and Dancing for Pleasure... The Beginning of Conscious Music... Folk Talkin' Blues... A Quest For Nature.. Waves of Electric Surf and Folk... The Beatles Lead the British Invasion... Doorway to Experimental Songwriting... Kaleidoscopic Storytelling... Battle of New Ideas... Deeper into Stream of Consciousness Music... Painting Dark Pictures... Escape to Other Worlds... Distorted Guitars... The Issue of Drugs... Just a Little Further Out There... The Blending of Styles... The Mix of Country and Rock... Classical Merges with Rock... Jazz/rock Fusion... Turmoil, Freedom and Adventure... Social Commentary Soul... Spy in the House of Suspense... Heartbreak of the Love Generation... Dawn of Modern Rock... Storytellers Reach Beyond Self-Image... The Softening of Harsh Words... Exploring the Dark Side... Rock Moves On... The Mainstream Begins to Fragment... 1974: End of the Golden Era... The Music Research Begins... Dreamlike Images of the 70s... The Mellow Journey... Still Searching For Other Worlds... Reflections of the Rock Movement... Birth of a Disco Nation... Simple Blanket Buzzwords... Rock Gets Harder... New Directions with New Wave... From Activism to Apathy... Ethic in Transition... Dylan Revisited... Nostalgia Becomes a Part of Current Consciousness... Return of the Old World... Kicking off the 80s with Country Tradition... The Shaping of Dance Music Culture... Electronic Storyteller Music... Video Versus Imagination... Blurring the Identity of Rock... Messages from the Arena... Celebration of the Underdog... A Call for Substance Over Style... Toward a Peaceful Revolution... Bigger Than the Ego... Angels and Devils... Lost Messages... War of the Senses... The Status of Women... Embedded Dance Messages... Sex and Other Topics... Small Town Messages... Fall of the Rock Gods... Visions of Modern Romance... New Age Atmospheres... Innovative Pop Music of the Late 1980s... Enter the Nineties... In Search of Alternatives... The Rebirth of Rock... Corporation Meltdown... Musical Theater of the Mind



Introduction


The idea that music can influence people's thinking or lifestyle goes back many centuries. The fear that music potentially has this power has always lurked in the back of the minds of the powers that be and the more frightened people in society. This fear of music as a social influence is understood if you can just put yourself in the role of that small group of elite zillionaires who want to buy and sell the world their way. It is supposed to be politics and religion that shape the overall psyche of any given culture. We are all supposed to yield to protocols of church and state and accept them without question, as cultural principles are drilled into our minds at a very early age.

Continue to "Timeless Music Can Affect Society"