Musical chronology
1. Hippies (early 1960’s)
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. These people inherited the countercultural values of the Beat Generation, created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs such as cannabis and LSD to explore alternative states of consciousness.
In music, the folk rock and psychedelic rock popular among hippies evolved into genres such as acid rock, world beat and heavy metal music. Psychedelic trance (also known as psytrance) is a type of electronic music influenced by 1960s psychedelic rock. The tradition of hippie music festivals began in the United States in 1965 with Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests, where the Grateful Dead played stoned on LSD and initiated psychedelic jamming.
2. Elvis Presley (1977 onwards)
Since the beginning of his career, Elvis Presley has had an extensive cultural impact. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, “it was Elvis who made rock ‘n’ roll the international language of pop.” A PBS documentary described Presley as “an American music giant of the 20th century who single-handedly changed the course of music and culture. John Lennon later observed, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” With his death, in 1977, such interest increased even further the number of works dedicated to his memory and legacy. Even scholars have studied many aspects of his profound cultural influence.
3. Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson also known as the “King of Pop”, was an American recording artist who became one of the most commercially successful entertainers of all time. He started a solo career in 1971, having made his debut in 1964 as a member of The Jackson 5. His unique contributions to music and dance, along with a highly publicized personal life, made him a prominent figure in global popular culture for four decades.
4. The MTV Generation (1975 – 1986)
The MTV Generation is a term sometimes used to refer to people born between roughly 1975-1986, a generation whose adolescence and coming of age is perceived to have been heavily influenced by 1990s era popular culture in general and mass media in particular. Their early psychosocial exposure to these factors is thought to have been unprecedented and, along with peer pressure, resulted in a peculiar, homogenous youth culture defined by a deep appreciation of the fashion trends, perspective, attitude and music popularized by MTV and similar media (Viva, Triple J etc.) that rose to prominence in the late 1980s. Also note that “with the proliferation of technology, the internet, beepers and cell phones have become social lifelines for this generation. They are technology savvy, independent and resourceful.”
5. The millennial generation (2000 onwards)
This generation refers to the progress from radio to television and eventually the I-pod. The millennial generation, also known as generation y is dependent on new age gadgets like the play station and x box to derive entertainment. For them, it isn’t only about entertainment anymore. The ownership of such a device becomes an issue of prestige.
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