Music Industry and Rock Music in Bangladesh – Perspectives from Young Educated PeopleMusic Industry and Rock Music in Bangladesh:Perspectives From young Educated People1. Introduction1.1 Basic InformationRock music has been a volatile, unpredictable creature that has constantly redefined and reinvented itself. Not surprisingly, then, it can be extremely difficult to apply a straightforward definition to such a restless musical format.But while people may quibble over specifics, rock music can generally be described as hard-edged music performed with electric guitars, bass, and drums and usually accompanied by lyrics sung by a vocalist.1
Musically, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drums. Typically, rock is song-based music with a 4/4 beat utilizing a verse-chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse and common musical characteristics are difficult to define. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. The dominance of rock by white, male musicians has been seen as one of the key factors shaping the themes explored in rock music. Rock places a higher degree of emphasis on musicianship, live performance, and an ideology of authenticity than pop music.1
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5.1.1 Music in the American Music Scene
In 1969, when rock is still at its pre-World War II peak, some 50% of American bands were in existence, primarily under the rock label JW and R&B labels such as The Strokes, Guns N’ Roses, and The Beach Boys.5
As the nation expanded beyond what was previously known, there were several major musical divisions within the American music scene that was characterized by the dominance of rock in their respective genres. While rock certainly provided such a distinctive and meaningful musical genre, the main political and social movements within music were more largely composed of younger members and that was why rock was considered the strongest band with a very large following, despite the fact that less than 10% of the American music listeners are male.5
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Rock’s influence can be found, in part, in the musical genres. Many of the major American rock musicians – a large share of whom play in rock bands of all major musical genres – were black and white – making it possible for rock’s political roots to be reflected in the work they produced, even more so than in pop music or pop culture. The American rock genres generally represented a spectrum of ethnic groups, bands, and genres, ranging from rock to rock to rock to musical in-formance.
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5.1.2 Culture Change in the American Contemporary Music Scene
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed significant changes in the US’s music culture, the latter of which focused on American music as a form of expression of American values rather than as part of the American form. While this trend was clearly occurring as most of the major American rock organizations declined to make music (by comparison, most of the major American pop bands including The Strokes, Guns N’ Roses, Iggy Pop, The Who, and the Magnetic Fields and the Rolling Stones have disappeared from all mainstream pop music) it was also indicative of the changing American cultural landscape. Rock was no longer a viable cultural force within American culture when it emerged late in the 20th century and had been largely replaced by country music that was not even explicitly American in that regard.5
>
Pop in the 1960s: ‘Fascists vs. Americans’ (1950-1963) During the 1950s, as the movement to turn the music industry into a sort of ‘political culture,’ the U.S. saw a broad spectrum of groups from the “fascism” and left to the far right, but most of the American pop music was largely controlled by men. This marked an overall evolution that also left the major popular music movements at their most radical and extremist as a percentage of the population. But it also marked an important shift from more conservative cultural and intellectual groups that used rock as a form of expression to more militant ones that had less explicit support within the mainstream. The movement went from being a fringe movement but a part of the U.S. music culture, and it was a significant part of the overall rise of right-wing, anti-feminist social groups and ideologies. In contrast, the “Fascists” turned away from the mainstream in favor of a more nuanced style, more critical of traditional cultural forms and less anti-imperialist. This also occurred over time as the world economy expanded and the influence of the financial system and a rising middle class began to have an impact on America’s music culture. The Fascist Tendencies had been pushing for the overthrow of Rome, but did not succeed in forcing the government to change its tune.5 The political rise of the Fascist movements brought the main American political parties out of power without much of a concerted effort from the people, perhaps because the most important organizations came from white working-class people who were the primary social and cultural force behind the movement.6 The most successful Fascist faction in that era had been the N.W.A. that emerged out of the Democratic Party. It was founded on the premise that the United States had to change its culture to accommodate that global capitalist model of corporate capitalism, through which U.S. corporations were in the process of privatizing and privatizing U.S. industries.
In the mid-’60s, a movement started by many left-wing and libertarian artists and intellectuals began building anti-capitalist currents in the U.S., including the most extreme and radical ones in the U.S. music world that began to dominate the music media, including music that was not explicitly American in its early times. This movement also began to coalesce around music as a form of expression (from the Black Panthers in the U.S., to the Black National Action Movement in the U.S.) and more than 100 artists started making their voices heard. However, after the Black Panther and The Beatles were assassinated, rock was not completely dead but still associated with the music community outside of the U.S. The mainstream of music continued to have an overwhelmingly white and white minority base (as evidenced by the predominance of young black people in the country music scene) with a focus upon rap and jazz. As this black minority group developed a strong identity, they became more willing to express their political and cultural differences. By 1965 the Black Panther Party was re-established and became the largest organization that could be found in the nation, which represented virtually every major black, Latinx,
[Page 4]
5.1.3 Culture Change in the American Contemporary Contemporary Music Scene
One of the most notable examples of American music making a change from rock to pop to music to culture came in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1960s marked the first wave of change that has defined the American contemporary pop music landscape, especially the emergence of the genre of folk music and its influence on American folk music. As early as 1960, folk music were dominated by the
[Page 1]
5.1.1 Music in the American Music Scene
In 1969, when rock is still at its pre-World War II peak, some 50% of American bands were in existence, primarily under the rock label JW and R&B labels such as The Strokes, Guns N’ Roses, and The Beach Boys.5
As the nation expanded beyond what was previously known, there were several major musical divisions within the American music scene that was characterized by the dominance of rock in their respective genres. While rock certainly provided such a distinctive and meaningful musical genre, the main political and social movements within music were more largely composed of younger members and that was why rock was considered the strongest band with a very large following, despite the fact that less than 10% of the American music listeners are male.5
[Page 2]
Rock’s influence can be found, in part, in the musical genres. Many of the major American rock musicians – a large share of whom play in rock bands of all major musical genres – were black and white – making it possible for rock’s political roots to be reflected in the work they produced, even more so than in pop music or pop culture. The American rock genres generally represented a spectrum of ethnic groups, bands, and genres, ranging from rock to rock to rock to musical in-formance.
[Page 3]
5.1.2 Culture Change in the American Contemporary Music Scene
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed significant changes in the US’s music culture, the latter of which focused on American music as a form of expression of American values rather than as part of the American form. While this trend was clearly occurring as most of the major American rock organizations declined to make music (by comparison, most of the major American pop bands including The Strokes, Guns N’ Roses, Iggy Pop, The Who, and the Magnetic Fields and the Rolling Stones have disappeared from all mainstream pop music) it was also indicative of the changing American cultural landscape. Rock was no longer a viable cultural force within American culture when it emerged late in the 20th century and had been largely replaced by country music that was not even explicitly American in that regard.5
>
Pop in the 1960s: ‘Fascists vs. Americans’ (1950-1963) During the 1950s, as the movement to turn the music industry into a sort of ‘political culture,’ the U.S. saw a broad spectrum of groups from the “fascism” and left to the far right, but most of the American pop music was largely controlled by men. This marked an overall evolution that also left the major popular music movements at their most radical and extremist as a percentage of the population. But it also marked an important shift from more conservative cultural and intellectual groups that used rock as a form of expression to more militant ones that had less explicit support within the mainstream. The movement went from being a fringe movement but a part of the U.S. music culture, and it was a significant part of the overall rise of right-wing, anti-feminist social groups and ideologies. In contrast, the “Fascists” turned away from the mainstream in favor of a more nuanced style, more critical of traditional cultural forms and less anti-imperialist. This also occurred over time as the world economy expanded and the influence of the financial system and a rising middle class began to have an impact on America’s music culture. The Fascist Tendencies had been pushing for the overthrow of Rome, but did not succeed in forcing the government to change its tune.5 The political rise of the Fascist movements brought the main American political parties out of power without much of a concerted effort from the people, perhaps because the most important organizations came from white working-class people who were the primary social and cultural force behind the movement.6 The most successful Fascist faction in that era had been the N.W.A. that emerged out of the Democratic Party. It was founded on the premise that the United States had to change its culture to accommodate that global capitalist model of corporate capitalism, through which U.S. corporations were in the process of privatizing and privatizing U.S. industries.
In the mid-’60s, a movement started by many left-wing and libertarian artists and intellectuals began building anti-capitalist currents in the U.S., including the most extreme and radical ones in the U.S. music world that began to dominate the music media, including music that was not explicitly American in its early times. This movement also began to coalesce around music as a form of expression (from the Black Panthers in the U.S., to the Black National Action Movement in the U.S.) and more than 100 artists started making their voices heard. However, after the Black Panther and The Beatles were assassinated, rock was not completely dead but still associated with the music community outside of the U.S. The mainstream of music continued to have an overwhelmingly white and white minority base (as evidenced by the predominance of young black people in the country music scene) with a focus upon rap and jazz. As this black minority group developed a strong identity, they became more willing to express their political and cultural differences. By 1965 the Black Panther Party was re-established and became the largest organization that could be found in the nation, which represented virtually every major black, Latinx,
[Page 4]
5.1.3 Culture Change in the American Contemporary Contemporary Music Scene
One of the most notable examples of American music making a change from rock to pop to music to culture came in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1960s marked the first wave of change that has defined the American contemporary pop music landscape, especially the emergence of the genre of folk music and its influence on American folk music. As early as 1960, folk music were dominated by the
The popularity of the band music was started enormously with the music of some famous band groups which had some mixed flavor of our melody with Western pop-rock stream. Nowadays in Bangladesh have almost 20 established bands. These are following famous rock music band in Bangladesh,
Souls, L.R.B, Nagarbaul, Ark, Arbovirus, Artcell, Aurthohin, Beduin, Black, Bortoman, Cryptic Fate, Dalchhut, Dark, Dour, Dreek, Eclipse, Embrace Of Death, Face to Face, Feedback, Hash (#), Lalon, Maqsood O DHAKA, Mechanix, Metal Maze, Nagorik, Nemesis, Obscure, Pentagon, Powersurge, Prohor, Prometheus, Radioactive, Renaissance, Shironamhin, Stentorian, The Trap, The Watson Brothers, Warfaze.2 1.2 Background
It was in the mid 60s that Bangla rock music listeners discovered the art of creating music, reflecting the tasteful tunes and sensuous lyrics in their song compositions that came alive with extreme emotions of pathos and joy. For Bangladesh, it was a handful of self-taught musicians that got together to create original sounds and jump-started the rock scene like never before. Their efforts resulted in the birth of the Bangla Rock Scene. Among the pioneering groups in the late 60s were iconic bands like Windy Side of Care (Ex-Iolites), The Lightnings, Rambling Stones, Ugly Phases and Insex Dui etc.3
There was another band from port city Chittagong was making splash into the band music named ZINGA. It was initially formed in 1963 by a group of young college students of Chittagong College. Zinga started its journey