Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966-1970 : How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era

The convergence of rock music, counterculture politics and avant-garde aesthetics in the late 1960s underscored the careers of the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, and the Velvet Underground. This book examines these artists' relationships to the historical avant-garde (Artaud, Brecht, Dada) and neo-avant-garde (Warhol, Pop Art, minimalism), considering their work in light of debates about modernism versus postmodernism. The author analyzes the performers' use of dissonance and noise within popular music, the role of social commentary and controversial topics in songs, and the experiments with concert and studio performance. Albums discussed include Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, Freak Out!, We're Only in It for the Money, The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light/White Heat , as well as John Lennon's collaborations with Yoko Ono, the Zappa-produced Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, and Nico's The Marble Index . All you need is studio time (or, The ballad of John and Yoko) : The Beatles. Rebranding the Beatles : Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) Music television : Magical Mystery Tour (1967) The dialectic of Lennon/McCartney : The Beatles (a.k.a. The white album) (1968) One bad apple : John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the avant-garde turn Breaking up is hard to do : Abbey Road (1969) and Let it be (1970) No commercial potential : Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Zappa in context : Pal Recording Studio and The Steve Allen show (1963) Motherly Summer of Love : Freak out! (1966) Nothing succeeds like excess : Absolutely free and "rock theater" (1967) The conscience of a (practical) conservative : We're only in it for the money (1968) Project/Object : Zappa, mass culture and postmodernism All tomorrow's parties : The Velvet Underground. Andy says : The Exploding Plastic Inevitable and The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967) The black album : White light/White heat (1968) Playing it safe : The Velvet Underground (1969) and Loaded (1970) Conclusion. The avant-garde goes pop. "This book examines these artists' relationship to the historical avant-garde and neo-avant-garde, considering their work in light of debates about modernism versus postmodernism. The author analyzes how performers used dissonance and noise within music, the role of social commentary in songs, and how experiments with concert and studio performance proceeded in cultural and political unrest"-- Provided by publisher