Welcome to my blog 🙂 Follow along for some very interesting topics that were discussed throughout the fall 2016 semester in Music, Media and Society at The New School!
I am sure most, if not all of you have heard the term “sex drugs and rock and roll” and have thought that this is a popular term used by many to portray the peace and love era when everything was… well, acceptable. But actually, drug use in music has been a topic of discussion and debate since at least the 1930s if not earlier, and the term “sex, drugs and rock and roll” didn’t always use to appear as a combination. We tend to think of these themes as a kind of representation of the Woodstock generation. Believe it or not: the association of music with using various substances dates back centuries, and goes on and on into today’s record and music video industry, constantly linking musicians with recreational drug use.
Certainly, the combination of “sex drugs and rock and roll” stands as a symbol of rebellion, of freedom, and of disenchanted youth. In analyzing this blend, social historians have essentially blamed rock and roll for drugs, blamed sex for rock and roll, and accused each of inspiring — or inciting — the other two. This blog takes a closer look at the history and the upbringing of the profane culture that was born along with rock and roll.
Sex and drugs in rock and roll music 