Classic rock is here to stay
By JACLYN WEISSMAN
10/16/09
Most students find it hard to imagine a time before The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead. Classic rock shook up our country's
pop culture from the 1960s through the early 1980s, and remains very
much alive on Lehigh's campus today.
While some students were raised with Bruce Springsteen blasting from
their parents' stereos and knew the lyrics to Aerosmith's "Walk This
Way" before they even realized they had memorized them, others
weren't exposed to classic rock until they arrived on campus their
freshman year.
"Whenever I was in the car with my dad I would always listen to
classic rock," Andrew Hutnikoff, '11, said.
Brandon Feil, '10, on the other hand, didn't know much about classic
rock until his fraternity brothers introduced it to him.
"I would say that college is a great place to be exposed to music
that people aren't otherwise exposed to," Feil said. "In high school
there's a trend to listen to pop music, but in college, everyone has
their own thing that they listen to."
Now, Feil and his roommate Brian Berner, '10, have a massive "yellow
submarine" and portrait of The Beatles painted onto the walls of
their fraternity room. The paintings cover almost half of the wall
space and even expand onto parts of the ceiling.
"It's an icon and The Beatles are iconic music. Everyone recognizes
it," Berner said.
Classic rock songs are mixed into the music sets by James Pachucki,
'11, when he works as a DJ at the Lehigh Pub. Pachucki said "Born in
the USA" and "Don't Stop Believing" are among the guaranteed crowd pleasers.
Clubs and bars aren't the only venues around campus where classic
rock is played, though. John Holtz, '10, said it's hard to find a
party or even a dorm room not playing the classics.
Jesse Krinsky, '09, has been playing the drums since he was 10 years
old and has continued to play in bands during his time at Lehigh. His
band, The Lars Danko, plays rock cover music in addition to original
music. He said Tom Petty songs like "Free Falling" and "Mary Jane's
Last Dance" are his favorite cover songs to play.
"The biggest influences as a drummer are Rush and Led Zeppelin," said
Krinsky, who grew up listening to bands like Van Halen and Styx.
Chris Pflum, '10, said he thinks classic rock bands are more genuine
than today's artists.
"This genre of music wasn't recorded with Pro Tools and is more of a
real audio," Pflum said. "It's not like you have multiple over-dubs.
You're almost listening to the band as the band is actually playing."
Lehigh students still flock to classic rock concerts to witness these
timeless artists rocking out.
Audrey Rodriguez, '12, who also grew up listening to classic rock in
the back seat of her dad's car, attended the Bruce Springsteen
concert at Giant Stadium with two of her sorority sisters on Oct. 8.
"It was absolutely amazing. I wasn't expecting it to be that great.
He played 'Thunder Road', 'Born to Run' and 'Jungleland,'" Rodriguez
said. "All of the songs that I wanted to hear I heard."
To add to the trend of blasting oldies rock music at parties and
covering dorm walls with Pink Floyd posters, students can also be
caught spending their free time strumming away to these classics on
Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
People who buy these games can play their favorite rock songs by
Aerosmith, Van Halen and Metallica. Not only can students listen to
their favorite songs, but they can also play them recreationally.
Just last month, Harmonix Music System and MTV Games released The
Beatles Rock Band. The game has quickly found its way onto Lehigh's campus.
Dedicated solely to Beatles music, it has a similar make-up to the
original Rock Band, but offers many special features and displays
"trippy" background videos. The tour mode allows players to begin at
the start of The Beatles' career and follow various Beatles tours by
playing the same music set that they played at each of that tour's venues.
"I think the game is a good way for younger kids to be able to
connect to The Beatles and classic rock," Lara Perlstein, '10, said.
"Not only can you play along to the amazing Beatles songs, but you
can also see chronologically how the band became the icons they are today."
Krinsky said he liked playing The Beatles Rock Band, but is not a fan
of many current pop music groups because they often keep kids away
from learning to play actual instruments.
Students asked to choose only one favorite rock song released between
the '60s and early '80s struggled before throwing out titles such as
"Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "L.A. Woman" by the
Doors and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" by The Beatles.
Though the music industry continues to be directed toward pop, rap
and modern rock music, there is no doubt that classic rock is
steadily holding its ground. AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix and The Who are part
of a movement born years ago that is still highly influential today.
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