Rock's Collective Conscious

Rock music can be referred to as, the collective expression of the tribe. From a purely sociological perspective, it is the most cultural object that society possesses. The tribe; meaning society itself, derives a sense of collective identity through its manifestation.
It is at its core, the definition of shared meaning that takes on the form of the culture of the society that creates it. This is why it can never be judged as good or evil, if you were to force rock and roll into a box, it would find a knife, slash through the box and run, and not once look back.

It is a reflection of who we are and where we are headed, and yet it is who we are and where we are headed. Rock dares to cross that ancient border between culture being a reflection of society and society being a reflection of culture. It dares to settle that argument once and for all, by simultaneously occupying both spaces at once within our hearts and minds.

The song "Imagine" by John Lennon, one of the most popular and certainly the most visionary of all time; has experienced a resurgence in acknowledgement through being covered by today's artists. Today, in the midst of what is referred to as a recession, but is more accurately defined as a depression, who would not want to imagine a place where there are no possessions, with no need for greed or hunger, and everyone living in peace as brothers? Even the most cynical person would have to agree that this would be a better world than the one we have today. "Imagine" has metamorphosed from a personal dream of an artist to become the aim and focus of over one million people that have organized themselves into a non-profit group, with the sole purpose of carrying out the meaning of this song, by declaring the earth's resources as common heritage to all and transforming society from the ground up. Rock music does contain the seeds of transformation, but what we become, is entirely up to us. I will not go so far as to say rock is holy or sacred, but it has its beautiful moments when it shines on us, showing us who we are and what we really can be.

Perhaps rock contains so much darkness and light all at once because music itself is the marriage of sound and silence. Somewhere between the sound of beating drums and soaring guitars and voices, and the time intervals that separate them, maybe we discover something about our selves. Perhaps we are looking for something collectively that brings us to a place of vulnerability where our deepest thoughts and feelings become exposed. Somewhere where we are not afraid to feel because we know for certain that "a heart that hurts is a heart that beats." Rock and roll takes us to this place.