I've just had the honour to take part in the greatest tribute to Rock 'n' Roll that I know of. It is "Rock 'n' Roll, the Opposites, & Our Greatest Hopes -- A Celebration!"
With songs from 1954 up to this very millennium, we present what Aesthetic Realism explains; that all art is for justice, for life, and against cruelty.
Eli Siegel, founder of Aesthetic Realism, gave a lesson in the 1960's to a rock musician, and in it he explained the meaning and purpose of rock 'n' roll. A person's private, often painful, thoughts are made public, made into a rip-roaring celebration of organised (and often wild!) sound. A purpose of rock 'n' roll, he said, is to shatter what he called "The Ordinary Doom" -- the feeling in every person that what we feel to ourselves will never be known.
This presentation shows that rock 'n' roll by its very nature is ethical. Singers and instruments join with each other, add to each other's meaning -- they don't diminish each other, even when they conflict; the purpose is to bring out meaning, to show this is a world with a structure that makes sense. This is so different from what happens in racism, where one person builds himself/herself up falsely by making less of another.
Do not miss our next performance: Sunday, September 28, at 2:30 pm. Call ahead for reservations to be sure of a seat: 212 777 4490.
For more on how Aesthetic Realism sees the great subject of Rock 'n' Roll, see:
Ellen Reiss on the meaning of music, including the Rolling Stones
Kevin Fennell on the life and art of Elvis Presley
My article on The Beatles' "She Loves You"
The Opposites in Music class taught by Barbara Allen, Anne Fielding, and Edward Green
