Musical Characteristics - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Who, Bruce Springsteen, and the Fragmentation of the Music of the 1970s Bruce Springsteen is a musical force that uses a literary sense to drivethe direction of his music as it embodies the characters that can be found in the traditions of the American landscape. According to biographer Bob Crane, Springsteen “allows [place] to take shape as character, and, at its best, as a force that influences the choices and decisions of his protagonists” (Masur 99). Bruce Springsteen created a sense of the ‘guy’, the working man who was represented through the work as it became focused on the life and emotions of men within the blue collar framework.

Freedoms and passions are held in contrast to the obligations and struggles of what it means to be an American male. Springsteen captures the grit and the realism of a New Jersey working stiff through his music that is paralleled to none. The characteristics of the music of the who can be described by the guitar sound of Pete Townsend and his power chords, which is specifically identified through hard strumming and high levels of amplifier feedback with distortion. The vocals of Roger Daltrey were examples of the prelude to glam rock with his Jesus manifestation in long blond hair and rock god presence.

According to Prown and Newquist “The Who were at the forefront …of a pop fashion movement sweeping the country [of England] called Mods…amphetamine popping teenagers whose credo insisted on their dressing better than anyone else” (72). The 1970s were diverse in music as the emergence of high levels of media began to fragment the music industry through popular trends that would manifest in musical interpretation. Disco, hard rock, alternative rock, and country music suddenly were forming their own genres and beginning to have a style and running commentary on culture that defined their demographic.

The many splits in music were defined by the nature of visual representations of rebellions and conformities that were embraced by the audiences that bought the music. Works Cited Masur, Louis P, and Bruce Springsteen. Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009. Print. Prown, Pete, and Harvey P. Newquist. Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Milwaukee, WI: Leonard, 1997. Print.