Sonic Threads

it is interesting to note there is seemingly a sonic thread, in terms of content, message, philosophy in the music of the last decades; and this thread even continues along the seemingly rifts in music; the breaks between declining and new genres, and creates a bit of a whole connection.
60s rock, hippie, countercultural revolt grew stale in the 70s; i think this also shows in their music, and i think "the wall" by pink floyd is a good example of this. it paints a complete bleak, depressing hopeless picture. take a look of the lyrics of its song, "Another Brick In The Wall Part 3"

I don't need no arms around me
And I dont need no drugs to calm me.
I have seen the writing on the wall.
Don't think I need anything at all.
No! Don't think I'll need anything at all.
All in all it was all just bricks in the wall.
All in all you were all just bricks in the wall.

the ending point. all is hopeless. how to go on from this? this was the ending of the first rock period that originated in the 60s. yet, something new was beginning. the punk explosion. and, lyricwise, and in their philosophy, they actually went on from this. okay, so everything is shit. everything is hopeless. but hey, let's have fun with that. we got decay? give us more decay. gives us anarchy, nihilism. "there is no future on in englands dreaming". so get on the floor and get wild to the guitars.
so, even though punk wanted to be a total break from 60s and 70s rock, which they saw as "hippie" music, in content, they went on from it (and transcended it). this was likely not a conciousness decision - but it is interesting, to find indications for this thing.

a second example is the acid house and techno explosion, which came at a point when "indie" and genres as shoegaze dominated the subcultures.
punk had given way to postpunk, new wave and indie bands. while they had their cheerful moments too, they were also in most cases considerably bleak in their lyrical and sonic content.
yet, at the end (but also from the beginning), in their content, they reached a strange form of transcendence. okay, everything is bleak, everything is hopeless. but if you realise this, if you give in, if you see that all is in vain, you reach some point of exalted feeling of freedom. give up the world and the world won't faze you anymore. yes, it all was in vain, but it doesnt matter. it doesn't reach you.
this not only was the end of postpunk, or a certain grey worldview; it was also the farthest deconstruction of the modern worldview in general, with its ideas, morals and values, that had lost its meaning for its youth and discontent.
now, the interesting thing, is that techno and rave exactly pick up at that point, in their mindset and spectrum of ideas. postpunk led to the point that all in the world was meaningless. so rave tried to create something that was outside the common and of meaning again. techno in its ideology, at the beginning at least, was very unwordly. go into ecstasy, into trance, "higher states of consciousness", into introspection and bliss. also, the issues of everyday experience were negated to an extreme point: we don't care about the political systems anymore, about cold wars, nuclear arms, all the bleak and disappointing issues in this world: let's dance, have fun, enjoy your life, relax and be happy.

so, techno originated from the meaningless, and set out to create meaning again. inevitably, the ecstasy and exaltation of rave grew stale about a decade later too, again. but it is interesting to see this ongoing sonic thread; and it is to wonder, what will be the next developement, the next movement?