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Post by Telso on Sept 21, 2020 20:36:50 GMT 10
I mean aside from Kraftwerk in Europe and one odd track here and there, there was hardly any interest for the public to even have electronic instruments included into their favorite music. And this went on until the new wave revolution at the end of the decade. Which is weird because the 1960s in comparison had a ton more keyboard-driven songs becoming huge hits.
I mean sure, soft rock had a totalitarian control over the pop charts throughout the decade, but this mid-1970s song proves that even soft rock artists could include some electronic soundfonts into their music:
The technology was clearly there, but why such lack of interest?
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Post by SharksFan99 on Sept 21, 2020 22:04:58 GMT 10
I think it comes down to a couple of factors. The biggest one in my opinion is simply due to how ubiquitous and influential rock was at that time; it was still riding off the momentum it had built up from the advent of the British Invasion in 1963/64 and the counter-culture of the late '60s. You've got to remember, at the beginning of the '70s, the counter-culture was still in full-swing and the likes of Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles etc. were revolutionising the genre and taking it in directions no one would have dreamt off. It was simply too influential for any other form of music to have stood a chance in capturing the same interest levels and engagement that rock was enjoying at the time. Woodstock was held only months earlier, and in 1970, rock 'n roll's huge cultural breakthrough was only 15 years ago. There were lots of avenues to explore with rock, and because the genre itself was still a relatively new cultural movement, that was the primary reason which resulted in rock remaining the most popular form of music for the entirety of the '70s.
Also, I would argue that the only reason as for why Kraftwerk ever became a household name in the first place was simply due to their public image being a huge novelty, rather than there being a demand in the electronic music they were releasing. Would they have ever become as successful if the band members had not adopted their 'life-size mannequin' personas and robotic poses? I doubt it. When it comes to electronic music in general, I think the genre and the technology itself were still too "out there" for most people to accept. It was too "sci-fi", or "futuristic", so to speak. Most people probably wouldn't have perceived it as being 'real music'.
You're right in that there were keyboard-driven songs released during the '60s, however they are still not comparable to the synthpop and keyboard-driven tracks released since the 1980s. It takes time for tastes in music to change. Hip-hop didn't become a cultural phenomenon overnight; "Rapper's Delight" was released way back in 1979, it wasn't until 1990 that a song released by a rapper reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. I think the same comparison can be made with electronic music.
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