ART ROCK!!! What the hell is that?
If there is a weekly theme so broad that you can put very different kinds of rock music in, probably every one of your favorite bands, it's this one. You're already thinking: *Isn't all rock music art?* It's obvious it has to be narrowed down a bit, since the term points to some art outside of popular music, and a big question is: What kind of art does Art Rock refer to? Your definition of Art Rock depends on how you answer this question. Needless to say, there isn't one definition, hmmm...I might say there is no real definition at all. But, there are some guidelines, like going back when this term was first used, what it meant then and what it means now.
What every music usually labeled Art Rock has in common is the strive and the ambition to go beyond the limits of rock. The term goes all the way back to late 60s when it was almost synonymous with Progressive Rock. Here's what
allmusic says:
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Progressive rock and art rock are two almost interchangeable terms describing a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. The differences between prog-rock and art rock are often slight in practice, but do exist. Prog-rock tends to be more traditionally melodic (even when multi-sectioned compositions replace normal song structures), more literary (poetry or sci-fi/fantasy novels), and more oriented toward classically trained instrumental technique (with the exception of Pink Floyd). Art rock is more likely to have experimental or avant-garde influences, placing novel sonic texture above prog-rock's symphonic ambitions. Both styles are intrinsically album-based, taking advantage of the format's capacity for longer, more complex compositions and extended instrumental explorations.
...the first wave of Art-Rock musicians decided that the only way the genre could grow was if they could incorporate elements of European and classical music to rock......Art-rockers also frequently wrote their music as a concept album or rock operas, with the intention for the entire record to be perceived as a larger work, not a series of songs. As the genre progressed, Art-Rockers that drew from jazz instead of classical emerged, but the genre never quite shook its fascination with European music.
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Relation of Art Rock to Experimental Rock (
allmusic)
Quote:
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Experimental rock is tangentally related to Art-Rock. It shares many of the same traits as Art-Rock, particularly in how it self-consciously expands the boundaries of the genre, yet it is more challenging, noisy and unconventional. It has more to do with modern art, particularly the avant garde, than classical music and consequentally Experimental Rock isn't nearly as easy to assimilate as conventional Art-Rock.
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Wikipedia page tries to cover many definitions, but here's one that has some relation to Glam Rock.
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The Guide to the Progressive Rock Genres......also gives another definition of "art rock", which "describes music of a more mainstream compositional nature, tending to experimentation within this framework", such as "Early" Roxy Music, David Bowie, Brian Eno's 70s rock music, and Be-Bop Deluxe.
Connolly and Company argue that the "creation of the 'art rock' sub-genre, whose members were identified by music played with artistic ideals (e.g., Roxy Music, 10cc)... was in many ways a response to prog rock’s long-winded concepts, an attempt to condense progressive rock’s ideas into shorter, self-standing songs." He argues that "Art rock’s lifespan was brief, generally contained to the ‘70s."
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Art rock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You can read here what else Art Rock may refer to, its relation to New Wave and especially New Romanticism and what it means today. (Check out the interesting
talk page that will persuade you that you actually have no idea what the hell is art rock)
For early history:
The Early History of Art-Rock/Prog Rock
So enough of this talk, let's listen to some music. This is what first comes to my mind:
Brian Eno (Before and After Science, 1977)
David Bowie (Low, 1977)
What is it that you immediately think of when you hear "Art Rock"?