Contemporary Western culture, in all its music and films and art and literature, has, for the last century been seeped in liberalism, and that hasn’t always been a bad thing. In the early 20th century, when music as a commodity was still a novel idea, American culture was far more conservative than today. It was largely through liberal ideas that art – in all its different mediums – was able to grow and evolve. The entire raison d’être of rock-and-roll has always been eschewing conventional orthodoxies for fresh sounds, and its lyrical themes often mirror that unorthodox approach. That’s why in 1967, the Ed Sullivan show refused to air the Doors’ first hit, “Light My Fire,” citing its drug-laden lyrics.
But today, we live in an entirely different era. Songs like Cardi B’s “WAP” climb the pop charts. They don’t push artistic boundaries; instead, they add to a homogenous ocean of pop music, brimming with lascivious self-indulgence. For true innovation, many feel compelled to look back to the era of what is now deemed classic rock. Despite rock’s often liberal leanings, conservative themes can be found throughout the genre.
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