I have a theory (I’m guessing it isn’t original to me) that our culture is an endless cycle of classical and baroque phases. By “classical,” I mean simple and clean; by “baroque,” I mean complex and moody. In visual terms, classical means the use of unadorned straight lines, and baroque means the use of curves and adornment; the one reflects the male physique, and the other the feminine. The analogy to yin and yang in Chinese thought is obvious.
Applying this idea to American and British pop music over the last sixty years or so, and admitting that my knowledge of the music of some eras is limited, here is what you get:
- The predominant pop music of the fifties was a reflection of the times; a generation that had survived the Great Depression and World War II, and was living under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust, was understandably both hopeful and world-weary. You can hear this in many of the songs of Frank Sinatra.
- The rock and roll of the late fifties and early sixties was extremely simple and testosterone-driven and was thus, in its way, “classical.” As the rock bands actually learned how to write and play, however, the music became increasingly baroque, and the performances evolved into something far more elaborate. Think of the differences between the Beatles singing “She Loves You” on the one hand and “Sgt. Pepper,” “Tommy,” and “Hotel California” on the other.
- The baroque and allegedly overblown rock music of the 1970’s caused the pendulum to switch back. As a result, you had three new and different kinds of direct and simple and thus “classical” pop music: disco; punk; and rap.
- Today, it is obvious that the predominant tendency (notwithstanding “classical” groups like the xx) is baroque. Rap has become much more complex, and taps into a variety of emotions, not just anger. Anyone watching a typical concert video or the Grammys will be struck by how elaborate the presentations are; Exhibit “A” is Beyonce’s presentation at the Grammys last month.
- The scene is therefore set for another swing of the pendulum to neo-folk or neo-punk or some kind of new “classical” form of popular music.
- The worm has already turned in our politics. Late Obama was elegant, world-weary, and baroque, but Trump is the political equivalent of a punk rocker: inarticulate; incapable of expressing any emotion except anger; profane; outrageous; and indifferent to conventional opinion and values.
And thus, the title of this post: Trump is the Johnny Rotten of American politics.