Philosophy at 33 1/3 rpm: Themes of Classic Rock Music

by James Franklin Harris

True friendship, true community, social and sexual alienation, the death of God, the importance of the present momnet, individual autonomy, the corruption of the state, revolution, the end of the present age -- such are the intellectual themes of classic rock.

Sixties rock music left behind the harmless bubblegum and surfing ditties of the 1950s to become a vehicle for the thoughtful commentary upon the human condition. Theories and motifs from philosophy, theology, and literature were reshaped, refracted, and transfigured in this intelligent new popular art form.
Classic rock, argues James harris, should be taken as seriously as the loftiest creations of art and literature. In 'Philosophy at 33 1/3 rpm,' he lays the groundwork for an informed appreciation by exhibiting philosophical themes in the finest rock songs.

Professor Harris's examples encompass all the major rock artists of the classic period (1962-1974), including Paul Simon, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, The Moody Blues, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and Joni Mitchell.

His analyses draw upon the ideas of Aristotle, Bonhoeffer, Camus, Descartes, Freud, Kant, Laing, Marcuse, Marx, Nietzche, Nozick, Rousseau, Sartre, Thoroeau, and Tillich, as well as the Bible and other scriptures, to situate the preoccupations of the classic rock lyricists in the Western intellectual tradition.

Genres: Music

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

James Harris previously taught at Transylvania University and the University of Georgia before coming to William & Mary in 1974. He received his BA in philosophy and religion from the University of Georgia and his PhD in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford (1973-74 and 1977-78) and Dartmouth College (1985-86). He is the author of numerous articles in domestic and foreign journals, and he is the author of Against Relativism: A Philosophical Defense of Method(LaSalle, IL: Open Court Publishing Company,1992), Philosophical at 33 rpm: Themes of Classic Rock Music (LaSalle, IL: Open Court Publishing Company,1993), and, most recetnly, Analytic Philosophy of Religion(Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academiic Publishers, 2002). He has also edited Analyticity (Chicago, IL: Quadrangle Books, 1970) and Logic, God, and Metaphysics (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992). Harris is also an associate editor of The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. He is currently beginning work on a book on human nature.

Reviews

[Alex Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book which looks at philosophical aspects of mainly American rock music from the 1960s and 1970s. It reminded me of my own book "The Fifties Child: A Social History Through the Eyes of Barclay James Harvest", which looks at the social history behind BJH's and other British rock artists living through the 1960s.

I guess the reason I've given this 4* is because I prefer/understand social history more than philosophy: the book dwells on it perhaps too much (certainly for my taste), although I can understand the author's reluctance to quote more widely from songs as the rights are VERY expensive to buy. It's a shame because otherwise there would be more books like this - rock music lyrics from that period are very worthy of analysis!