The class will be held at Deering High on Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m. starting Sept. 12. Fees are $80-90, and you must purchase “Sonic Cool” (at Waldenbooks or Borders). Call 775-0432 (also www.portlandadulted.org) to register.
Assuming the class might be the coolest thing this fall, I contacted Harrington to get to the bottom of this school of rock.
Why should we educate ourselves about the history of rock ‘n roll?
It’s the most significant art form of the 20th century, the modern Classical music (hence “classic rock”) or the Renaissance of our age. No other modern art form has had as much impact on the culture at large. In the ‘60s, in particular, everyone from Hollywood to the political left was taking its philosophical cue from rock ‘n roll. It’s a very important part of modern history, besides being great music.
How is the course organized and why? And what do you most want students to leave with?
It’s organized chronologically, but that’s not saying on certain weeks it won’t just turn into a good bull session. I want my students to leave knowing that their favorite band, like say the White Stripes, are part of a whole long illustrious tradition, and it’s important to know because it says something about human evolution. Plus, in increasingly conservative times, people ought to know that mass rebellions like psychedelia and punk actually happened in America ... not that long ago.
In your opinion, what are the top five most influential bands throughout the history of rock?
James Brown & His Famous Flames, the Beatles, Black Sabbath, Sex Pistols and Sonic Youth.
With most modern rock sounding damn near the same, has the rock music of today lost its integrity?
There’s still some interesting stuff out there (the bands that formed around the axis of the Brian Jonestown Massacre come readily to mind, not to mention the Swedish groups like the Hellacopters or the chanteuse Marianne Nowottny or Ladytron), but I’d hesitate to call it rock. It’s “post-everything” (as the book makes clear). It’s getting increasingly harder to break out from the corporate mold, a trend that I imagine will only get worse with increasing industry consolidation (including radio).
Where is the future of rock heading?
I think you’ll see less and less legitimacy in the marketplace itself, with a vast underworld of homemade product (downloading has helped obviously), which really proves the point of the book all along — in 100 years rock has totally returned to its plantation roots, and the public hit parade is very much like vaudeville. Nothing new, in other words.