Could rap/hip-hop, heavy metal, or electronic music been popular in the 1950s?

[nitroglycerine]

@ultrafilter

But the attitude could only take hold post-Vietnam. It would’ve been completely reviled.

I don’t know…all the basic ingredients were there. I’ve heard some crazy fifties rockabilly that makes the Cramps sound tame, not to mention all the leftist protest music and crazy R&B from that era. I think it could have found an audience.

Heck, people like Little Richard and Jerry Lee were probably more threatening to white bread America than any bunch of modern punk rockers were.

Besides, the Stones pretty much sold that attitude and they were popular before Vietnam became an issue.

Now I’m not saying Richie Cunningham and the gang would have been digging stuff like Crass, Dead Kennedys or (heh heh) GG Allin (Could you imagine if Mrs. C. caught Joanie playing “Suck My Ass It Smells” on the record player? :eek: ), but they would have dug the basic stuff like The Ramones, The Heartbreakers or X. Its got a good beat. And you can dance to it.

[ccwaterback]

I seriously doubt anything with anti-religion or anti-government sentiments would get airplay.

[Chairman_Pow]

@Dahnlor

If you brought back Sepultra, you’d be burned at the stake, definitely. When I imagine it (it used to be Iron Maiden, but that was before Sepultra), I usually bring along some impressive modern weaponry to fend off the superstitious medieval townies.

To be sure, heavily distorted metal is an acquired taste and trying to separate the sounds in a lot of it would be really difficult, especially for medieval types who really didn’t hear a lot of polyphony. Given that my Mom had to put up with for a long time and it sounded to her what noise bands sound like to me (i.e. one big blur of indistinct sound), I can only imagine what someone who never heard electric instruments would say.

[ultrafilter]

Er, medieval types?