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BIG CHANGE & THE FEELS THE ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS Pippa Bailey
What does the title of this piece make you think of? A rock band swinging laidback surf tunes? Could be. That’s a good start for this story; music connected to nature with a smooth, feel-good ambiance. Urban myths tell us that surf music was connected to the babes and dudes who spent their sun-kissed time on the waves. Those tunes expressed the vibe of an easy life with a, then, new technology: the wet spring reverb that ‘sounded like waves’. It was the late 1950s, and the USA was in a period of great social change, with Cold War fear of communism underpinning the aspirational American Dream. This music helped pioneer a new global music business and conjured yearning for growth, youth and freedom. It was part of a sea change where mass produced spinning vinyl played new tunes to millions across the world.
