The Ideal of Rock and Roll

Music is the most important thing in the world to Bangs, and rock and roll is his favorite kind of music. However, he does not like all, or even most, of what is labeled rock and roll. For Bangs, rock should not be overly complicated because it is not the technical skill of the musician that determines the quality of a rock song as it is in jazz. In fact, Bangs often embraces bands that lack technical skill or even proficiency because they are forced to rely solely on their emotion to make great music. Furthermore, Bangs enjoys watching bands progress from unskilled to skilled as they mature.

According to Bangs, a rock song should focus on passionate personal emotion. This is why Bangs dismisses hippie music that has overt political themes and most of the art rock of the 1970s. Bangs believes...