> Consider this: music as metaphor, which surely existed before the Beatles, became required for any serious critical acceptance. Before that, Rock and Roll was

> Consider this: music as metaphor, which surely existed before the Beatles, became required for any serious critical acceptance. Before that, Rock and Roll was pure bubblegum, and afterwards: a political force. I think there's a tendency music fans have of overstating the impact of the bands they like (Velvet Underground is another good example). But from what I've seen, there very rarely is a case where a single musician or band comes along and single-handedly changes everything. Usually there are a lot of musicians influenced by and playing off each other that move along a general trend, and from what I've listened to that was very much what was happening in the 60's. In terms of lyrical complexity and political commentary in modern American pop music, I'd say that a lot of that starts happening in the more folk-aligned circles (such as Simon and Garfunkel or Dylan) before you see its influence in other groups like the Beatles.