Even At Their Saltiest

“Add the guitar-centeredness of the rest of early rock, and you have a significant shift: away from an emotionally expressive vocalism and toward and athletically aggressive instrumentalism. With hindsight, we can see some rather striking sexual connotations in this shift. The controlled vocalism of genuine blues suggest power, intensity, and energy being harnessed—as opposed to repressed. The runaway instrumentalism of early rock suggests a lot of blocked, undifferentiated energy being released, in an uncontrollable rush. Blues performers know how to stop and take a breath, even in the midst of apparent ecstasy. They never lose their ability to address the audience, either by singing, playing, or talking. It is here that we find the sexual connotation. The capacity to communicate, even in the midst of passion, is what separates human lovemaking from dehumanized sex. Thus, even at their saltiest, blues performers always maintain a sense of reciprocity with their audiences. The guitar virtuosos, by contrast, lose themselves in a masturbatory fantasy. This contrast in performance style parallels the distinction between eroticism and obscenity—a distinction that would soon be lost on the youthful avatars of rock” (Martha Bayles, Hole in our Soul, p. 200).