The Music of the Mod Movement

 After the post-WWII baby-boom, London was a young and progressive city filled with teens and young adults who often aligned themselves with various movements. Many of these movements had a strong connection with music and the mod movement was no different. The insatiable desire for everything cool that was ever-present in the affluent working class mods lead them to R&B  and jazz music. It appealed to them because it was off the beaten track and went against that status quo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzKUoxL11E

The Supremes were an example of the type of music that appealed to early mods. Black, American music was extremely popular among them and could be listened to on records or in coffee shops ( a favorite meeting place of mods). This music was soulful and passionate, and certainly different from what had been popular in the country before the mod movement.

But this soulful American music didn't captivate the mods for too long. Soon, mods were producing their own music. And no one had quite the affect that the Who did. The Who was the quintessential mod band. In fact Pete Townshend - the songwriter and guitar player for the Who even said "I am a mod." The Who and other such mod bands were huge trend setters and took pride in that fact. They - the musicians themselves were members of the movement, not some outside force, and they tried to impact it in anyway they could. Townshend claimed that "what was interesting about what the Who did is that we took things which were happening in the pop genre and represent them in a new way." Very clearly, mod musicians gave a lot to the movement but took a lot from it as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7FrIt352VE

This song, The Punk and the Godfather by the Who displays the feelings of the mods at the time. Here, Townshend feels betrayed and disappointed by the modern rock movement, a feeling many mods at the time shared.

The music the mods listened to was their music, it was written by their own. It was relateable and listening to it now, it's a direct connection to the movement that started over 50 years ago. Eventually though, the movement began to decline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU5zqidlxMQ

This song by the popular mod band, the Yardbirds was an example of a mod band beginning to appeal more to the masses. It's cited as the reason guitarist Eric Clapton left the group. He claimed it was too similar to pop music and a departure from the R&B style music they had played in the past.

The movement would eventually be replaced by other movements, such as the hippie and punk mpvements, but the music, and the movement it represent continue to influence our modern culture.

Sources:

Townshend, Pete. Who I Am: A Memoir. New York: Harper, 2012. Print.

Gambaccini, P. (1982). Ageing rock superstars. the who: Now for their first final appearance? Listener, 108, 22-23. Retrieved