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Led Zeppelin was inspired by the American R&B much like
many of their contemporaries. What the brought to the table
was some keen musicianship that had a sound that was bigger,louder and
exaggerated compared to the other at the time.
Now other bands that grew off of them took that bigger, louder
sound, and focused more of the darker elements (gothic images, satanism) that
Led Zep and the Rolling Stones didn't actively promote or make part of their
showmanship. Groups like Black Sabbath and KISS did this and made the
theatrics of such central to their music as well as their image and
experience.
That being said, I believe Black Sabbath for
alot of Brits and Euros, and KISS for many Americans, were the origins of
cockrock. The main defining features are the over-the-top theatrics, dark
themes, as well as an exaggerated sense of musicianship. Not Led Zeppelin.
They were the first band to flagrantly take advantage of all of the freedoms and
oppulence that a mega-popular rock band could. They were too busy getting drunk,
laid, and/or high to care about what kind of image they put across, and quite
possibly because it wasn't part of the blues tradition that they patterned
themselves after. That's why the theatrics of KISS and Sabbath were so
influential during the 80s because such imagery lended itself well to the
nascent music video marketing revolution.
"pills bring ennui"
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