Personally I view the development of popular music genres such as rock and pop music to be a positive thing. I think when artists experiment and push the genre into new territories (such as many rock artists did in the 1960’s) it leaves room for artists after them to continue the progression they started or to mix and blend these new styles. I think when a genre sticks to the same format and never changes it stagnates the genre, but also leads fans to become bored with it very quickly after the initial fascination dies down and something new takes it’s place in mainstream society. Even though early rock ‘n’ rollers such as Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc. were popular at the time had bands such as The Beatles, Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, etc. stayed in that formula of simple R&B based music about sex and cars I feel rock music’s popularity would have fizzled out and many people would have lost interest in it. Because of the artists of the 1960’s changing and experimenting more by pushing boundaries with new recording technology rock’s development not only enticed audiences but showed the larger music community that this was a serious form of music and not just a “teenybopper trend” as it was viewed in it’s earlier years. By the time rock was established in the 1970’s many bands seemed to have perfected the genre and their own individual sounds whether they chose to draw on already established styles (ex. Led Zeppelin), continue with experimentation (ex. Pink Floyd), or return to rock’s roots (ex. the Ramones). I think development becomes detrimental when artists don’t know how to keep themselves grounded and experiment too far in certain directions, a prime example being the progressive rock movement in the 1970’s. While it established the complexity and intellect of rock music was sometimes too pretentious and ridiculous with 10+ minute songs featuring four keyboards, two guitars, two drummers, etc. which is what sparked first wave punk rock groups to return to the simple early rock ‘n’ roll format. I think the balance is needed for a genre to continue to grow and develop in a healthy manner because when you only have one direction it looses audiences, depth, and appeal. With both complex and simple forms of rock music coinciding it gave birth for a steady middle ground to develop the genre further with bands such as Fugazi and Sonic Youth in the late 1980-1990’s. Bands such as them were able to make “simple” complex rock music or “complex” simple rock music depending on how you look at it. I think a good modern example of a band that continues to develop the genre without becoming too over the top with experimentation are The Strokes who take influence from older rock but experiment with newer sounds. While their newest music is not as critically or culturally acclaimed as their earlier work they manage to keep evolving as a group by exploring various aspects of rock music (new and old) to maintain a new style.