Rock Opera 101
...was a short-lived series I wrote in the summer of 2025 spinning off from my research for my honors thesis, which at the time was tentatively titled A Faith in Something Bigger: The Who's Tommy, 1969-2024. I learned much about the rock opera as a genre at large and figured They were initially released in video essay format on YouTube, perusable here. A piece on S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things is currently in drafting limbo as well and will be featured here if I ever get it done.
A brief rumination on the “concept album” and the sixties
Sgt. Pepper’s ✦ Brian Wilson ✦ the myths of cultural history
✽ ✽ ✽
From showtunes to melodrama: storytelling and poetry in sixties pop
The Poetry of Rock ✦ Anthony Newley ✦ the Great American Songbook ✦ female pop stars
✽ ✽ ✽
On three early rock operas: “A Teenage Opera”,
“Simon Simopath”, and “The Magic Garden”
Mark Wirtz ✦ Nirvana ✦ the Fifth Dimension and Jimmy Webb
Sgt. Pepper’s ✦ Brian Wilson ✦ the myths of cultural history
✽ ✽ ✽
From showtunes to melodrama: storytelling and poetry in sixties pop
The Poetry of Rock ✦ Anthony Newley ✦ the Great American Songbook ✦ female pop stars
✽ ✽ ✽
On three early rock operas: “A Teenage Opera”,
“Simon Simopath”, and “The Magic Garden”
Mark Wirtz ✦ Nirvana ✦ the Fifth Dimension and Jimmy Webb