Rock and Roll classes offer a new twist on school

Classes are sometimes thought of as dry and dull, compromised of tasks used more as nap time than for taking notes. But that's what you're paying tuition for, so you drag yourself through the slush against your will. But if you look hard enough, you can find classes that genuinely spark your interest and have you actually looking forward to the next lecture.\nThe IU School of Music offeres classes that are popular among students -- rock history classes that teach students about how our culture has changed over the years and what part music has played in that change. Music is an interesting subject, and to take a scholarly look at the music we've grown up listening to can be a really unique experience.\nProfessors Andy Hollinden and Glenn Gass are among the pioneers of this idea of teaching rock history in the university. Hollinden assisted Gass until he was given the opportunity to come up with the formats for rock and roll history classes of his own. At the time, classes like the History of Rock and Roll were unheard of, and the pioneering professors received a lot of flack. But this experimental proposal to teach college students about rock and roll and how it fits into America's history and pop culture has become a favorite for IU students. \nAshley Price, a sophomore, took Hollinden's Rock Music of the '70s and '80s class and agrees that the class is a great way for students to learn about aspects of American history that continue to effect the pop culture.\n"It's like a release. You are taking a class, it's something that you're interested in and it's not a forced subject," Price says. "It's still a lot of work (but) it's not overwhelming for students to stretch their minds in a subject that they're personally interested in, and that's a part of our pop culture." \nA rock and roll historian, Hollinden is first and foremost a fan of the music itself. From an early age he listened to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. \n"My earliest memories are of listening to records that my older brothers and my older sister had," Hollinden says. "It's in my blood. I was lucky enough to have older brothers and a sister that listened to cool music. They did what older siblings are supposed to do: bring cool music home and turn their little brothers onto it." \nHis education at IU provided Hollinden with the technical knowledge on how to release a CD, so he decided to put this knowledge to good use. His new album features 11 instrumental tracks which he wrote, produced and recorded by himself. \n"Everything I tend to do, is 'what do I have at my fingertips at any point in time and what can I do with it?'" Hollinden says. "I think that's the sign of true creativity: someone who doesn't have a whole lot at their fingertips and they can take these limited resources and do things totally unforeseen with them." \nBeing a musician himself has provided Hollinden with a special insight into the rock and roll business, and the determination and drive it takes for a person to be commercially successful. \nGass says he respects Hollinden's determination for making music.\n"I really admire Andy for still making music," Gass says. "It is easy to sort of teach and not be a creative musician himself. But he is out there doing it. He puts his money where his mouth is. He really knows his ways around the studio and his instruments and I think that is great for his students."\nHollinden then traveled two hours north of his hometown of Tell City, Ind., to study music at IU, which he calls the world's best music school. He graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in music composition as well as an associate's degree in audio technology. While here, Hollinden took Gass's History of Rock and Roll class and agrees that one of the best parts of the class is how liberating it is for students to study something that is still so relevant to pop culture. \n"The great thing about Andy is, even though he started taking my class, everything he teaches is his own," Gass says. \nHolliden says one of the most important lessons that students can take away from his classes is how musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and The Beatles managed to change the world through hard work and determination. \n"I just look at these different people and just think that it's amazing what they were able to achieve," Hollinden says. "A person like Frank Zappa, who's totally self-taught, Jimi Hendrix, who's totally self-taught and the Beatles who can't read a note of music. That these guys, with a combination of natural talent and dedication, were able to change the world literally." \nTogether, Gass and Hollinden have created an opportunity for students to learn about a highly influential aspect of America's pop culture, rock and roll, which has been controversial since its inception. But both firmly stand behind the benefits these classes provide for students. \n"It deserves the weight of a college class. I think the best of any music lives on (as does) the best of rock music.The music justifies the courses in my mind," Gass says. "There can be no better mirror for pop culture than pop music. Even people that hate America love Elvis, love Dylan and the art that we have created. It is an important part of our culture and of our history." \nGass says rock music has crossed generational lines and has given parents and their children something to talk about. \n"Parents say, 'because of your class, we have something to talk about,'" Gass says. "It's a great change, how ironic that rock would bring generations together."\nBeing a rock and roll historian, Holliden has exposed himself to all different varieties of rock music, and continues to play himself, out of a pure love for the art. He encourages students to listen to everything that is out there, not making the mistake he claims bands so often make by pigeon holeing themselves into one musical category.