GRE Reading Comprehension: Manhatton-GRE阅读Manhatton - SJU0T2XXV2CE4WZHB$

In keeping with the notable incorporation of operatic elements into the rock music lexicon, the genre in the 1970's experienced a significant shift in emphasis away from recording and toward music performance itself. Several factors effected this change. First, the extended length and the moralizing subject matter of songs of the era rendered them less appropriate for radio play and more suitable for public presentation. Additionally, the advent of the concept album, in which multiple tracks revolved around a single unifying narrative or theme, furnished a basis upon which similarly calibrated performances could be enacted. Finally, as PA system technology improved, it became possible to hold concerts with 100,000 people or more, which encouraged artists to craft concerts that diverged from the merely musical toward the experiential. Bands began conceiving of their performances as shows, more akin to musical theater guided by plot and setting than to the traditional concert guided by the omnipresent set-list. Instead of simply playing one song after another, therefore, bands developed full performance medleys revolving around specific motifs, and punctuated by bombastic light shows, costume changes, and other massive stunts. For example, the popular British band Pink Floyd famously built a barrier in the middle of stage during one performance then had it dramatically knocked down mid-show as a promotion for their new album The Wall.