But such emblematic rock-and-roll set pieces know that freedom emerges the other way around at least as often — and that its great leaps forward are often followed by prudent retreats.
In the wake of the counterculture's failure to achieve utopia or even a workable modus vivendi, Bowie concocted a series of inspired, nervily grandiose pastiches that insisted on utopia by depicting its alternative as inferno, beginning with the emblematic rock-star martyr fantasy The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972).
And there is something special about the way Krall's efforts to destroy Yorktown are defeated by the controlled chaos of the Beastie Boys Sabotagee, a vivacious blast of punky rap-rock emblematic of the unfettered creativity that, perhaps, only a truly free society can be capable of.
That song appears on an album dedicated to a more radical cause: vindication for the West Memphis 3, a trio of young heavy metal fans convicted, on what many consider faulty evidence, of a 1993 triple child-murder in West Memphis, Ark ."Free the West Memphis 3," compiled by the Supersuckers and released on the band's label, Aces and Eights, is emblematic of contemporary activist rock.
In the process, the Stones have become rock's definitive, emblematic band: a seamless blend of sound, look, and public image.
Two from the new album felt emblematic: "The Fixer," a hard-rock stomper about his endless good intentions, and "Just Breathe," a ballad of gratitude and renewed devotion.
At his island home, the Rock, he painted the emblematic images of birds known as the "Inner Eye" series, among his best-known works.
It was Pink Floyd — a group whose eerie, electric operatics and portentous anthems made them emblematic of a progressive, otherworldly strain of rock — with whom Mr. Thorgerson melded most successfully, his images complementing their music and vice versa.
— When Steve Bolyard checked out a report of black paint on some of the park's majestic saguaros — cactuses whose towering bodies and upraised arms are as emblematic of the American West as red-rock buttes and skittering tumbleweeds — he did not expect to see ganglike calligraphy covering more of them than he could easily count.
Third Man Records, first established to print the White Stripes catalogue, is emblematic of a musically resurgent Nashville, home to energetic rock'n'roll and psychedelic scenes.
