At its inception in the early ’50s,’ rock ’n roll was all about controversy. Its rebellious spirit, sound and manic energy was purely anti-establishment. As a budding young medium, television was drawn to the spectacle of rock ’n roll, fueling the public’s imagination by censoring Elvis’ hip swaying.

Southern Baptists even helped promote rock, unwittingly, by labeling it the workings of the devil. Rebellion was the rocket fuel of the new popular music of its time and has continued to be since.

Over time, the mores of the day slowly loosened as boundaries were pushed. In the ’60s, the Rolling Stones were instructed by Ed Sullivan personally to change the lyrics in ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ to ‘Let’s Spend Some Time Together.’ However, when the Doors appeared, frontman Jim Morrison not only refused to change the lyric “Girl we couldn’t get much higher” for Sullivan, but he famously leaned into the camera for a close up shot and accentuated the word ‘higher’ with great vigor.

By 1990, Madonna’s boundary pushing got her banned from MTV due to her portrayal of sadomasochism and bisexual eroticism in her music video for “Justify My Love.” Two years later, her video for “Erotica” was only shown after midnight. All of this naughtiness bolstered sales, promoted her work and never failed to rile up the establishment.

In 2004, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson pushed limits once again via an “accidental” wardrobe malfunction during a Super Bowl performance that exposed Jackson’s bare breast. Many people said, “what’s the big deal,”,but the ever-tortured faint-of-heart and prudish portion of the public began to cry, “where will this all end?” Debate ensued with some wondering aloud if there would be full frontal male nudity on network television by the next decade and the FCC pushed back hard with a record $550,000 fine, later voided by a 2011 appeal ruling.

Well, the next decade has arrived with its new challenge to authority. What progressed from hip shaking to suggestive lyrics to an exposed breast has now been eclipsed by the shocking crime of LIVE CONCERT CURFEW VIOLATIONS, because if there’s anything The Establishment dislikes more than sexuality, it’s INCONVENIENCE.

This topic almost spurred a column from me in the spring when I heard that two singer-songwriters had the plug pulled on them midsong at an outdoor concert in England.

On July 14, in London’s Hyde Park, after a three-hour non-stop show, Bruce Springsteen ecstatically announced to the 76,000 in attendance he had been waiting 50 years for what was to come next. Who walks out to join The Boss for his encore? Sir Paul McCartney. After jamming through “I Saw Her Standing There” and part of “Twist and Shout,” the sound went dead mid-song by order of the local authorities at 10:40 p.m. Wow. I’m seriously bummed out just imagining it.

The incredulity aimed toward the killjoy council was resounding. From British journalist Richard James: “Springsteen and McCartney: Only in Britain could a local council pull the plug on the greatest artists of the last 50 years giving it all.” From Stephen Merchant (co-creator of “The Office”): “Ashamed to be British right now. Springsteen and McCartney playing “Twist and Shout” in Hyde Park and council pulled the plug cos (sic) of curfew.”

The new decade’s threat to the Establishment hasn’t materialized as either lyrics or body parts—apparently, we stick it to The Man by trying to rock till the 11 p.m. news starts. Even my grandparents stayed up that late. The same spirit that killed my hometown’s Venetian Festival is exactly the same one that gave the order to shut down the PA on Sir Paul and Springsteen. In both examples, well-heeled property owners found more satisfaction in demanding the police dispatcher shut down the show than they did in taking part in a celebration. What have these miserable people truly achieved if they’ve earned the toniest and trophy-est of properties yet give so little tolerance toward others’ expression of joy? What sort of vacuous black hole of a creature would stop short an amazing experience for 76,000 — just because it could? For a handful of minutes!

It didn’t stop there! The Man just rained on the parade again Nov. 25 at the 50th anniversary Rolling Stones concert at London’s indoor O2 Arena. After playing till 11:05, past the 11 p.m. curfew, the Stones were fined the equivalent of $320,000. Wow. To end at 11:05, they even dropped “Satisfaction,” arguably their biggest song, eliciting disappointment and confusion from the fans who had no idea what was going on. Considering that face value ticket prices ranged from 171 to 1,530 USD, and a great number of fans were forced to buy from scalpers at double face value or more, I’m pretty sure the fans wanted to hear “Satisfaction.”

It’s so tragic that the Satisfaction of a handful somehow outweighs the Satisfaction of thousands. That’s what the songwriters of this decade need to start writing about, unless they’re too distracted trying to be counted among the ranks of that handful.

Dave Carlock is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment business whose work as a recording engineer and producer, touring musician, and songwriter made him Googleable. His continuing work as an Independent Content Creator of Sound and Image has earned him a Grammy Award certificate, two Platinum Record Awards, and a Paragon Award in advertising. Currently, he brings national and international artists to make records and music videos at his production studio in the Benton Harbor Arts District. www.davecarlock.com.