Popular Music and Its Cultural Context - Essay Example

Popular Music and its cultural context Introduction: Music belonging to the styles that are currently popular are called popular music. Within the genre of popular Music. Pop Music generally refers to that group of styles that have an active beat or a "danceable rhythm, with simple music and repetitive structures" . The lyrics of Pop music are usually emotional, and based on the subjectof love.(Wikipedia) . As we all know, Pop music can include the styles of jazz, electronic, hip-hop, rock, reggae, ragtime & blues, and dance music. Sometimes folk music and other styles are also infused into a Pop music composition. To understand popular music in its culutal context, this paper divides the development of the art through the decades. Jazz - 1920 to 1950 -: Jazz was the most prominent style of music that was categorized as Pop Music from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was seen that in great Britain, jazz was adopted by thoswe musicians who wanted a platform for "social activism and political change". (McKay George, 2005). The cultural context: Jazz evolved from simple hum able melodies in the early part of the 20th century to become the most complicated and intricate genre of music. Music, at the beginning of the Jazz "era" was not just a part of culture, but a culture all by itself. Though it influenced the younger generation, the music could only be heard in pubs, magazines and some concert halls. Jazz has become an intrinsic part of different cultures of the world Jazz was first heard when the music of the Africans (brought to America as slaves) combined with that of American music prevalent in that time period and culture. The new Afro American genre of songs was initially typified by the Gospel music, a more "powerful, joyful and effective" rendition by the Africans who adopted Christianity. (Ergelmis, Can). Jelly Morton invented "Stride", music with a "wide perspective" (Ergelmis) mainly based on piano music. When the elements of Gospel music, Stride and the ambience of the Afro-American culture, came together in ragtime music, this symbolized the birth of Jazz, according to popular knowledge. Ragtime as we know is simple music with simple emotions, which chiefly ainmed to entertain and Scott Joplin (called the king of ragtime writers) popularized the genre to a remmarkable extent. (Biography of Scott Joplin). History tells us that after the first world war the economy of US bloomed and entertainment became an intrinsic part of life. (Ergelmis). Jazz musicians were invited to play their bands and sing, and this herlded the pdevelopment of popularity of this music. Louis Armstrong, was probably the most popular of jazz musiscians, and his rendition of the trumpet took jazz all over the world. Armstrong's commitment to music was phenomenol and by also symbolizing a voice of the Civil Liberties struggle, he will remain an important protagoniist of the cultural life of the US right from the 1920s. ("American masters", Web page) From the 1920s to the 50s jazz continued to influence the culture of the countries in which it was embedded as a music genre. Clothes, style, vocabulary and general attitude towards life were all influenced deeply by the music, its composers and their lifestyles. (Ergelmis). The economic depression after the 1920s brought lesser concerts for the musicians. They coped with the situation by forming larger bands. The music now came to be called "Swing". Radio and the movies too helped popularize music as people could now hear recorded performances; this did not burn a hole in theit pockets, as hiring a live band would have. (The history of swing music", Web page). After the 103-s and the tumultous events of the world war, jazz music started declining in popularity and only those deeply interested in the genre payed more attention to it. (Ergelmis), The reason attributed by George McKay (2005) for the decline of jazz, was that it was a fusion of Afro and European cultuures in Britain, something that was a reconciliation of opposing factors. 1950s to the 1980s The rise of Rock & Roll and R&B: Rock music is that genre of music which has a strong vocal recital accompanied by guitar, drums and bass. The music has a heavy beat and is focussed mainly on music of the electric guitarOrgan, piano and synthesizers are also prominent in Rock and roll. Further experimenting with rock music created folk rock and jazz rock in the 1960s. . ("Rock Music", Wikipedia) Cultural backdrop for Rock & Roll: As in the case of Jazz, Rock and Roll was instrumental in modifying the lifestyle of the youth. Assisted by technology, music was able to travle all over the world and popular rock musicians became icons of their generations and - rock stars were born. Rock music was symbolized by bold lyrics that could shock the elders. This in itself appealed greatly to the younger generation and they embraced the music for its"rebel" like interpretations. In spite of not being welcomed by the older generation, rock music continued to scale the heights of popularity. ("Borderlands", Web page). In the 1970s rock music got further defined as a combination of Latin and punk music. In the '70s rock music had developed into many of its sub genres like hard rock, indie rock and Britpop. Hard rock was symbolized by "heavy and distorted use of bass and electric guitars",. It was nothing akin to the smooth and melodious pop music of yester years and was referered to as punk, grunge and heavy metal. Guns and Roses, Led Zeppelin and Deep purple are well known hard rock bands.("Hard Rock", Wikipedia) Indie rock: This symbolized independent underground music scene. Every type of music is typified by its characteritic sound. Indirock is a combination of electric and bass guitars, vocals and live drums. Music also, including indie pop, conveyed the message of the times in which it was prevalent. The indutrial profile, politics, aestetics and social status the generaton of the 70s was reflected in the music of indiepop. (Hibett, Ryan 2005) Britpop: The British pop music of the 1960s and 1970s helped evolve the Britpop of the 90s. Britpop is the offshoot of the grunge music culture of the US. Bands like Nirvana oif the US dominated the popular music scene of Britain. Lyrics of these bands were a fusion of the guitar styles of the 60s and 70s in combination with a comment on the British sociopolitical fabric. (Britpop, Wikipedia) Cultural impact of Pop music in Britain Pre 1950s did not see pop music in Britain. Mid 1950s saw a postwar britain, piecing together its economy. Food and money were shortages and the people faced difficult days ahead. The youth heard the music of the Americans, thought Elvis Presley was the greatest and loved to dance to the rock and roll. Pop music for them was what came fro the US or what could be copied of it. Beyond that, they had no distinctive identity from their parents. Rather, they were an extension of their parents' identity. (Biddle, R, 2006) In spite of this, a distinctive trend in music, "Skiffle" that could be called definitely British. Skiffle is defined as an emerging popular music oin Britain played on guitars and percussion instruments. It was based on American pop and found quick popularity among the youth. Lonnie Donegon was the most prominent musician of Skiffle and was called "King of Skiffle" Great musicians like Eric Clapton acknowledge the influence of Donegan;s style on their music. (BBC News, 2002). By now singers like Cliff Richards and Adam Faith sang in a style called "Enka" (a kind of Japanese music) that appealed to the British youth. Simultaneously the young people of Britain continued to listen to American pop. By the middle of 1960s Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll had come to stay in Britain. Many bands were formed as they struggled acquire a uniquely British identity to their music. It is often said that American Blues music, the music strongly influenced by African culture first became popular in Britain and then in the US. (Biddle, R). This was the same time in early 60s that the mmerseybeat was born. Merseybeat, a synonym for Liverpool Sound and the Mercysound, made its presence felt in the Bristish music scene. (Website of mercybeat.co.uk). It was performed with rhythm, bass, guitar and drums. The popularity of Mersy music caught on and a number of bands formed. By this time the Beatles had come up in fame and fortune. The group consisted of four musicians, John Lennon, (guitar) George Harrison, (Guitar, Paul McCartney (Bass) and Ringo Starr (drums). The music they created also created history in Britain and the group took the world by storm and "performed one of the biggest musical acts in history". (Source: "The Beatles Biography"). They were also called the Fab Four. This was a great metamorphosis that in 10 years, from a country that depended only on imported music, for its youth, to become the centre of the greatest music revolution! (Biddle, R) History tells us, that by this time Britain's economy was looking up and class separation was no longer defined. Enterprises came up and big business houses thrived. People had more money to buy clothes and records of their favourite music stars. (Biddle R) Revolution cored every walk of life as students, artists, and writers wanted to be different and influential in changing the fabric of society. In 1963, with the assassination of John F Kennedy, left the youth in America, vulnerable and without a sense of direction. Again it was the Beatles with their messages of peace and love in the lyrics of songs that won their hearts and made the British group really reigning stars. The young people all over the world wanted to dress, look and sing like them and pop music was at its popular best. The Beatles' distinctive haircut ( of the hair falling over the forehead) was adopted by thousands of young people and at a point of time the group seemed to symbolise youth and popular music. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia) By this period, the impact of films from the US and more music in the popular genre helped youth achieve a distinct identity of their own, unlike their counterparts two decades ago. (Biddle, R). They had a distinct identity and were ready to move out into other countries to influence and be influenced by them. This was also the time when the hippy culture took root. The dictionary defines a hippy as one who does not conform to the norms of society. The hippy philosophy was to believe in peace, resolve differences in ideologies, religions and races, accept others as they are and allow freedom of expression to all. (Stone, Skip) By the 80's Britain along with most of the countries in the world was caught up in the computer revolution, as it is commonly known. From then to now music and culture attained an internationally uniform flavour, as Internet, and other path breaking technologies made the world much smaller and well known. Many groups arose in popular music all over the world. Famous groups and singers through the decades, in UK, were 1950s - Skiffle and Trad Jazz 1960s -Beatles 1970s - Progressive Rock and heavy metal groups like Pink Floyd and Genesis 1980s - Punk Rock/ New Wave music and the groups were The Smiths, Punjabi music, etc 1990s - to the present Britpop and techno - Singers like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and so on 9Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia) Conclusion: It is seen that culture of every country is closely interwoven with its musical heritage, and its evolution into more popular genres of music, Britain is no exception. As popular music evolved so did the attitude of the youth change to fit in with the platform the music represented. However, digital revolution has removed geographic barriers in music, with almost all music able to reach everywhere. Just as the world turns into a global village, so does music fall within the reachability of every discerning listener and musician. "Pop Music" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia McKay, George, "Circular breathing - The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain", Duke University Publication, 2005 Ergelmis, Can, "Jazz as an Element of Popular Culture in the Twentieth century", Web Page "Biography of Scott Joplin on the Web page http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/joplin.html "American Masters, Web page at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/armstrong_l.html "The history of swing music at swingmusic.net "Rock and Roll defined teen culture", Borderlands, Web page at http://www.epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/14_rock_n_roll.htm Hibett, Ryan, "What is Indie rock" Find Articles.com, Feb 2005 "How it all began - A cultural revolution", Web page of Biddle R at http://www.gpwu.ac.jp/biddle/youth.htm BBC News on November 4, 2002, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2400229.stm "Beatles Group Biography" at http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/beatles_group/index.shtml "The Beatles' influence over popular culture", Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Stone, Skip, "The Way of the Hippy" at www.hippy.com Read More