Week 8 - Are subcultures a sign of revolt or an expression of style?

A subculture can be defined as a group of people with a culture which distinguishes them from the larger culture in which they belong. They can be identified by there dress, taste in music, mannerisms and use of slang. An examle of a subculture is the punk movement, which reached it's height of popularity in the 70's and 80's. Hebdige with his theory of Polysemy, believed that signs could have multiple meanings. An example of this was the wearing of the Nazi swastika by punks to shock, rather than because they supported the Nazis. Hebdige found a link between style and the socio-economic situation.
Sub Cultures can sometimes be seen as a sign of revolt as some people within the sub cultures eg anarachists/chavs/ravers rebel against the laws and rules of society. However not all of the sub-cultures members act in this way. Instead subcultures are simply used as an expression of style eg goths, to stand out from the crowd. However often their style eg clothes and music are adopted into the mainstream, so they are constantly changing in order to be different, with some going so far at to adopt their own ideologies.

Week 7 - Can Popular Music be a genuine force for political change?

There have been many times when Pop stars and Celebrities have tried to use Popular music as a force for political change. Examples of this include live aid, which raise over £40m for famine relief in Africa. Followed by live 8 in 2005, which aimed to raise awareness amongst the G8 countries and put pressure on political leaders to tackle world poverty. It raised over 400 times more than live aid, due to the debt deal which was agreed by the leaders at the G8 summit. I think this proves that popular music can be a force for political change. However it is only one of a number of factors which combine to produce genuine change. At the end of the day it is the politicians who have the power and as Daltrey said about Live Earth, a concert to raise environmental awareness, “ The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert, the questions and the answers are so huge I don’t know what a rock concert’s ever going to do to help.” Bob Geldof, the organiser of live aid/8, also stated that he would only have organized a concert like live earth if he could “go on stage and announce concrete environmental measures from the American presidential candidates, congress, or major corporations."

Week 6 - Is DRM the best way to save the music industry?

Digital Rights Management or DRM is a general term that is used to refer to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit the use of digital media or devices.
There are arguments on both sides as to whether DRM is the best way to save the music industry. The arguments for includes the example of Apple I tunes, which has proven to be both very successful and legal, as their customers have to pay to download tracks. I tunes also allows customers to hear a 30 second sample to ensure they get the right song, and provides high quality tracks, unlike some free but illegal providers whose songs may be of poor quality.
Arguments against DRM include that it is pointless as people can crack DRM, and remove it from songs. They can also unlock itunes by downloading them, burning them onto CDs and then uploading them onto free download sites. There are also new bands which don’t copyright their music, and also sites such as myspace which offer free, legal downloads.

Week 5 - Can Popular Music ever be Unplugged?

When considering the literal meaning of 'popular' music which is 'music accessible to a wide audience' I feel the idea that it could ever be 'unplugged' is impossible for most genres of music. Due to the fact that in order for popular music to be available to a mass audience, technology is needed. As Kevin Holm-Hudson stated ' Without electric technology popular music in the 21st Century is unthinkable'. If popular music was unplugged there would be no electronic amplification ie microphones, electronic guitars, keyboards or electronic drumkits, and this would remove many musical genres such as rock, punk and heavy metal, as they rely heavily on the use of the electric guitar in performances. It would also be impossible for bands to play and sing for large audiences as without microphones the instruments would drown out the voice and the sound would not carry. However it is possible for 'unplugged' music to be relatively popular, for example gospel choirs do not use electronic instruments or microphones, and do have quite a large fanbase, however it is generally not as popular as other types of music, although popular singers do release 'unplugged' albums which are successful, I feel genres such as pop and rock, could not continue to be both massively popular and 'unplugged'.

Week 4 - What is World Music and Why does it exist?

The term 'World Music' was first coined in the 1980's as a marketing term and was used to broadly classify the many genres of non-Western music, including folk, indigenous and also non-Western pop and classical music. However what we in Western Europe think of as World music, is 'local' music in it's country of origin. As Jan Farley states " The Relationship of the 'local' and the 'global' in popular music is one of the most complex, controversial and significant issues of the new millenium." World music can thus also be defined as "Local Music" which could include hearing a student band in the SU, a band performing local, indigenous music or the product of multinationals investing in "Local" talent. World music exists globally today due to the fact that major labels have begun signing talent who perform indigenous "Local music" such as the Lobi Traore Group, and marketing it around the world. The internet has also helped to spread and popularise "world music" However some musicians are highly critical of the term "world music" and see it as a "parochial, catchall marketing term for non-western music of all genres."

Week 3: Is Popular Music a commodity or Art?

The argument that pop music is a commodity is put forward by Adorno in his Dialectic of Enlightenment. He stated that it was not art, as pop is standardized and not unique. Unlike classical music, which he greatly enjoyed and considered to be a high art form as it is always changing, and focuses on melody and harmony, rather than pop which concentrates on timbre and connotations. Other arguments to suggest that pop is a commodity is the fact that the music industry can be described as an all-consuming production line that churns out mass produced, inferior commodities. Whereas an art-form is thought to be something that is unique, and more about expression than making money. However on the other hand pop can be described as an art form which aims to attract the masses.It is a melting pot that borrows and assimilates elements and ideas from a wide range of musical styles, giving it individuality and changeability. Overall Adorno cannot be proved right or wrong as it is a theory and his own personal opinion.

Week 2: What are the strengths and Weaknesses of petersons Production of Culture approach to the birth of Rock and Roll?

There are many strengths and Weaknesses of Petersons theory. The strengths are that it clearly defines 6 key points which go some way to explaining why the birth of Rock and Roll happened when it did. The points are easy to understand and describe how in terms of economical, market and technological factors Rock and Roll came about. However what Peterson doesn’t do is explain why the generation of teenagers at the time chose to listen to Rock and Roll music, instead of some other genre and why its popularity exploded. He instead took advantage of changing conditions, and addresses industrial and commercial reasons. Some arguments against his technical reasons would be comments from early British Rock and Roll stars, such as Cliff Richard who said that the first time they heard Elvis, it changed their lives. It is this powerful feeling that took over the Rock and Roll generation that Peterson failed to address. He didn’t take into account the fact that many of the teenagers used Rock and Roll as a way to rebel against the previous more conservative generations. In conclusion, his factors do explain why technically rock and roll came about, however he doesn’t capture the way in which rock and roll moved and influenced the Rock and Roll generation.

Week 1 - What is popular music?

The term 'popular music' can be defined in many different ways. In the 16th century, popular music was thought to be vulgar and something belonging to the common people. By the 18th century, as people generally became more wealthier, its popularity spread and popular music became more widely favoured.

'Folk' music could also be technically classed as 'popular' music in the literal sense of the term popularis ( of the people) as folk music is traditionally made and performed by the people. However some would argue with this comparision, saying that popular music is commercially mass-produced for a wide audience, whereas folk generally attracts a smaller audience. Although there are many commericially successful 'folk' bands, such as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. The idea that Popular music is something that is produced by technology and commercially sold, means that other genres such as rock,heavy metal, rap and country, can all technically be classed as popular music even thought they might not be the first type of music that comes to mind when the term pop is used. Today connotations of the term generally make people think of cheesey pop, which is usually associated with manufactured bands such as the Spice Girls and Westlife