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