Week 7/8:
This week we were asked to discuss masculinity in popular music and specifically how masculinity is represented in boy bands. However I found myself unable to write this blog post without physically throwing up on my laptop.
During my research I did find a you tube video which perfectly captures my feelings on the subject, which can be found here.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Representations of race in Popular Music
Week 5/6:
It is extremely difficult to talk about representations of race in popular music without having ones opinions coloured (pardon the pun) by the demographics of american culture. A culture still struggling with a black/white divide nearly 60 years after the civil rights movement.
It is extremely difficult to talk about representations of race in popular music without having ones opinions coloured (pardon the pun) by the demographics of american culture. A culture still struggling with a black/white divide nearly 60 years after the civil rights movement.
Rap music seems the obvious genre to consider this in that it was one of the first genres specifically aimed at a black audience, a black audience with an extremely large buying power.
Unfortunately, because most of the artists in this genre came from a working class background with the inherent lack of education very evident in the lyrically content of their songs, a culture of misogyny, overt materialism and a blase attitude to guns and crime quickly became the norm. However, recently some well known black pop and rap artists are showing an awareness of social injustices and incorporating this into their music. When Beyonce performed at this years Grammy awards, her backing dancers mimicked the "don't shoot" movement which arose after the Ferguson shooting of an innocent black man.
It has been argued that Izzy Azalea, an Australian white female artist, is guilty of cultural appropriation for performing rap music in an american black accent. I wonder if this would be the case if she was a black Australian female artist.
It is interesting to note that most of the music genres that have come into being in the last 30 years are heavily biased to either black or white artists. Rap and Hip Hop are almost exclusively populated by black artists. Punk, Metal, New wave, Brit Pop, Rock are almost exclusively populated by white artists.
Because of the huge impact American music culture has on all of western popular music, the evident racial divide of American society is mirrored in the make up of popular music genres as a whole.
Music and Deviance
Week 4:
Throughout the 20th century many music genres in popular culture have elicited a knee-jerk reaction from the media and other observers causing a perceived moral panic within a mostly uneducated society heavily influenced by religion.
Jazz, Blues, Rock and Roll, Punk, New Wave, Reggae, Heavy Metal, 80s pop, Acid house, Dance, Electronica, Goth, and Hip Hop have all been labelled at one time or another as deviant music genres, which left unfettered would cause the total collapse of civilization.
Some cases in point: When Punk arrived in the late 70s, with its grungy guitar sound, socially aware lyrics, outlandish fashion and an appetite for anarchy, many social observers saw it as the start of the breakdown of society. Punks embraced this perception of themselves, loving the fact that they were getting such a reaction. At the time the punk sub-culture didn't recognize the contradiction that the existence of an ordered society and the rule of law were the very things that gave them this freedom of expression.
When Bob Marley and the Wailers were due to play a concert in Dublin in the early 80s, there was a huge outcry from politicians and the media because of Marley's endorsement of marijuana use. The contradiction this time was that all the objectors readily accepted alcohol as a socially acceptable stimulant not realizing how insidious, dangerous and destructive a drug alcohol is, in comparison to marijuana.
All the sub-culture and genres which have been labelled as deviant right up to the present day are really just commentating on the parts of society they find unacceptable or unjust. And this can only be a healthy exercise. Because even though the rules and perceptions that govern our society are constantly evolving we are very far from creating a society that could be called ideal.
Throughout the 20th century many music genres in popular culture have elicited a knee-jerk reaction from the media and other observers causing a perceived moral panic within a mostly uneducated society heavily influenced by religion.
Jazz, Blues, Rock and Roll, Punk, New Wave, Reggae, Heavy Metal, 80s pop, Acid house, Dance, Electronica, Goth, and Hip Hop have all been labelled at one time or another as deviant music genres, which left unfettered would cause the total collapse of civilization.
Some cases in point: When Punk arrived in the late 70s, with its grungy guitar sound, socially aware lyrics, outlandish fashion and an appetite for anarchy, many social observers saw it as the start of the breakdown of society. Punks embraced this perception of themselves, loving the fact that they were getting such a reaction. At the time the punk sub-culture didn't recognize the contradiction that the existence of an ordered society and the rule of law were the very things that gave them this freedom of expression.
When Bob Marley and the Wailers were due to play a concert in Dublin in the early 80s, there was a huge outcry from politicians and the media because of Marley's endorsement of marijuana use. The contradiction this time was that all the objectors readily accepted alcohol as a socially acceptable stimulant not realizing how insidious, dangerous and destructive a drug alcohol is, in comparison to marijuana.
All the sub-culture and genres which have been labelled as deviant right up to the present day are really just commentating on the parts of society they find unacceptable or unjust. And this can only be a healthy exercise. Because even though the rules and perceptions that govern our society are constantly evolving we are very far from creating a society that could be called ideal.
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