Popular Music Essays (Examples)

Lady Gaga

Popular music in the 21st century is no longer just about the lyrics, the music, or the presence of the artist. It is about the combined "show" -- using media, lights, sound, special effects, costumes, make up and above all, an entertainment experience. One of the most visible and influence in the pop, dance and electronic fields is the artist Stefani Joanne Angelia Germanotta, more commonly known as Lady Gaga. Born in 1986, LG is not just a singer and performer, but also a producer, activist, fashion designer, actress and philanthropist. She was born and raised in New York City, did some brief music studies, but concentrated on her career in Manhattan's Lower East Side, then signed to Streamline Records when she was just 21 (Herbert). But this musical phenomenon is much more than a popular singer, with impressive philanthropic interests she is truly what one might call…

Scorpions

The audience for popular music frequently assumes that the songs heard on the radio or downloaded from iTunes are predominantly a form of personal expression on the part of the artist, and that song lyrics may express the most raw form of autobiography (such as the recent Grammy-winning success of "Rehab" by Amy inehouse, who turns up in tabloids to demonstrate that she practices what she preaches) but they do not express any political or historical content. But the example of the Scorpions -- who come from Germany but work within a largely American-derived idiom of heavy metal power ballads -- proves that the lyrical content of popular song can also provide a sort of historical documentation. I would argue that by comparing two of the Scorpion's most successful songs to date -- "Still Loving You" from their 1984 album Love at First Sting, and "ind of Change" from…

" Instead of those key lines, a wailing voice suggests that prayers for love remain unfulfilled. The stress is on lines like "without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own," as the wailing replaces the rest of the chorus. Elvis's "Blue Moon" is truly blue: filled with sadness and unfulfilled longing.

To enhance the reinvented theme of "Blue Moon," the instrumentation is stark. Throughout the recording, only a bass and a drum accompany the sultry vocals. The effect is clearly and intentionally that of a cowboy song. The rhythm of both the bass and the drums convey a horse gently trotting, carrying its lone rider through the Wild West. Evoking cowboy movies and mystique is one way the arrangement sends a far different message than the one that ogers and Hart had intended. In Elvis's version, the male vocalist is totally, utterly alone. He is a…

Music

Few popular music stars today are as colorful as Lady Gaga. Recently on tour, Lady Gaga is again making the headlines. In South Africa, a group of churches has been organizing protests against Lady Gaga's performances, and even just her presence, in the country. Among other complaints, the South African Council of Churches claims Lady Gaga's visit "could lead to an exponential growth of Satanism," (Engelbrecht, p. 1). For others, Lady Gaga is a welcome presence in the popular culture because she spreads the message of gender equality and positive gender "performativity," (Horn, p. 1). Lady Gaga is like a female "drag queen" and therefore sends a good message about tolerance of gender and sexual identities. Finally, Lady Gaga exemplifies the way social media can be used to promote popular culture and allow for greater fan interactions and control over content. Given that Lady Gaga is associated with Satanism,…

These assumptions encapsulate the notion of consumer sovereignty in neoclassical economics of consumption' (Jonathan Scheckter (2006). A Holistic Approach to Consumption Analysis in the Popular Music Market). While the concept is often criticized at an empirical level, or at an intuitive level, the origins of consumer sovereignty are seldom explored with reference to popular music.

The most important advancement of neoclassical economics arose as a sophisticated defense of this assumption of constant preferences. The argument asserts from the outset that, 'tastes neither change capriciously nor differ importantly between people'. (Becker and Stigler, 1977: 76) the starting point is the utilization of a reformulation of consumer theory, first expressed by Becker and Michael (1974). This new theory "transforms the family [consumer] from a passive maximizer of the utility from market purchases to an active maximizer also engaged in extensive production and investment activities," (Becker and Stigler, 1977).

The theory explained various…

Popular Music

The New Face Book of ock and oll

An entirely new book (okay score) on the future of music and the place of rock and roll is being written, and yet we really can't even tell what the experience will be like, though it will most likely be a continued mix of country/folksy democracy. What we can tell is that it will come in the packaging of a self-published, self-directed, interactive collection (just like an ebook!), and that its messages of defiance will be such that the entire digital universe of followers will each think of themselves as their own Guitar Hero!

While many people believe that Guitar Hero brought rock and roll into the digital era, the case can be made that it did as much damage as good. It turned many people on to a sense of simulating the music of the leaders of rock and…

Undoubtedly many Beatles songs will be around far longer than many pieces labeled as "classical," but we would still never call "Yesterday" a work of classical music. Similarly, songs like "Yesterday" can be considered as musical masterpieces just as Beethoven's 9th, but the term "classical" can still only be applied to Beethoven, not the Beatles.

Therefore, pop music can be "classic" but not "classical." Classical music is a category; the term does not mean that the music was composed in the eighteenth century; nor does it mean that the music will endure in time as a masterpiece. Music called "classical" can be composed in the 21st century; much of it will not stand the test of time. Nevertheless, it can be labeled as classical if it can be classified into that genre, for instance by the type of instruments being played and the overall impact of the composition.

orks Cited…

Popular Music and Identity

Sound Clash-Popular Music and American Culture

Identifying through music is fantastic and creates social movements. People find music to be liberating, relaxing, and calming. Identifying oneself through music a person is able to have direct experiences in their body. This allows a person to place them self in an imaginary cultural narrative. Popular music has been analyzed as though it is a classical composition, which makes the analysts neglect the improvisational and performative aspects of popular music. Analyzing how audiences respond to popular music and how they identify with this kind of music is vital. This would allow people to better understand how different people identify with certain popular songs. Theodor Adorno viewed popular music as a culture industry, which is designed to appeal to society by creating a false need for entertainment. Simon Frith views popular music as a complex world where that values and…

Today sometimes also referred to as 'urban' music, R&B was originally a euphemistic way of referring to the boogie woogie blues-based music of African-Americans in the 40s and 50s. In some circles, these would be referred to as 'race records.' When white musicians like Elvis Presley began recording these songs, the term Rock and Roll was coined. This transition would not render the R&B genre moot, but would instead apply it to most music made by African-Americans. Over the years, this would come to serve as a Billboard Chart classification for forms such as Soul, Funk, Disco and many modes of Hip Hop.

Quite in fact, today, R&B may be said to be the dominant form in popular music once again, with its permeation of the variant of popular forms impacting the sound of music today in the same way that rock would for decades. Particularly in the type of…

American Idiot

Popular Music and Social Change in the Present: Green Day's 'American Idiot' (2004)

Following the catalyzing events of September 11th, 2001, the United States would find itself deeply divided over the issues of terrorism, war and presidential politics. At the heart of this frequently impassioned and vitriolic debate would be the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a far-reaching culture clash between two distinction American populations. The 2004 album by pop-punk trio Green Day, American Idiot, would be crafted with the intent of exploring these divisions. In the title track, Green Day would author an anthem that would become omnipresent in pop culture as the U.S. used falsified information to justify its invasion of Iraq.

"American Idiot" would serve both as a harsh critique of the war, of the presidency of George . Bush and of the violent, materialistic culture being fomented in the U.S.…

Elvis Presley's Impact On Popular Music Culture

From the time Elvis recorded "That's All Right Mamma" for Sun Records in 1953, to his subsequent and astonishing rise to fame, he reinvented the concept of rock star and has made a bigger impact on popular music culture than any other act. That is saying a lot considering that the Beatles and Rolling Stones and others like Elton John have been huge superstars. But looking at Elvis's impact, as this paper does, one can clearly see that he influenced all of those acts. John Lennon said that "Before Elvis there was nothing…" and the Rolling Stones have indicated that they were hugely influenced by Elvis.

hen Elvis Started Out -- Launching his Career as a Musical Rebel and Icon

An article in the Public Broadcasting Service (KCET) website ("Culture Shock / Music and Dance) traces Elvis's early beginnings in terms of how…

American Popular Music (Lady Gaga)

The question of originality in popular music is a vexed one. To choose a convenient and current example, when Justin Bieber sings about his "baby," listeners are not meant to hear any kind of deliberate allusion to the Supremes' "Baby Love" or any other previous songs which include "Baby" as part of their lyrical hook: Bieber's charming faux-naivete cannot be mistaken for anything other than a rhetorical willingness to utilize the regular tropes and language of a standard love song. But with some performers, the matter of originality -- together with the question of influence -- is one that must be addressed. I would like to look, in this context, at the work of Stefani Germanotta, the twenty-four-year-old singer and composer better known by her stage name "Lady Gaga." I would like to examine Lady Gaga's oeuvre with three separate areas of inquiry kept in…

CLASSICAL AND POPULAR MUSIC IN 'THE CRYING OF LOT 49'

Thomas Pynchon is known for his complex storylines and weird characters. For this reason it is not easy to comment on the use of music in his novels as it is the very complexity of his plots that obscure the influence or meaning of classical and popular music in his books. Despite this, he is one of the most influential writers of the postmodern era and many singers have cited his work as an inspiration for their music. In our days for example, since the return of popular music, we notice that Thomas Pynchon has become a source of inspiration for many new pop artists. Larry Swindell (1996) says, "Pynchon is an enduring literary cult figure, sainted by proponents of darkest-hued comedy."

It is important to bear in mind that Pynchon's use of music is not limited to just one…

Today many mainstream popular artists have Rhythm and Blues influences. In addition some artists fluctuate between signing R&B and pop music. Although there are often distinctions made between the two genres R&B is definitely a type of popular music that has been greatly influenced by all of the above Genres.

Rap music or hip hop is also a prime example of the influence of African-American Music on popular music. Rap music actually comes from the ancient art form of poetry. The original intent for rap was to tell a story -- provide a narrative. ithin the context of African-American folk tradition storytelling is extremely important -- the griot is important. Griots are the keepers of the oral traditions -- the storytellers. According to Powell (1991) "To the accompaniment of drums or other percussive instruments, griots entertain and educate their audiences by reciting tribal history and current events. Their performances are…

In "The Times They Are a-Changin'," released in February 1964, he encapsulated the spirit of the times, and issued a timely warning to the older generation to accept the changing times or be drowned in a youth-inspired social revolution. (Mcilliams, 32)

hile Dylan was introducing protest folk music in the mainstream popular music in the early 1960s, bands such as "The Beatles" had captured the imagination of the estern youth on both sides of the Atlantic. By accepting the influence of each other's music in their work, these artists revolutionized estern popular music. The power of such music in shaping the direction of the youth culture was immense. It spread the message of peace, love, racial and gender equality and challenged the hypocrisy of the existing social order.

Not all aspects of the sixties music were positive. Many of the sixties rock musicians adopted a hedonistic lifestyle and indulged in…

Music Producers

Biographical Introduction: Teo Macero

Producers work behind the scenes and are the unsung heroes of music. While some producers receive public notoriety like Brian Eno and George Martin; others like Teo Macero remain known mainly to music scholars and serious audiophiles. In 2008, when Macero died, The New York Times ran an obituary with the tagline: "Teo Macero, 82, ecord Producer," as if readers would need that crucial bit of vocational data. Indeed, Macero is best known for his work on Miles Davis's masterpieces Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. He was also a composer, whose approach to music takes into account the big picture rather than attention to minute detail.

Macero was ahead of his time. He incorporated electronic effects and electronic media in ways that made Bitches Brew as momentous and groundbreaking an album as it is. The embrace of new technology is therefore a hallmark…

From the research I know he was a ladies man. In Joan Peyser's book (The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin) it is 1927 and Gershwin is discovered in bed with one of the attractive women from a show he and Harry Richman were working on. Caught with his shirt and pants still in his hand, Gershwin offered: "Mr. Richman, what can I say to you? I'm waiting for a streetcar?" (Peyser, 2007, p. 136).

Question #3: Music is far, far more than entertainment. A soft playing of Pieces (8) for Piano, Opus 76, by Johannes Brahms is the healing salve that helps a widow relate to the passing of her 88-year-old husband of 58 years. The Piano Sonata in E Minor D. 566 by Franz Schubert is the ideal theme to be played respectfully in the background as a new artist shows her latest abstract art…

Fake books with jazz notation might look as if they are intended for amateurs. However, although beginners may use the simplified notation to practice music, the fake book's original intention was to provide a stepping-stone for a musician or an ensemble to create their own, unique rendering of the music. Thus jazz notation reflects the stress in this musical tradition upon the musician or the band's individual style. The musician, rather than the composer is the star, when using jazz notation. Rather than attempt to slavishly recreate a performance from the past, which is impossible, as every audience, every musical context changes from night to night, jazz notation empowers the musician to create a living and vibrant performance on the stage, with his or her fellow musicians. ("Fake Books," ikipedia, 2006)

Fake books and jazz notation originated with illegal transcriptions of overheard music, although most fake books today copyrighted with…

Music eport

Archaeological finds show that prehistoric man had already played music. Music and dance are the humans' most natural and original forms of expression. Berendt said of modern generations: "Nada brahma - all is sound," in nature. Stones, bones, pieces of wood, hollow vessels and cups make sounds when pushed, beaten or rubbed together. Stretched hides bang, the buzz of the arrow whizzing off the bow can be imitated with fingers and the murmuring, roaring and whistling of the wind can be caught in reeds, bone pipes or hollow branches.

Today, numerous types of different forms of music are played across the world. Because humans are so diverse, it comes as no surprise that people like different types of music. For example, there are many adults, many of them older, who do not particularly appreciate hip hop and rap. Part of this has to do with the slang language,…

I have had friends who turned on me because they wanted to hang out with people they thought were cooler, more popular, or who had better toys. Those friendships rarely lasted, though. In high school, the kids who had cars were more able to get friends, but those friends were only hanging out because of the car and not because they actually liked each other. I managed to remain friends with some people who I still consider close even though we go to different schools. The superficial aspects of our lives are meaningless and transitory. Money, looks, and other superficial traits fade, and what really counts is our character. I have seen people in my family bicker over money and other materialistic things that do not matter, when I really wish they would just love each other for who they are. This is why I find Timbaland's song to be…

Music and Dance in Indian Films

In sheer quantity, INDIA produces more movies than any other country in the world-over 900 feature-length films in at least 16 languages, according to a recent industry survey. This productivity is explained by several factors: the size of the Indian audience, low literacy rates, the limited diffusion of television in India, and well-developed export markets in both hemispheres. (http://worldfilm.about.com/cs/booksbolly/)

In its historical development, India's film industry paralleled that of the West. Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra, the first silent film for popular consumption, appeared in 1913; Alam Ara, the first "talkie," was released in 1931. ut the Indian cinema derived its unique flavor from the older Indian musical theater-particularly from the Urdu poetic dramas of the late nineteenth century. The influence of this tradition ensured that Indian movies would favor mythological or legendary-historical stories, that their dialogue would carry an Urdu flavor even in languages…

People are now looking ways to fight this problem of stress. Some people take help of drugs to control the stress issue but the side effects of drugs create more problems rather than solving one. Exercise has been proven as a natural solution to the problem of stress with no side effects. In certain cases of other psychological problems combining exercise and music can be helpful.

Effects on Mental Performance: esearches have also shown that both music and exercise combined together have positive effects on cognitive abilities. In a research including 33 men and women in the final weeks of a cardiac rehabilitation program after bypass surgery, angioplasty or cardiac catheterization, the effects of classical music and exercise were studied. All participants were asked to complete a verbal fluency test before and after two separate sessions of exercising on a treadmill. Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons', a classical music piece, was…

Music and Society

Music has a profound influence on society. As with other forms of art, music has the ability to communicate messages that are both complex and oblique -- the message need not be specific, but may convey an emotion or ethos, external to the lyrical content of the songs. Music gives a voice to generations by allowing those who have the ability to convey their thoughts and feelings through the form, and others to convey theirs through the consumption of the media. Thus, while music can have significant influence over a generation, and reflect its values, likewise the music to which that generation is drawn to reflects its values outward to the world, allowing some of the music (and other art) consumed by that generation to be understood by any society that chooses to consume that music. One cannot replicate the 60s just by listening to the Doors…

merican popular culture has also infected our dietary choices although in my case, it has encouraged me to think much more critically about what I put into my body. Ironically, the poor suffer the worst in that regard because fast food restaurants are concentrated in their neighborhoods (

Kasser, 2003). Meanwhile, fast food is much more expensive than quality food and it only perpetuates obesity and diabetes. I have sworn off all merican fast food, largely because of my continual exposure to its effects on those who eat it regularly. I cringe to think that people still eat McDonald's, especially knowing how much fat, sodium, and artificial flavorings are in their imitation of real food. The mass consumption of meat is also destroying the environment. Knowing what I do about fast food has turned me off to it completely and the fact that merican popular culture pushes it so hard…

Music on Teens Actions

In the past 40 years all kinds of music has turned out to be more and more overt predominantly towards the negative side like sex, drugs, aggression and violence. Lately two of the genres which have caught great attention is hard rock music and rap music. In most of the cases, the lyrics of the music are made in such a way that they induce negativity in the developing minds of the teenagers. This negativity is reflected in their actions in the form of drug abuse, aggression, violence, sex and rebellious actions towards parents, family, family and society in general. This kind of negative music is a major concern these days because it poses mental and physical threat to the teens of today. Some of the other alarming effects of such music are pregnancy, STDs, accidents, killing and this has resulted to be the normal lifestyle…

music of the Twentieth entury. Specifically, it will compare music of the Twentieth entury to the music of a previous period, and include information about the significance of composers in society, the role of music in the societal landscape, and the evolution of musical forms through the centuries.

Twentieth entury music embodies so many different forms and types that it is difficult to lump it together under one heading. In the United States, the Twentieth entury brought music listeners everything from Gershwin to rap and blues to headbanging. Just as America is a rich cultural melting pot, her music is just as rich and varied, and this is nowhere more evident than in the Twentieth entury.

At the turn of the Twentieth entury, most of America listened to opera and classical music - much of it from some of Europe's most famous composers of the previous centuries, such as Bach,…

He has also learned to appreciate an even wider and more eclectic variety of music than even his mother enjoyed. But without an early musical foundation and exposure to music as a part of life, he does not think he would be nearly as adventurous. The pairing of certain musical styles against one another, like posh vs. common, classical vs. contemporary, and Mod vs. Rock, has more to do with personal, class-based and aesthetic self-definition, he felt, than the fact that one musical style is inherently superior to another musical style.

As he has grown older, Martin says that he listens more for personal taste, rather than to suit his tastes to a particular style because of personal self-definition. He attributes this to being more secure in his own identity. He says that he likes to listen to the music of his youth, although he also listens to a great…

Sexuality is another common theme in music. We see in the songs studied testosterone and estrogen, the sexual response cycle, psychosexual images and sexual orientation issues. These treatments of the same basic thing are again complex, ranging from purely physical explorations of the subject to the deep-rooted psychological attributes of sex. Self-esteem and denial are also wrapped up in this subject in some of the songs. This again reflects our need to understand our sexual selves, in particular as distinct from our emotional/loving selves.

In the other category, power proved a major theme. Self-esteem, self-serving bias, defense mechanisms, ego, superego, the spotlight effect, achievement motivation and projection are all components of this theme that emerge in the music. The need for power reflects a desire for achievement that we all have and the need to feel important in this world, perhaps explaining why this theme is so popular. Its popularity…

Music on Vocabulary ompetence, Writing, Reading omprehension and Motivation in English Language Learning in High-School

EFFETIVENESS OF MUSI ON VOABULARY

The Effectiveness of Music on Vocabulary ompetence, Writing, Reading omprehension and Motivation in English Language Learning in High-School

Most English language learners in high schools show poor vocabulary competence. The main reason for this is the limited level of exposure to the language. It is generally understood and practically acknowledged that words form the basic unit of language structure. Therefore lack of sufficient vocabulary constrains students from effectively communicating and freely expressing their ideas.

Vocabulary competence is critical to developing reading comprehension skills. Lack of vocabulary development is detrimental to the development of metacognitive skill that is important in comprehending advanced texts. omprehension is a major component of development of vocabulary, reading to learn. Therefore, reading comprehension it is quite challenging for students lacking adequate knowledge of meaning of words.…

Japanese Music from Anime and Video Games on American Culture

Music found in Japanese anime and video games has found its' way into American culture, as the popularity of these mediums has provides a route through which Japanese artists and creative works may extend beyond the Asian region (Shahriari 179). The cross cultural nature of music can be seen in the development of today's Japanese popular music; known as J-Pop, has roots which can be traced to the pre-orld ar II western jazz clubs (Shahriari 178). The Japanese music scene developed its' own culture, as seen with Japanese crooners emulating the style of Elvis Presley, such as Paul Anka and J-Pop songs of the time such as Sukiyaki (Shahriari 179). The style mainly stayed within Japan, with little music becoming well know externally (Shahriari 179). However, the use of the music in anime, as well as video games has increased…

Suddenly Western Music no longer needed to follow all the old rules. Just as the abstract painters dispensed with the traditional canon of art at just the same time, so also men like Bartok and Stravinsky take a fresh look at what constituted good music.

According to Bartok, the aesthetic success of this new homophonic-polyphonic music would depend upon the "harmonic entity" that results from the rise and fall of the "horizontal line" formed by the many discrete tone patches.... "an architectonic or similar scheme is not absolutely necessary; the construction of the line born out of the different degrees of intensity that are inherent in the tonal succession would be completely satisfactory," and by his likening of such constructions to works written in prose rather than verse (Gillies, 2000, p. 55)

Stravinsky too made his own way in the musical world. Working alongside Diaghilev and his Ballet usses he…

The piano plays quick octaves and the urgent bass motive portrays an intense wild ride. This strong galloping is also being formulated by the piano's triplet rhythm which allows for the development of the dramatic storyline's urgency.

5. ) There are four different characters in this piece: the Narrator, the father, the son, and the Erlkonig. Although Schubert uses one singer to portray and sing all of the four parts of the characters, the listener is able to quite clearly differentiate them from one another. The son is sung in the high register in a minor key with dissonant harmonies. On the other hand, the father is sung in low register while the Erlkonig is sung in a coy with pleasant and soft melodies in the major key.

6. ) There are two ways that Schubert builds momentum in his piece. The first way is by using the bass as…

Music in the 21st century was accused of being increasingly derivative and irrelevant. Interest in individual performers, in the era of iTunes, was being relegated to the sidelines as teens assembled their own 'mixes' rather than sought to embrace the output of an individual artist. It was said that the era of the great soloist and the great musical concept album was dead. ith her first album The Fame in 2008, Lady Gaga changed all of that and silenced the industry's critics. Yes, she is frequently outrageous and provokes controversy for her attire as well as her voice. But underneath all of the glam and glitter, Lady Gaga has proved that she a unique mix of vocal talent, showmanship, and social activism. She has also generated a huge following on Facebook and Twitter. Lady Gaga's fans do not simply download "Poker Face," "Telephone" and "Born this ay" online. They love…

However, at the same time, the Dominican Republic is also a Hispanic speaking island and thus the Latin influence is also heavy in their version of Reggae and other musical tastes. Finally, as the band grew up in the Bronx, their musical background was also heavily influenced by the growth of American style hip-hop, which grew up out of the Bronx area. This diverse, mixing pot of musical heritage was combined by the band Aventura to create the unique musical character of Bachata.

Overall, I found the Avnentura Kings of Bachata concert to be of high quality and highly entertaining. Watching the band perform on stage shows you how much they care about their music and how much they enjoy performing it for their fans. These facts bring a high level of energy to their show, which I found captivating. The band played their songs at a fast, energetic pace…

Popular American Culture

The analogy of the tail-wagging-the-dog has never been more prevalent than in the expression of contemporary angst, vision and dreams popularly embraced by American film and music. Where both mediums were once the looking glass through which society could admire its best qualities and endeavor to rise above its worst ones, the passage of time and the resultant re-invention of personal values have transformed them into templates for destructive behaviors predicated on greed, loss of identity and desperation.

SEX

What ever happened to commitment and fidelity? The themes of early movies and songs revolved around the premise that for every woman there was just the right man, a romantic journey of discovery that was as happily anticipatory as the final destination itself was secure and ever-lasting. One needs only to look at America's dismal, 50% divorce rate to question the validity of those early promises, a disenchantment…

Music, Art, Literature Trends

From impressionism to pop art, jazz to hip hop, science fiction to beat poetry, artistic, musical, and literary expressions have varied considerably between 1870 and 2005. The period between the end of the nineteenth century to the current day can be generally described as the modern and postmodern eras. The beginning of the modern era, during the final decades of the nineteenth century, coincided with the Industrial evolution. Along with fascination with modern technology and optimism for the future came simultaneous disillusionment. However, modern technological advancements have made such widespread creativity possible. Social and political trends have also influenced creative endeavors, and vice-versa. Art, music, and literature are more accessible and more possible to create than they ever were in the past. The modern era has been characterized by an overall flourishing of the expressive arts, but some trends have a more lasting significance than others.…

Even the lyrics, which nonetheless maintain the same kind of bubblegum-angst present in nearly any widely successful "alternative" band, manage to surprise simply by the fact that the band seems to have gained a wider vocabulary, both in terms of individual words and the metaphors used. Put another way, burning "like the fire of a thousand suns" is simply a more enjoyable image than "one step closer to the edge / and I'm about to break," even if both convey generally the same theme within either song.

Following the release of A Thousand Suns, Linkin Park has, as it did previously, focused on charity work alongside the writing of the next album a promotional tour. Most recently, the band has played benefit concerts for victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear fallout which hit Japan earlier this year, with the first being in Los Angeles alongside the band B'z,…

Music and the Universe

Music is one characteristic everything in existence possesses. For anything to be existing, it has to possess an amount of energy and these always undergo vibration. From these vibrations, sound waves are generated and these combine to form what we call music. Nothing better defines the phrase "Universal Language" than music. Every human being relates to it. Sound waves move and come in contact with just about anything existing including water, soil, animals, vegetation, other worlds and galaxies etc. Music could also determine a person's mood. This power of music on human moods and emotions can actually be explained easily. The sound waves on reaching a person encounter his/her unique energy signature which causes a unique response to each sound.

This study aims to illustrate just how music and language are related and to also conclusively show that these two have a deep mental and scientific…

There is more to it than meets the eye (or ear), and repeated listenings make that even more apparent.

Great music also depends on great performances, and that is another reason to listen to it more than once. Each artist interprets music a bit differently, and so, no performance will be exactly alike. This is true of all types of music, even classical. Even though the scores are the same, each musician, director, and arranger sees the work differently, and adds a bit of their own interpretation or personality into the piece. Thus, the same song sung decades ago by the Beach Boys does not sound like the same song today sung by a young rap or hip hop artist.

Do these theories apply to pop music, as well? In many aspects, yes, they do. There are certainly many songs in pop music that are complex and detailed, with different…

Popular Entertainment and Commercial Interests

Popular entertainment is overly influenced by commercial interest. Superficiality, obscenity, and violence characterize films and television today because those qualities are commercially successful."

Through a variety of overt and subtle ways, commercial interests are the key determinants of the content of popular entertainment.

For example, two summers ago, a movie called The Cell opened amid criticism of its stylized depictions of extreme violence. In the opening scene, a pretty girl lies dead in a bathtub. The camera zooms into her vacant eyes and pulls out to show the killer fishing out her bloody kidneys. A later scene shows the killer twirling his victim's intestines around on a stick. Critics complained about the senseless violence, but the movie made $57 million in the United States alone. However, when it was time to release the movie in the international market, New Line Cinema had a problem with…

Music Videos Promotional Devices or Products in Themselves

Music Videos: Promotional Device or Separate Product?

Music videos are constructed in many different ways, but many of them involve the artist and others singing and dancing to specific songs. Some also tell stories or provide other background dealings that make the music video much like a television program. An example of this would be Michael Jackson's 'Thriller,' which was a very long video that involved much storytelling and other information as opposed to just the song. Some of these story type videos are still done today but this seems to be more popular in country music that it does in rock-and-roll.

No matter what genre is dealt with, however, the debate as to whether music videos are promotional devices or a separate product in and of themselves has been continuing for many years. In 1981 music television first began broadcasting music…

He encourages people to come aboard a train being engineered in "weirdo abandon" by musicians who "dramatized a sense of what it is to be American" (1987, p. 10). Christgau, another writer who sees the correlation between this music and the greater society in which it occurred, adds: "rock criticism embraced a dream or metaphor of perpetual revolution. . . . Worthwhile bands were supposed to change people's lives, preferably for the better. If they failed to do so, that meant they didn't matter." (2003, p. 140)

ock and roll is recognized much more than by its musical and stylistic differences. It is also utilized in many different ways by its followers. Grossberg (1983) analyzes the way that rock and roll functions in societal transformations. He notices that although rock and roll has a variety of different local effects, it appears to also have a unified historical identity. He says…

As a result, consumers again have choices. y limiting media exposure, and being aware of media techniques used to brand and market pop stars, we can make educated choices. Rather than choosing what to listen to by turning on the radio and television, we now have the choice to investigate on our own, on the Internet. It will be interesting to see how pop music responds.

ibliography

Daly, Steve. "ritney Spears inside the heart and mind (and bedroom) of America's new teen queen." Rolling Stone, 15 April 1999, 60-70.

Fox, Mark A., and Paul Kochanowski. "Models of Superstardom: An Application of the Lotka and Yule Distributions." Popular Music & Society 27, no. 4 (2004): 507-522.

Larson, Charles U. Persuasion: Perception and Responsibility, 9th ed. elmont, CA: Wadsworth / Thomson Learning, 2001.

Lelanc, Larry. "A Revival At Top 40 Radio rings Wave Of New Teen Acts In Canada." illboard, 17 June…

Latin Music

Many are unaware that in the United States today, people are blessed with a variety of Spanish-language and other Latin American cultures that are in the midst -- which were brought to the country by individuals from numerous different parts of the hemisphere. In attempting to understand and appreciate these cultures, we can learn much from their music Mexican-American music is something that has high regards in their culture. Over the years it has been expanded crossing over into many cultures ith that said, this essay is intended to analyze the many methods and styles of music and musical cultures that have been able to make their way into the United States from Latin American nations.

Origins

Surprisingly, Latin American music is a subject where there has not been a lot written about it. There is very little research on Latin music perhaps because many are not interested.…

Jamaican Music

It is never just about the music.

No matter how great the musician, music is always the expression of an entire culture, of a moment in history, of a particular place in time. The genius of a particular musician, the synergy of a particular group - these are both essential to the success or failure of a particular group. But that success or failure is never intrinsic to a single song, to a single album. Music that succeeds - both in its own time and later - does so because it has the ability to express something important about that moment in time. eggae has been able to provide just such an expression of the beliefs of a particular people at a moment in history for the last two years - and it has been able to do so because of its ability to change with larger political…

Folk Music

The Evolution of Folk Music Vocals

By its definition, folk music technically refers to indigenous forms of music created by local, regional or native populations as a way of engaging in cultural expression. This means that at its core, folk music is not intended to command a commercial value nor is it necessarily folk music by definition once a form has been co-opted by an outside culture. However, this is also a definition for folk which has long been rendered obsolete by the aesthetic and vocal qualities that listeners tend to associate with the genre today. This is because the most historically significant instances in which folk music converged with the commercial zeitgeist would come to produce a highly distinctive set of sounds.

Indeed, when we think of folk music, one tends instantly to conjure image of a young Bob Dylan with harmonica rack and guitar, wheezing his…

Reggae music, born of a combination of R&B, blues, jazz, and traditional African music, and combined with a religious tradition, was unique to Jamaica at a time when the country was looking for her identity. The combination of political messages, religious connotation, and raw sound was ideal for the changing society of the time. However, to be pushed to international stardom, the music was altered and rerecorded by milder, less powerful white British artists who helped internationalize the genre. The end result, however, was that it would take many years for true reggae to reach international audiences, complete with the ideology and messages the music was intended to portray. hile the British musicians helped popularize the culture, it would take Bob Marley and many others decades to bring the true message of reggae music to international light.

orks Cited

Connell, John. Sound Tracks: Popular Music, Identity, and Place. London: Routledge,…

Music

There is an old cliche that contemporary music, especially popular music, is without lasting significance or quality. The truth is just the opposite. Contemporary music is extremely creative, and employs a wide range of styles and draws on many traditions around the world. In fact, contemporary composers and singers encompass all the known traditions and rich styles of the past, in both western and eastern cultures, in mainstream society as well as indigenous groups. Contemporary music is all music -- from string quartets like the Kronos Quartet, whose classically trained string quartet offers jagged, minimalist, modern music that has won many fans, to the seminal and groundbreaking work of popular singer/composers like Paul Simon, who in his Rhythm of the Saints album, employed African and tribal percussion. Contemporary music can be rock and roll, rap, classical, gospel, jazz, country western, or world music (music of other cultures).

So how…

Blues music however did not cross racial lines, with the majority of famous blues musicians still residing in New Orleans and various other well-known black music entertainment venues of the South.

Gospel music has been an African-American church tradition with influences from traditional African music and especially prevalent during the slavery era. Later (most likely because of those particular ignominious associations and all they implied, especially in the South) gospel music was strongly discouraged within mainstream society and actively suppressed.

Similarly, blues music represented a blending of black musical traditions with a centuries-long history originating from the earliest days of American slavery. Sammy Davis Jr. And Nat King Cole, were and remain today among the best-known of early black entertainers within the (then) up-and-coming rock 'n roll genre of the 1940's. Each had a heavy influence upon Elvis himself.

Obviously, though, the blending of Southern musical traditions was not started…

This, along with the older Psalter by trenhold and Hopkins, was the main influence of the Bay Psalm Book printed during 1640 in Massachusetts. This can be compared with the first musical influences on and compositions by Li Jinhui. The traditional forms were explored thoroughly before new ideas in music were explored.

Culturally, the new Americans at the time were deeply religious, following the Puritan tradition on which they based their way of life. Their music therefore reflected this tradition, and the earliest genres were mainly religious in nature. As such, the musical format was unaccompanied by musical instruments, as these were viewed as secular and therefore sinful. The same type of division can be seen in the later genres of Asian music, where Cantopop began to lose its popularity in the face of new and more trendy developments. In contrast, however, the Chinese does not have as clear a…

Blacks in Blues Music

Biographer Lawrence Jackson wrote that author Ralph Ellison was exposed to the blues and classical music from an early age, eventually playing the trumpet and pursuing a degree in music at Tuskegee (McLaren Pp). hen he moved to New York to pursue his writing career, Ellison was exposed to the musical developments in jazz and often attended the Apollo Theater, the Savoy Ballroom, and Cafe Society Downtown, and although he admired such figures as pianist Teddy ilson, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, he did not particularly admired Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop, considering its use of Afro-Cuban influences as a "strategic mistake" (McLaren Pp). Ellison, writes Jackson, was more concerned with the "homegrown idiom" (McLaren Pp). That homegrown idiom that Ellison referred to was the blues, a music born in the fields of the South by black workers who used their African musical heritage to give birth to…

For those who are deeply interested an option as choice may be given as elective or additional subject. Earlier, music was the domain of the elite and aristocrats and music and art that was cherished in the western world related to the classical music styles and that has ever since undergone a lot of change. Music education in schools began in the 1960s. For the person willing to take music as a career, or art as the main goal in life, schooling and colleges in these subjects will be a blessing. For others it would become a tool whereby they can enjoy music and art better and by teaching the rudiment in schools and colleges we can create better artists and critics for the future. (Walker, 2007)

3. What is your opinion of today's music?

Western music has a rich tradition that was based on the classical composers and was…

Then in 1949, China was liberated and the state controlled by Mao Zedong, took over all music and artistic activities. Mao made great efforts to change musical traditions which he had associated with the older, defeated Chinese society. Promoted revolutionary songs and "Yangko Plays," (Yu un 1991). He moved the traditional away from professionalism, and towards exploring the life of the proletariat, the common people. Mao then allowed ussian influences to permeate into Chinese cultural traditions based on the nature of communism in the Soviet Union. Communism forced music like you would force production. Mao basically destroyed creative expression, all music other than state approved works were banned Popular musical developments were still occurring in British held Hong Kong, where the 1950s saw movements of Chinese ock and oll based on its Western influences (Wong 2000). Yet, it is clear that the music being handed down by the generations in…

Shakespeare used Music in his orks

illiam Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet, is recognized all over the world as the greatest dramatist of all times. His plays have been performed more times than those of any other dramatist and have been translated in almost every major language. (Kastan) hile many aspects of Shakespeare's plays have been discussed and analyzed, it is perhaps not so widely known that music has also played an important role in many of his plays. In this paper we shall review the historical background of music in the Shakespearian era and discuss how and why music was used in Shakespeare's works. The type of music used by the playwright as well as some examples of music in specific plays shall also be described.

Historical Background of Music in the Shakespearian Era

The 16th century in which Shakespeare was born was a period when England was…

This section was made up mainly of alto and tenor saxophones, but sometimes also included baritones as well.

1935 saw the creation of the Benny Goodman Trio, yet another development in the evolution of Goodman's style. The trio was made up of legendary jazz musicians; Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa who he had played with in his radio days, with Goodman leading and composing. In this era, Goodman followed a much more mature style, as seen in After You're Gone, (Groove Music, 2008). In these recordings, he explored a complete range of the clarinet and was prone to play in "blue thirds," (Groove Music, 2008). In 1936, the trio became a quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton on the vibraphone.

One night in 1938, Goodman got the chance of a lifetime, and has been thereafter accredited with bringing swing music into national recognition. He and his band performed at Carnegie…

Ethiopian Music 4

Ethiopia actually contains many distinct cultures. The most populous is that of the Christian Amhara around the capital plateau, but there are other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim peoples, some remote and virtually unknown. The following remarks apply to Amhara lyric poetry.

Sung verse poetry is here the major musical artform, given a very plastic melodic conception based in artistic standards which revel in double meanings. The basic formats together with the ambiguities in phrasing have something in common with poetic forms in Yemen and serve principally to attract interest. The sonorities of instrumental ensembles can also be similar, with the instruments serving primarily to accompany or mimick the voice, but with the notable inclusion of the krar lyre which seems to have direct ties to ancient lyres of Greece and King David (a fixture of Ethiopian iconography). The music itself is very much melodically driven, frequently with…

Social Analysis of the lues Music in the American Society

The blues, or blues music, has been considered an important and popular music genre in the history of American music. Its history goes back many years ago, during the black slavery period in the American history. lues music was said to have traced its roots in the cotton plantations commonly found in the South, and that blues music sang by the African-American slaves were their forms of protest against the slavery system that the white American society encourages. However, blues music did not proliferate and became prevalent among the black and white American society until after the Emancipation period, wherein most African-American slaves were now freed from bondage to slavery legally, and slavery was now abolished and prohibited to practice in the society, especially in the white American community.

The blues is defined as a "musical style created in response…

Jim Cleveland introduced the nation to the 'Gospel Choir' and in 1968 organized the Gospel Music orkshop of American and due to his success has received three Grammy Awards and a star on the Hollywood alk of Fame (Moore Pp).

Leading a movement inside the Gospel music industry to go mainstream was Edwin Hawkins, who in 1969 recorded 'Oh Happy Day' which rose to number one on the Top Fifty Chart, and a new generation of Gospel was born (Moore Pp). Then other artists such as Andrae Crouch followed Hawkins' crossover success by writing gospel lyrics for more popular secular songs (Moore Pp). Beginning in the late 1980's, contemporary gospel groups such as Take 6 and the inans began to take the gospel message to an even wider audience (Moore Pp). Both groups could easily fill a concert hall as they played their new style to the sacred and the…

Mind, Baby

Contrary to popular belief, sex and sexuality has been present in popular music for at least the past 60 years. Since the age of "oldies" -- which in this discourse is defined as the "doo wop" period of the 1950's and the 1960's and which hearken to tunes such as "Blue Moon" and "Angel Baby" -- the lyrics of songs have included elements of sex. However, in much the same way that other forms of art -- particularly those with a pervasive appeal as disseminated through media such as film and television -- have modified their presentation to go from subtle implications to overt displays of a graphic nature, the tendency to portray sex in popular music has gone from what began as implicit references that required the upper reaches of the imagination to fully understand, to blatant references of a carnal nature that oftentimes are noticeably deficient…

am Cooke," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/am_Cooke.An extensive entry on the singer that includes biography, discography, a discussion of his legacy in music, and a large section discussing the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.

tewart, B. 2005. Message in the Music: Political Commentary in Black Popular Music from Rhythm and Blues to Early Hip Hop. The Journal of African-American History. 90 (3): 196-209. Explores the history, purpose and some specific instances of political commentary in gospel, R&B, soul, and hip hop. Briefly discusses some of am Cooke's songs including "Chain Gang," and his posthumous "A Change is Gonna Come."

Ebony. 2000. The 25 Most Important Events in Black Music History. 55 (8): 140. A brief article chronicling the major events and movements in black music history including an entry on am Cooke's release of "You end Me" in 1957, which "marked the beginning of the transitional period leading to soul music"…