Music is a perfect example of a factor in pop culture that has been evident in pop culture for centuries. The idea that music plays a vital role in pop culture has always been there, but the sounds and genres of music of different times are vastly different. Think back to a time when there was no IPod, CD player, YouTube, etc. Music used to only be composed of voices and musical instruments. The way we listen and produce music has changed and improved in many different and a variety of ways over the history of the world.
The old fashioned record player evolved into many things, eventually coming to a portable compact disc player. In recent history, CD players have all but vanished from society with the emergence of MP3 players and of course, the Apple IPod family. It isn’t even required to have a disc with music on it anymore; music can now just be downloaded to these MP3 devices. The devices we use to play music have just become simpler and simpler and more and more portable that it’s no wonder the older versions of music players have somewhat disappeare
d. My primary music player, for example, is the 6th generation IPod Nano. It’s the smallest model of the Nano yet and is the first Nano to be touch screen. It’s amazing how much songs and videos and other media IPod’s can hold. Mine is a 16 gigabyte, so needless to say it holds much more songs than a CD that can hold about 20.
I’m not that old, I’m only 20, but even in my short life, the different sounds in music are very obvious. Unfortunately, since I was so young in the 90’s, I missed the whole alternative pop/rock generation that I have grown to love.
The old fashioned record player evolved into many things, eventually coming to a portable compact disc player. In recent history, CD players have all but vanished from society with the emergence of MP3 players and of course, the Apple IPod family. It isn’t even required to have a disc with music on it anymore; music can now just be downloaded to these MP3 devices. The devices we use to play music have just become simpler and simpler and more and more portable that it’s no wonder the older versions of music players have somewhat disappeare
d. My primary music player, for example, is the 6th generation IPod Nano. It’s the smallest model of the Nano yet and is the first Nano to be touch screen. It’s amazing how much songs and videos and other media IPod’s can hold. Mine is a 16 gigabyte, so needless to say it holds much more songs than a CD that can hold about 20.I’m not that old, I’m only 20, but even in my short life, the different sounds in music are very obvious. Unfortunately, since I was so young in the 90’s, I missed the whole alternative pop/rock generation that I have grown to love.
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The first type of music I remember being popular to my age group was the time when boy bands like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys were popular, as well as pop princesses like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. As I’ve been in college, and a little bit during high school, I’ve found music from before and during that same time that had a very different sound, but was still appealing to my age group. These included bands like Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday, Alanis Morisette, Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Goo Goo Dolls, and tons of others. The 90’s were also a generation of one-hit wonders. These are the songs that everyone knows if they hear them, but will have no clue who sings it or what the name of it is. I just recently heard the song “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry. I had heard that song a thousand times, but never knew what it was.
As that era came and passed, a new generation of hip-hop slowly started to take over. For example, the Black Eyed Peas are one of the highest chart-topping groups presently, and they even performed at the Super Bowl. I think they can be looked at as creating a type of overlapping genre. They aren’t exactly rap, but aren’t exactly hip-hop or pop either. They are kind of a mixture of everything! That generation is still very dominating, but more and more what I consider “party” music and techno-like music has become bigger and bigger. Ke$ha has recently grown more and more popular with her party themed songs about getting wasted and, well, partying. Her music is dominated by this theme, but others too who have come out with certain Top 40 hits have been successful too such as Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” or “Who’s That Chick?” by Rihanna. Anything that people can dance to is popular. Recently, I’ve noticed the genre of “dub step” has become very popular. It’s basically the type of music you hear at the club. For example, my roommate and I recently saw Skrillex in concert at 2020 Nightclub. What he basically does is creates remixes and mash-ups of already popular songs to make them faster, have more bass, and have very distinct beats. He created one of these out of Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” and “Bad Romance” and also Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Seduction”. He also creates his own tracks that are very similar in sound to the remixes. A good example of a one-hit wonder song in the dub step genre would be “Take Over Control” by Afrojack or. I’ve never heard of him, but one night at a bar the song came on. It was one of those songs I’d heard thousands of times, but never knew the name. A newer song that falls under this genre is "Stereo Love" by Edward Maya.
has become bigger and bigger. Ke$ha has recently grown more and more popular with her party themed songs about getting wasted and, well, partying. Her music is dominated by this theme, but others too who have come out with certain Top 40 hits have been successful too such as Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” or “Who’s That Chick?” by Rihanna. Anything that people can dance to is popular. Recently, I’ve noticed the genre of “dub step” has become very popular. It’s basically the type of music you hear at the club. For example, my roommate and I recently saw Skrillex in concert at 2020 Nightclub. What he basically does is creates remixes and mash-ups of already popular songs to make them faster, have more bass, and have very distinct beats. He created one of these out of Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” and “Bad Romance” and also Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Seduction”. He also creates his own tracks that are very similar in sound to the remixes. A good example of a one-hit wonder song in the dub step genre would be “Take Over Control” by Afrojack or. I’ve never heard of him, but one night at a bar the song came on. It was one of those songs I’d heard thousands of times, but never knew the name. A newer song that falls under this genre is "Stereo Love" by Edward Maya. http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Fe4dk0Jtcw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>
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Music as a whole is also a very good example of pop culture in the fact that many genres of music are popular at the same time, but different kinds of people like different genres. For example, modern country, rap, pop, hip-hop, rock and different branches that come from these (i.e. the subgenre of dub step comes from pop, I believe) are all popular to someone. Certain people like only certain kind of genres or maybe one or maybe all, but regardless, the point is that these genres are vastly different, yet they can each be accepted. For example, I like both rock, country, and pop. Each sounds different, but I like all of them just the same. For me, the different times I listen to it depends on the situation. If I’m going out with friends, I’ll be listening to pop, dub step, etc. If I’m just driving around, depending on my emotions, I’ll listen to others. It’s awesome how different genres of music can be popular at the same time to please a variety of different people. The majority of people like music, and music is a major part of their lives. This is why it’s so important to pop culture. Music is the soundtrack of life.
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