Pop Music
I started reading background information on pop music in American, British and Arab culture, then moved onto the academic language of Gerald Graff and his thoughts on the combination of education and pop culture.
In reading the BBC article, I was struck at the mention of music moving from being about love to that of sex—and yet it is the sex appeal of the music videos that is making it a so popular (Hundred thousands of dollars are spent on one music video compared to a mini—series). So would there be such controversy about the emerging popular music in the Arab music industry without such sex appeal in the videos? So it brings me to thinking, is it the sexual innuendo or is it the fact that its something that “polite� society does not look fondly upon it that makes it appealing. It would be like drinking or sneaking into the clubs prior to being of age. I remember the appeal of being able to tell my friends I was at the club when I was not 18 yet—but I hated being in a smoky, hot room trying to dance among the masses—and I didn’t even like to dance that much. I just wanted to sneak into the clubs with my cousins. When I did turn 18 and was able to go—I was like big deal. Same thing with drinking. And that brings up another thing—I hear that in the US we have so many issues with underage drinking and in countries that don’t have an age limit there aren’t many issues. Once again—is it the appeal of not being able to do it—going against authority—that appeals to the young masses?
Back to the music and the music videos, it brought quite a funny image to mind that I want to let out. Imagine listening to Flo Rida’s song “Low�—through the lyrics, it is very suggestive, but what if the video was of him dressed in a suit singing into a microphone? Would that have the same appeal? Does a music video help a song become popular? Does a type of music video make a genre of music more appealing? In thinking about the genre of music and the type of music videos they produce, I tend to see a trend. I would say that country music is more conservative leaning towards including sex appeal now (think of Shania Twain’s first music video to her recent ones)—but I am digressing. Lets get back to the articles.
“Why are we learning this?� “When will we ever use this?� These questions are always coming out of students’ mouths all the time. As a teacher, I am so focused on the content that I sometimes forget to apply the content—and that is where students feel disconnected from what they are learning. They need something concrete to anchor them in a sea of “yesterdays� (I teach social studies). In the readings on American and British popular culture, I began to see the connections I could make to the impact of history on people’s lives—allowing for the application of history’s implication on everyday people. This applies to what Graff is saying about academics—we must apply academia to the student’s lives if we want them to learn. In learning about World War I, we should not just look at what happened, but how did it affect people then and what aftershocks still remain now?