What is "popular music"?
To answer the question “what is popular music?� I read three articles about pop music around the world. The first article defined pop music from an American perspective (http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/American_popular_music). The article started by explaining just how influential American popular music is to the rest of the world. The article also went into great detail about the progression of the style of popular music throughout American history. The overall idea being that every type of music was once considered “popular� music and what is “popular� doesn’t stay the same. The second article defined popular music from a British perspective (http://gpwu.ac.jp/~biddle/youth.htm). The story behind British popular music is very different from the American version. During the 1950’s there was no such thing as “youth culture.� There was not “pop music� as we know it today. There was no special phase between childhood and adulthood. You people dressed the same as their parents and they shared the same values and customs. Some changes happened in Britain that boosted the economy and led to “Beatle-Mania.� After the Beatles had made it big the phases in the rise and fall of popular music came about. The third article defined popular music from an Arab perspective (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6666725.stm). It wasn’t until recently that pop culture and popular music existed in the Arab world. Much like in Britain Arab youths and parents listened to the same music. According to the article popular music has taken off in the past 10 (or so) years. The article said that popular music is a “way to connect young people.�
I was surprised to learn that popular music and culture did not always exist in other parts of the world as it has in the United States. I was especially shocked about British popular culture, because I thought that a lot of our popular culture and music steamed from British culture. I noticed a common thread between American and British popular music in that the styles change throughout history. In addition, it seems as if every style/type of music was popular at some point in time. So to answer the question “what is popular music?� I would say everything, music defines generations. Perhaps a better question would be “what is popular music today?� or what was popular music in the 1960’s?� These questions have more direct answers than the more general “what is popular music?� Moreover, I think that the answer to that question varies from person to person. For example, I know a few people who absolutely hate rap music and because of that do not even consider it a valid type of music. So if you asked them to define “popular music� they would not include rap, when it could very well be the most popular type of music to the next person you ask. For some reason I did not give too much validity to Arab popular music, perhaps it is due to the conservativeness of the Muslim culture. I was surprised after reading the article because Arab popular music seems to be very similar to American popular music. I liked that the article described Arab popular music as a “way to connect young people.� This is exactly what popular music does for young people in the United States. The article also describes a “thirst among the young for something new that reflects their lives,� I believe this also exists in America.
My response to these three articles reveals that I did not have a whole lot of background information about popular music in different countries around the world. I guess I always thought that all countries had popular music and culture, but I never really thought too much about the style or details of the culture. This also implies that I have a lot to learn about popular music and culture. So on that note I am very thankful that I am enrolled in this class.