Informative Essay: Understanding Popular Music Culture

The song I chose to analyze is “Letters to the President” by Hawk Nelson. It is a song that has a strong resonance in today 's society and inspires me. It is in the genre of “Pop-Punk” , which has had many songs released in the same vein of attempting to make a political statement. The artist attempts to convey that it is important that as a society the two main components of a song are the lyrics and instrumentals. While the instrumentation lends to the lyrics of the song, but it is not the most prominent thing in the song. The lyrics are definitely the stronger component of this particular song. The instrumentals for the majority of the song are fast paced attempting to awaken a sense of urgency within the listener, while also attempting to

“Politics can be strengthened by music, but music also has a potency that defies politics.” This quote by Nelson Mandela summarizes the relationship between music and politics, and how important and unique their connection is. “This relationship is important because music has the power to enforce and the power to challenge politics”. Music has this power because it contains the potential to influence individuals, which can result in political movements, and even cause cultural change. The influence of music genre, Rock ‘n’ Roll, has heavily impacted the culture and society of America in several different ways. One of the most influential effects Rock ‘n’ Roll music has on America is its power to unite and divide individuals during troublesome periods. The unison and division of American citizens has been displayed several times throughout history, but perhaps the most important is shown in the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

Even though Pop music is the most common type of music the public listens to due to radio airplay and promotion, an overwhelming majority of both critics and listeners claim the Pop music is simply music without meaning. However, there are certain Pop songs that are on the top charts and do have meaning. For example, “Treat You Better” written and preformed by Shawn Mendes is currently number four on the Pop chart. At first glance, this seems like a typical love song about a boy who claims he can be a better boyfriend than his friends’ current boyfriend. However, the music video of the

In the 1980s, we saw many different genres of music emerge, genres such as Pop, Rock, and R&B. But a new genre emerged that sparked a lot of controversy: “Gangsta Rap” otherwise known as Hip Hop. Rappers/Rap groups such as NWA, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, and more changed the industry with catchy tunes and lyrics that talked about hard topics like slavery, violence, and police brutality. These lyrics sometimes caused major conflict, whether between races or with civilians and police. Hip Hop was very controversial in the 80s. “Gangsta rap” has caused a lot of controversy, many people protested this music in the late 80s and 90s due to the message within its lyrics and what those lyrics conveyed. Many accused “Gangsta Rap” for promoting things

Rock and Roll has revolutionized the way we behave, dress, and much more. To this day rock and roll continues to make its statement in society. It had become a popular music genre that dominated the 1950’s and currently today 's music culture. The music genre originated in the 1950’s. It is a combination of Jazz, Blues, and Gospel. This music style had shaped the future of those in the 1950’s setting a platform of the music to come. Rock and Roll couldn’t have taken flight without the popular artist of the time including the widely known “King of Rock” Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and many more bands from England and America.

Music is a critical form of expression, especially in times of political and social unrest; it has been an ever-present component in protest movements throughout history. Songs have the power to not only unite a group of people, but also motivate them. Music is an important historical text that provides us understanding into the circumstances that led up to protest movements and the reasons that motivate its activists. They are far more complex than just types of entertainment. Protest songs have no specific genre and can often be applied in many social movements. The 1950’s and 60’s were the beginning of the civil rights movement. Malvina Reynolds song “Little Boxes” is a critique of the culture of conformity during

Hip-hop culture has been identified by the lifestyles of many. Hip-hop encouraged violence throughout society. Hip-hop songs promote violent behavior and some of them drugs. And They used degrading lyrics towards women.

Music has always been a means of artistic expression and delivering a message. In the early years of music with traveling bards, music was a means of telling mythos and entertaining a sense of adventure. It slowly moved to a means of expressing one's sense of self and identity. One of the most dramatic changes in music was the development of hip-hop which changed music as a whole allowing for a means of expression of populistic ideals and social constructs that were important at the time and now.

Music just like any art form arises from the desire to express one’s emotions towards a particular subject or person. Country music tells one the story of love and struggle. Hip Hop express one’s story of struggle. When examined closely every musical genre can be seen to express a certain sentiment for people and the world. Rock and Roll is no different. Musical genres and art styles are products of the times in which they are created. Though over time musical genres and art styles can change they are forever rooted in the times in which they were created. Rock and Roll is unique in that it came to popularity in time where there was a rise in popular culture and a rise in social experimentation. The rise of Rock and Roll was surrounded by elements

Culture, the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively, can be defined by music, clothes, paintings, drawings, TV shows, etc. Joyce Carol Oates in her short story Where are you Going, Where Have you Been? explores the effects of music on an American teen. By making allusions to the church and utilizing music as a motif she explores the moral poverty of American pop culture and the ways it makes people vulnerable. Moral poverty of American pop culture means that in pop songs there really aren’t songs with meaning, that they create idealistic situations. Different people connect with music in different ways, for many teens music can be an escape from their real lives and show them a sort of promised

Popular music or pop is just what it sounds like popular music. Many people refuse to listen to it claiming it is “top forty junk” or that “it all sounds the same” however pop music is popular for a reason. It reflects our time the way people think and the problems

Today’s music has evolved into something more than art. Music is an artistic form of auditory communication that incorporates vocals or instrumental tones. There are many theories as to when and where music originated but, many people believe that music began before man existed. Music can be interpreted in different ways for many people. As stated by Espie Estrella, “What may be music to one may not be so to another.” Historiographers pointed out that there are six periods of music and each period has a particular style. The different styles and periods of music has contributed to the music we listen to today. Music has had a huge impact on all cultures but, today’s music contains too much profanity for little children to listen to and in order for this not to impact little children, parents should only allow them to listen to the clean versions of the music that contains profanity.

Regardless of age, ethnicity, geographical location and social status we are all consumers of popular culture. We can consume popular culture though particular themes, images, messages and symbols. The production of these themes and the presentation are illustrated by what is popular to the masses. Media is an instrumental agent of popular culture and within popular culture several categories, such as music, sports, politics, news and events. Music has significantly shaped the United States views on particular social problems and allows the artist to provide their insight on the themes, and outcomes related to these social problems. Throughout the years the social issues and problems have changed, but music remains a popular venue to explain,

When the word is examined within the context of popular culture, however, it takes on a different definition, far beyond that found in a dictionary. While quantitative factors must inherently play a role in defining ‘popular’, the origins from which these factors stem from must also be considered. Raymond Williams (1983, p.237) provides a concise definition of popular culture as “the culture actually made by the people for themselves”, and thus implies that the term ‘popular’ is better defined by the populace within which the cultural trends exist, rather than by a measure of how many people subscribe to those cultural trends. John Storey (2012, p.9) similarly defines popular culture as “‘authentic’ culture of ‘the people’”, providing a second and comparable view that popular culture is an organic type of culture that is produced by the population, rather than by a selection of larger powers. Working from both Williams’ and Storey’s definitions of popular culture we can deduce that the word ‘popular’, when examined under the lens of popular culture, can be defined as something created by the people for consumption by those the population who created it as a

Music! What a great way to express our minds, feelings, and emotions! Since the beginning of time, music has been a common language all over the world. It has been a mean of entertainment and joy to every single human being. Music is among the rare practices that battled through time, survived and evolved without losing a bit of its edge and power. Whoever and wherever we are, whatever genre we prefer, we all have that rhythm that’s making us full of happiness, we all have those lyrics that changed us forever and moved our senses. But unfortunately, music now days started changing people to the worst not the better. Singers, viewing music as a mean of criticism, pushed the limits of acceptable lyrics and started writing extremely violent and