Week 5 - Can Popular music ever really be unplugged?

It is hard to imagine what modern day music would be like without the technology that has progressed over the last hundred years. Paul Theberge insisted that without electronic technology, 21st century pop music is unthinkable and I believe you would struggle to find many people who disagree with this belief. Since the 1950’s, performers have been able to fill virtually any size venue with their sounds. Without technologies such as amplifiers and powerful speakers, artists would be limited in their performances. Even when recording sounds nowadays, the sound of instruments are modified to improve the sound for the audience through the use of software on computers. The question remains, what actually classifies as unplugged? In my opinion, unplugged refers to a act of essential purity and an acoustic performance on a guitar would constitute this. I think music can be unplugged as long as there is no infringement through electronic technology. Unplugged music is just another genre and should be cherished as it is pure!

Week 4 - What is World Music and Why does it exist?

There are many different interpretations around the globe of what ‘world music’ is classified as. Many would consider anything foreign as world music, whereas wealthier countries that are exposed to commercial music could see rare breeds of music as this genre. Music such as Spanish Salsa, African tribal music or any type of native brand is only seen as world music in our eyes because of it’s unique origin and because of the way our beliefs have evolved, this will always remain the same. In this country, world music has become a term that describes cultural music from different backgrounds that is not as accessible. I believe the existence of this music is to promote different cultures and their sounds without the financial motive and this can only be a good thing! Hence, links with Oxfam on CD’s such as Think Global: Acoustic Brazil. The question remains; is Britain’s interpretations of world music a right one? I believe that any song has the potential of being world music simply because it is the sound of someone’s specific culture and the nations beliefs are to narrow-minded in this instance.

Commodity or art form?

Is popular music a commodity or an art form?

Many people believe that music is produced for one reason and one reason only... to make money but the fact is, everybody is different. Admittedly, there are people out there who do create music solely for the money but there are others that thrive on creating music. Adorno firmly believes pop music is a commodity and that pseudo individualisation and interchangability in songs are put in place to disguise the music’s similarities. To a degree this is true but these beliefs can be compared to any medium. For example, Duchamp’s adaptation of the Mona Lisa. Although this masterpiece had already been created, it is still being portrayed in a different light and is symbolising Duchamp’s views. Art can be defined as a product of human creativity. The moment music is created, in my opinion, it is art. Music is a medium created by humans in an artistic manner and although it can be used directly for money purposes, all music remains as art. The expressing of a person through the form of music. These performers aren’t called artists for nothing!