WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO GLOBAL POP
Katy Perry’s newest song reminds us that we are not only chained to the rhythm of society, but also to the rhythm of pop music.
On February 21, 2017, the famous American pop singer Katy Perry released a song named “Chained to the Rhythm” on her YouTube VEVO channel . Appearing to be a cheerful anthem to many viewers, it was actually laden with political motives and criticism of the current way of life that is observable in America, as well as in many parts of the world. For example, some scenes in the song targeted our people’s obsession with social media, our ignorance to pollution and water safety, and gender inequality. The white fence in the music video symbolises President Trump's idea of erecting a
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Tracing back to the 1960s and 70s, famous pop stars Bob Dylan and John Lennon have written songs with a political purpose, such as Lennon’s well-known song “Imagine” that advocates for world peace. In the late 70s, the British punk rock band Sex Pistols released the song “God Save the Queen”, which is one of the first pop songs with a radical protest message. The song targeted the royalty system of the U.K. More recently, we have seen songs like Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” as an anthem for LGBTQ+ rightists. Politics have been married with songs since 50 years ago.
“Chained to the Rhythm” was special in the sense that it was one of the purposeful pop songs that made it to the top 10 positions of billboard music, alongside others like Gaga’s “Born This Way” or Lorde’s “Royals”. The highest position it reached was the 4th position. Pop music is ubiquitous in our daily lives –kids and teenagers listen to an average of 108 minutes of pop music per day. With political songs like these that are able to reach staggering popularity and affect an enormous Internet audience, it is worth asking: how can global pop music, especially those with social or political implications, affect us? Whether “us” is the citizens in the U.S. or citizens in Hong Kong. And, how can we expect the global music industry to continue to
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Or the way you speak? Or, introduce you to a new hobby? When I reflect on how global pop has ever infiltrated into my childhood, I think of examples such as “Gangnam Style” that really drove me and my friends to “do” something. Perhaps you too would remember seeing people from your city shooting videos of them dancing to pop songs, or saying jokes with lyrics from such music. These examples demonstrate that global pop music can have a trendsetting effect.
Global pop can ignite temporary trends for local cultures. Take Pharrell Williams’ addictive song “Happy” as an example. The song was released in 2013, and it had the purpose of encouraging viewers to practise being happy, even in the saddest of times. On top of its light, catchy tune and its positivist message that impressed viewers of all age groups, the dance, featured in its music video, was able to transcend national borders and became a popular dance style in worldwide locales , such as Paris, Tunisia, Dublin etc. In Hong Kong, teenagers also woke to the trend and danced with their friends in front of cameras . I remember a video of the same dance being shot inside my own secondary
Pop culture in the 1950s and 1960s began to spread and infest the nation from front to back through radio shows, books and magazines, television programs, and even motion pictures. Whether it is culture in terms of political affairs, clothing or the latest musical sensations, the United States has always played the dominant role when it came to who knows what is best, first. Some cases of Americanizati...
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
On May 5, 2018, Atlanta rapper Childish Gambino released a video for his new song titled “This is America.” The video featured not-so-subtle commentary on the current gun debate in the United States and began trending quickly. Many began to wonder if a song with this much political weight could make it past the viral stage and hold its own on the music charts. One of those inquiring was Chris Molanphy, a journalist for Slate.com who often writes about popular music. He makes the claim that this song is “one of the most lyrically daring [Billboard] Hot 100 No. 1 in history.” In his article, “‘This is America,’ the Video, Is a Smash. Will the Song Have Legs?,” Molanphy uses diction, ethos, and analogy to argue that Gambino’s “This is America”
Because of this, though, the globalization of a song can be seen as detractor to the value of the song 's original use or purpose as there is an essential loss of identity for the song when it is utilized for purposes that stand in contrast to the personal value that it originally possessed. This article is essential in understanding global pop music and the relationship that it has with various forms of music because of the introduction of this discussion that it poses. Feld illustrates many of the reasons behind this development and the causes as to why this phenomenon
There is one universal language: the language of music. Music has a special quality and ability to bridge both social and cultural divides. A proposed theory by Dr. Gray, Founder and Director of National Musical Arts’ BioMusic Program; describes music has been around longer than human-beings have. Music is the one thing human beings from various backgrounds can relate to. Every living creature would agree. Music is heard everywhere not just among humans, but in nature as well, through the twitting of birds, winds blowing, the soft sound of raindrops against a windowpane, the ocean waves moving back and forth and the hum of the ocean rushing in a sea shell. There is no escaping it; music lives in and surrounds us steadily. While there are countless songs which confer social or cultural consciousness, this paper will analyze and address the dynamics of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”, video. Stylistically, the paper will examine the artist point of view, the unique use of lyrical analysis and sound description in relation to its historical, social, political and/or cultural context. This essay will also trace the lyrical analysis and sound description of song and discuss how the elements (visually, sonically, and lyrically) interplay with the theme of immigration and/or violence.
The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular protest music, which has reached out to the youthful generations everywhere demanding for a revolutionary change. The protest music took the children of the 1960’s to a completely new different level. Musicians of this generation were not going to sit and do nothing while the government lied to the people about what was going on in Vietnam. Instead, they took their guitar-strumming troubadours from the coffee houses, plugged them in, and sent the music and the message into the college dorm rooms and the homes of the youth of America. However, as decades went by, protest music does not have much of an impact as it use to because of the way things have changed over the years. Through the analysis of the music during the 1960’s, there shall be an understanding on how the different genres of protest music has affected social protesters based on how musicians have become the collective conscience of that generation through their lyrics and music and the main factors that contributed to the lack of popula...
World music may sound as simple as its name suggests, however the world music phenomenon expresses a deeper story that many people seem to miss. There is so much that makes up a world music genre, but what we hear about it is not always the easiest to decipher and generally comes from powerful and large organisations, where not all of it is explained thoroughly. A lot of their understanding comes from what they are only interested in and most important stories and factors are either ignored or incomplete (Stokes 2003, p. 297). Not receiving the full picture, gives us a limited understanding of world music and its sub genres. Different genres of music over the globe have been shaped in many ways by influences such as the; historical and traditional root, people and their culture, migration, globalisation, politics and commodification. Nueva Canción is one example of a world music genre that has been influenced in such ways, and of which has a strong historical and political story worthy to be recognised. This essay will focus on the way the genre, Nueva Canción has become a significant genre of world music, by exploring the influences stated previously.
Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New York City has now taken over the mainstream, but originated as an empowering art form for urban youth and emerging working class.
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music has progressed since that time and has slowly become what it is today. Though music has been around for such a long time, protest music just started to develop in the Vietnam Era, the year 1954. The war started the era of protest which, in turn, created a new form of music which incorporated a specific type of lyric that was a way of expressing protest through the song. Since music in this era was already a big thing, artists thought it would be a good idea to get their political viewpoints out there. They did it through something that affected everybody in that time and space. The artists view spread quickly through the country because of the catchy tune and the viewpoints that are listed. In the United States of America, it is a very common thing to conform to others in a group (Conformity…). Since conformity is such a common occurrence in a large group, all the artist has to do is find a couple of people in the group, group being an audience, who agree with the artist and the rest will unfold on its own. The artist will keep on performing while the word of him and his music will spread from person to person. Conformity will ultimately bring people together on the same viewpoint until eventually, there are thousands of people there with the artist to protest. These artists have grown over time along with the style of music that they bring along with them. Protest music still exists today and is one of the most effective forms of protest that we have.
Jang, S. Mo, and Hoon Lee. "When Pop Music Meets A Political Issue: Examining How “Born This Way” Influences Attitudes Toward Gays And Gay Rights Policies." Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 58.1 (2014): 114-130. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
“Music is uniquely wonderful. It is incapable of being touched yet it touches everyone who is capable of hear sounds. It can seemingly evoke any emotion; we instinctively respond to happy tunes, mournful songs, beautiful melodies, inspiring anthems, stirring hymns, and majestic orchestrations.” (Doolan, Robert. 1985) There is no question that music is great part of society; it has been at civilization’s side whether it be the lyres and flutes of the ancient Greeks or how it calms or excites emotions and keeps armies in order during battle. Within society, there has also been social unrest and the desire for change. Protesting is the expression of a society’s concerns on current events of which they feel affected by whether it be through public rallies, picketing, riots or even bombings. Protest through music is one powerful medium for engaging people. Amidst what life throws at individuals, music has comforted the soul, provoked individualistic thought and opinion, and music draws people together through groups alike who have the same attachment or concerns with their surroundings. Whether it be rock, jazz, blues, rap, hip hop, dance, spiritual, or world, music has inspired artists to spill out their expression and views of society. Music is a universally effective tool of protest in generating social change and unrest as it continues to unite those with like ideas.
Some may say music is just music; a song is just a song. However, music plays an enormous role in our psychology, because a single song has the ability to bring about many kinds of thoughts and emotions in the listener. Music is subtly one of the main factors in which people identify with certain groups and establish their belonging in society. It shapes people’s perspectives on how the world functions and the roles they play within it. Music can function the same way in a culture; it can reflect many of the culture’s values and ideologies. Music can have many effects on culture and the people’s idea of who they think they are within that culture. Music can serve in a way that promotes cultural identity and pride, yet it could also play a role in the separation of social and economical identities in within cultures.
Every human possesses some guaranteed basic freedoms and rights, whether it is the freedom of speech, or the freedom to express themselves. However, the government seems to be increasingly determined to limit these freedoms, using censorship to confine these rights that we usually take for granted. The most important facet of media in general is that it allows people to express themselves freely. In fact, this freedom of expression that music allows us is one of the primary reasons why it exists. Sadly, many of the current artists have forgotten that, but nonetheless, censorship seems to always be there to limit the expression of those who choose to place deeper messages in their songs.
With the music being the highly profitable, capitalist enterprise that it is today, it is no wonder that it is controlled and regulated by a few large conglomerates that exist is today’s world. It is important to make clear that although evidence is being presented of the positive aspects of globalization through music that there is overwhelming evidence that cultural imperialism is more than it seems on the outside. One must keep in mind that cultural imperialism, globalization and the creation of a global village is a business. People are profiting at other people’s loss of cultural identity, they are sold a culture and heritage. With the every growing N’Sync fan clubs and Britney clones, the world is turning into a stage for pop culture and its glamorous unattainable standards.
Pop culture is a reflection of social change, not a cause of social change” (John Podhoretz). It encompasses the advertisements we see on T.V, the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, and it’s the reason Leonardo DiCaprio has not won an Oscar yet. It defines and dictates the desires and fears of the mainstream members of society and it is so ingrained into our lives that it has become as natural as breathing. Moreover, adults never even bat an eyelash at all the pop culture and advertising that surrounds them since it has become just another part of everyday life. Pop culture is still somewhat seen as entertainment enjoyed by the lower class members of society but pop culture standards change over time.