Rock ‘N’ Hip, Hop ‘N’ Roll, and the Integration of Music

From bell bottoms to Barbies, every generation has its own obvious trends. While various fads maintain cropped up in each era, practice of medicine has always been a reveal element of civilization. Starting in the 1950s, music became integrated within the the Statesn shade as the raise form of expression. The fashionable types of music found on the Top 100 lists today however, hold in revisiond dramatically since then. What has promoted this obvious change in music choice? While carry n cockle slake holds its own in the music billboards of 2010, the general public now prefers the mechanical sounds of hip hop and polish.So which trends in music and in view made the rebellious disputation n roll a lot(prenominal) a craze in the 1950s, but not now? Each era has had specific trends, schools of impression and attitudes that have veered them into a specific genre of music. stonein Out Before 1950, the Ameri mickle culture held firm favorable expectations. Males were exp ect to enroll into the military or work, and women were expected to stay in the kitchen. America was pulling protrude of the depression, and wealth and prosperity was not considered a necessity. As the United States prevailed in World War II however, America started to change startlingly.While many people were focused on conforming with their neighbors, the social body structure was revolutionized. Soldiers returned, many experiencing traumatic psychological and tangible problems. Women who had integrated themselves into the work force now found themselves replaced by returning soldiers. Most importantly, families started experiencing a great deal of economic independence. This change magnitude affluence gave teenagers a circumstances to break outdoor(a) from their p arents lifestyles. Teens started creating their own clothing trends, dance fads, and hairstyles (Cox).As these new fads and styles starting breaking off from social norms, rock n roll became the sound of change. C onservative parents viewed rock n roll, and the hip gyrations that came with it, as a gift from the devil. Despite their parents protestations however, teenagers idolized musicians like Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis. So what made rock n roll the epitome of 1950 culture? Four recording companies-Decca, R. C. A. , Columbia and Capital-had a virtual monopoly all everywhere the popular music field in the early 1950s. This control made rock n roll wildly popular, simply because there was no competition (Lewis 47).As the 1950s went on, their control weakened, yet rock n roll still prevailed as the dominant music genre. A contributing factor to its increase popularity was the lack of musicians being schooled in theory, technique and composition. Rock n roll paved a opulent road for a small, charismatic group of people. They provided music rapidly to the Ameri plenty public, without having to compose masterpieces rivaling the music of Bach, Liszt and Debussy. Rock n roll also crea ted an easy and fun way to express complex feelings with walloping rhythms and twisting ostinato patterns.Simon Anderson explains, The amplified bass seems to produce a kind of second-level rumble, a subsidiary moaning and groaning, an incantation of the adolescent subculture, where no one really knows or cares how they feel about life. This incantation of the adolescent subculture spoke to the class, gender and racial conflicts tearing through America at the measure. Rock n roll introduced the American white culture to black music. Teenagers soon became addicted to the rhythm and blues and rock n roll, all of which was black-inspired. The crossing of racial culture helped the disintegration of the color line.Appreciation of black music helped increase recognition of blacks in popular culture (Bertrand). Though the rhythms and beat of rock n roll spoke to the carefree teenager life, a lot the lyrics promoted conventional values and strength in relationships. 83. 4% of songs i n 1955 were love ballads in the conversational agency (Carey 723). Most songs told of l all overs, yearning for each other in some type of sense. This theme reflects the attitudes of teenagers in the 1950s, as this was the first generation people were allowed to marry for love. Women had more freedom to travel into the workplace and finally be on equal grounds with their husbands.Husbands did not have to leave their wives for war. Children had more autonomy as parents no longer dictated who and when they were going to love. However, as this freedom was increasingly integrated into American culture over time, the amount of love partaked songs dramatically dropped. In 1966, only 69. 5% of produced songs were about love and cause (Carey 723). Rock n roll provided the perfect form of expression in the 1950s. It combined lyrical ties to understructure social changes and catchy rhythms unique to its generation. Whats Hip Now? The change tearing through America in the 1950s persists to this day. 2010 has brought a busier, more materialistic, culture than ever sooner.The trends of women working outside of the home and increasing teenage autonomy persists. American teenagers are given more discretionary time than ever before in history. Reed Larson studied this continuing trend and explains, If we look back over the past two hundred years, the most striking historic change in young peoples use of time is that youths spend much less time on labor activities today than they did in Americas agrarian past (160). Some teenagers use this newfound source of time dedicated to structured self-imposed activities such as sports, theatre, work, etc. others dedicate escalating amounts of time to mind-numbing entertainment.And with hundreds of new forms of mass media, it is hard to not stay at caught up in the technology tornado sweeping through the nation. The endless barrage of t. v. , facebook, internet sites, music, iPhones and iPods, video and computer games can easily overwhelm the distracted teenager. Mass media however, is not promoting enlightening or uplifting ideas or values. Instead, popular music now screams lyrics advocating ridiculous displays of wealth, substance abuse and the need for physical love.Top rated songs like Billionaire, Raise Your Glass, and Low are all examples of this. Misogynistic rap lyrics have become a dominant feature in the work of several artists. Often in hip-hop and pop music, women advert as mindless props or accessories to be doused with expensive champagne or to shake their half-naked bodies to repetitive beat and sexist lyrics (Murry 6). In Eminems recent hit to I Love the Way You Lie, his stomach verse reads, Im tired of the games/ I just want her back/ I know Im a prevaricator/ If she ever tries to f***ing leave again/ Imma tie her to the bed/ And set the house on fire.Songs like this expressing control over women physically, sexually and emotionally predominate popular culture. How did songs depictin g such unrealistic and unchaste ideals become the rage in American teenage culture? Perhaps it is hip-hops diligent presence in pop culture. For the last two decades, hip-hop has prided itself on being misunderstood it lacks soupiness and is not easily thwarted by moralizing efforts (Murray 8). And for the last two decades, American teenagers have prided themselves on being misunderstood, and have not been easily thwarted by moralizing efforts.A mass culture trend has changed communication from the sincerity of face to face conversation to the simplicity of texting and Facebook. This has lead to a hang in senti psychicality and an increase in misunderstandings between people. Moral beliefs practiced by preceding generations have also disappeared. Ethics such as chastity, honesty and virtue have become unfashionable and undesirable. The change in lyrics from conventional love ballads in the 1950s to the focus on money and sexual prizes reflects the changes in behavior and schools of thought throughout the generations.Lyrical Art The lyrics found in any genre of music influences the emotions of the discoverer (Krumhans 45). Martina McBrides pop hit Concrete Angel is a fantastic example of emotion correlating with song lyrics. The heart-wrenching song tells the story of an little girl who is killed because of physical abuse in her home. The chorus reads, by means of the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone/ In a world that she cant rise above/ But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place/ Where shes loved/ Concrete Angel. Though the melody, key, tension or dynamics help create an emotional show throughout this song, the lyrics were what made this song so emotionally knock-down(a). Concrete Angel acquires its emotional meaning through the association of level(p)ts that the general audience can relate too. Though the majority of the attenders will not have experienced physical abuse first hand, they can sympathize because they are aware of the emotional, physical and mental damage violence incurs. Musicians know of the power lyrics hold.Lyrics can tell stories that make hearts melt, enlighten schools of thought never explored before, or create strong physical reactions. But lyrics that the majority of the public can relate to, sell better. This is the reason why the general themes songs have expressed have changed so dramatically over the last sixty years. The teenagers in 1950 were just starting to experience economic prosperity and free love. To listen to music completely revolving around money and sex would be crossing a line they hadnt invented yet.And the youth in 2010 will not easily relate to ballads focused around falling in love with that one person because most are not looking for one person to love. some(prenominal) the love-bound lyrics of the 1950s and the materialistic lyrics of pop songs today accurately reflect the culture they predominate. Rhythm n blues Several other factors influence what makes cultural music popular. Lyrics must be in a puritanical combination of rhythm, harmony, key, dissonance, tension and dynamics for a song to reach its full potential. Even the untrained ear can distinguish feelings associated with the mode of the piece.Major, fast paced songs are associated with happy feelings era minor, slow, soft songs are correlated with sad feelings. Dissonant, unstable, tense songs often invoke feelings of fear. These feelings can all be present without powerful lyrics. Much of the worlds music is instrumental, and most of these create powerful emotion in the listener (Krumahns 48). So which musical factors specifically influenced popular music in the 1950s and today? The drumming beats found in most rock n roll pieces created a powerful sound teenagers turn around.The harsh rhythms, instability of sound and rockin dance moves associated with rock n roll all helped increase its popularity. favorite music today features fast paced songs with mechanical soun ds in the solid ground. Songs incorporate an inordinate amount of words per second, often leaving the listener wondering what they just heard. In the new hit single Love like Woe, the listener hears, Cause I got some intuition/ Or maybe Im superstitious/ But I think youre a pretty sweet pill that Im swallowing down/ To counter this addiction/ Youve got me on a mission/ Tell me darling, can I get a break somehow? Could I say no? , all in a unsullied ten seconds.The fast pace of songs are easily correlated with the fast pace of teenagers lives today. Teenagers are expected to excel in school, extracurriculars, athletics, music, and family life all at the same time. Pop music is branching away from traditional instruments to a more machine based background. The popular song Like a g6 even goes as far as making the chorus voices sound computerized. Classical music appreciation has sternly declined and sounds symbolizing a mechanical, over the top life, have taken control of the musi cal industry. The Ensemble melodic orientation course is very much behavioral. In the words of Simon V. Anderson, If music educators did not believe that musical preference is socially conditioned. . . They would not work in the public classrooms at all, but rather, they would spend their time and qualification in the science laboratories searching for the virus . . . that impairs musical judgment (39). Popular music preference has much to do with the language, values and beliefs of the teenagers perspective of popular culture. Trendy music will be the music that teenagers can relate to and create for them the feelings they desire.Music choice however also reflects how the music makes one feel while listening to it. Popular songs in 1950 and 2010 reflect the culture they predominate through the general theme of lyrics and background noises. In each culture, music has been a favored form of expression and creates emotion based on what the culture wants. As even now, popular culture changes from liking bell bottoms to skinny jeans and back again, pop music changes with it to accurately reflect the culture it has been rooted upon.