What do you think of when somebody tells you to picture something that you think is 'cool'?
Then ask yourself, why is it cool and at what point did you begin to think that it was a desirable object, characteristic, or lifestyle?
People love to think that the things they do and like are very much a product of their own will, but does agency truly stem solely from original individual thought? Everybody's heard about how much the advertising industry affects us as consumers, but how much does the media influence us beyond the purchase of tangible commodities?
Whether you tend to view the media through the transmission model or the cultural model, "The Merchants of Cool" will open your eyes and really challenge you to think about what shaped your perceptions of such an abstract concept as cool. It also gives outstanding insight into potential reasons why you might think that top 40's dance track or indie artist anthem is "tight".
We promise that you won't regret taking time out of your day to watch this.
"The Merchant of Cool" Frontline:
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdzxc8Fpn3o
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQBwaz_zzHA&feature=related
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPI03KfJ7aw&feature=related
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3sdzBa88Q8&feature=related
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwT5XzwssU4&feature=related
Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j2tASIAfF8&feature=related
Enjoy! :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Pop Music + Media
Today, we listen to pop music everywhere.
When you watch a commercial on your TV,
you may listen to the music you know, and this will lead you to
watch the commercial even if you are not interested in a product.
In pop music's infancy, people had to rely on radio or jukeboxes
if they wanted to listen to pop music. As a result, they did not
have any choice but to listen to whatever songs that were played.
It was also hard for artists to get popular due to the same reason.
However, as the new mediums had developed, music started to
incorporate with those mediums such as movies and video games.
Some music got popular even though they were not designed to
be a pop music. Here's good example.
While playing the game, a player is also entertained by the background music.
The background music was covered by many musicians, and it started to
become one of the pop music. Although this example is a bit different from
what people consider as a pop music, it certainly created its own culture and
the shared meaning among the people.
When you watch a commercial on your TV,
you may listen to the music you know, and this will lead you to
watch the commercial even if you are not interested in a product.
In pop music's infancy, people had to rely on radio or jukeboxes
if they wanted to listen to pop music. As a result, they did not
have any choice but to listen to whatever songs that were played.
It was also hard for artists to get popular due to the same reason.
However, as the new mediums had developed, music started to
incorporate with those mediums such as movies and video games.
Some music got popular even though they were not designed to
be a pop music. Here's good example.
While playing the game, a player is also entertained by the background music.
The background music was covered by many musicians, and it started to
become one of the pop music. Although this example is a bit different from
what people consider as a pop music, it certainly created its own culture and
the shared meaning among the people.
Pop & Tech
Pop has been influenced by technological development over the time.
If there wasn't an innovation of recording techniques, pop music
would not exist at all.
I want to introduce you about the very first stage of music
recording industry.
It takes us back to early 2oth century, when the wax cylinders
were used in recording process.
(www.tinfoil.com/cylinder.htm)
These little things could record about 2-4 minutes length of music.
Then, they would be played in the devices like :
(www.tinfoil.com/cylinder.htm)
This technique was extremely costly. If an artist wanted to make
10 copies of his recording, he would have to record it for 10 times.
He would be lucky if he could record it for 10 times,
because he would have to record more than that if he made any mistakes.
Let's think about the case of the Beatles.
In 1960s, their album, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," sold nearly
5 million in the U.S.
Now, let's imagine that the Beatles used wax cylinders to record their music.
The running time of the album is probably about an hour.
If they wanted to make 5 million copies, they would have to spend
5 million hours singing at the studio. That's 570 years without sleeping.
If they made mistakes... let's not think about that.
The point I want to make here is that it would be impossible for us
to have pop music without technological developments.
If it cannot be spread to the people, it is not "pop" anymore.
After wax cylinders, magnetic tapes were invented, and LPs and
CDs came to us.
Now, we don't even have to go to the stores to buy the music we like.
As a result, music can be spread faster than ever before,
and therefore, creat the POP music.
If there wasn't an innovation of recording techniques, pop music
would not exist at all.
I want to introduce you about the very first stage of music
recording industry.
It takes us back to early 2oth century, when the wax cylinders
were used in recording process.
(www.tinfoil.com/cylinder.htm)These little things could record about 2-4 minutes length of music.
Then, they would be played in the devices like :
(www.tinfoil.com/cylinder.htm)This technique was extremely costly. If an artist wanted to make
10 copies of his recording, he would have to record it for 10 times.
He would be lucky if he could record it for 10 times,
because he would have to record more than that if he made any mistakes.
Let's think about the case of the Beatles.
In 1960s, their album, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," sold nearly
5 million in the U.S.
Now, let's imagine that the Beatles used wax cylinders to record their music.
The running time of the album is probably about an hour.
If they wanted to make 5 million copies, they would have to spend
5 million hours singing at the studio. That's 570 years without sleeping.
If they made mistakes... let's not think about that.
The point I want to make here is that it would be impossible for us
to have pop music without technological developments.
If it cannot be spread to the people, it is not "pop" anymore.
After wax cylinders, magnetic tapes were invented, and LPs and
CDs came to us.
Now, we don't even have to go to the stores to buy the music we like.
As a result, music can be spread faster than ever before,
and therefore, creat the POP music.
Top Pop Songs
The Top 40 Charts are often associated with pop music. This link is to a list of the Top 40 Pop Songs of All Time, based on one scholar's research and opinions. What do you think?? What songs would make your list if you wrote one?
http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/top40essentialsongsalltime.htm
http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/top40essentialsongsalltime.htm
Traits: What Makes Pop Music POP?
For the sake of our paper, we argued that pop was not merely popular music of a given time period, but it was indeed a genre of its own. And like any genre, it has defining traits...
+ pop music is very COMMERCIAL; it attempts to appeal to a wide audience (even though it also subtly tries to target youths) by being relatable and accessible
+ pop music is a TOP-DOWN genre, which means that it is industry based; record companies and executives make decisions about what they believe will sell, then they project those decisions onto their signed artists, who further project it onto audiences
+ pop music fluctuates with TECHNOLOGY; from the record player to the radio to new internet music sites, as technology advances, pop music does as well, because it gains opportunities to appeal to an even wider audience
+ pop music is very COMMERCIAL; it attempts to appeal to a wide audience (even though it also subtly tries to target youths) by being relatable and accessible
+ pop music is a TOP-DOWN genre, which means that it is industry based; record companies and executives make decisions about what they believe will sell, then they project those decisions onto their signed artists, who further project it onto audiences
+ pop music fluctuates with TECHNOLOGY; from the record player to the radio to new internet music sites, as technology advances, pop music does as well, because it gains opportunities to appeal to an even wider audience
Pop Basics: Know Your Music History
The term pop music is thrown around very frequently when describing music today, so you might be curious to know exactly where and when it originated. Well, let me tell you!
The WHERE: the United States, the United Kingdom
The WHEN: 1920's, !950's
WHY are there two different origins?? Some think of pop music as being popular music of a specific time period, which began in the US in the 20's. Others regard pop music as its own genre, which emerged in the UK in the 50's.
One of the first recorded songs regarded as having "POPular" appeal was in 1927, called "Blue Skies". Check it out ==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aglqFRvEdPw
One of the songs first considered to be in the genre of "POP" music was in 1958, called "Lollipop." Take a look ==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLMaEFbdH1I
The WHERE: the United States, the United Kingdom
The WHEN: 1920's, !950's
WHY are there two different origins?? Some think of pop music as being popular music of a specific time period, which began in the US in the 20's. Others regard pop music as its own genre, which emerged in the UK in the 50's.
One of the first recorded songs regarded as having "POPular" appeal was in 1927, called "Blue Skies". Check it out ==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aglqFRvEdPw
One of the songs first considered to be in the genre of "POP" music was in 1958, called "Lollipop." Take a look ==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLMaEFbdH1I
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