Summary:
My topic for this assignment is for the style/entertainment section of our Class Paper. I am going to discuss different genres of music ranging from pop to underground punk, and the people who like the different kinds of music. If I can incorporate it I'll also talk about different age groups/genders and how this affects musical taste. For instance, would an eighteen year old guy like the same thing a fourteen year old girl enjoys? I'll hopefully include a survey of sorts in my article.
Things I already know:
Some genres of music and examples of this type of music->
-rock->Creed, Puddle of Mudd
-teenybopper pop->N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, B. Spears
-punk->The Clash, Unwritten Law, The Ataris
-country->Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks
-emo->Get Up Kids, Dashboard Confessional
-hardcore->Underoath
-rap->Nelly, "P. Diddy"
-R&B->Destiny's Child, Usher
-Blues->
-Jazz->
-Classical->Bach
-Techno
-Trance
-Acoustic->Dispatch
Some people dress to express the music they like->
-punks-> Dye their hair, mohawks...
-goths-> Dress in black
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Sources:
-I'm going to use Total Request Live (an MTV show) as one of my sources, and use it to talk about what's popular.
-I can use Billboard charts to find hits of last year and years past.
-I'll interview/survey people to find out what kinds of music they enjoy and why.
-I can use the Internet in general to find out more about different types of music, defining genres and giving examples of each type of music.
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Who I'll Interview:
-a boy and a girl in, hopefully, all four grade levels (i.e. survey/interview a boy and a girl who are freshmen, sophomores, etc) I'll ask them about their favorite types of music, why they like this music, whether or not they think music has any importance beyond just being something you listen to...
-a person who I think allows music to dictate their style, or more than one if I can find them. I'll ask them many of the same questions that I stated above, and add in questions about how they allow their musical taste to be shown through their clothes, and why they do this, if for any reason at all
-one or more adults/older age groups (out of school)I'll ask them about their impressions of teenage music and what they like now, what they liked when they were kids, and the question about musical taste's effect on style
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Second article... I'm going to discuss the Enron crisis.
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Music. For some, this ear-loving noise is simply a mix of various instruments, thrown together to make a pleasing product. For others, music is an emotional outlet; something that life would not be the same without. For the latter type of people, music is not simply listened too, but broadcasted by their personality, appearance, etc.
How do people show their musical tastes and preferences without recommending a song or blasting their CD players? There are people who contribute to stereotypes, whether they mean to or not. These are the punks, with their bright blue mohawks, held up by Elmer’s glue. These are the goths, wearing black clothes, combat boots, and eyeliner- regardless of gender. These are the guys and girls whose music is not just descriptive of taste, but of them as people.
But in all fairness, although people give them labels as easily as they would accept free money, these individuals don’t, in general, put themselves under these genres. In the words of Eric Epstein, a commonly labeled goth, “I don’t want to be labeled, because basically, a label will cause assumptions. I don’t want anyone to assume that I’m any one way based on a label.” Still, it cannot be avoided that a die-hard musician and an avid listener of gothic music should dress in accordance to this music; and therefore, in accordance to stereotypes. Consequently, Epstein wears, on a typical day, a black shirt and black pants, along with black shoes and black painted nails. A more recent acquisition is the rope around his neck, tied to form a noose, which creates quite a stir. Due to this appearance, it is natural that at first sight, one would think Epstein a goth.
Still, appearance is only an outside factor. For Eric, appearance is just the way for him to express his general self without having to open his mouth. However, were one to spend five minutes with the freshman, they would quickly be made aware of his beliefs and opinions. “In physically looking at me, they would know [that I am goth], because my clothing reflects it. But in addition, knowing me, simply meeting me, I talk about some of the things that interest me, a lot of which- most of which- are also part of my musical culture.”
Mary Ford, who reluctantly calls herself a punk, has similar ideas on this topic. “I don’t do it consciously, but I think subconsciously I let people know what music I listen to because I talk about it a lot. I know a lot about it… so it’s a big topic of conversation for me.”
In the case of Ford, this label of punk is not quite accurate. Although the band t-shirts that she wears quite frequently hint at a girl interested in emo (emotional punk) and punk music, she has many other likes. She is also very into metal and ska, along with various other genres of music. On her computer’s music playlist, you wouldn’t only find Blink 182, but more underground bands, like Saves the Day, Notwist, and Operation Ivy among others. On this same list of music, intertwined among angry punk and mellow, brooding emo, the song Aerials (by System of a Down- a metal band) or Ice, Ice, Baby (by Vanilla Ice- an “old school” rapper) are likely to be found. So Mary Ford is very hesitant to call herself any one thing. “I don’t think people would just look at me and say oh, she likes…”.
While these two examples of music oriented people are not few and far between, they are people who are interested in less underground music. For instance, should Ford or Epstein recommend one of their favorite songs, the bands mentioned would probably go unrecognized. Seeing this, one notices that there is a whole other category of music that thrives among teenagers, in the “mainstream”.
This tends to be the music played on MTV or the other music channels. These channels play pop almost always, occasionally recommending a new band and giving it ten minutes of fame. Still, although many people think of pop as a bouncy, bubbly Britney Spears tune, there are many other variations of pop music. “Pop” itself is the shortened term for popular, and popular music is currently a wide range of songs.
For a sampling of this popular music, one could simply turn on their TV and watch Total Request Live (TRL). This show keeps viewers up to date with mainstream music, which ranges from mellow rock (Weezer) to Latino hits (Enrique Iglesias). Although the show is avidly watched by all types of people, this music is disliked- even loathed- by people such as Epstein and Ford. For them, the music requires zero talent; only a synthesizer, nameless band members, and an attractive lead singer.
“I don’t like it because it’s all the same. Almost every band… that comes out sounds exactly like the band that came out the week before. Every girl that’s pretty and wants to sing comes out and puts out a CD, but none of them can sing that well… It’s just really boring,” says Ford.
Epstein is in agreement with this idea, although for different reasons. “It’s music that, it’s “catchy music”- music that will catch you on instant, rather than having to be explored with more depth in order to make a difference. That’s why mainstream music tends to be shallow, because people can relate to it on instant. They don’t have to dig deeply into it in order to understand it.”
Hassan Raheem disagrees entirely with both opinions; for him, mainstream music has nothing to do with the sound or quality (although these things do matter in his personal taste). “Mainstream music is…” he struggles to word it properly, eventually settling on saying, “It’s passionless. It’s music that sold its creativity to the money-making record producers, and therefore has no character or self.” It is this music, Raheem believes, that is on the radio: music that may sound like everything else, or have generally shallow lyrics… but as a whole, it simply lacks any passion.
It is very apparent that there is more to music than just noise for many people. These unique persons clothe themselves in noticeable clothing that speaks silently, informing an onlooker about the person wearing the clothes. These people don’t limit their musical experience to background tunes- they’re first in line for concerts and are very opinionated in general about the topic as a whole. These people are the ones who prove there is more to music than what is on the radio, and aren’t afraid to let others know it. They put up with being stereotyped and antagonism for one single reason: they love their music.
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