Skip to main content

The Evolution of Music Performance (Post 9)


Music has always been a principle part of culture. Whether it accompanied religious rituals, served as motivation in times of battle, stylistically divided rich and poor culture, or otherwise, music has played a role in every culture we know today. Music was a reflection of the people and their values, and music culture served as a stage on which the art of those cultures could be displayed. In Western and westernized cultures today, the world in which music existed for the sake of music is known only by band kids and nostalgic, decaying old people. It has evolved into a platform where trends are born and corporate profits are determined.

Today, the quality of music is determined by the quality of performance. Success is defined by the quality of the music videos that accompany the music itself. When people attend concerts, they ask, "Is it instagramable?" Brands partner with musicians to generate profits for themselves and link their product with a specific niche of music culture.

Starting in the 80s, with the rise of spandex and fashion excess, bands became more focused on their visual appeal than the sounds vibrating from their instruments. Mötley Crüe and Kiss had a very distinct performance look, and were popular because of their image and reputation for notorious insanity. Madonna was popular for her costumes and dancing and was noted as being a mediocre singer, which didn't hinder her career in the slightest because she "looked good." Gang rap also rose in popularity and a culture was built around the rivalries that accompanied the music. In the 90s, grunge and heroin-chic took center stage and an entire genre of style was conceived by the bands comprised of children from the 70s and 80s. Death brought certain figures more fame than their music did - because the people had become the heart of the performance rather than the art.

Today, things like MTV and Youtube and Social Media have changed the way that music is perceived. It is all about the performance. Musical artists either strive to conform and produce music that people are guaranteed to like or they strive to create music so profane and ridiculous that people are forced to pay attention. Styles popularized by media, like "Billie Eilish hair" and new-wave feminism wherein women "sexualize themselves by choice for the sake of empowerment,"are now a part of culture.

There are niches that alternative culture has carved for itself where popular music is purposefully rejected and alternative styles are appreciated. But even these can be monetized - as exemplified by the cult following of Tool.

In my opinion, media has ruined music. Music should exist as a reflection of what the people want - not as a reflection of what corporate titans have told the people they want. However, maybe this is what the people want, and I'm simply unable to see it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Ode to Barbara (Post 8)

One of the people interviewed in the PBS Frontline episode "Merchants of Cool" was 13-year-old Barbara, who epitomized the impact of media on youths and youth culture. Barbara, who had grown up watching Brittany Spears and the other over-sexualized Midriffs of the world, was intent on becoming a model and looking like the women she had seen on TV. And it broke my heart. It was horrifying that a child, a 13-year-old girl, was so moved by the image of femininity forced on her by advertising that she flew to the International Model and Talent Association's annual convention and walked on a stage to be judged by adults who wanted to use her in advertising campaigns that would further perpetuate the stereotypes she fell prey to and line their pockets with money. She beamed when she was told that she could pass for a 16 or 17-year-old, and she was told that she was a "good girl," when she said that her main goal was "success." She wore skimpy, sexualiz

Si Perfume - Giorgio Armani (Post 2)

Perfume campaigns are notoriously vague, and they often portray sexualized famous people trying to convince the commoners (us) that we will be beautiful once we smell good. This campaign, "Si by Giorgio Armani," takes a different approach. Its main message is that women should take control of their lives and just say, "SÌ." By using their perfume as a symbol of power rather than sex, they are riding the wave of feminism in popular culture and telling their viewers that women will finally have the autonomy and control we deserve the moment we walk through a cloud of their smell-fluid. Shockingly, I think this is absolute bullshit. First, the character in the commercial is very far removed from reality. The idea of freedom she embodies involves sky-diving, wearing couture in a shopping market, and stealing a man's jacket. Few sane people who would buy this perfume, i.e. their target demographic, have the money to go sky-diving, sport couture simply because the

The Plight of the Mooks and the Midriffs (Post 7)

When we don't know who we are, we are willing to cling to and embrace the most readily available identity that we may hide our self-doubt and shame behind. As teenagers, writhing in our awkwardness and discontent, we are dangerously susceptible to this. As much as we may laugh at the Mooks and Midriffs, the exaggerated male and female archetypes as they are displayed on television, the tendency we have to submit to them is an actual threat to our self-image. As a woman, I grew up watching television shows where pretty girls prance around and giggle and hide their intelligence for the sake of seeming nonthreatening. And if they dared to be intelligent, they were "ugly" and wore turtlenecks and didn't know how to behave around men. Dora was the only badass woman I ever saw on screen. In my teenage years, I see girls who exemplify what happens after years of suppression and emotional neglect, and I am shown that in order to be accepted, I must be thin and self-loathi