What is ‘pop music?’ Where did this distinction arise and what’s it is purpose? If it has a purpose, who does it serve?
On close examination, you see that it is the way society absorbs a thing; the way the tiger is defanged. It’s another useful illusion from society’s toolbox of illusions. All through my school years, I had to put up with this prattle about ‘ significant music,’ and ‘pop music.’ Oh sure, I bought into it a bit, at 1st. But one only has to question the status quo.
1st of all, all of us all know what it means, this business of ‘pop music’ and ‘ significant music.’ It depends a lot on what side of the fence you’re sitting on, of course. If you’re a ‘ significant musician,’ ‘ significant music’ is ‘ good,’ and ‘pop’ music is ‘bad.’ Of course all of us all know that ‘ significant music’ will make you no resources. Why? Because it is ‘ good,’ of course, and the majority of individuals don’t know about ‘ good.’ They only pay for music that’s ‘bad.’
Now to be fair, if you’re on the other side of this particular fence, ‘ significant music’ is ‘boring,’ ( that’s bad) and pop music is ‘cool.’ ( That’s ‘ good ‘). Further, this historically speaking, has tended to be ‘radical’ and ‘revolutionary.’
‘Serious music?’ Part of the establishment.
It’s vital to reflect on the political demographics implied by these distinctions in music. They are fairly undeniable, when you prohibit to contemplate it, but it is rousing that most individuals toss these distinctions about without a second thought. From these two simple musical categories, you could effortlessly build up profiles of the listener’s politics, religion, average income and so on and so on. individuals do plot these demographics. Not the fans, but the individuals who are in the business of sales and marketing.
Nonetheless, as you could suspect, all these demographics are bound and held in place by belief systems that are spun on half truths, exaggeration and out right fantasy.
Even ‘ significant ‘ musicians have allowed themselves to be saddled with ridiculous myths and caricature profiles of past composers, much to their personal detriment and decline of the tradition. Virtually all of these folks, who should know better, have been content with whatever historical spin has been handed down.
This type of thinking has drained the vital ity out of the tradition. Take just the idea that composers like Beethoven and Mozart weren’t actually popular until after their death. Th isn’t ion has bred a mentality that has said whatever it creates is too good for present day fanss and it must constant ly produce for some, undefined, superior future fans. This also conveniently isolates it from any criticism of what’s going on.
In point of fact, Beethoven was acknowledged as the most important living composer in his own lifetime. The city of Vienna, an historically vital center of culture in Europe, paid the man to live there. As far as being ‘radical’ or ‘revolutionary,’ well, let’s see; all of us have Beethoven dedicating his third symphony to the leader of the French Revolution. all of us have Hector Berlioz composing an enduring masterpiece while stoned on opium.
We have premiers of famous classical works like Bolero and the Rite of Spring that were either banned or caused a riot. This list goes on and on.
And what of this hoary chestnut that demonstrates pop music is a lesser discipline? Anyone with a musical ear could tell you that there’s been plenty of excellent ‘pop music.’ And why not? a lot of of these musician s, like Elton John, went to music school. They’re ‘ significant musician s.’ So why this excellent deceit? The most undeniable suspect is the music business, but it is undeniable by now, that they have no idea what they are doing either.
No, the deeper reality is that, as long as there has been a culture in the western hemisphere, there has been a counter culture. All this business of counter culture, that supposedly began in the sixties, didn’t.
How far back does it go? Well. Richard Wagner, in his early days, was part of a free love movement in Ger a lot of and his 1st opera was called ‘Forbidden Love,’ and it has nothing to do with rings of power or Teutonic nymphs.
It’s an opera that Wagner, later in his life, professed that he would like to forget about, and, well, we’re just not going to let him. I will deal with culture and its twin, counter culture in subsequent articles.
