‘I'd sell you suicide’: pop music and moral panic in the age of Marilyn Manson

Popular Music ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wright

Music makes mutations audible. (Attali 1977)In his opening remarks as host of the 1998 Grammy Award Show, sitcom actor, substance abuser and convicted drunk driver Kelsey Grammer promised that Marilyn Manson's ‘skinny white ass’ would not be appearing on the show. It was a truly extraordinary moment. Referring explicitly to his own teenage daughter, Spencer, Grammer couched this slur in the form of an inside joke for the baby boomer parents of children with seemingly inexplicable musical tastes. In so doing, he affirmed not only the intractable conservatism of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences but also the arrogant hegemony of his own generation within mainstream musical culture. The show proceeded to reward Bob Dylan with Album of the Year, James Taylor with Best Pop Album and Elton John with Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, while lavishing unbridled approbation upon the newest crop of corporate hit-makers, including Babyface, LeAnn Rimes, Hanson and the ubiquitous Spice Girls. Mitch Miller could not have orchestrated a more thoroughgoing tribute to the pop music status quo in America.

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Young

Abstract: Through a case study of the Juno Awards, this article attempts to enhance what is known about the crisis facing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC worked with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) on the annual ceremony for the Canadian music industry from the mid-1970s to 2001. An analysis of this time frame gives rise to three arguments about the CBC and the Juno Awards. First, as applied to the Junos, the concept of a promotional state for popular music provides insights into the CBC’s crisis. Second, the role of CARAS points to the possibility that outside control has exacerbated the crisis in the CBC. Third, the CBC’s response to CARAS’ control suggests that the public broadcaster may have contributed to its own crisis. Résumé : Au moyen d’une étude de cas sur les prix Juno, cet article tente d’augmenter ce qu’on sait sur la crise à laquelle le CBC fait face actuellement. Le CBC a collaboré avec l’Académie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l’enregistrement (CARAS) pour diffuser la cérémonie annuelle de remise des prix Juno du milieu des années 70 à 2001. Une analyse de cette période mène à trois observations sur le CBC et les prix Juno. Premièrement, en ce qui a trait aux Juno, l’idée d’un état promotionnel pour la musique populaire aide à comprendre la crise du CBC. Deuxièmement, le rôle joué par CARAS semble indiquer que des contrôles externes ont aggravé la crise au CBC. Troisièmement, la manière dont le CBC a réagi aux contrôles de CARAS suggère que le radiodiffuseur public a peut-être contribué lui-même à aggraver sa crise.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Ni Wayan Ardini

ABSTRACTBalinese pop music appeared in 1970’s but its industrialization refers to the development of the involved industries which began in 1990s. The industrialization is characterized by aspects of economy, technology, and new culture in music. All the aspects are related to each other. The economy can be seen in the growing capital in such a business. Technology is in the use of digital tecnology substituting the analog. New culture in music is shown in the more awareness of the Balinese people in enjoying Balinese pop songs. The Balinese are no longer shy singing such songs. This literature review uses techniques of qualitative data analysis. The result of the study shows that the industrialization consists of production, distribution, and consumption of the music. The production is created by the cultural power (musicians) and the capital power (capital owners). The distribution of the Balinese pop music in the current marketing is done by using the support of media power, particularly the electronic media, namely radio (since 1990s and even earlier), especially television (since 2002), in this case Bali TV. The production and distribution enables massive consumption in the Balinese society. The consumption is concerned with the existence of a new musical culture in the society. Although the industrialization tends to be capitalistic, Balinese artists or the musicians can earn their living through the Balinese pop songs. It is not a modern capitalism but postmodern one as the music relies on the existence of the Balinese society and their culture.Keywords: Balinese pop music, industrialization, production, distribution, consumption.  ABSTRAKMusik pop Bali muncul pada tahun 1970-an tetapi industrialisasinya mengacu pada perkembangan industrial yang dimulai pada 1990-an. Industrialisasi ini dicirikan oleh aspek ekonomi, teknologi, dan budaya baru dalam musik. Semua aspek terkait satu sama lain. Perekonomian dapat dilihat dari pertumbuhan modal dalam bisnis semacam itu. Teknologi terlihat dalam penggunaan teknologi digital menggantikan yang analog. Budaya baru dalam musik ditampilkan dalam kesadaran yang lebih besar dari orang-orang Bali dalam menikmati lagu-lagu pop Bali. Orang Bali tidak lagi malu menyanyikan lagu-lagu seperti itu. Tinjauan kepustakaan ini menggunakan teknik analisis data kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa industrialisasi musik pop Bali terdiri atas produksi, distribusi, dan konsumsi musik. Produksi diciptakan oleh kekuatan budaya (musisi) dan kekuatan modal (pemilik modal). Distribusi musik pop Bali dalam pemasaran saat ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan dukungan kekuatan media, khususnya media elektronik, yaitu radio (sejak 1990-an dan bahkan lebih awal), khususnya televisi (sejak 2002), dalam hal ini Bali TV. Produksi dan distribusi tersebut memungkinkan konsumsi musik pop Bali besar-besaran dalam masyarakat Bali. Konsumsi berkaitan dengan keberadaan budaya musik baru di masyarakat. Meskipun industrialisasi ini cenderung bersifat kapitalistik, seniman Bali atau musisi dapat mencari nafkah melalui lagu-lagu pop Bali. Ini bukan kapitalisme modern tetapi postmodern, yakni sebagai musik yang bergantung pada keberadaan masyarakat Bali dan budaya mereka.Kata kunci: music pop Bali, industrialisasi, produksi, distribusi, konsumsi.


Author(s):  
David Clarke

Every year produces a fresh crop of archaeological excavations, a new harvest of prehistoric artefacts. Every decade produces one or more sites of outstanding importance and impact, which linger on in the literature or sparkle briefly on the glossy pages of ephemeral publications. The archaeologists come and go, new names and sites outshine the old, whilst hundreds of years of collected material overflows and submerges our museum storerooms. At the same time a relentless current of articles and books describe and label the new material so that the intrepid archaeologist, by dint of furious activity, can just maintain his status quo against the constant stream of data. However, the nebulous doubt arises in our minds that a modern empirical discipline ought to be able to aim at more rewarding results than the maintenance of a relative status quo and a steady flow of counterfeit history books. The purpose of this work is to draw attention from specific archaeological areas and periods to the general theory underlying modern archaeology, to refocus this attention on the inconsistencies and inadequacy of general archaeological theory, and to integrate powerful new methods into our analytical armoury. To achieve these ends we need some knowledge of the historical development of modern archaeology, for we cannot fully comprehend contemporary concepts and theories without knowing something of their origins. We must understand how archaeology reached its present curious and transient state, if only to emphasize that the views of our time have no finality, and in order that we might assess the comparative development of prehistoric studies with that of related disciplines. When we have outlined the historical background we can proceed with a deeper understanding to investigate the nature of archaeology and its raw material, and the nature of the subject’s aims, ailments, and potential development. The historical background of archaeology, like that of most modern arts and sciences, takes us back to the Italian Renaissance and the reawakening of philosophical curiosity. This extraordinary florescence developed cumulatively upon the ‘commercial revolution’ that revitalized certain of the Italo-Byzantine maritime cities in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries of our era.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eirik Askerøi

Whilst the creative handling of recording technology has played a major role in the development of popular music, there has been little research into the role of production in music promoted explicitly for a child audience. The term “tween” is most often applied to describe children just before they become teens, referring to children aged 9–12 years. In more recent years, however, the tween category has come to comprise children as young as 4 and up to 15 years of age. Based on the premise that there is a growing tendency for children to be “youthified” at a far younger age than occurred previously, I am keen to investigate the extent to which music plays a part in this process. Through close readings of three songs from different eras in the history of children’s music, I will explore the role of sonic markers as narrative strategies in children’s music. The overall aim is to discuss the extent to which the relationships between lyrical content, vocal performance, and production aesthetics may play a role in the youthification of child performers and audiences. 


Author(s):  
Admink Admink

Наведено огляд досліджень щодо теорії музичної естради як частини масової культури. Розглянуто умови формування та становлення української вокально-естрадної музичної культури в контексті основ масового вокального мистецтва. Виявлено підходи до визначення естрадного мистецтва як соціокультурного явища в історичному континуумі, зазначено стилі і напрями масової музичної культури, а також роль засобів масової комунікації для поширення вокально-естрадного мистецтва. З’ясовано, що естрадно-вокальна музика розвивається в усіх доступних традиційних та новітніх, синтезованих жанрах і претендує на своєрідне значення в формуванні психологічного портрету сучасної людини.Ключові слова: масове мистецтво, естрада, вокал, музична культура. An overview of research on the theory of the musical variety as a part of mass culture as a whole is given. The conditions of formation and formation of Ukrainian vocal and variety music culture in the context of the basics of mass vocal art are considered. Approaches to the definition of variety art as a sociocultural phenomenon in the historical continuum are described, the styles and directions of mass musical culture, as well as the role of mass communication for the distribution of vocal and variety art are described. It is revealed that pop-vocal music develops in all available traditional and modern, synthesized genres and claims a peculiar importance in forming a psychological portrait of a modern man.Key words: mass art, pop music, singing, musical culture.


Author(s):  
Ekaterina B. Kostiuk ◽  

The article deals with the problem of definitions and boundaries of concepts widely used in modern postindustrial culture, scientific and public discourse: «mass», «popular», «academic», «classical», «elite» music. Mass music has several features that are largely determined by the specifics of the socio-cultural and technical development of society in the post-industrial era. However, the loosely applied term «popular» in relation to this direction of music is inaccurate, since not only the works of mass music become well-known, but also classical, academic. In the conditions of post-industrial culture, works of not only mass, but also academic, elite music are used as entertainment, and as a commodity of «organized consumer culture», receiving, among other things, the status of «popular», which is not identical in essence to the concept of «pop music», which is one of the directions of mass music as a cultural phenomenon of the XX century. The consideration of the essential aspects of the musical directions of mass and elite music leads to the conclusion about the social conditionality of the vector of development and their demand in the conditions of modern culture.


Author(s):  
T. V. Shastina ◽  

Russian vocal school as a significant part of the Russian and unique phenomenon of world musical culture, developed and developed as an original direction of vocal professional performance and vocal pedagogy. The evolution of vocal performance and vocal pedagogy, the formation and development of the Russian vocal school and its traditions have shown that vocal pedagogy develops together with vocal performance, analyzing and generalizing experience, creates and tests its methods, develops singing attitudes and develops pedagogical technologies that contribute to the education of singing culture. Russian singing traditions and vocal education, their scientific research and reproduction, identification of prospects for the development of the modern Russian vocal school, identification of ways to continue existing traditions, development and scientific justification of new vocal and pedagogical technologies are relevant today. The perspective of the development of the Russian vocal school is seen in the reproduction of traditions, scientific justification of its pedagogical foundations, in the formation of performers who have a high level of motivation for singing activities and physiological potential for mastering various phonation techniques, able to learn new things in the art of singing.


Author(s):  
Viktoriia Kushch

The purpose of the article is to identify the points of crossing of pop songs and academic chamber vocal music in the Ukrainian cultural and artistic space of the second half of the 20th century. The methodology involves the use of analytical, systemic and historical, and cultural methods to identify the relationship between the pop song genre and academic chamber vocal music in the Ukrainian musical culture of the second half of the 20th century. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the characterization of I. Karabits’ pop songs from the point of view of combining the features of pop and academic chamber vocal music in them. Conclusions. Pop song and chamber vocal music, represented by the genre of solo singing, developed separately in the Ukrainian cultural space of the 1950s-1980s, but their paths often crossed. In the context of their interaction in pop-song creativity, the process of academization takes place, and in academic music – hitting. Based on the analysis of two popular pop songs by I.Karabits «My land is my love» and «A song for good», a specific feature of a number of vocal compositions of the composer was discovered and described, which are functionally ambivalent and correspond to the aesthetics of both academic and pop music, and therefore, they are indicated as works of dual-use – for both the academic and the pop scene. This duality is based on the musical component of a vocal work, which, with variability in the interpretation of the instrumental (and sometimes vocal) component, can enhance the features of both academic and pop music.


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