Popular Music Research Articles

Is “Watching and Copying” the New “Listening and Copying”?

This article examines the role of YouTube in how young popular musicians learn in the twenty-first century. I frame this question within the dual legacies of Lucy Green’s (2001) findings about “listening and copying” among popular musicians and Marc Prensky’s (2001a, 2001b) “digital natives” hypothesis. I present an ethnographic description of a music learning encounter that raises questions as to whether there is a generational change occurring, one which shifts the primary mode of informal music learning from listening and copying to watching and copying via YouTube videos. I argue that learning via YouTube constitutes a form of informal learning, one situated within a longer history of learning strategies based in available technologies and resources. I suggest that in the midst of this continuity, digital videos present at least one new phenomenon within popular music education: the ability to abstract single lines and riffs from their musical contexts.

Controlling consent, dealing with dissent, and planting misinformation: how the Museveni regime stifled Bobi Wine's youth movement in Uganda

ABSTRACT After Uganda embraced electoral democracy in 1996, a trend emerged where Ugandans between 18 and 35 do not turn out to vote in large numbers. Although the country is astonishingly young, Ugandan youth had long shown little interest in politics and were less likely to run for public positions compared to older Ugandans. However, the meteoric rise of Bobi Wine has inspired many young Ugandans to engage in local and national politics as first-time voters, party members, cash contributors, protesters and foot soldiers. This article explains how the rise of Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, a popular singer turned opponent of President Museveni, has inspired an upsurge in youth political participation in Uganda. The article posits that, to contain a growing youth-led movement, the Museveni regime largely relied on coercion, which has thus far proved counterproductive. The more coercion is employed the more it aggravates the backlash from and determination of young Ugandans to mobilise against Museveni’s rule. The response from the regime has been a mixture of repression, disinformation and disenfranchisement of young voters.

Musical Borrowings in Songs about the Holocaust by the Jews of Greece


 
 
 This article deals with songs about the Holocaust. Most of these songs have remained almost unknown until today, and this article aims to bring them out and to highlight the fact that they serve as evidence to the sufferings of the Greek people during World War II. All songs were written in Greece, and the practice of contrafactum (borrowing melodies and changing the lyrics) was applied to all of them. The borrowed melodies originate from Western music (e.g., operas), Western and Greek popular songs of the time, and from Greek folk and urban folk music. The variety of musical borrowings reveals cultural interactions between the ethnic and religious groups of the Greek land. It is also indicative of the increasing role of the mass media (radio, cinema) at that time. The lyrics of the songs are usually written in Greek and, in some cases, in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish of the Eastern Mediterranean area). Apart from having musicological interest, the songs are also important from the historical point of view. They were written either before the transportations to the extermination camps, or in the camps, or after the Holocaust. Their lyrics depict aspects of the living conditions of Jews during World War II. Moreover, these songs acted as a way of expressing feelings and thoughts.
 
 

Methodical Aspects of Stylistic Attribution Arrangement of Pop-Vocal Composition

The purpose of the research is to theoretically develop methods of characterisation and attribution of the style of arranging a pop-vocal composition. Based on the task of identifying active means of music expression, the most suitable methods for determining the characteristic features of style were used; the specific features of form, textural, temporithmic, timbre, melodic-thematic, and ladoharmonic organisation of the musical material of arrangement were analysed. As a result, the algorithm of analytical actions in the process of hearing expertise on the specific features of the musical language of arrangement is aimed at identifying the genesis of the stylistic profile of pop-vocal composition, which usually has features of genre-style synthesis of different areas of popular, jazz, folk, or academic music. In this regard, the parameters of temporithm and phonism are defined as basic criteria for recognising the stylistic dominant of the instrumental component of the song genre. The scientific apparatus of stylistic analysis methods, along with conventional musicological research methods, were used, as well as definitions of constant and aconstant types of the sound image of arrangement as operational criteria of stylistic differentiation of recyclic and through-dramaturgical principles of development of the sound idea of pop-vocal composition. During the comparative hearing analysis of the sound recordings of the famous Ukrainian song «I will go to distant mountains» in the original author's performance of Volodymyr Ivasyuk and its cover version performed by Kvitka Cisyk and arranged by Jack Cortner, the method of comparative stylistic characteristics of arrangements was carried out on the principle of contrasting comparisons or comparisons on the similarity of creative methods of instrumentation, formation, tempo-rithmic, melodic-thematic, and ladotonal organisation of musical material of instrumental accompaniments. The result of the study was the systematisation of the procedure of stylistic attribution of cover versions arrangements of works of popular song genres. The conclusions substantiate the need to consider the criteria of musical novelty and aesthetic value in evaluating the results of stylistic rethinking by the arranger of the original song musical text, which in the new version can appear as a unique, individualised concept that has actual artistic importance for modern listening audiences.

Socio-Political Events and Music: Egyptian Songs Supporting ʿAbd Fattāḥ al-Sīsī

This article presents the results of research conducted on Egyptian popular songs, categorized as patriotic and showing their writers’ support for ʿAbd Fattāḥ al-Sīsī. He was first a general, Minister of Defense and commander of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. When protests occurred in Egypt in 2013, he remained the main actor on the political stage. Then, he became marshal, resigned from his army positions, became the candidate for presidency and finally became president of the Republic. The author of this article briefly describes what happened in Egypt in this short time (2011–2014), and answers the main research questions which concern the messages of the songs, discussing whether the messages changed from the beginning of these events to the moment when he became president of Egypt. She points out how the songs follow the political events, and presents the results of her own participant observations, including photos from when she was living in Egypt from the middle of June 2013 to October 2014. She introduces this phenomenon, how the country changed in a few months and how the culture (music/popular culture) was an important part of the country’s changes that influenced these song’s messages.

Informatization Integration Strategy of Modern Popular Music Teaching and Traditional Music Culture in Colleges and Universities in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract In this paper, a music teaching aid is constructed based on the automatic analysis technique of music elements. The auxiliary tool uses constant Q transform and note onset detection technology to process and recognize students’ input audio. The logical operation of music longitudinal structure and spectral structure and the logical conversion of beat and rhythmic time nodes are used to realize the integration of popular music and traditional music teaching informationization. Using two corpora of 22 kHz, the effect of teaching the fusion of musical elements of auxiliary tools was analyzed with the regular transformation of curves in the sound intensity envelope. The results showed that the peaks of the overlap between elements of popular music and traditional music appeared at 56.8 FPs, 148.9 FPs, and 343.7 FPs, respectively, corresponding to the peaks of 48.3 Hz, 59.4 Hz, and 51.6 Hz, respectively. The integration of traditional music culture into popular music teaching was successfully realized. This study effectively examined an effective method and strategy for integrating teaching, which has a positive impact on the promotion and development of traditional music culture.

Research on the Comparative Development of Modern Popular Music and Traditional Music Culture in Colleges and Universities in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract In this paper, the forward neural network multi-feature fusion algorithm is used to extract the emotional features of music culture on artificial intelligence technology, considering the diversity and intermittency of the emotional features of the study, which needs to be parameterized. In the forward neural network architecture, the activation value obtained by using the nonlinear activation function is used, and the results obtained are passed to the next layer of data to realize layer-by-layer forward computation, which leads to the back-propagation activation function. The music culture emotion classification model is constructed based on the propagation mode of the forward neural network to determine the emotion recognition process. The research object is selected, the research process is determined, and in order to ensure the true validity of the research, it is necessary to test the reliability and validity of the research design scheme and to develop an empirical analysis of the comparison between popular music and traditional music culture. The results show that on the model, especially in the recognition of sacred, sad, passionate emotion type of music classification accuracy reached more than 88.2%. This paper’s model can improve the classification accuracy of music emotion to a certain extent. In the ontological knowledge analysis of popular music and traditional music culture, all three editions of textbooks show that general knowledge of music is predominant and has a large proportion, appreciation knowledge and extended knowledge are also considerable, and music knowledge is the least and has a small proportion. This study demonstrates the synergistic development of traditional culture and modern popular music, which is of great significance to the development of music education in colleges and universities.

Dewar MacLeod. Making the Scene in the Garden State: Popular Music in New Jersey from Edison to Springsteen and Beyond.

Dewar MacLeod. <i>Making the Scene in the Garden State: Popular Music in New Jersey from Edison to Springsteen and Beyond</i>.

How Johnny Cash Influences Popular Music: Taking Man in Black as an Example

Johnny Cash, an illustrious figure in the realm of popular music, etched an indelible imprint upon the cultural vista. This inquiry delves into the profound sway exerted by Johnny Cash on the tapestry of popular culture, anchored by his seminal composition, Man in Black. The study’s aim is to unveil how this melodic opus, with its enduring reverberations, transcended the confines of mere musicality, metamorphosing into an indispensable facet of our cultural discourse. The exploration employs a multifaceted methodology encompassing qualitative, historical, and ethnomusicological paradigms. Through a qualitative scrutinization, the study unearths personal revelations and contextual intricacies that have forged the genesis of Man in Black. Historical scholarship situates the opus within its epoch, delving into its resonance with the socio-cultural zeitgeist. Ethnomusicological analysis plumbs the opus’s thematic motifs and harmonious constituents, unveiling its far-reaching influence across a kaleidoscope of cultural milieus. The revelations illumine Johnny Cash’s role as an avant-garde trailblazer, a cultural nexus-builder through synergistic endeavours, and an artisan who harnessed music as a pulpit for societal commentary. The perennial reverberations of Man in Black underscore the timeless essence inherent in certain musical compositions, while Cash’s metamorphosis from a musical luminary into a cultural maven signifies the broader cultural ramifications that artists can effectuate.

Lives in Music

One of the more annoying aspects of the life of a popular music academic is that we study music that is primarily made and used by people who seem to have no interest at all in what we have to say. Popular musicians and fans are engaged with what we're talking about but not with how we talk about it. When the first volume of our history of live music came out, covering 1950–67 (Frith et al. 2013), I did some non-academic promotional work for it – presenting our book at a literary festival, library events and pensioners’ clubs (these were the people who had lived through what we were describing). Audiences were, like my non-academic friends, sufficiently interested in live music history to discuss our findings with enthusiasm but, at the same time, found the book unreadable. They couldn't be doing with academic research conventions, with the references constantly interrupting the narrative flow, with the painstaking collection and assessment of evidence, the stolid back and forth between the particular (the facts) and the general (the concepts).

Queer Sundays

This article reflects on the allegorical queerness of one of Stephen Sondheim’s most popular and celebrated musicals, Sunday in the Park with George. The author recalls his first experience of the musical – the televised version of the original Broadway production in the mid-1980s – at a moment when his own adolescent queerness was beginning to find voice, and examines Sondheim’s subtle and typically unmarked incorporation of queerness into his work. Against popular commentaries that have criticized Sondheim’s lack of explicitly articulated queer content in his work (and in his public life), the author argues that Sondheim invites and invokes space within his musicals for queerness that can thrive without necessarily being named.

Fluid revivals: retouring popular songs to restore a hydrological imaginary in the trans-Danube

AbstractThis article examines emerging practices of popular music revivals that rely on affective commitments other than nostalgia. It uses two Serbian-based singers’ post-war Croatian tours as case studies, analysing musical fluidities in the material and symbolic navigation of post-Yugoslav performance networks and focusing on borderwaters such as the Danube that bridge the region's peoples, centring their interconnected industrial and cultural attachments, yet also physically and politically separating former Yugoslav republics. Reviewing hydrological conceptions of territorial belonging in the late-Yugoslav period and in the 1990s as expressed in their ballads and reception history, it argues that the singers (Đorđe Balašević and Zvonko Bogdan), in attempting to re-establish their interrepublic touring practices with the backing of Serbian tambura bands, engage in an economy of love that, as with revival tours elsewhere in Europe, has proved more efficacious than nostalgia for responding to recent political and socioeconomic changes in the European Union.

한국 대중가요가 노래해온 죽음에 관한 탐색적 연구 - 1920년대부터 1950년대까지를 중심으로

This study analyzes how the meaning of death has changed in early Korean popular songs. As a representation of social change and popular sentiment, such songs have constantly changed the meaning of death throughout history. The view of death and the way it is sung has also changed at different points in the 100-year history of Korean popular songs, which began as a praise of death. The nihilism of the loss of sovereignty during the emergence of popular song was expressed in songs of personal mourning, martyrdom for the emperor during the period of increased militarism, and mourning for those who died for their country during the period from liberation to the Korean War.&#x0D; As we learn about the future from the past, a retrospective of the history of popular songs about death at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is forcing us to reflect on death more seriously will be an opportunity to observe not only the changes in public interest in death, but also the cross-section of death as perceived by society.

Consciousness and Commodity: Towards A Critical Theory of Genre in American Popular Music

Genre, particularly in the popular music industry, can be understood as a perpetual cycle – from the origin of a new sound or ‘scene,’ recognition by critics and tastemakers, commercialization as a canonized genre, and finally its rejection and/or reinvention by a new generation of artists seeking to establish their own new forms. In America, these musical communities have been most often grounded in racial, regional, or sexual preference identities, as these ties have been the most meaningful to listeners. Over time, the reactionary resistance of these artistic communities and practices produces music that is itself codified as a new product line, confirming the relentless cycle of genre. In this paper, I utilize three case studies ranging from the fabrication of ‘hillbilly’ music in the 1920s, Disco Demolition Night and resistance to the popularity of disco in the late 1970s, and the rise and popularization of hip hop in the 1980s help show different moments on the cycle of genre creation and the resistance that emerges. Finally, this paper will point to indications that the advent of streaming music is leading to the obsolescence of the traditional production of genre.&#x0D; We are witnessing the rapid rise and fall of new musical non-genres, epitomized by hyperpop, a ‘genre’ that lacks any core common attributes. If genre is a tool to construct the self and, at times, enable communities of resistance, a world without lasting musical genres presents implications and challenges for the future of identity and social change.

대중가요 노랫말에 나타난 수사와 서사

This study examined the lyrics of popular songs, focusing on rhetoric and narrative. Through the metaphors and symbols used in the lyrics of the popular song ‘The Watermill Turns’, we revealed the method and image embodied in the lyrics. We examined the history and contemporary emotions implied by the repeated words in the lyrics. I discovered the power of narrative to bring out universal emotions through the linguistic aesthetics of song lyrics and the emotions of the time. I discovered that when narrative and symbolism combine to unite the public's emotions, popular art creates a great resonance and is furthermore recorded in an immortal language that forms a consensus that transcends time. Considering that the value of popular songs is achieved at the point where the emotional needs of the public and the aesthetic level of art coincide, it was an appropriate attempt to select the lyrics of ‘The Watermill Turns’ as the subject of research.

Melodies Across Time: Exploring Connections and Context in Eastern Black Sea Popular Music

The Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, imbued with a wealth of cultural and historical narratives, boasts a musical heritage characterized by distinctive instruments, vocal styles, and polyphonic structures. This music is a testament to the region's rich identity, intricately woven through the tapestry of time by diverse cultural influences and significant historical events. This research is grounded in the endeavor to unravel the intricate connections within this musical sphere, particularly through the perspectives of intertextuality and hypertextuality. Intertextuality highlights the nuanced dialogues between various musical compositions, offering an enriched view into their intrinsic associations. Hypertextuality, a concept introduced by Gerard Genette and later applied to music by Serge Lacasse, broadens this dialogue, revealing the intricate networks formed through actions such as covering, remixing, and translation. The investigation delves into these dynamics, especially in the popular tunes of the Eastern Black Sea, leveraging analytical techniques from musicology, cultural studies, and media studies. The objective is to understand how intertextuality and hypertextuality amplify the vibrancy and appeal of Eastern Black Sea melodies, shaping their fundamental essence, significance, and worldwide appeal. We aspire to foster profound comprehension of these multifaceted ties, illuminating their role in characterizing the region’s musical and cultural landscapes. This probe contributes a fresh perspective to the ongoing debates in musicology and cultural studies, underscoring the imperative for an all-encompassing and prolonged methodology in musical inquiry, accentuating the power of intertextuality and hypertextuality in grasping the nexus between music and the wider cultural, social, and historical backdrops. This meticulous scrutiny is expected to not only enrich scholarly conversations but also to unveil the myriad of components steering the evolution and impact of the Eastern Black Sea’s abundant musical heritage.

Towards Transformation of the Nigerian Youths: The Place of Yoruba Popular Music

Since the year 2012, West Africans, especially the Nigerian government and citizens have been witnessing an increase in civil crisis because of different crimes committed in African society and the involvement of the youths in these negative activities. Since music is said to have an emotional and psychological influence on human minds, this paper, therefore, examines the text content of and relevance of popular music in Nigerian society and highlights the role played by popular musicians as agents for positive transformation of the youths among the Southwestern part of Nigeria. Relying on Femi Adedeji’s Transformation musicological theory, this work explicates the song themes and other lyrical contents of selected popular music in the Yoruba language fashioned towards positive transformative direction, for the purpose of socio-cultural analysis. The research findings show that some Nigerian popular musicians have for over three decades, been making use of the message in their music to sustain the positive transformation of lives and behavior of people of Nigeria, especially the youths. The song lyrics by the old juju, fuji, apala, sakara, and Pop musicians are found to be more effective because of the Yoruba cultural concepts and moral values inherent in them. This essay concludes that music has an affective mechanism that positively influences the lives, personalities, and world-views of Nigerian youths in general if properly channeled towards a positive dimension. This paper concludes that the Nigerian government should use appropriate agencies like the National Film and Records Censor Board and Nigerian Copyright Council to prevent music that contains lyrics that can encourage violence and criminal acts circulated into Nigerian markets.

Is Melody “Dead?”: A Large-scale Analysis of Pop Music Melodies from 1960 through 2019

In this paper we theorize that there are specific musical features that contribute to a melody’s character which we define as melodiousness and conduct a large-scale corpus analysis to examine whether there are differences in the melodiousness of popular hit songs from the 1960s compared with present-day pop songs. To carry out the corpus analysis, we use a new approach for generating symbolic data for popular music melodies to overcome the lack of preexisting symbolic data. In addition, we attempt to answer the question of whether any key characteristics of melodiousness appear to have changed or shifted in notable ways over time.

Transmission of Local and Traditional Music in Indonesian Popular Music (Case Studies of Indonesian Music Groups)

This article explores the dynamic process of transmitting local and traditional music within the context of Indonesian popular music. As Indonesia boasts a rich cultural heritage, the study delves into how traditional musical elements are incorporated and transformed within the works of contemporary Indonesian music groups. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing case studies of prominent Indonesian music groups. Through an in-depth analysis of their compositions, arrangements, and performances, the study aims to unravel how traditional musical influences are transmitted and integrated into the fabric of popular music. The findings reveal diverse strategies Indonesian music groups employ in incorporating local and traditional elements. Case studies showcase the adaptation of traditional instruments, melodic patterns, and rhythmic structures, providing insight into how cultural heritage is woven into the contemporary musical landscape. The discussion section engages with the implications of this transmission process, addressing questions of cultural identity, artistic innovation, and audience reception. It explores how the synthesis of traditional and popular music contributes to the evolution of Indonesia's musical identity and its resonance within a global context. In conclusion, this article illuminates the multifaceted nature of the transmission of local and traditional music in Indonesian popular music. The case studies provide a lens to understand the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation, shedding light on the creative processes that shape the country's musical tapestry. This study contributes to the broader discourse on the global dynamics of music transmission and the significance of cultural heritage in contemporary musical expressions.

Semiotic Analysis of 'Kun Fa Yakoon' Song Using Riffaterre’s Theory

This article tried to find out the hidden meaning in the song Kun Fa Yakoon, written by Mohammad bin Dhahi, one of the most popular songs in the Muslim world during the pandemic Covid-19, not only due to the imitation of one of the current most popular Western songs, Memories by Maroon, but the acapella is also interesting due to the overwhelming symbols within the lyrics. Thus, new meanings need to produce to comprehend the song and its cultural context. This article aimed to deepen the comprehension of the song's message to result in an increased appreciation for art and a better understanding of the circumstances during the difficult times of the pandemic. The type of research conducted is qualitative research. In analysis, researchers used Riffaterre's Semiotics theory by identifying the Semiotic elements of the song, such as the use of metaphors and repetitions, then conducting heuristic reading and interpretation, and producing meaning through hermeneutic reading. The research findings indicate the discovery of meaning shifts in the form of metaphors and the creation of meaning through repetitions. In the heuristic analysis, ungrammatical elements like "من" (who) interrogative in conjunction with "إلاّ" (except) yield a new meaning that signifies a firm statement: "I bear witness." The global situation currently being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic also generates the meaning of earnestness in prayer and the high demand placed upon it. This represents the songwriter's response to the anxiety prevailing in society and signifies an increase in faith.