Sound Opinions gives us a really in-depth look at ska as a genre. Explain the three waves of ska and what defined them. Then, explain what the waves have in common. What does this history tell us about how we understand genres and the ways in which they evolve?
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Given the definition of genre that I just gave, to what exigence is the genre of music you are discussing for your blog post a fitting response. Give a brief argument to explain and defend this postion.
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Summarize Croggon and Parker's argument about retro-historicism. What can you do to avoid this in your writing while still taking into account history and genre?
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The First Wave of ska is a mix of folk music and American R&B, with inspiration from The Skatalites, Prince Buster and Laurel Aiken. The Second Wave movement was based on late '70s England with inspiration from The Specials, Madness and The English Beat. Lastly, the Third Wave broke in the United States with more of a punk vibe, but it quickly died out. All of these waves are similar in the way that they originate from Jamaican music mixed with music from England due to immigration. History tells us where genres originated from, how they came to exist, and how they evolve. By examining history, one can conclude that genre evolves through change, diversity, and time.
ReplyDeleteBased on the definition given in class, the genre of music I am discussing for my blog is a fitting response to exigence because it arose in a time where people wanted a new and interesting genre. In the 1960s, America was developing new ideas at a fast rate, and society responded to that by taking an interest in rock and roll. Rock and Roll started becoming popular because the younger generation wanted something fun, new, and exciting. Once the 70s arrived, the genre changed a bit and had a slower pace to it. The War in Vietnam was growing old, and people were tired of it and protested to bring the troops home to America. Hippies became a significant figure in American society, and bands such as Pink Floyd (from England) because popular in the United States because of their calming, trippy, peace-like music.
Croggon and Parker's argument about retro-historicism is that although its important to consider history of genre, people become too focused on this analyzation and stray away from actual music criticism. To avoid this in my writing while still taking into account history and genre, it is important that I consider the history of genre and put it into perspective when criticizing music, and to not stray away from the main goal- music criticism.
Ska is really divided into three waves that all evolve as time progresses. The first wave involves a particular upbeat sound throughout, made by the piano and guitar. This was really the original Jamaican scene for Ska music. Then the second wave involved two tones and was a Ska revival in the the 1970s, it mostly involved fusing together Jamaican rhythms and melodies but also using some punk rock elements such as faster tempos. Two-tone involved many interracial groups like The Specials and The English Beat, singing about racial ideas. Many struggles of the white working class came through in these lyrics during this wave. Then the third wave of Ska really brings this area of music into the recent musical trends, peaking in the 1990s. All of these waves are centered around an upbeat sound that radiates happiness. I think this can show that genres evolve to the best interest of their listeners but they do keep their core roots, like Ska pulls their Jamaican values and doesn’t shy away from them as they go through their waves of evolution. I can see this in country, how it does evolve with the changing desires of the listeners but it still keeps its very core values and subjects.
ReplyDeleteAfter being given the definition of genre, I would say that the genre of country that I am studying is a fitting response for those looking for soothing and relaxing tracks to listen to during hard times. The 1900s as a whole were full of difficulty and wars and music has a way of taking your mind off some of these ideas. Evolving into the 2000s, whenever I am looking for music to listen to that is fun and especially good as background music, I turn to country.
Croggon and Parker’s response to retro-criticism is basically that contemporary music has become infected by its own obsession of the past, which I think it a weird way of putting it. They claim that this approach blinds us from what is really most interesting in contemporary music. They use the example of the iPhone 5 and just expecting the new and better iPhone 6 to come out eventually, not fully appreciating the time you have with the iPhone 5 which could also relate to music in a way. I will use this in my writing by focusing on the good ideas from old country music and how it has helped to form the new pop-country we hear today. I know that during my writing I need to do a better job of this because many times, I find myself skipping over the old country because I do not find it as appealing, when I should really be focusing on it more.
The first wave of Ska as known for artists like The Skatalites, Prince Buster, and laurel Aiken. It consisted of mixing folk music with American R&B. The second wave brought bands like The Specials, madness, and The English Beat. This period began in England in the late ‘70s when the Jamaican rhythms were mixed with some more modern rock elements. Finally, the third wave began in the United States in the 1990s when Ska aimed to become punk and reach to the mainstream. The things that these three waves all have in common is the presence of Jamaican rhythms and upbeat melodies that are easy on the ears. I think that this proves that even if a genre of music evolves and begins to incorporate new elements, the distinctive qualities that made it that genre in the first place will always remain and be somewhat identifiable.
ReplyDeleteBased off of what was said in class, I believe that the genre of R&B was a response to a time when diversity and soul were missing from the music scene. During the 1950s, no one had ever thought to combine holy lyrics with rhythmic or catchy tunes. Instead, many people had actually looked down on doing such a thing and considered it to be a sin. However, the discovery of mixing soulful lyrics with energetic and forceful melodies allowed for the creation of music that reached broader audiences and allowed for a greater amount of connections. In addition to all of this, the time and place in which this genre took off created an opportunity for people of color to have their voices heard. This genre arguably progressed equal rights for all races.
The overall argument that Croggon and Parker make is that people are becoming too focused on the history of the music that they are criticizing and therefore become soft in their criticism. I think that in order to avoid doing such a thing in my writing I will have to keep this argument in mind at all times in order to avoid using the history as a crutch. I also think that I will be able to avoid doing this by writing down all the history that I want but then going back to it in the revision process and deleting anything that isn’t necessary or interesting.
Ska originated in the first wave with a folk or R&B sound and from bands like The Skatalites, Prince Buster and Laurel Aiken in Jamaica in the 1950s. The 2nd Wave (two tone movement) focused on the late '70s English bands like The English Beat. Finally, the 3rd wave was when Ska hit the United States in the 1990s, and the sound was more punk. Each of the waves, although each have a different sound, have the same general beat and motion that originated in the Jamaican Ska from the 1950s. I think genres evolve in a way that ensures popularity, but will always have the same general background as previous versions.
ReplyDeleteThe genre I will be discussing in blog post 4, heavy metal, has a lot of exigence to the time period it was created. Because the genre was so new at the time, many people dismissed it as too loud or too disruptive. But metal accepted this criticism and became the genre that people turned to when they wanted to go outside of the norm. The early 1970s, when heavy metal first emerged, was a time full of a sense of independence by younger people, and heavy metal helped them assert this feeling.
Croggon and Parker are pretty much saying that when people write about a genre they focus too much on the general history rather than critiquing the actual music. This will be easy to avoid for me in blog post 4 because I will just have to focus less on summary and more on my opinions of the music. I could do something like giving a critique and tying it back to the history of the genre with a fact from that time period for example.
Ska is broken down into three waves defined by music historians. The first wave is the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s. The first wave was pioneered by artists like The Skatalites, Prince Buster, and Laurel Aiken. The second wave of ska is also known as the two tone movement. The Ska revival of the late 1970s. The third and final wave of the Ska movement, which started in the 1980s and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s. These waves are fairly similar but there is clear and distinct differences between the three. Genres have to evolve in order to keep up with ever-changing society. Having said that, a genre must maintain some level of consistency to please the "original listeners."
ReplyDeleteHaving been given the definition of genre in class, I am inclined to say that the genre for my blog is a fitting response for those who seek an introspective pick me up. This quote comes to mind, "Should I listen to Kanye and think about me or listen to Drake and think about you?" Kanye has evolved a lot since the early 2000s but he has still maintained his audience.
Croggon and Parker's response to retro-criticism is that people tend to focus heavily on the history of the music. This will be hard for me to avoid since the entire premise of my blog is missing the old Kanye. However, I think it will work out as long as I use the history of it as an example or something to come back to. The history of the genre is important to put into perspective.
1. Ska was the creation of a new music genre in Jamaica in the 1960's. According to professionals there are three waves that originated. The first wave basically combines different American R&B sounds with folk music, jazz and African drumming. In the 70's the second wave started. This wave of Ska was more based on England than America. This movement shifted it to a more punk vibe. The third Ska movement was more pop than the previous two and started in the 1980's but entered America in the 1990's. All these waves are close enough so you can tell that you're listening to the same genre, but they are distinct enough to see the differences. They all came from Jamaica, but due to the history at this time with immigration, people had to chance to mix different types of genres in order to create these new waves.
ReplyDeleteGiven my genre I definitely think rap music is a response to lots of things happening in America. Basically how I see it is it all started with simple poems and then eventually got more complex as technology got better. NWA basically put rap music on the scene as to what it is now. It was a big fuck you to everyone because black people have been suppressed for so long. Rap stuck with gangster music for awhile, with most every big artist coming from the west coast. Then Kanye and Lil Wayne shifted it to a more pop-type genre, that wasn't meant to be taken as serious (looking at you Lil Wayne), but they still produced excellent music. More and more rappers started coming from the south, and as time progressed they cared less and less. Now it's basically a meme. Rappers act so goofy and ridiculous, but they know they're getting paid so much.
The argument being made is that when people are reviewing music they focus too much on the history of it, which makes for a weaker argument. I feel like that's not necessarily true all the time, but either way in my blog I'll try to avoid it. It'll be easy enough for me because this new wave of ignorant mumble rap doesn't really have an in-depth history I could go into.
1. Ska showed the light of a new Jamaican genre. In the 1960's, three waves accompanied this light. The first one created artists like Skatalites, Prince Buster, and Laurel Aiken through their traditional folky music mixed in with some R&B. The second wave, in the 70s, went anarchist and focused on the English punk era rather than the American traditional music at the time. The third and final wave, around the 1980s, was centered around pop music and the rise thereof- of course the US did not really see pop music until the late 80s/early 90s. These three waves posed a phenomenal evolution as listeners could continue to stay familiar and comfortable with similar beats, however, continue to grow in their musical listenings as these genres are quite similar in most ways, but have pinpointed differences.
ReplyDelete2. Given the definition in class, I believe that my genre for blog 4- Classic Rock- is suitable. Classic rock formed smoothly from the hippy era of music, into a headbanger, and then into an angsty form. This shows a direct correlation to anything going on in people's lives and the generation that lived through this evolution. The music followed issues facing the world at the time and allowed listeners to feel involved in the very changing world.
3. Their argument is that reviews nowadays are so focused on the history of the genre and its core that they aren't focusing on the music itself. I think that focusing on the history of the genre is fairly important, actually, as it shows the train of thought that the artist is having with the piece and its background. That does not mean, necessarily, that the entire article should be solely about that, but it does mean that a little inflection of it can't do any harm. I will, however, attempt to avoid it as I think it is unnecessary for this blog post.