“Serious music matters because it transcends social forces; popular music is aesthetically worthless because it is determined by them” (Frith, S. 2004. Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies). This particular perspective suggests that popular music is worthless; nothing short of a disposable commodity that adds nothing to the quality or meaning of [...]
Purity: World Music from Developing Countries untouched by the Modern Hand.
There has been much debate over the last few decades on both the quality of contemporary pop music, as well as the role of the mass media in producing, packaging and distributing pop music to the public. Middleton and Manuel’s article “Popular music, §II: World Popular Music” focuses on several issues affecting the growth and [...]
The media gives dance music a bad name.
The BBC suggests that music taste is linked to drug consumption. This is a prime example of what Cohen (1980) calls a moral panic. The dance music scene has often been at the receiving end of moral panics where by the media distorts the behaviors of the people attending dance events, demonising them and subsequently there is increased [...]
What makes a good music journalist?
What are the criteria to be a good music journalist? I think the most important thing is a love of music, followed by a sound understanding of social and cultural trends that influence what people are listening to.
Sean McManus thinks there are three main things you should know to be a good music journalist….
1. A [...]
