http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/MIE/Part2_chapter03.shtml
This article talks about the relationship between music and cultural groups. Mainly focusing on the rock of the 50's and 60's, it explains how music can be used as a means for youth to rebel against the older generation. Furthermore, it claims that people with certain levels of education tend to belong to certain music subcultures, such as classical music for those with higher education.
However, they failed to explain how music can also reinforce the values of the older generation in the younger one. One example of this is found in the fact that music from the 50's and 60's just doesn't seem to go away. Ask just about any kid on the street, and they can at least tell you the name of one Beetle's song. In fact, many of the songs appearing in movies and CD's are simply remakes of the 'classics'. This can easily be explained by a desire of the older generation to share their values and beliefs with their children. Civil rights and peace were issues of their day, and now that they are the politicians, teachers, and such, we see these ideals being upheld, not only in government policy, but also into the mind of the youth.
Another example of traditional identities being passed through music is found in Country music. While this genre is often hailed as being corny or fake by listeners of other kinds of music, it quite clearly instills traditions and values into its listeners, and those who identify with it see it as being at least as 'real' as other kinds. This type of music focuses more on the family and the national identity of its listeners. Also, as stated in a song sung by Trace Atkins, they include strong references to “loving and living...family and God."
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3 comments:
Hi!
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It seemed to me that you know much about music and it interests you, well at least that’s what I thought, I might be wrong. As I was reading people’s blogs I realized how many things reveal peoples identity and culture. However, I think that music is one of the most important ones. Just think about it, different cultures have their own rhythms and styles of music and it reveals their identity. Overall, I think you choose a very interesting article and this article reflected one of the biggest identities of culture. (99)
Daria
While I was double checking the spelling of klesmer in order to write some comments to a student, I came across a site where a young man was writing about Tokyo. He expressed some strong surprise at finding a Japanese klesmer band playing at a club. Unusual because klesmer music is associated with Eastern European Jews. I couldn't help but wonder what, if anything, this said about the identity of the Japanese youth in the band. Fascinating from a sociological perspective.
I love the point you added about how some music sticks with younger generations. It really makes sense, because it seems like it's our way of connecting with the past experiences of our parents or grandparents, even though younger generations seem very rebellious at times, we often have something like music or food or hobbies that bridge the gap between generations. It's as if, maybe we do have a music that identifies our culture, but many times we will often go outside those limits and reach out to understand the music of another culture (94).
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