What is world music?

World music is something that can be argued as two completely different types of sound.

Some argue that world music must be popular music as it has to be heard all over the world. The majority of popular music is in English; it has to break the USA and England as the two biggest dominant nations and then its fed to dependent market's. Anglo-American music essentially becomes established as the standard global template.

World music could also be interpreted as everything except the Anglo American music. Music that has other linguistic lyrics that do not conform to the ‘popular’. World Music can be seen as anything that has a different or unique style from other cultures.

World music can mean simply music from around the world, music that is not simply just Anglo-American churn outs but just something as simple as sounds from other countries like the didgeridoo.

Is popular a music mass produced commodity or a genuine art form?

Adorno states ‘the popular music industry as an all consuming production line that churns out mass produced inferior commodities’. Some genres of music are part interchangeable and part pseudo individualization; the structure of the music is the same but the details change. Adorno’s theory is right here, but, standardization is not just limited to popular music. Other genres of music also adopt this, folk and country music all have similarities commodities but retain their individuality.

Bernerd Gendron theory is that there is a universal and a particular, in music the universal would be the song and the particular would be the vinyl or C.D. This argues that all music is an art form, and it is the record that is the mass produced commodity. You can’t mass produce a song but you can mass produce a C.D of a song. This therefor retains the artist reverence of music.

How useful is a production of cultural perspective in understanding the birth of R Richard A Peterson “production of cultural perspective” ock and Ro

Richard A Peterson “production of cultural perspective” has a number of strengths when it comes to talking about Rock and Roll, it shows clearly the social cultural and historical context of the era and the development of a new form of music. It sets out six things that he believes effected music in order for something new to be born; “law, Technology,Industry Structure,Organisation Structure, occupational careers and market”.

He clearly lays out these and shows how each effect each other. His perspective i agree with, however, there is one fundamental weakness and that is he doesn’t talk about the music. Peterson address the social ambiance of the time, but doesn’t look into why it was Rock and Roll that emerged.

At these times there were other minorities having their music payed to; such as hillbilly and spanish. Peterson doesn’t directly answer why Rock and Roll became most desirable.

Is It reasonable to consider that rock music is gendered male?

The Rolling Stones top 50 guitarists contain no women; Rock music has been gendered masculine through society. As girls grow up they are taught “to be feminine and not to engage in masculine activities.” (Bayton) The guitar is designed for the male anatomy; the female body makes it awkward to hold a guitar. “Rock Guitarists typically hold their instruments low down in front of there genitals..The only reason for this is the silent encoded phallocentric message” (ibid p.43)

Amanda Sloat states ‘heavy metal lyrics often refer to women in a way that suggests sexual subversion.’ Society was giving women more of a social voice so lyrics enabled men to take control.

The symbolic domination of women through lyrics continues to make rock male. “For women rockers to become hard aggressive performers it was necessary for them, as Jerry Garciac commented on janis Joplin to become one of the boys”