Blog Week 7

After reading the comment in the subculture and counterculture slideshow about how music was one of the most important means in expressing the values of the hippie culture it makes one think that music has always been a significant source of popular culture for every generation. Dating back a few hundred years people entertained themselves with live music, opera’s and plays but they were reserved almost strictly for the wealthy. Looking back to some of the earlier slideshows these people of high culture influenced what became popular culture (hegemony) as technological advancements allowed the lower class citizens more leisure time. As time went on popular culture was shaped by different styles of music and people now can relate these types of music to what was fashionable “back in the day”. When one thinks about the prohibition era after World War I they usually conjure up an image of the Speakeasy where copious amounts of alcohol are being served with someone playing a high tempo song on the piano. Another image that one might conjure up when thinking about this time period is a family gathered around the radio as a modern day family might gather around the television. After that came jazz which started out as a subculture but worked its way into popular culture and opened the door for rock and roll. After the success of people like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, rock and roll worked its way into popular culture especially with the younger generations. As tension began to rise in the US with the Vietnam War, racism and sexual inequalities, the hippie generation took their style of music and brought it to the masses with open air concerts, radio stations and anti war demonstrations. After the peace and love music of the hippies came hard rock from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Kiss and Black Sabbath that again influenced popular culture. Disco came shortly after hard rock with grunge and hip hop following closely behind them. Every generation has had its own particular style of music which in turn has influenced popular culture of that time. While almost all of these styles of music became popular within a subculture they all became part of popular culture very quickly and helped influence society at that time. The music of these time periods influenced every aspect of popular culture including clothing, movies, books and whole lifestyles. Even looking at people today one can pick out who listens to what kinds of music simply by the way they dress and act. In short, I think that music has been and always will be one of the most significant sources of popular culture.