Ciara Early Professor Fuentes English 1102 1-29-14

Music has always been a part of us. People can always relate to music and it can sometimes be used to help someone emotionally or used to express ourselves. Music can change the mood we are in and change the atmosphere around us. Over several decades music has transformed dramatically and even the way we listen to it. Some people may think the way music has changed is a good thing while others disagree with the new style. Hip-hop music, or rap, is part of a culture that originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s. During that time period, many hip-hop artist were influenced by jazz music. From that then developed a golden era of music which included artists like LL Cool Jay and the Beastie Boys. They created songs that were much slower and delivered in a more assertive and aggressive way which grabbed peoples attention. Then there is West Coast hip-hop which is somewhat what our generation is now being exposed to. This type of rap used to be an underground form of art but is now known for violence, profanity, and more critical issues. Many artists such as Ice-T have been surrounded by controversy over certain songs or albums that send off a message that is offending to some people. This generation of young children around the world are being exposed to this type of music in which is somewhat inappropriate for young children and is taken offensively by other cultures. Country music was originated in the rural area of the southern United States in the 1920s. The term country was once thought of to be hillbilly music but is now

looked at in a different way, its used to describe different styles and different cultures as well. Taylor Swift has taken country music and somewhat turned it into a form of pop music that people of all ages listen and relate to. The influence of rock music in country has spread throughout the music in artists such as Eric Church and Jason Aldean. Since 2009, country music has become extremely popular around the world and was most listened to during the rush hour genre during commute. Country music has the made the transformation from just using a simple guitar to using many instruments such as many different guitars and even the drums. Some people believe that country music has made a good transformation because its more upbeat and has attracted generations of all ages to tune in and listen. Though others believe that it has turned more into a pop music style rather than the simple country music everyone used to know in the earlier decades. Pop music came from rock and roll in the 1950s and is a genre of popular music. Pop music is very electric and uses instruments such as drums, electric guitar, and bass. This form of music has been created by not only rock music, but also jazz, country, gospel, soul and more recently, rap. It is known as a softer rock and roll art form and is aimed towards the younger generation. In the 1980s, the rise of pop culture began with Madonna and Michael Jackson when they were shown on popular television shows such as MTV. Most pop music is considered to encourage dancing and to the beat of the music which is why it is said to attract the younger generation. Some pop artists such as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift create music and song lyrics that are relatable to everyday situations in which young adults find appealing. Pop music has changed over the years in sales and the way that it appeals to its audience members.

Decreasing music sales and concert attendance has proven that pop music is weakening according to music critics. Although I believe that the opinion of whether this genre of music is dwindling or not depends primarily on your age and what generation you group up in. I say this because pop music has changed drastically in the past few years, going from Brittany Spears and Hilary Duff to Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. Pop music has been looked upon differently recently because it has been known to have more rap involved with it which has been a controversial topic because of the language that some songs have incorporated within. Whether the dramatic change in music is considered to be good or bad is a personal opinion that comes from music critics, artists, and fans from all over the world. It depends on generations, interests, beliefs, and much more in which everyone in society will not see eye to eye on. Rap music has been highly criticized while other music genres such as country has become listened to by people of all ages and certain songs have become number one on the charts. No matter the type of music, the language involved, or the artist singing it, people have different interests which is why I believe that society should not criticize music as much into depth as we all do. Music is known to help people cope with situations, calm them down, motivate them, and also to dance and just to have fun. A certain thing that irritates me about the change in music is that it hasnt been directed towards just one genre, every single genre has shown to have such a massive change such as the instruments used. Country artists dont just use a guitar to create music anymore, they use drums, pianos, and even bass now to create the sound that is now one of the most listened to types of music. Old sounds have now been transformed into new sounds in which we have all adapted to and

sometimes dont realize how huge the difference is or what impact it has made on society.