Summary:

In The Case Against The Case Against Pop Music, the author, James Maclaren, disagrees with
Paul Watsons video against todays pop music. Although Watson argues that todays music is
homogenized that results in the narrowing of the range in chord progression and instrumentation,
the author recognizes that the genre of popular music is based on the relationship between
producers and customers. In other words, popular music is influenced by what customers want to
hear: upbeat and catchy tunes. In addition, Maclaren acknowledges the differences in music
throughout the decades, which results in a different crowds of different tastes in music.
Maclarens purpose is to inform audiences that popular music is all about what it makes the
listener feel.

Evaluation:
Maclaren has shown the complexity of pop music, which stems from the music in previous
decades. It would be a great addition to a piece about the history of pop music as it looks into
what popular music is defined as, despite the hatred it may be receiving in the 21st century. It is
convincing to the point where it can relate to the reader, because Maclaren informs the audience
that all music is a form of sound; it only takes an interested listener to appreciate an artists work
of their liking.

Reflection:
The overall takeaway from this article is the definition of popular music. Technically speaking,
when regarding to the genre of popular music, it has an umbrella that consists of a variety of
genres including rock, disco, blues, soul, hip hop, rap, and much more. Pop is not a genre that
differentiates from another, but is rather a category that is widely accepted by the population.
With that being said, not all individuals will enjoy listening to a certain genre within pop music,
because everyone will always have their own opinions on it.

Citation (APA style):

Maclaren, J. (2016, April 1). The Case Against The Case Against Pop Music.

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Summary:
In Section 6.2 The Evolution of Popular Music of Understanding Media and Culture: An
Introduction to Mass Communication, the author dives into the major shifts of inventions within
the 19th through the 21st century that influenced the rise of pop music with varying genres
through the decades. The source focuses on the specific musical influences of each decade as an
overall timeline. It includes how the invention of the Tin Pan Alley era introduced rag time.
From there, jazz and blues originate from the south. As it reaches the 1950s, the branch of R&B
influences the rise of rock and roll. It is acknowledged that the 1960s focused on folk and soul,
and the 1970s with punk rock and disco. It would all lead up to the popularity of hip hop and rap
in the 1980s to now. With its deeper analysis in the text, the authors purpose was to evaluate the
gradual change of popular music in the United States in much detail.

Evaluation:
With its accreditation from a university, it is useful in a sense that it covers the history of music
starting back from the late 19th century with the inventions of musical equipment, such as the
gramophone and sheet music. Further into the text, the author includes the inventions of the
radio, tape recorders, discs, and the television, which influenced the rise of different genres. The
organization of the text is in a chronological timeline of influential moments that resulted with
what is known as pop musics history. The sources abundance of information can further
present the details in a piece focusing on the evolution of pop music.

Reflection:
Sections of this text shows a better understanding of how popular music genres influence one
another; they are all related in some way. It has shown that physical inventions, such as the
television, can influence an audience to be more interested in a genre of music. In this case
specifically, the television presented the show, MTV2, which highlighted hip hop and rap music.
Because of this, the population tuned in on their televisions to listen to this form of music,
making it more popular. With this texts thoroughness, it can be concluded that popular music
has a long, complex, history.

Citation (APA style):

University of Minnesota by Creative Commons. (2016, March 22). Understanding Media and
Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication.

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Summary:
In NBC News The Evolution of Pop Music, Quantified: Hip Hop + Rap = One Giant Leap,
Boyle acknowledges the evolution of pop music to be similar to the biological evolution as
humans and forms of music branch out and become distinctive from one another. Researchers
gathered songs from Last.fm and organized them by year and genre. From that research, it was
concluded that between the 1960s and late 1980s, the most popular genre included rock and soul,
which stemmed from the ongoing revolutions within those decades. Within the 1980s, the
spotlight was turned to disco and hard rock. Researchers concluded that the influence of hip hop
and rap in the 1990s came from the shift with art and literature. The authors purpose was to
inform the audience of how influential hip hop and rap is to todays music.

Evaluation:
The text is considered credible with actual researchers who classified the causes of certain
genres. The author recognizes how the three major revolutions of rock, soul, disco, hip hop, and
rap gained popularity in the society. This source would be a useful addition to a project on the
evolution of popular music as it presents the shifts between music throughout the decades.

Reflection:
From this piece, the audience is informed of popular music with an overall view in a concise
manner. The evolution of pop music occurs with three major revolutions in which the musical
genres of rock, soul, disco, and hip hop are widely appealed to the public. This text has shown
that every decade or two focus on different types of genres, which shows popular musics
complexity.

Citation (APA style):

Boyle, A. (2015, May 05). The Evolution of Pop Music, Quantified: Hip Hop Rap = One Giant
Leap.

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Summary:
In this text, Shane Snow focuses on the changes of lyrics, artists backgrounds, genres, and
topics in regards to popular music through the use of charts and graphs. Snow exhibits different
types of graphs and visuals with an analysis on each factor that influences music. He recognizes
that there is a variety of vocabulary and sound throughout the decades. As a result for one of the
graphs, the author concluded that artists from the 1960s and 70s, liked to use the lyric love
typically in their songs, while it was the night and Im from the 80s and 90s, respectively.
Furthermore, the author analyzes how artists shift from bands or groups, to solo, to
collaborations as trends in the music industry. Snows purpose was to evaluate the specific
details that influence an artist to write into their music, which result with differences in music.

Evaluation:
Snows use of visuals to convey his message gives a better understanding for the audience, being
easier to follow. It would be a helpful analysis when studying the evolution of pop music as it
recognizes the specific lyrics, ethnicities, genres, and topics that artists wrote about throughout
the past century. As a whole, the author recognizes the differences of pop music within the
previous decades as generative differences in which the diversity of people and ideas create a
better quality and sound.

Reflection:
From this text, it is acknowledged that the differences of music are much more accepted in this
generations compared to the past. More people start to accept their differences over time. As a
result, there is a rise in collaboration between different musicians and backgrounds creating a
beautiful variety of music. The potential historic phenomena in the second half of the 20th
century may have influenced the idea of respecting others differences, which also caused a
change in music.

Citation (APA style):

Snow, S. (2017, February 01). This Analysis of the Last 50 Years of Pop Music Reveals Just
How much America Has Changed.

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Summary:
In this podcast from Science Mag, David Grimm and Susanne Bard discuss the evolution of pop
music. Grimm recognizes that over time, there has been changes in rhythm, harmony, and
melody through popular music. They have concluded that popular music is much more diverse
today due to the three major, dramatic revolutions. This included the revolution of 1964 in which
rock and soul rise in popularity with an audio sample of the Beatles and the Supremes. The next
revolution was in 1983 where disco, new wave, and hard rock took center stage with a sample
from Duran Duran and the Police. The rise of rap and hip hop is then considered the most
transformative of 1991. It is concluded that these forms of music influenced the music that is
heard today. Grimm and Bards purpose of this discussion is to recognize the diverse influences
of todays music.

Evaluation:
This audio clip can be used as a differentiating form of a text that still focuses on the evolution of
music with a concise analysis of musical revolutions. The discussion between Grimm and Bard
convey the importance in appreciating different types of music as they widely appeal to the
public at different times. It is compared to the biological evolution in that music has an origin
that branches out into different genres. Because of these revolutions full of uniqueness, it has
resulted todays music to be more diverse and multi-faceted.

Reflection:
From this podcast, it is shown that the evolution of pop music is still appreciated and recognized
through audio clips. It is emphasized in a sense that popular music will always be diverse,
because there have been multiple revolutions that influence what pop music is today. It is also
considered mathematical, because genres can result with the combination of more than one
genre, further emphasizing its complexity.

Citation (APA style):

Grimm, D. (2015, May 07). Podcast: A plant that finds diamonds, evolution of pop music, and
why Americans smile more than Russians and Chinese.

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Summary:
In this text, researchers perform a study on the evolution of pop music by investigation the US
Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010. By doing so, these researchers analyzed the
properties of harmony and timbre of music of 17,000 recordings that appeared in the charts.
Those properties were then used to create an audio-based classification, resulting with the
theories of cultural change. In addition, they investigated if pop music evolved gradually or
punctually. As a result, the researchers convey the three major revolutions in music as part of
cultural change.

Evaluation:
In this scientific journal, researchers have shown that the evolution of music is influenced from a
human cultural trait that is measurable through digital recordings. The fact that researchers
implicated the evolution of music through a study shows that the text is much more credible with
a closer look into musical influences. This text can be utilized as a distinct approach to analyzing
the evolution of pop music with the technical principles of sound waves and musical properties.

Reflection:
The main takeaway from this text is the idea of pop music evolving due to the process of
modifying existing music. It is interpreted in a way that a style is inherited from a previous one.
Popular music is heavily influenced by the changes in culture, especially social impacts. From
this research, it is understood that the changes of popular music can be analyzed into more depth
as it can focus on the different frequencies of sound waves. From that, conclusions about the
publics appeal can be made.

Citation (APA style):

Mauch, M., MacCallum, R. M., Levy, M., & Leroi, A. M. (2015). The evolution of popular
music: USA 19602010. Royal Society Open Science, 2(5), 150081.
http://doi.org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1098/rsos.150081

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