Week 9: American Music Lecture

Since American music is such a broad term, I chose to focus on a few genres and related issues of contemporary American music. Two hours is very short and I would try my best to do a quick overview of each genre, including its origins and influences, its major artists, and any distinguishing features of this type of music. First I would start with an overview of American society along with nay distinguishing social and cultural traits. The genres I hope to touch on Country, Jazz, R&B/Hip Hop/Rap, and Rock/Punk/Metal. Also, I would like to describe how different types of music have impacted the popular culture of contemporary America. Lastly, I would like to remind the group about the vast diversity existing in American culture and hybridization of different influences that combine to make American what it is today.

In order to describe the American society, I’d start with a geographic description of the U.S. Then I will move on to describe a bit of American history. As a democratic republic, the notion of individuality and the freedom of expression are both highly valued. This has helped to fuel the vast varieties of music across the country. Then I will talk about the mixture of ethnicities and cultures in America. Although white Americans remain the dominant population, the Black, Latino, and Asian populations are quickly gaining more influence within society and these advancements are especially visible in the music culture.

I selected the 4 genres of music that are probably most familiar to foreigners, but I want to share something new about these genres beyond what they already knew. For instance, Country music is considered the representation of rural white culture, but in actuality, Blues, which developed from African Americans, has many similar elements to Country music. For musical examples, I will use Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks. For Jazz, I will discuss the African influences that contributed to its formation and its influence on overall American pop music. I will play musical examples from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. In terms of rock, I would highlight key artists like Jimmy Hendrix, the Doors, and Kiss. I will explain how rock began as a counter-culture movement that eventually moved into the mainstream. The history of R&B and Hip Hop share the counter-culture birth with rock music. Hip Hop is different in that it had a racial undertone; it was a black response to the mainstream white culture. I will discuss how hip hop and rap began as a resistance movement and has now grown to be a dominant musical force in contemporary times. For examples, I will play tracks from Grandmaster Flash, Tupac, and Kanye West. Now, hip hop has grown to include elements from Latin and Caribbean music and even stimulated the development of rap numerous other cultures across the globe.