To me, presenting American music would be extremely enjoyable and interesting. It would be a subject that many individuals my age would most certainly feel comfortable deliberating and sharing information about. If I were to give a two hour lecture on American music, I think I would definitely present America’s modern, mainstream, popular songs that most of our inhabitants are familiar with. I would surely concentrate on various genres and subgenres of music that seem to be trendy amongst the American people. I would most likely focus on several artists and groups that have created this musical popularity in the U.S. and in other Westernized countries. Since I would be giving this lecture to a group of foreigners who are uninformed about our famous music, I would be inclined to want to teach them about modern day performers and artists. Therefore, the subject of my long speech would consist of contemporary, modern music from the 21st century. Here is a brief outline displaying the types of music, artists, and genres I would present to my listeners:
- Hip Hop/Rap is a very popular type of music within American culture. Most hip hop artists today are African-American, yet there are also various others who are not categorized in that ethnic group. For example, one of the most prominent rappers of all time, Eminem, is of Caucasian descent (Listening Example: Eminem, “The Way I Am”). Hip hop/rap is constructed and presented in many different forms as well. At the turn of the century, especially during 2007, much of the music under this genre was considered to be “club music,” meaning that the rhythm and beats to the songs are meant to ignite modern-day dancing. The organization of beats in these songs is vital in classifying them as hip hop/rap, therefore a great concentration is devoted to creating a catchy tune, which most of the time is electronically prepared (Listening Example: Ludacris, “Stand Up”). Artists in this category consist of Lil’ Jon, Lil’ Wayne, Young Joc, and 50 Cent. However, some rap artists prefer dedicating their time to making songs where their voices are more clearly understood and the beats in the background are not the major constituent of the piece. Furthermore, it is clear that these individuals are using fast speech patterns (rapping) as oppose to other hip hop artists that tend to sing in their songs (Listening Example: Nas, “One Mic”). Examples of these artists are The Game, Eminem, and Immortal Technique.
- Pop and R&B music are two types of music in American culture that can be intertwined because they share very similar characteristics. Both genres consist of talented individuals who practice high and low pitch singing (as oppose to other styles of speech patterns like rapping and flowing), as the main element. Like hip hop, a great concentration is devoted to the electronic beats composed. Many of the music videos formed for these songs also display creative dance steps, very often choreographed. Unlike hip hop/rap, the artists performing this type of music are not predominately male. Probably the most successful female R&B singer of our time, Beyonce Knowles, has been fundamental in the popularity of this genre of music (Listening Example: Beyonce, “Déjà vu”). Other great female Pop and R&B singers are Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Fergie, and Kelly Clarkson. A great example of an R&B/Pop male singer who displays incredible beats is Justin Timberlake (Listening Example: Justin Timberlake, “Summer Love”). Other famous artists under this genre are Usher, Ne-yo, Chris Brown, and Lloyd.
- During much of the 2000’s, rock music has not featured as predominately in the United States as it has in other countries such as England and Australia. Despite its plunge at the turn of the century, rock and roll is still considered to be one of the most popular genres of music among Americans. Today, much of the rock we hear on mainstream television (channels such as MTV) have more of a “pop” sound to it (Listening Example, Fall Out Boy “Dance Dance”). The drums, bass, and guitars are not played as heavy as many other underground rock groups do so. A very new category of rock and roll music has developed over the last couple of years. This type of music is known as Emo (short for “emotional”). Many of the bands involved with this subgenre display a more intense emotion when singing and playing a musical piece compared to other popular bands (Listening Example: The Used, “Buried Myself Alive”). Emo is used to describe bands such as The Used, Dashboard Confessional, Underoath, Senses Fail, and Taking Back Sunday. Another important subgenre of modern rock is known simply as hardcore. It is very closely related to emo music except for the fact that the instruments are played much more intense and loud and the main singer screams his lyrics for most of the song (Listening Example: Throwdown, “Never Back Down, Never Give In”).
This is basically how the structure of my lecture would be!
KARL!
