Pop rock is a subgenre of rock music that uses "catchy" pop style, with light lyrics over top of "guitar-based" songs. Scholars have noted that the term "pop" and "rock" are usually depicted as opposites; the detractors of pop often deride it as a slickly-commercial commodity, whereas rock is purportedly an "authentic" and "sincere" form of music.

Definitions

According to music reviewer George Starostin, pop rock is a subgenre of pop music that uses "catchy" pop songs that are mostly "guitar-based." Starostin argues that "most of what is traditionally called 'power pop'" falls into the pop rock subgenre. He claims that the lyrical content of pop rock is "...normally secondary to the music." ^[1]

Critic Philip Auslander argues that the distinction between "pop" and "rock" is more pronounced in the US than in the UK. He claims in the US, pop is the musical genre with its roots in white crooners such as Perry Como, whereas rock is rooted in African-American-influenced forms such as Rock and Roll. Auslander points out that the concept of "pop rock", which blends pop and rock is at odds with the typical conception of pop and rock as opposites. Auslander and several other scholars such as Frith and Grossberg argue that pop music is often depicted as an inauthentic, cynical, slickly commercial and formulaic form of entertainment. In contrast, rock music is often heralded as an authentic, sincere, anti-commercial form of music, which emphasizes songwriting by the singers and bands, instrumental virtuosity, and a real connection with the audience. ^[2]

Auslander's distinctions between the purported "authenticity" of rock and the "inauthicity" of pop are echoed by Joe Carducci. The former head of the hardcore punk label SST,Carducci views pop as a "pejorative" term. He argues that rock critics are "unable to distinguish between rock and pop." Instead, Carducci claims that rock critics "...appraise music as though its essence resided in songs, storytelling, and emotional and social resonance," ignoring the vital energy which comes from the interactions of the musicians on guitar, bass, and drum kit, building up "riff and rhythm" and "tension and release." Carducci heaps scorn on what he calls England's "pink stampede" of "synth-pop gender-benders" such as David Bowie. ^[3]

Popular culture scholar Simon Frith cites Schulze, who states that "Rock is art", whereas the pop music of Madonna is "...juvenile, formulaic, artificial, shallow, self-centered escapist fantasy, committed to making a profit." In contrast to the association of rock with working-class men and machismo, Schulze argues that pop is associated with "feminine" qualities such as coyness, fluffiness, and bubbliness. Frith goes on to point out that many 1990s pop stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince crossed over gender and sexuality boundaries.^[4]

S.T. Karnick echos Carducci's claim that rock critics do not understand the music they write about. Karnick argues that rock criticism often includes "...overblown, meaningless statements" that exaggerate the literary importance of their favorite bands. However, rock critics have no "...real definition for the art form they are writing about." as a result, rock critics praise rock for its "passion, authenticity, intensity, surface originality". Karnick argues that these elements are subjective. ^[5]

References

1. ^ Music reviewer George Starostin. Available at:http://starling.rinet.ru/music/zstyles.htm
2. ^ Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture by Philip Auslander http://books.google.com/books?id=Zaaycuj7kbUC&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=pop+rock+definition&source=web&ots=DwY2QQJZap&sig=Qt88EFkWR4NpzWH0XwpkzJhNOm0
3. ^ Rock and the Pop Narcotic: Testament for the Electric Church book reviews - ArtForum, Feb, 1996 by Simon Reynolds. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_n6_v34/ai_18163689
4. ^ Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies, by Simon Frith. http://books.google.com/books?id=wgMMq3CXK0sC&pg=PA402&lpg=PA402&dq=pop+rock+definition&source=web&ots=IQotyoiybc&sig=Xug2XlEG3GC9FFwk9saJ6vtm5BI#PPA403,M1
5. ^ The Art (If Any) of Rock Music by S.T. Karnick, Associate Fellow of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:nBsimXg9sHkJ:www.cruxproject.org/articles/ArtRock.pdf+pop+rock+definition&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=79&gl=ca&lr=lang_en|lang_fr

Further reading

• Birrer F.A.J. -"Definitions and research orientation: do we need a definition for popular music?" in D. Horn (ed), - "Popular Music Perspectives - 1985 - Gothenburg - pg 99-105.

• Chambers I - "Urban Rhythms, Pop Music and Popular Culture," - 1985 - OUP

• Fiske J, - "Understanding Popular Culture," - 1989 - Routledge

• Frith S - "The Sociology of Rock," - 1978 - Constable

• Frith S - "Sound Effects: Youth, Leisure and the Politics of Rock'n'Roll," - 1983 - Constable

• Hamm C - "Yesterdays: Popular Song in America," - 1979 - New York

• Harker D - "One For the Money: Politics and Popular Song," - 1980 - Hutchinson

• Harron M - "Pop as Commodity," cited in S Frith - "Facing The Music: Essays on Pop, Rock and Culture," -1988 - Mandarin - pg 173-220

• Hill D - "Designer Boys and Material Girls: Manufacturing the '80's Pop Dream," - 1986 - Blandford Press

• Middleton R - "Studying Popular Music," - 1990 - OUP

• Moore A.F - "Rock: The Primary Text," - 1993 - OUP

• Shuker R - "Understanding Popular Music," - 1994 - Routledge

External links

• Server about alternative rock music
• Analysis of Pop & Rock

be-x-old:Поп-рок

Donate to Wikimedia