Music. Vocal and instrumental sounds combined in a harmonic way to produce the expression of someone’s emotion. It can be, and mean so many things, a form of expression, a celebration, a connection and so much more, but overall music is something that flows between individual cultures and can be enjoyed globally by anyone, anywhere! Music can be adapted to almost any situation, it allows you to become more productive, relaxed, motivated, or just straight up lets you enjoy it!
Personally, some of my favorite genres are alternative and maybe a little rock and hip-hop, for me I find that I enjoy most alternative artists/bands over other genres purely because the melody resonates better with me and I connect stringer to a lot of the lyrics within most of the music I listen to. Music is also often used within propaganda and also and incorporated into many things such as propaganda.
Alternative music is not restricted to any specific culture, therefore is more versatile and globally accepted by other cultures, it works in reducing segregation between cultures and works towards hybridisation as it if often globally accepted. As seen in the following list there are many bands from quite varied global locations that participate in the alternative music genre, it is less directed than some musical genres such as that of K-Pop which generally targets and consist of a largely Korean based audience.
Alternative artist around the world:
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – Los Angeles, California, United States
- Jane Air – Saint Petersburg, Russia
- The Wombats – Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Hyde – Wakayama, Japan
- San Cisco – Freemantle, Western Australia
- Afterhours – Milan, Italy
- Vanessa Petruo – Berlin, Germany
As the alternative genre is non-specific to any particular culture, cultural appropriation is less seen within this style of music unlike others in which some artist have been accused of skin bleaching or darkening to suit a particular genre of music or create a likeness to the genres audience in order of obtaining or maintain popularity over that genre or style of music.
As discussed in this week’s lecture there are many other genres that hold a significant importance in relation to cultural appropriation and homogenisation/hybridisation, such as Grime. Grime music has been around for generations, originally produced in the UK, with many original Grime artist being British and curating music targeted towards a British audience, therefore making reference to the normal British lifestyle of which other cultures may not understand when listening to the references through their music.
Grime is the perfect example of cultural appropriation and hybridisation, as the Grime genre has been adapted to numerous cultures and produced by a various range of artists which target a very culturally diverse audience. The Genre has not only been successful at adapting to other cultures but also by flowing over generations as for today rappers such as Stormzy still perform Grime to date and use their songs as a form of expression which more than just British culture alone can relate too.
REFERENCES
Ishii, Y. (2019). Globalisation and national identity: a reflection on the Japanese music curriculum. [online] Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14767720500046328 [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
Katsha, H. (2017). The Shift of Media Representation of Grime; Exploring how the White Middle Class have appropriated Grime. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/fwrd/the-shift-of-media-representation-of-grime-exploring-how-the-white-middle-class-have-appropriated-682453cad7eb [Accessed 30 Aug. 2019].
WHAT AM I DOING? 