Week Ten: Review of NME magazine

In this May Issue of NME the editor tells us, “We’ve stripped things back to let the words and photography shine through more”. Yet I’m looking at 161 ads, including adverts advertising advertising space. Right…

The sexy pair of legs on the first ad gives the first indication of who NME aim to please. Guys ageing from 15 to “I wish I was still 15” will enjoy reading features of their favourite genres of music, which is of course, indie and rock. You can feel free to send in your own review of what you’re enjoying or what you're (most often) not.

It’s got all the latest info on gigs, festivals, latest bands with new material from your favourites. This makes the free gift and exclusive with Coldplay a happy bonus, especially the ‘free’ part.

Week Nine: Are Blackness and Whiteness useful concepts in the study of Popular Music?

To better understand music we tend to classify it. Before segregation was illegal the music industry made markets out of ‘black’ and ‘white’ music. Barry Shank talks about 'white fascination with black music'. Where white artists like Elvis were famous for singing what had been defined ‘black’ music.

One singer, Estelle, expressed a controversial opinion about white artists singing soul music [Adele and Duffy] : 'I'm not mad at them - but I'm just wondering, how the hell is there not a single black person in the public eye singing soul? … As a black person, I'm like, 'You're telling me this is my music?''

Duffy responded to Estelle’s comments in an interview on Radio 1: 'If the talent and the desire is there, I don’t really think it matters what colour you are. We don’t live in the 1950s anymore. We're in a multicultural country.'

I think music has proven to be more than what we label it and it shouldn’t be identified by someone’s skin colour. Times have changed and music has evolved with the artists crossing between genres.

Week Eight: Are subcultures a sign of revolt or an expression of style?

With music comes culture and with different genres come subcultures. How do we define subculture? Are they created in reflecting the times or for someone to find their identity?

For example, in the seventies the punk genre of music gave raise to the subculture of skinheads.

Stanley Cohen suggests that subcultures are ‘a gallery of types that society erects to show its members which roles to avoid.’ (1987) Skinheads were definitely people to avoid, as they tended to create riots.

Dick Hebdige however linked style with socio-economic situation ‘…appropriating the rhetoric of crisis…’ (1979) The seventies were tough times and as much as youth wanted to rebel, they also wanted an identity. They did this with eccentric style with leather jackets and safety pins.

I feel the revolt and style definitions to subculture are linked. After all by rebelling against social norms the subculture defines itself with its own styles.