The Jukebox no. 2

Musings on music and the recording industry

Ajitpaul Mangat, staff

The grand wheel of music constantly revolves — reviving antiquated periods of humanity’s musical history, as it progresses onwards towards the next chapter of musical expression. But sometimes this wheel loses its bearings, becoming semi-quiescent — spinning and inspiriting the past but not progressing forward to new horizons; cultural critic Matthew Arnold called it “an epoch of concentration” in his seminal essay: The Function of Criticism at the Present Time (1865). That is, a resistance to the movement of ideas; a time period during which artistic expression is dull, stagnant, and passé.

Arnold expressed a belief that the “political, practical character” of “the French Revolution” led to an epoch of concentration, Romanticism, because it fatally gave an “immediate political and practical application to . . . ideas,” which stifled “creative force.” A lucid analogy using this belief can be made to contemporary popular music.

I. Popularization of the music video

The popularization of the music video, as a medium of artistic expression and as a marketing instrument, with the creation of Music Television in America in 1981 and MuchMusic in Canada in 1984, greatly influenced all popular music that followed. No longer was it the actual musical composition that was most seminal, the accompanying music video quickly grew to be just as significant. It is nearly impossible to consider songs such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Madonna’s “Express Yourself,” or A-Ha’s “Take on Me,” without imagining its allied music video. Consequently, an artist’s “look” — appearance, personality, style — and marketability became just as, if not more so, important as their music. Record labels became largely interested in signing great products, rather than great artists. Style was demanded, even if it meant substance suffered. Artists had to be the opposite sex’s wet dream; Michael Bolton and Paula Abdul were simply better for business than Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin. Thus, with the advent of the music video, popular music suffered, and continues to suffer.

It can therefore be theorized, I believe, that the superficiality and overly style-focused character of 1980s popular music — due to the popularization of the music video — has led to an epoch of concentration, the past decade, because it has influenced the creation of superficial, overly stylistic music, which does not lend itself to creativity, or innovation.

II. The grunge era (1991-94)

Following the 1980s, the grand wheel of music initially progressed to grunge music — characterized by distorted instrumentals and apathetic, introspective lyrics — fashioned in opposition to the previous decade of glamorous sounds and superficial, lovelorn lyrics. However, this progression proved to be an anomaly, as the wheel soon became semi-quiescent, and has since, seen in the last two trendy genres, inspirited 1980s popular music.

III. The ‘bubblegum’ pop era (1997-2002)

In 1997 the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe,” and Hanson’s “MMMBop” topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for a combined seven weeks —heralding the emergence of the “bubblegum” pop era, so called because of its easy digestibility and “sweet” sounds. This was not the complex song dynamics and inventive harmonies of early-Beatles pop, or even the subversive, progressive sounds of modern-day xenomania-pop; this was “packaged” music for mass appeal, as it employed accessible lyrics, straightforward instrumentals, and most importantly, a friendly, pretty face behind the microphone.

It was music tailor-made for an accompanying music video. This assertion has many examples, whether it be the Spice Girls and their distinctive types of “girl-power” (Sporty, Posh, Scary, Baby, Ginger), or the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync and their members representing types of boyfriends (cute, sexy, quiet, bad boy, father figure), or Britney Spears and her infamous Catholic schoolgirl outfit. Not to mention the countless bare midriffs and generic dance routines. Without the music video, bubblegum pop would simply not have been as popular, or profitable.

IV. The pop-rap era (2000—2006)

2000 — with Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP and Nelly’s Country Grammar albums selling over a combined 15-million copies — saw the emergence of the pop-rap era. This was not the political, rebellious, socially aware rap of Public Enemy and N.W.A., or even the engrossing storytelling rap of Slick Rick; this was music with “dumbed-down” lyrics, and devoid of a divisive message, in order to sell to the masses (i.e., suburban, white adolescents). Where rap was once “a black CNN,” discussing the trials and tribulations of African Americans, it was now the Shopping Network and Entertainment Tonight on wax — significantly focusing on an artist’s look and gossip, camouflaged as “beefs” (lyrical rivalries).

Resultantly, the music video became necessary to sell this “hip-hop life” expounded in the songs. With every track about the same subject matter, the rap video became a generic exercise: wads of cash, Cristal, expensive automobiles, and half-naked booty girl; best exemplified in the music video for Jay-Z’s song “Big Pimpin’.” Never before had a form of musical expression been so rooted in capitalism and the music video.

So is the grand wheel of music set to remain fixed? Arnold says: “Epochs of concentration cannot well endure for ever; epochs of expansion, in the due course of things, follow them.” With the music video dying a slow death, spearheaded by MTV and MuchMusic’s showing less of them, and the public’s obsession with “bubblegum” pop and pop rap faded, or fading, respectively, there seems to be opportunity for a musical epoch of expansion, “a time of true creative activity.”

And so: only time will tell if the wheel remains fixed in revivalism, or can be pushed to new musical horizons.