Dangerous Outsiders

Gangsta rap, heavy metal, and Screw music seem wildly different yet are remarkably similar. All three were created as a means of giving expression to those bored with the then-status quo of their respective art forms. The humble, localized origins of the subgenres in the gangland of 1980s Los Angeles, the industrial towns of 1960s England, and the hot backstreets of Houston, Texas gave way to increasingly larger audiences; the anti-establishment movements themselves became institutionalized. This panel will focus on the controversial and transformative natures that bind the three subgenres together. Whether they are inciting kids to join gangs, engage in violent behavior, or dabble in drug abuse, these three subgenres have escaped simple beginnings to become the cultural powerhouses they are today.

Gloria Jones, Sam Kirby, Melvin Backman

The effects of local music scenes on society

Our panel discussion is an exploration of local music as well as local music scenes and the ways in which they can bridge together cultural divides within a society. This is manifested in the effects these regional subgenres of music have on the locations where they originate or grow popular. The cultural activities performed throughout Athens, Georgia have shaped the town's social identity into one that unites stylistically distinct bands, such as the B-52s and R.E.M., with their eccentric and iconoclastic image as well as creates ties between these bands and the quirky, music-loving Athenians. North Myrtle beach is a unique setting which united a wide cultural gap in the 1960's by bringing together the predominantly African-American sounds of R&B and young, white suburbanites. This combination drove the local cultural movement, characterized by Carolina shag and Carolina beach music, and brought together the community as a whole. College campuses serve as interchangeable local communities that have catalyze the development of the indie music scene. Together as a collective force, these local campuses have created an indie movement that challenges our ideals and ways we express ourselves. These local music scenes may seem miniscule in power, yet they continue to make a substantial impact on society’s identity.

Brent Capps

Emily Perry

Benjamin Atkinson

Country and Pop Musical Influence

People typically choose the artists they find most appealing musically or visually to lead a musical movement. The movements generally start off small but once people begin to show interest, the artists become musical explosions within their genre. For example, in the 1980’s country music began to evolve and continued to do so until the late 90’s when artists such as Shania Twain introduced a new subgenre of country that attracted a mass audience and increased the demand for pop-country. Also during the 1990s another subgenre of pop known as the boy band phenomenon was created. This subgenre was formed due to its popularity among female teenyboppers. Their success among teenage girls was fueled by their emphasis on vanity and the ambiguous lyrics of their songs. During the 2000s, Disney started producing music that appealed to preteens and younger teens that already enjoyed their television shows. It was a way for Disney to maintain the interest of the generation on visual and musical front.

Mariella Alvarado
Monica Cook
Risa Dalsing
Pam White

The Influence of World Music, Ska, and Latin Pop on Social Formation

Although ska, Latin pop, and world music are extremely different sounding genres, all three manage to share some similarities in the way the music influences social formation. World music can be defined as any music that merges both traditional elements of music with new features and ideas to create an original sound, and thus encompasses both ska and Latin pop. These two genres combined their culture's traditional musical elements with new American styles to create an original sound that helped to unify a group of people and create a certain social formation. During the 1960s artists in Jamaica combined traditional Caribbean mento and calypso sounds with new American R&B elements to create an upbeat and vivacious music for the country’s youth to celebrate their liberation from Britain as well as express their frustrations of the extreme poverty that existed. Latin pop utilizes traditional elements from genres such as salsa, meringue, mariachi, and rumba to form a new sound that all the Hispanic countries relate to and listen to together. Ska and Latin pop as a part of world music both combine traditional and western musical influences that transcend borders and nationalities to help create a unified social identity.

Zachary Gottlieb

Kenneth Jjombwe

Kelsey Wiseman

1960s Soul Music and the British Invasion

This panel will address the music of the 1960s focusing on the influence of soul music and the British invasion. Both music movements focused on social reform and civil rights. The music of these genres gave minority populations of the time a popular outlet to express radical views of political and social issues. The songs and new ideas of the time are still popular in today's society. In this presentation, the history and influence of the genres will be discussed. Also, this discussion will focus on how the listeners of these two major music movements were not fans, but followers who changed their lifestyles to become more like the musicians.

Julie Demuynck

Iesha Bailey

Amelia Lorenzo

The Metal Experience

It’s another Saturday night and you’re walking down the city streets. The streetlights illuminate the hustle and bustle of people going in and out of clubs, bars, and restaurants. You notice how different types of people seem to congregate at different places. Twenty-something hipsters flock to the hottest dance clubs, gays and lesbians mingle at the homosexual clubs, and middle-aged business people wind down the day with a drink at a fancy bar. Even bikers have a spot where they can be with ‘their own kind.’ You start to wonder what it all means when you come across a buzzing club entrance. Young men with girl-length long hair are standing outside smoking cigarettes and sharing a laugh. There are teenage boys in skinny jeans, girls with dyed black hair and holes in their pants, and seemingly out of place old guys who simply refuse to cut their mangled mops. “What planet do these people come from?” you wonder. What social group is represented in this eclectic mix of misfits? You decide to find out, and pay the cover to enter a dimly lit, smoke-filled concert hall. You feel out of place but you stick around to see the band play. When the music starts, you wonder what you have gotten yourself into. The singer is growling into the microphone like a demonic bear, the guitarists are thrashing around in seizure-like fashion, and the drums are an incessant blast of noise. The people in the crowd are banging their heads and some people are even punching and kicking the air in some sort of bizarre dance.

This is the world of metal music. Metal, death metal, hardcore; the different names assigned to the hard-to-distinguish subgenres are a whole other story entirely. The real issue of interest is why some people gravitate to this seemingly grotesque, bizarre form of music and why others publicly attack the genre because they feel it is detrimental to adolescents and society as a whole. Sure, some people like rap, others like rock, and some people even like country; but do people really like this loud, violent attempt at creative expression? The answer is yes. In fact, you can go just about anywhere in the world and find a metal scene, although it may not be easy to track down. While the United States has arguably the largest metal scene, masses of metal fans can also be found in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, and just about any country where people listen to modern music (i.e. rap and rock). Therefore, the movement isn’t limited to a specific place or region, but is an international community of metal fans.

So what is it that brings this wide range of personalities together? The answer to this question is difficult to pinpoint. Is it a love for the music shared by all the listeners, a desperate plea for social interaction or attention, or is it a common experience that pulls in listeners of all ages, races, sexes, political affiliations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Every listener has his or her own reason for attaching him or herself to a style of music that largely goes unnoticed by the greater public. Some are searching for a healthy outlet for emotions or feelings they feel they can’t release in any other way. Other listeners identify with the underground or anti-mainstream nature of metal music. Music reflects the human experience that goes into its creation and allows the listener to understand the important events that define his or her personal experience (Mulder et al. 515). Whatever the reason for listening, however, metal listeners feel a connection to one another that goes beyond the music and even beyond the social distinctions and boundaries that attempt to define them.

Before we can continue to probe the link between metal music and the collective social identity of metal fans, it is important to get a basic background of what metal music is, how it sounds, and where and when it originated. Despite its dynamic evolution over time, metal of all periods and subgenres share a few common traits: loud electric guitars characterized by heavy amplified distortion, fast and dynamic bass lines, and heavy hitting drum beats that are fast to match the overall tempo of the music. Metal bands tend to consist of a lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bassist, drummer, vocalist (the term “singer” is not usually applied to metal), and at times even a keyboardist. Syncopated, or quick and punchy, lead guitar riffs are backed by a “chunky,” powerful wall of sound from the rhythm guitar. Fast, heavy bass lines combine with rapid-fire drumbeats to create a powerful rhythm section that gives the guitar melody support and energy. A good example of a modern metal song that incorporates all of these aspects is “Truth of a Liar” by August Burns Red. Running lead guitar riffs are backed up by powerful minor chords in the intro, giving us a good idea of what modern metal sounds like.

The guitar is without a doubt the key element of metal music, and a great deal of guitar showmanship exists in the genre and even drives its evolution. The desire of metal guitarists to be ‘the best that ever lived’ led to the development of more difficult guitar techniques, louder guitar sounds, heavier distortion, as well as other guitar nuances that stimulate the progression of the music. In fact, the evolution of guitar playing is closely linked to the evolution of metal. Without guitarists pushing the limits of the guitar and redefining what a guitar could do, metal would have never developed into the music it is today. Many musical analysts have noted the strong connection between classical music and heavy metal. Some of the greatest and most influential guitarists, including legends such as Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, were well steeped in and heavily influenced by their study of classical music.

Heavy metal began as a departure from the blues-oriented rock of the 50’s and early 60’s. Modern metal has its roots in the United Kingdom in the mid-1960’s, when rock’n’roll was still in its infancy and many bands were pushing its limits. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple are all credited with being among the first ever heavy metal bands, but Black Sabbath arguably has had the most direct and long-lasting influence on the evolution of the genre, and specifically Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne has always been a prominent figure in the genre (Metal Roots). One song that captures the spirit of metal’s beginnings is “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. This song showcases one very important aspect of metal: dynamics. The song starts off slow before building up, letting off slightly, and then building up again for the finale. In the 1970’s, bands like Judas Priest, AC/DC, and Cheap Trick continued to cross the boundaries that defined the rock music of the era (WikiPedia). Guitars became louder and more distorted and drumbeats became increasingly heavy and fast. “T.N.T.” provides an example of the powerful, distorted chords and the hard-hitting drums that were a big part of metal in the 70’s. Angus Young’s highly influential guitar playing is showcased in the solo, while his brother Malcolm’s rhythm playing is a great example of metal rhythm guitar in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

In the 1980’s, the music created under the single genre distinction of heavy metal began to diversify into many, vastly different styles of metal. Bands like Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, and others were taking “glam” or “hair” metal into the mainstream musical world of pop while thrash metal acts like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth were taking heavy metal to new heights (No Life ‘Til Metal). It was also during the 80’s that underground metal genres began to spring up in which more extreme elements were incorporated into the music to create a darker, more brutal sound that is most similar to the styles of metal played today. If we listen to “Black Magic” by Slayer, we begin to hear the drastic changes that developed in metal during the 80’s. The most dramatic changes can be heard in the vocal style and the lead guitar. Screaming or growling vocals, shrill guitars, and mind-boggling fast drumbeats characterized the underground movement that would later become a subgenre known as death metal.

Now that we understand what metal is, we can ask why so many metal fans find it attractive when it seems to have little in common with mainstream music that appeals to many more millions of people. I believe metal emanates a feeling of togetherness or solidarity to people who feel alienated, outcast, or otherwise on the fringe of society. In their article Heavy Metal, Identity and the Social Negotiation of a Community of Practice, Snell and Hodgetts state that, “Consumers of Heavy Metal music are regularly portrayed in public discourse as misguided, anti-social, and potentially dangerous outsiders” (430). The music gives its listeners a means to express their inner selves in a way that is peaceful and constructive. Snell and Hodgetts point out that dressing a certain way, frequenting a specific place such as a bar or club, and listening to a certain style of music are ways that people can form bonds, whether real or perceived, with complete strangers (430). This has the effect of creating a sense of community or shared experience. This shared experience in turn leads to the formation of a collective social identity. Metal fans may come from all walks of life, but they share a passion for the music that dissolves their cosmetic differences. The feeling of being a part of a larger group or movement that is bigger than oneself can have a powerful impact on a person. To someone that feels alone or isolated, this could change his or her entire outlook on life. They begin to see that they are not alone, and that they aren’t that different from the people around them. With age you might grow out of the clothing or the haircut, but you still feel the connection to those around you that share your experience.

For anyone that enjoys music, listening to music can have therapeutic effects. I know that, in my own experience, when I let frustration and stress get the better of me I can listen to music to help me calm down and see straight. As I close my eyes and listen to the music, I feel the tension in my body release and my muscles relax. This is the comfort that metal fans, and fans of all music for that matter, are looking for when they go out to a show or pop in their headphones. While metal may not bring a peaceful easy feeling to everyone who hears it, it does for some and this is the purpose of its existence. Snell and Hodgetts write that metal fans “retreat from the public domain into more private sub-cultural spaces to gain social support, experience acceptance, and remind each other of what they have in common” (431). The concept of “experience acceptance” is especially interesting. It is as though, through listening to the music, metal fans are collectively saying, ‘we are the way we are and it’s perfectly alright and even beautiful.’

The collective social identity of metal fans is a mechanism through which the listeners can reassure themselves of their self worth and their place in the world. Music of any kind is an outlet for creative expression, and metal is just a unique form of self-expression. Metal music allows for the sharing of a common experience among fans that have similar feelings or ideas. It is this collective sense of identity that creates a nurturing environment of acceptance and support. The music creates the community, which creates the identity. This is what draws the fans into the music.

Works Cited

Metal Roots. An Aural History of Heavy Metal, 1 Dec. 2004. Web. 12 Mar. 2010

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Mulder, Juul et al "The Soundtrack of Substance Use: Music Preference and Adolescent

Smoking and Drinking." Substance Use and Misuse 44 (2009): 514-531. EBSCO.

Web. 13 Mar. 2010.

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No Life 'Til Metal. History of Heavy Metal, 8 Feb. 2006. Web. 13 Mar. 2010

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Snell, Dave, and Darrin Hodgetts "Heavy Metal, Identity and the Social Negotiation of a

Community of Practice." Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology

17 (2007): 430-445. Wiley InterScience. Web. 12 Mar. 2010.

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WikiPedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Heavy Metal Music, 21 June 2009. Web. 13 Mar.

2010 .

Contemporary Indie Music’s Shaping of the College Youth’s Identity

College campuses are prime locations for new identities to surface in that they are bodies of young, influential individuals who are open to change. When these students are exposed to a new type of music and, along with it, a new identity, they are often the quickest to incorporate it into their preexisting identity. Indie, or independent, music originated in Britian during the late 1970s and based its sound and soul off of influential musicians of the 1960s. Recently, indie music has transformed into a horse of a completely different color; however, it still holds the same fundamental values: a devotion to romance, nostalgia, art, and nature. The presence of this new-age indie rock in the form of media and live shows on college campuses has resulted in a blending of the indie persona and the identity of the average college student. As a result, a lasting impression has been made in the style and identity of contemporary culture, more so in college-bound youth than any other demographic.
Indie music has existed for decades, with the first documented indie record said to be The Buzzcock’s “Spiral Scratch EP” album in 1977(Walker). An indie band originally described a band that wasn’t affiliated with any major record companies. However, the contemporary idea of an indie band doesn’t take into account whether or not the band is signed under a major label. For instance, a lot of people would consider Modest Mouse to be an indie band, however the band is signed by Epic Records. Epic Records has also signed artists such as Sean Kingston, Shakira, Michael Jackson, and Natasha Bedingfield (The Official Epic Records Site). As such, how could Modest Mouse ever be considered indie if they not only have a major label, but also share one with Sean Kingston? While the indie bands of the past decade may have rooted from those of the 70s and 80s, they are identified through other means; it’s based off an idea of what the indie identity is- a composition of their values: art, nostalgia, romance, and nature.
In an interview, Phoenix, an indie band originating from France during the past decade, was asked if they thought their music was romantic, to which they responded, “Actually, yes. I think there's maybe one theme in our music, and it's something like romantic abandon. We call that teenage abandon, that kind of anxiety and abandon that you enjoy”(Ryzik 24). What Phoenix is describing in their music is the essence of an indie band because of a shared ethic, beauty in romanticism, and therefore a similarity in identity. As such, alike bands are identified as being independent, not through the possession of a label, yet through their sound, personas, and values.
Indie musicians can differ as greatly as those of any other genre: Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus can both be defined as pop artists, but there’s definitely a difference between the two. As such, trying to define the indie identity as being a singular and specific thing would be unjust, however there are certain trends in attitudes and personalities of popular indie musicians that can be identified. The identity of an indie musician holds parallels to their 1960 inspirers. They are generally less violent or crude than rap or hip hop artists and more poetic than contemporary pop artists. For instance, Zooey Deschanel’s indie band, She & Him, sings sweetly with upbeat piano in the background, “I think you’re just so pleasant/ I would like you for my own”. In contrast, Khia, a hip hop artist, raps, “Slow head show me so much love/the best head comes from a thug”. Both songs are on the subject of romancing a man, yet the indie version is somewhat more classically romantic and poetic. Thus, indie musicians differ from musicians of other genres not only in their sound, but also in their eclectic sense of values.
Bright Eyes is a contemporary indie band consisting of guitarist and vocalist Conor Oberst, who sings about the painful discovery of love, using banjo and acoustic guitar similarly to the styling of the 1960s. He poetically describes his love, “You’re the yellow bird that I’ve been waiting for”. This line contains the essence of indie music in that it holds true to both romanticism and a love for nature. Nostalgia has an important role in his songs also, as he mentions Polaroid’s, old soul songs, and remembrances of his life before he met this woman he’s in love with. As such, Bright Eyes is a prime example of what the identity behind the music entails. Furthermore, as fans of indie music, followers not only relate to the music itself, but also these ideals of love, art, nature, and nostalgia. This absorption of the indie identity is personified in the clothing the fans begin to wear and the effects it has on the community.
The fashion of indie bands is more apparent than their collective identity. Characteristics of indie fashion include vests, v-necks, thick-rimmed glasses, print t-shirts and skinny jeans. While it may be stereotyping, it gives a basic idea as to the popular view of an indie artist. Their sense of fashion derives from the root of indie music’s sound, the 60s and early 70s. As such, their sense of style also represents this dedication to 60s music in their long hair, vests, hair bands, and the like. The influence of the independent popular music scene on the general public can be seen through its collective fashion sense after adapting the indie identity. This is manifested in the recent success of clothing retail stores such as Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. Urban Outfitters was founded in 1970, at the beginning of the independent movement, and has reached success selling “an eclectic mix of merchandise”. On the company’s website they claim, we offer a lifestyle-specific shopping experience for the educated, urban-minded individual in the 18 to 30 year-old range”(URBN Inc). Their selection of home furniture consists of leaf-print beddings, paintings of birds, and deer antler coat hooks. As such, the Urban Outfitters hopes to appeal to college-aged students with an interest in the indie ideals- nostalgia, art, and nature. Therefore, the success of this retail store can be a reflection of the growing indie identity and fan base.
Twenty years later in 1992 came Anthropologie. Also founded by URBN Inc, this store hopes to appeal to “the fashionable, educated and creative woman of 30 to 45”, as in the woman who was in college during the initial indie movement (URBN Inc). Anthropologie serves as an illustration of the adult that develops and matures from the indie identity. There’s still a love for the same ideals- nostalgia, art, and nature- however, the style has become more mature and less condensed. It’s the continued indie movement, made accessible for adults, however, the ideals and ethics of the identity are still intact. As such, the independent movement is relatively void of age boundaries, able to reflect its identity in teenagers as well as middle-aged adults. The indie identity movement can also be seen in all social classes, as the rich can attain the style from more expensive stores like Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. Whereas the poor can still get similar clothing styles from consignment stores, due to the nostalgia influence of the indie identity. Furthermore, the only ones that aren’t able to relate to the indie identity are those that do not relate to the ideals behind the movement, whether it be because of a disinterest in aesthetics or ethics.
Growth of the indie movement can also be seen in political impacts due to the increased publicity of liberal ideals. With indie fans serving as a united base of liberal idealists, they have a larger influence on local and national politics than a dissociated group of liberal activists. In indie clothing stores, tee shirts often display opinionated political slogans such as “Hilary is my homegirl” and “Obama for your mama”. As a result of identifying with the indie identity movement, people have further possibilities of expressing their ethical and political views because of a shared interest. Liberal democrats have a louder voice in that they not only have bands singing against conservative values, such as those concerning war, but they also have their own clothing lines promoting democratic political leaders. The indie pop movement has thus further strengthened the identity of the liberal and has created a counter movement against conservatism.
The independent popular music of the early 1970s has resulted in a collective movement of liberalism and the progression of democratic values. The ideals of art, nostalgia, romance, and nature have become frequent in both fashion and contemporary culture as a whole because of its influence. While this movement may have started on campuses and at local shows, the influence has reached well beyond the demographic of college students. Those who choose to love indie music, whether it’s for the ethics or the aesthetics, choose also to reveal what is important to them. As Simon Frith once wrote, “-an identity is always already an ideal, what we would like to be, not what we are” (Frith 123). The principles of nostalgia, art, nature, and romance stand as the ideals which those who relate to indie music hope to live by and have become part of them. Consequently, this movement can be said to be an attempt to regain the romanticism we’ve lost as a society, and nostalgically remember, and a plea to remember the only thing that matters in life-each other. As Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros put it:
“Holy moley, me, oh my,
you’re the apple of my eye.
Girl I’ve never loved one like you.
Man, oh man, you’re my best friend.
I scream it to the nothingness:
There ain’t nothing else I need.”

Country of the 1990’s

In the nineteen twenties, the earliest form of country music descended from the folk music genre. This musical movement took form as Appalachian string bands that consisted of mainly banjos, fiddles and guitars. The drums were added into the instrumentation by the nineteen sixties (Country Music). Since the twenties, country music, like all genres of music, has gone through many changes to reach the sound we hear today. However the nineties was perhaps the biggest decade of change for country music. With big names like Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain, the sound of country music was forever altered. The changes in country music cannot be attributed solely to the artists of the decade but the people of the time period. In order to understand the country music sound of the nineties, it is essential to understand what country music was like before the nineties came around.
By the early nineteen sixties, country music had begun to make a name for itself. With the Vietnam War raging, country music took on a very patriotic sound. Lyrics revolved around fighting for our freedom and supporting the war. Anti-war protestors were shunned during the sixties and country music was the people’s way of expressing the disdain they felt toward protesters (Limeberry 35-38). Pro-war was the major stance of Americans during the nineteen sixties and according to Louise Witt, country was dominated by the “manly man” artists (2). The patriotic theme of the sixties continued until the late seventies until the end of the Vietnam War.
In the years after Vietnam, country music was forced to join the new trend of what Limeberry calls escapism. People were weary of causes and just wanted to hear music without politics. The late seventies and eighties are perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the country sound we hear today. Country music began to form love stories or fantasizing about a time when life was easier; a time when “Americans waved the flag, went to church, were independent, self-reliant, and unencumbered by the burdens of taxation” (Limeberry 43). However, as the nineties rounded the corner, new forms of country were beginning to come into light. In 1988 Garth Brooks signed on with Capitol Records and thus the new era of country began.
Garth Brooks, an Oklahoma native, took the new escapism theme and changed it even further. With his music, Brooks helped bring country to the top of the charts in the nineties. Honky-tonk was a sound that America was familiar with in the years prior to Garth. However, Garth did not use the same rough sound that most honky-tonk artists strived for. Garth’s new honky-tonk intertwined with a clearer country pop-like sound. Unlike the decades before him, Garth’s music was not laden with the political stance issues of the sixties and seventies nor was it the meaningless escapism of the eighties. Of course, there were songs that Garth released as just for fun songs such as Friends in Low Places, but the majority of Brooks’ music addressed social and racial issues along with love songs (Biography). Perhaps the public had grown tired of the music with no feeling. Garth’s music certainly had plenty of emotion and humanity and there was also a sense of humility in which the audience could relate to everything he sang. Perhaps it was the quickly diversifying America which Garth Brooks addresses in many of his songs that led many people to approve of his new country sound. No matter what the reason may have been, many other country artists of the nineties aimed for the same honky-tonk sound that Garth used to win America’s heart.
Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain are a few of the many country artists that followed Brooks’ footsteps in expanding the popularity of country music. Brooks and Dunn took honky-tonk to the next level and found that the public liked what they heard. The duo was just the right combination of country and rock-n-roll. Some people might even say that Brooks and Dunn perfected the honky-tonk sound that Garth began. Although their music may not have addressed the wrongs in the world like Garth’s music, Brooks and Dunn’s songs about life’s troubles could hardly be ignored. Their hit Boot Scootin' Boogie brought line-dancing to country bars across America (Huey).
Another Garth inspired fad of the nineties is that of pop-country. Shania Twain’s music differed greatly from any country music that had come before her. She did not fall into the category of classic country nor did she find herself in the honky-tonk trend. Shania Twain created a new sound for herself; country-pop. Although her songs had a very different sound than that of Brooks and Dunn, Shania’s songs shared enough similarities with the duo that her music also became part of the line-dancing fad. Her songs Any Man of Mine and Whose Bed have Your Boots Been Under captivated the female audience and Shania Twain became one of the most successful female country stars of the nineties. Shania’s music brought out the woman’s side of stories male artists had been telling for years and the response was immense (Wenner).
The nineties was a decade of change for the country genre, but despite all the changes, country music was still a strong genre. It is interesting that there was not just one sound to country during this time. The Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, and Shania Twain sound could appeal to all the same people even though the artists themselves did not have the same sound. Perhaps the reason behind the diverse country sound of the nineties was a result of a more diverse America. The prejudice of the past was over and no devastating wars were raged on our nation. We were learning to live together in harmony. Perhaps the music of the time period was merely reflecting the acceptance of the new. If that is the case, country music was surely not the only genre that faced many changes during the nineties. However, two observations can be made from the country music of the nineties. America was ready for a new sound and the country artists of the decade gave them plenty of sounds from which to choose.






Works Cited
Country Music. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, 17 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Biography. New Rose Inc, 2006. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Huey, Steve Brooks & Dunn. allmusic, 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Limeberry, John. "Idealism Down on the Farm: Is the Rhetoric of Country Music Changing?" Popular Music and Society 18.3 (1994): 33-51. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .
Wenner, Jann S. Shania Twain. Rolling Stones, 2004. Web. 16 Mar. 2010 .
Witt, Louise. "Back to the Country." American Demographics (2003): 1-4. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .

Disney Music- Monica Cook

Disney’s Music Culture Influence

The Disney Corporation plays a major role in the lives of all Americans and is a worldwide empire. It has theme parks around the world and make movies like The Little Mermaid that teach us some important life lessons. It’s easy to imagine that such a monumental company would have other outlets of reaching their audiences around the world. There is no better way to connect people and draw them into Walt Disney’s magical world, than through music.

Over the decades there have been memorable soundtracks for movies like Tarzan, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, and Mulan. Many A-list stars like Phil Collins and Christina Aguilera have sung for the movies and the songs have maintained their popularity over the years. The demand grew for Disney Company to keep putting out popular hits for the tween generation of kids 8-12 years. In 1996 Disney launched Radio Disney from Burbank California, which was designed to cater to the younger crowd and provide music that was similar to what kids were hearing in the movies and on the shows Disney was already producing (Stogel 29) .

This paper will examine the Disney Company’s role in developing and shaping the identity of American tweens through the music industry. It will examine the effects that Disney actors have had as music artists in the industry. Also the effects that larger musical franchises like The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical have had on its audience and the cultural identity that has been created surrounding Disney Channel Music on the television shows and in the movies.

Disney Stars as Artists

In the early 2000’s when shows like “Lizzie McGuire” and “That’s So Raven” were popular on the Disney Channel execs gave stars Hilary Duff and Raven Symoné a chance to try their musical talents. Both actresses were successful and this was the first time kids of our generation had seen multitalented stars that were able to act and sing and dance. This was the beginning of a surge of crossover artists. Actresses like Lindsey Lohan, and Mandy Moore were also some of the dual professionals that acted and sang in Disney Movies and shows. These multitalented young adults received a lot of fame early in life, most before the age of twenty. In the early 2000s the idea of an actor transitioning into the role of a singer was very new and Disney led in making it happen (Wikimedia). These transitions later led to other Hollywood singers and actors trying to play dual roles Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake are some of the singers that dabbled in acting and enjoyed it just as much as music. The switch is just as common both ways. According to Ronald Grover, “Disney has followed its patented tween-machine game plan: Use one franchise to promote the next (50)” They use the success of one star to promote the next and same applies when they want to release a new artist or band.

The crossover revolution of the 2000s set the stage for Hannah Montana, a show about a girl who lives a double life as a normal teenager that is an undercover superstar. This television show debuted in 2006 and is the perfect example of actress that was equally as talented as an artist. The show led to actress Miley Cyrus releasing three Hannah Montana albums, and three other albums as herself. The Hannah Montana franchise rose to an unimaginable height of popularity. Young girls wanted to look like Hannah and become Hannah. On her first world tour some parents were willing to go to any measure to ensure that their child could see the Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus Concert. Some fathers participated in high-heel relay races to get tickets to concerts. The Hannah Montana Franchise earned over a billion dollars in revenue before Miley Cyrus was sixteen. She has now branched out to a solo music career as herself and acting in other big screen projects. Her music consists mostly of girly anthems about hanging with friends, the struggle of being a teen, and the perils of a first heartbreak.

After Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus became household names, Disney used their strategy of channeling her success to promote their next project, the Jonas Brothers. Their first song was featured on Disney in Meet the Robinsons in 2007 (Wikipedia). They gained popularity and sky-rocketed to fame after opening for Miley on tour. After releasing their second album which was their first under Disney they also became extremely popular with tweens, and in 2009 landed a Disney Channel show of their own and a spot in Camp Rock, another Disney Channel movie. The formula seems to work very well for Disney’s artists. Most of the actors featured in shows and movies on Disney have had the opportunity to create music.

High School Musical was a Disney Channel Original Movie that featured six talented young adult actors and actresses as high school students divided over who deserved to participate in the spring musical. This Disney Channel movie had 17 million viewers the most viewers to ever watch a Disney Channel Original Movie. And the success of the second and third installment in the franchise did even better. The singing, dancing, and acting together create a successful blueprint for a series that teens all over the world can relate to, and they do: High School Musical has been launched on every continent excluding Antarctica and has gained fans in places all over the world.

Disney Music and Identity

What makes the makes the music that Disney Co. puts out so successful among their target audience of preteens and younger teenagers? The strategies that make their characters relatable and associable teenagers similar to the viewer. The music that Disney puts out in their shows with their stars always has a message. In High School Musical, “We’re all in this Together” was the final song and although all the different groups struggled to see eye to eye they realized “when we stand hand and hand, make our dreams come true.” There is a moral and lesson to be learned in what Disney is putting out in their music. They aren’t empty lyrics with little backbone. Miley Cyrus sings in “The Climb” for the Hannah Montana Movie, “It’s not about how fast I get there, it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side; it’s the climb. ” Although the song is a ballad for a superficial character its full of meaning that can be applied in everyday life for anyone who has seen the movie or heard the song. There is an uplifting message in the lyrics that the music company of Disney does a good job of creating.

The majority of the music that the Disney Channel releases is also played exclusively on Radio Disney. The genre is mostly bubblegum pop and classic pop but not limited to that genre. When I hear any song that is played on the Disney Channel from artists like The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, or even Miley Cyrus the sound is all very similar even thought the artists have different styles. Bubblegum pop was created in the 1970s and was targeted at preteens some bands included The Partridge Family and The Monkeys . The sound is melodic and sometimes simple but it was often the record producers that created it, not original to the artist singing it (Phares n.pag). Although it may appear like a superficial genre bubblegum pop and label produced songs are often the most successful for young artists to perform that aren’t seasoned and are unfamiliar with exactly what their audience needs.

Some specific aspects of the music Disney Channel Stars have come out with feature classic band set up with guitar, drums some piano and catchy baselines. According to Dr. Chad Twedt, at the University of Texas Arlington” the arrangements utilized some aspects of Michael Jacksons music (86).” The most popular example of the sound would be “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. The sound encompasses today’s idea of pop music that has a message: “I put my hands up, they’re playing my song and I know I’m gonna be okay. Yea, it’s a party in the USA.” The music gives off a party style atmosphere and you feel as if you can do the same if you are feeling under a lot of pressure. The appeal that Disney’s pop music has on the audience of youth has begun to create a lifestyle that young teens what to live by.

This particular style of music and genre are part of a market and lifestyle that the listeners feel that they can relate to. They have helped to form the identity of the young American teenager, a pop-utopia per say, an environment where there is mostly positivity and very little negativity emitted by the music that Disney releases and plays on their station. Young listeners want to live the lifestyle that is for the most part stress free as depicted in the music and where all their problems will be solve with just a little brain power. This is what the listeners want to become because that is the media message that they are bombarded with. The positive politics that Disney teaches young teens through their music is motivational however it is also not realistic in the real world, and that is where they fail to identify with their audience. When the young adults mature and the performers become too old to relate with their audience that is where Disney pop music is no longer fitting to the identity that the executives want to create. Disney can only encompass part of a generation and while the influence is positive it cannot be a child’s guiding compass for their entire life.

Works Cited

Radio Disney. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2010 .

Grover, Ronald. "A Star Is Born Disney Style." Business Week 21 Apr. 2008: 50-51. Web. 11 March .2010 https://auth.lib.unc.edu/ezproxy_auth.php?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=31629713&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Phares, Heather Allmusic: Bubblegum Pop. All Media Guide, 2004. Web. 12 Mar. 2010 .

Stogel, Chuck. "Whiteside Spins Synergistic Tune in New DisneyRecords Post." Brandweek 4 Oct. 2004: 29. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

Twedt, Chad. "High School Musical Book Review." American Music Teacher 56.4 (2007): 50-51. Web. 12 March. 2010 https://auth.lib.unc.edu/ezproxy_auth.php?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=31629713&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Boy Band Culture of the 1990s

The Boy Band Culture of the 1990s

“Even in my heart I see/ You're not bein' true to me/ Deep within my soul I feel/ Nothing's like it used to be,” these lyrics are only an excerpt from the music that created a distinct culture during the 1990s. The song titled “Quit Playin’ Games with My Heart,” one of their highest grossing singles, was first released in 1995, on the artists’ self-titled album Backstreet Boys and gained international success in countries, where pop genre was already quite popular, such as Germany, Austria, and Sweden (Backstreet Boys). This song’s success is only an introduction of the Backstreet Boys’ influence on boy band culture of the nineties. This culture consisted of teenage males that put little emphasis on musical instruments but rather focused on vocals and choreography. Although the Backstreet Boys may have been the most popular, they were by no means the only boy band of the 1990s; these bands included *NSYNC, O-Town, Boys II Men, and 98 Degrees. This musical subgenre was much more complex because its success was not only influenced by the vocals produced but also by the aesthetic of the groups. The fact that the media emphasized the groups’ personal looks helped teenyboppers (some even younger) in developing an identity with a common ideal of what beauty and success were and how they correlated. Although boy bands did create their own music and success, many recognize that bands such as New Kids on the Block, The Monkees, and even The Beatles paved the way for the all-male vocalists of the 1990s.

To further understand the success of the nineties music groups, we must familiarize ourselves with the history and success of previous artists. During the early sixties, one band that stood out above the rest was The Beatles. Although they were a British native band, they had thousands of screaming fans awaiting them in the United States. One example of American loyalty was 1964’s airing of the Ed Sullivan show featuring The Beatles, where a total of 73 million viewers tuned in to watch their performance. To this day, The Beatles have the record of holding five consecutive slots simultaneously on the U.S. Billboard’s Top Singles chart (Ayoub). Many attribute their success to their capability to write their own music and freely express themselves. Other factors included their ability to make the rock and roll genre so versatile by creating new sounds with different harmonies and structures. Even though The Beatles were more complex than the nineties’ boy band model, they were similar in the sense that they were both fashionable trend-setters (Wenner). From their fashionable suits to their mop-top haircuts, this 1960’s band created a culture that emphasized physical appearance; a theme that would later recur with boy bands in the 1990s.

As many know, The Beatles were a huge phenomenon during the sixties but they were not the only ones to gain success. In the mid 1960s, a band named The Monkees was introduced, and like many of the nineties boy bands their physical appearance amongst other things was very important. Their physical attributes were especially important because unlike most bands they were created specifically for visual entertainment as a made-for-TV musical group. As they began to appear on television, audience members could not help but to make these band members fashion icons in the United States (The Monkees). Although boy bands of the 1990s did not have their own sitcoms, appearance was equally important due to music videos. The Monkees earlier years also resembled the boy band model of the 1990s in the respect that they focused on their vocals and did not write many of their own songs. As The Monkees progressed though, they began to integrate more instruments as well as write some of their own songs. Even though The Monkees do not necessarily fit in the subgenre of 1990s boy band culture, they were a large influence on the pop scene (The Monkees). While the Monkees did still record during the 1980s, many new bands began taking the stage. These bands consisted of Menudo and New Kids on the Block.

The male group New Kids on the Block was founded by producer Maurice Starr and like the starts of the early 1990s they showed traces of a mainstream pop sound with a lack of instrumentals. Originally, the group did not appeal well to their teen audience but by their second album, they had achieved a much bigger fan base and were being much more publicized. Their second album produced their very first hit single, which soon was ranked within the Billboard Hot 100 Chart (New Kids on the Block). After producer Louis Pearlman realized the potential of the music industry, he soon became involved in producing an all male band inspired by New Kids on the Block’s success. With this new motivation, Louis Pearlman was able to facilitate a well developed talent search that brought together A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Brian Litterell and Kevin Richardson. By April of 1993, Pearlman had hired a songwriter and Johnny and Donna Wright to further enhance the bands musical launch. At the time, Johnny and Donna Wright had just worked for New Kids on The Block and were helping to book the Backstreet Boys gigs at local malls and high schools (Backstreet Boys). With his new found success, Louis Pearlman was able to further build the foundation of the boy band culture in both the United States and Europe by creating other bands such as *NSYNC, LFO, O-Town, and Take 5. By the late 1990s, the strength of boy bands was undeniable.

Their ability to captivate such a large female audience and influence the decade of the nineties is still not completely explainable, but it can be said that their physical attractiveness and ambiguous lyrics were central factors to the bands’ success. Boy bands of the nineties are known for their consistent theme about love, heartbreak, or relationships (that were either blossoming or faltering); but by ambiguous lyrics, I don’t mean that the theme or messages were never clear. I mean that the lyrics were never specifically aimed at one particular girl; hence, many of the songs did not talk about a brown- haired beauty or blonde bombshell. This point can best be illustrated in *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys’ music. As the song “I Want it that Way” states, “You are my fire/The one desire/Believe when I say/I want it that way,” these lyrics show that the artists never exactly specify who ‘you’ is, which leaves the audience to their own speculations. Also by using a pronoun such as ‘you’ the female audience was able to envision themselves as the object of their affection. This illusion allowed for their fan base to grow because many young girls loved the idea of being serenaded by young attractive males. As *NSYNC sings in this slow ballad, “It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you/ But when we are apart, I feel it too/And no matter what I do, I feel the pain/with or without you,” it illustrates that the female is so important that it hurts the boys to live without her. This song is also interesting because the ballad is sung slowly but the melody has an upbeat pop sound, which makes the song easy to follow and dance to. Their ability to make females feel special by directing their songs towards them, in songs such as “Tearin’ up My Heart,” was one of the biggest factors for the boy bands’ success of the 1990s. The lyrics were a strong factor to how these bands achieved success, but it was by no means the only way they became so influential.

Their physical looks were executive directors’ large focus for marketing. They knew that in order for these teen males to be successful they needed to not only appeal to the teenage demographic but also to their parents. In order to harness that look, they chose males that were still young and maintained an innocent image (such boys included Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, and Nick Carter). Once the boys were accepted as an appropriate form of entertainment, the young teens went wild for these boy bands (Jamieson). Another reason that so many females were drawn to this culture was because the bands typically consisted of five very different looking males. Therefore, if one of the group members did not appeal to the teenage girls then there would most certainly be another that would. This point can be illustrated by the band *NSYNC who had Justin Timberlake (the young attractive boyish look), Lance Bass (the pretty boy/ feminine look), JC Chasez (the tall, dark, and handsome model), Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick (the older looking bad boys with facial hair). As you can see, these boy bands had an array of members that were chosen in order to appeal to their entire audience; however, there was always one member that stood above the rest. For example, in The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter were given more solos and coverage because they were designated as the most attractive in the group. This message led females to believe that a striking physical appearance was a necessity for leadership in boy bands. Basically, the message for society was that you must be the most attractive to distinguish dominance and success. Although these young females pledged their allegiance to these bands by filling sold out concerts and buying every record, these teenyboppers were not always going to be young. Eventually they had to grow up; but how did the boy bands’ model of attractive young males affect these growing females? These teenyboppers of the 1990s were repeatedly reminded of what was deemed as attractive by bands such as *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees. With that constant exposure, these young females were building a subconscious foundation of what they considered attractive and how that related to success. They together were forming an identity that made males in the media a guideline for success and attractiveness. Essentially, these clear faced, fit, and well dressed boy bands began the formation for these young teenagers’ idea of beauty.

As Simon Frith has noted in Music and Identity, “The issue is not how a particular piece of music or a performance reflects the people, but how it produces them, how it creates and constructs an experience.” In this particular instance, these male bands performed through their choreographed dances, singing ability, and appearance on stage/TV. These performances constructed an experience in the sense that the female population began to identify beauty by the standards of these band members. As they began to mature, these girls developed an almost unattainable standard of men, which is why I believe they became so entertained with the men of Hollywood, who were all considered attractive and successful. Thus, boy bands created the foundation for girls’ socially acceptable obsession with the young attractive men of the media, which helped to create a social identity that correlates success with how physically attractive someone is.

The Formation of a Global Identity

World Music

The genre World Music is music that mixes Western musical influences such as pop and hip hop with an artist’s traditional instruments and sounds. The genre is not limited to any particular region, since numerous artists’ music can be considered world music. In Europe, Paris has become the epicenter for world music because the Parisian population includes people from many different cultures and Paris has the necessary art facilities, resources and festivals to support the development of the genre. In North America, world music developed quite differently because of an increased influence from the Hispanic community. For our purposes, we will examine the growth and influence of world music through the examination of music by artists such as K’naan, Akon, and Daddy Yankee. In an increasingly connected age, world music facilitates the formation of a new social identity, a global community.

There exists varying definitions for world music: world music is music from any culture or world music is music that combines Western musical influences with traditional/folk styles and sounds. We will employ the latter definition because most music in North America is a mixture of influences such as the artist’s experiences, current events, and other musicians. World music is a combination of musical influences such as pop, rap and R&B from the western world and traditional influences such as drums, instruments and beats. Artists utilize contemporary beats and rhythms to produce a sound that is easily recognizable in the West. For example, an artist might choose to use a repeated deep bass line to lay the foundation of the song. Or perhaps a deep bass such as that found on many rap albums to build upon and produce a song. These artists are also influenced by their respective cultures. So an artist originally from North Africa might choose to incorporate string instruments, the equivalent of lyres, into his music. An artist from India might utilize more drums and some wind instruments into his/her music. Note that influences are not limited to the sound of the music but extend to the message found within the music. An artist’s experiences in his homeland are an integral part of world music because many of these artists have rather extraordinary stories and encounters that they share with their audience through their music. So, it is by this process of blending western influences and traditional influences, both sonically and lyrically, that the genre of world music is formed.

Numerous artists contribute to the formation of a new global community including K’naan, Akon, M.I.A and Daddy Yankee. These artists count as world musicians because it is clear that each artist is influenced by his/her motherland in the music. Knaan was born in Somalia and later moved to Toronto, Canada with his family (K’naan). He comes from a line of artists; his mother having been one Somalia’s most popular singers and his grandfather, a poet. In Somalia, his family lived and struggled through the Somalia Civil War which is ongoing. This rough part of K’naan’s life, in addition to exposure to rap music and culture, later inspired him when the time came for the production and release of his music (K’naan). Born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam, Akon was born in Missouri to Senegalese parents originally from Dakar, Senegal. He grew up in Senegal until the age of seven when he moved back to America with his parents (Biography of Akon). Akon’s father was a percussionist and when Akon begun his music career, influences from his parents and an appreciation of West-African vocal styles are immediately apparent in his music. The next artist is Mathangi Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A from Sri Lanka. M.I.A is considered a world musician not only because she is Sri Lankan but also because of her third album entitled Kala (Biography of Maya Arulpragasam). Kala affirms M.I.A’s status as a world musician because the songs were written as M.I.A was travelling between India, Liberia, Japan, Australia, United Kingdoms, Jamaica and the United States. Thus, all the songs on the album were influenced by the different cultures M.I.A encountered on her travels. “Paper Planes,” “World Town” and “Hussel” from the album Kala all carry universal themes that M.I.A observed such as immigration policy and war. Finally, Daddy Yankee, a Puerto Rican reggaeton musician, is also considered alongside the preceding artists as a world musician because his music transcends local tastes in Puerto Rico and is listened to in North America and Latin America. His album Barrio Fino was well received across the Americas, Europe and the single “Gasolina” was a number one hit in Japan (Biography for Daddy Yankee). The ability to successfully present their cultures to a global community is the unifying factor among these artists. By combining the sounds and stories of their cultures and homelands with Western musical influences, these artists begin to portray our new identity as a global community with all the different cultures intertwined into one. The mixing of musical identities is only the beginning to this broad process.

As technology improves and transportation between historically difficult terrains and seas becomes faster, the creation of a global identity is inevitable because with globalization, people move between regions more frequently. One way to measure the formation of a global identity is through music and the genre world music is a perfect vessel through which to study the status of our global community. As mentioned earlier, world music is thriving in Europe especially in urban centers due to very diverse populations. The same is true in the United States. Hispanics comprise of an increasing proportion of the American population, thirty-eight million Hispanics in the US today (Nava). When they immigrate into the United States, they bring their culture with them including language, food, customs, attire, history, and most importantly, their music (Nava). Latin Americans brought with them styles such as salsa and reggaeton which is a phenomenon in the Hispanic community. The infusion of this rich musical background into mainstream American music, the mixing of these cultures will create a hybrid culture that encompasses people from both American and Hispanic backgrounds. Such a phenomenal occurring on the global stage would swiftly create a global identity. One particularly good example of the mixing of two cultures as seen through music is found in Cuba. During the 1800s when slavery was still legal, many slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa were sold to farmers in Cuba and other island nations in the Caribbean Sea to work in the sugar plantations (Afro-Cubans). Once slavery was outlawed in Cuba, former slaves stayed in Cuba and thereby allowed their culture to grow and become interwoven with Cuban culture (Afro-Cubans). Heavy on percussion, Afro-Cuban music grew to include both African and Spanish influences and is divided into two different varieties; profane and religious. Profane Afro-Cuban music focuses on carnival music, festive music like the rumba whereas religious Afro-Cuban music includes chants, rhythms and instruments used for spiritual ceremonies. Both varieties do however maintain a strong African rhythm. This example illustrates how when different cultures unite, the formation of a new identity, however small, is certain. We live in a global age; an age where the policies of one state directly affect another country, an age where jobs are being shipped overseas for lower productions costs, an age where breaking news is readily accessible to those all the way across the globe. So, the creation of a global community is an easily accomplished task.

Thus, perhaps a similar phenomenal is occurring in the United States between mainstream American culture and Hispanic culture. Peter Narvaez in his article for the Black Music Research Journal discusses how African-American blues were affected by Hispanic musical traditions. Blues musicians near the Texas-Mexico border and in New Orleans adopted some of the styles they observed from the influx of Latin Americans such as the lifestyles of Mexican street singers and some of the same general chord progressions (Narvaez). Once significant proportions of Hispanics begun immigrating into the USA, artists who came in contact with the foreign musical styling of Latin music begun adopting it to enhance their own sounds and music. Today, the influences are more pronounced. In dance, Latin dance styles such as the samba, cha-cha, rumba, salsa, mambo, and merengue are still performed and inspire new dance styles and songs. Vocally, artists such Akon and Will.I.Am collaborate with Latino artists like Daddy Yankee. Such collaborations occur because the artists acknowledge the talent of Latin American artists and the fact that the collaboration gives more legitimacy to the music. Thus, the music appeals to a broader audience. Artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are successful in the American music industry because not only do they have the support of their ancestral homelands, Puerto Rico and Columbia respectively, but also because their music translates and is relevant to the American audience. Being able to produce music that moves both Latin Americans and Americans is strong evidence for the formation and even perhaps existence of a universal community, an American identity in this particular case.

Music allows for the development of social identity by combining the experiences of a community. Because we live in an increasingly connected global community thanks to better technology, our music will change to account for changes in our community, changes in our culture. It is through this process that world music represents each individual’s identity on Earth because we all have shared experiences. Now of course there will always be local musical movements that cannot be replicated all over globe, thus the existence of other genres that are limited to specific audiences, but world music is the only genre that transcends borders and barriers thereby creating an identity to which all can belong. K’naan, M.I.A, Daddy Yankee, Akon, Shakira and many other artists are pioneers in the creation of a global identity because they readily present the stories and influences of their homelands. Note also that popular artists such as Brittney Spears, U2, Beyonce, and most recently Lady Gaga are also world musicians because they tour and present their music to international audiences and the fact that audiences worldwide enjoy these artists’ music indicates that the fans share in the experiences of the artist and his or her culture. Therefore, the existence of a global identity is an undeniable fact as seen through the prevalence and growth of world music.