What is World Music?

World music is a very wide category and is hard to define in one sentence. It involves many cultures and some would say that world music reflects a non-western culture. Its traditional music created by indigenous people. It is music that is not associated with American popular music, but is still widespread and could also combine western popular music with other genres. It is known simply as 'music' to other people in the world.

Its ethnic style gives world music its own category, as it sounds different to 'pop music' and has derived from other cultures other than Western Europe and English speaking North America. It has an exotic sound which is created using different instruments and musical styles and harmonies. The term 'world' music is a general one and helps the music industry to sell more under this title as opposed to having many different categories.

Is Pop Music a Mass Produced Commodity or a Genuine Art Form?

Looking at popular music today, I would be reluctant to label it a "genuine art form". Pop singers can only sing about limited subjects consequently making them sound similar, resulting in a lack of creativity. Theodor Adorno believes that popular music is a mass produced commodity that makes people forget about reality.  He looked at its structure and used 'pseudo-individualisation' to explain how popular music affects its audience. He believes that the industry offered the opposite of 'genuine art' and that it is sold to an audience who are passively satisfied. The main goal is ultimately making money, it focusses more on image rather than the content. 

My definition of an 'art form' is a creative, artistic expression; which is not the vibe given off by pop music today as it tends to mimic other artists instead of being original. 'Move it on Over' by Hank Williams and 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley and the Comets shows how popular music accentuates similarity making it more a mass produced commodity, rather than a creative piece of work. 

How Useful is a Production of Culture Perspective in Understanding the Birth of Rock and Roll?

When was rock and roll born? Some would say the 1940's, when Wyonie Harris's 'Good Rockin' tonight' (1947) was released and others like Rolling Stones Magazine, suggests that the first rock and roll single was Elvis Presley's 'That's All Right'' in 1954. 

Richard A. Peterson described rock and roll using six key terms that he believed influenced its rise in 1955. He concentrated on the social context and how it affected rock music, rejecting the view that the emergence of certain artists such as Elvis and Chick Berry in the 50's; were responsible for rock and roll. He explains that new technology, such as the television and the use of the transistor helped to broaden the rock audience. Peterson's theory overlooked one main factor; he does not address the music itself. In 1955 circumstances came together but he doesn't explain why the music that emerged was rock and roll. Why was it not the breakthrough of Jazz music? I believe that Peterson's theory is too general as it sets up a framework that could refer to any type of music.

Is It Reasonable To Consider That Rock Music Is Gendered Male?

Yes. Rock is predominantly a male culture, in which women are widely restricted. Unfairly, women tend not to be considered as instrumentalists, only vocalists. Mavis Bayton states “women's presence has been absolutely minimal” and this is evident from the top 100 best guitarists featured in the Rolling Stones magazine in which the only two female artists featured in the list weren't even in the top 50!

Feminists say that rock is a male form of expression thus making it difficult for women to be accepted into the genre. Janis Joplin sacrificed her femininity and was seen as 'one of the guys' in order for her music to be accepted as 'rock'. There are many female rock artists such as Bonnie Raitt and Joan Jett but they can never be compared to guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Eddie Van Halen. Men don't have any physical attribute that makes them “better” at playing instruments than women, yet rock is still a male-dominated genre.