Poppy Cock

The West Coast’s seeming reaction to the heated pyrotechnics of the East Coast’s Bebop during the l950’s could be seen as a parallel to Europe’s own dichotomy of Classical versus Romantic styles. Romanticism followed Classicism as a musical “style,” but Cool Jazz usually is seen as a reaction to the precursory musically aggressive style of Bebop. Bebop was the Rock ‘n’ Roll of jazz music, while the Cool School was Adult Contemporary. The only difference was the series. The refined eloquence of the High Classic Style preceded the emotional and personally expressive style of Romanticism. The constraint and seeming distance of the Cool followed the energy and aggressiveness of Bebop. It is just a matter of where you tune in. Pop music in America merits its own study, because although pop is a derivative style it inherently possesses some of the same contrasting musical elements represented in both of the former examples of music lineage. What is America’s pop music attempting? Hip Hop was in popular music’s case the precursor to Pop. It was anti-establishment. It was aggressive. It was raw. It felt good, and you could feel it in your body. While its themes were controversial, often violent, and misogynist the rhythmic concept of Hip Hop was very similar to America’s jazz music. Who knew it swung? That itself historically must define part of the expression of Hip Hop music and why it dissolved. Jazz it is said dissolved in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. What happened to Hip Hop? Evidently more skill was needed to produce Hip Hop than was known, because after the elimination of quite a few of Hip Hop’s major figures the music began to flounder. Cheap electronic imitations began to surface as corporate America attempted to capitalize on Hip Hop’s former influence. The effort was not successful, and modern R&B has not recovered. Instead Pop music became the music of choice for America’s airwaves. How did this happen? First was the disappearance of sample loops, something that ensured Hip Hop always would have an engaging rhythmic feeling. Sampling hit records is not a bad way to ensure the success of your future project. With sampling could have come a neglect for the artistry of live music performance. While this was not so evident at the time, it could have had long lasting ramification for the music industry. If A&R money evaporated with the emergence of iTunes, then the focus of music became not live performance but preconceived, prepackaged, prepared “Boy Bands.” Corporate producers became the major purveyors of popular music shaping the sounds we would come to hear on America’s airwaves. Was this a successful movement? With this trend came the reliance upon pre-recorded tracks and a computer-created click. Tethered to this dragon bands would begin to lose the ability to improvise. Their music became a corporate created product void of the traditional angst driving and accompanying most teen-oriented pop music. While there may have been angst visible on stage, the skill of manipulating it musically and extemporaneously began to get lost. The Greatful Dead officially were dead. Cruise ship bands did not help this movement. With a decline in quality of music education, young musicians now were surfacing that had heard nothing other than America’s own choosen insipid pop music. They were programmed to believe that by conforming to this now created construct of seeming money production, they were satisfying the requirements of the art of music production. In fact there is no art involved at all. Unlike both the Cool School and Bebop, pop require no soul connection whatsoever. Often the vocal can express some emotion, but the underlying rhythmic feel inherently is incapable of stirring anyone’s soul or feet. The pop rhythm comes from the strumming of the guitar, and people’s dancing feet are in no way related to this rhythmic concept. That could be pop’s major downfall, because it fails miserably to connect with the human body unlike much of America’s previous popular music. Why has pop remained “popular” in America? Simply it is because it takes no musical skill whatsoever to create it. While techniques are required to play the notes, no rhythmic feeling is necessary making the instrumental accompaniment to vocals impotent. It seems some contingency of America has grown to love this tepid, submissive, and vaporous music. Could it be the same contingency that supports homosexuality? While that may seem like an extreme conclusion, many of the passive traits associated with this sexual transgression are exhibited in pop music. Pop music is music “in-the-box.” It is performed within the construct of a box. It is not free. It is not romantic. It is conformist at the highest level of conformity and in no represents the previous tenets of America’s music. It is Politically Correct. It is Conservative. It is nothing, and the quickly America moves on the more successful we will be at rebuilding a viable, virile, potent America free to express the deepest of her soul driven concerns.