3. Pop music is a genre of popular music which
originated in its modern form in the 1950s,
deriving from rock and roll. The terms
popular music and pop music are often used
interchangeably, even though the former is a
description of music which is popular while
the latter is a specific genre containing
qualities of mass appeal.
5. Bubblegum is a lightweight, catchy pop
music that was a significant commercial
force in the late '60s and early '70s.
Bubblegum was targeted at a preteen
audience whose older siblings had been
raised on rock & roll. It was simple, melodic,
and light as feather -- neither the lyrics or the
music had much substance.
6. Prior to the rise of rock & roll, country music
was rarely heard outside of its intended market,
effectively isolating it from any concerns about
wide accessibility. When rockabilly took off,
however, country musicians were forced to
consider whether their true affinities lay with
traditional country or with this popular new style,
which allowed artists to reach crossover
audiences for the first time.
7. Dance-Pop was an outgrowth of disco. Over a
pounding, dance-club beat, there are simple, catchy
melodies -- dance-pop has more fully-formed songs
than pure dance music. Dance-pop is primarily a
producer's medium. The producer writes the songs
and constructs the tracks, picking an appropriate
vocalist to sing the song. These dance divas
become stars, but frequently the artistic vision is the
producer's. Naturally, there are some major
exceptions -- Madonna and Janet Jackson have
had control over the sound and direction of their
records -- but dance-pop is music that is about
image, not substance.
8. Indie rock's more melodic, less noisy, and
relatively angst-free counterpart, Indie Pop
reflects the underground's softer, sweeter side,
with a greater emphasis on harmonies,
arrangements, and songcraft. Encompassing
everything from the lush orchestration of
chamber pop to the primitive simplicity of twee
pop, its focus is nevertheless more on the
songs than on the sound, and although both
indie pop and indie rock embrace the D.I.Y.
spirit of punk, the former rejects punk's nihilistic
attitude and abrasive sonic approach
9. Punk-Pop is a post-grunge strand of alternative
rock that combines power-pop melodies and
chord changes with speedy punk tempos and
loud guitars. Green Day and Weezer were the
first bands to popularize this variation of
alternative rock in 1994, though there were
several groups to play this style before either
group and there were many artists that followed
their stylistic blueprint after their success.
10. Rock & Roll is often used as a generic term,
but its sound is rarely predictable. From the
outset, when the early rockers merged
country and blues, rock has been defined by
its energy, rebellion and catchy hooks, but as
the genre aged, it began to shed those very
characteristics, placing equal emphasis on
craftmanship and pushing the boundaries of
the music