By Marceline A Bien-Aime
Culture is the complex and elaborate system of meaning and
behavior that defines the way of life for a group or society. It is shared, learned, taken for granted,
symbolic, and emergent and varies from on society to another. Mainstream culture to me is like a trend that
everyone follows. Every day when you
walk outside you see people wearing jeans, sneakers, shoes, shirts along with
accessories. Although it may be altered
by different colors or style either way most people wear the same articles of clothing. Now what most people relate the word “mainstream”
is music.
For years music has been a part of people’s everyday life. It is known to be one of the most popular
ways of entertainment. Music has been
known to touch hearts and even inspire minds.
Today we live in a world where music is always around us. Whether on the radio or even on TV watching
commercials we are surrounded by music.
But how do we define mainstream music? Mainstream music to most people is associated with what is
constantly played on the radio or what is on the Billboard’s top 100. I asked a
few friends what they consider as mainstream music and most said Pop
Music. However when I looked on the
website I found different genres of music as the TOP 10. Amongst the top 10 where Adele, Chris Brown,
Jeremih, Kanye West, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.
All artists are associated with different genres of music but are they
all considered mainstream? Click here to see the billboard hot 100
Many artist start off locally by doing talent shows or small gigs within their towns. There are many different music artists that haven't had their big debut but soon enough their time will come. A local rapper in Philadelphia named Aime came out with a mix
tape and decided to make songs on beats from different known artists. However the last song on the mix tape stuck
out to me for the simple fact he did a rap song to Miley Cyrus famous song
Party in the USA. Party in the USA is
one of the biggest pop songs that came out in 2009. There was no rapping on the song for she just
sang on it but what about Aime who put a rap on top of the song? Click here to listen to Aime's version of Party in the USA
Hip-Hop and Rap music are deemed more as sub-cultures then
as mainstream, however while attending a few rap concerts in Philadelphia I
found many different nationalities other than African-Americans who came to
support the artists. A famous DJ/Rapper
duo named DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince came from West Philadelphia and was
known for great music. With hit songs
like “Summertime” and “Brand New Funk” they were known in the community. Now there’s a new duo just like them in
Philadelphia named DJ Philly Will and Chris Vance. A DJ/Rap duo from Philadelphia to that re-did
the song “Brand New Funk” to pay tribute to old-school. Many people tend to compare the two duos to
each other however it is always refreshing to relive what was once then a big
song in Hip-Hop Culture.
^DJ Philly Will and Chris Vance^
^DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince^
Whether it is Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap or R&B music, it is all
mainstream in it’s own way. Certain
regions may listen to a particular type of music however being in the USA we
are exposed to many diverse types of music. Music is a part of people's everyday life, it helps define us and what we stand for.
P.S if you would like to hear more from Aime please visit http://perfectaime.com/ and for Chris Vance visit http://phlightschool.wordpress.com/ :)
By Khanh Nguyen
ReplyDeleteI think fashion is also a part of mainstream culture because people nowadays also pay attention to the way they dress. some people dress gently while other try to be recognizable and stand out from the crowd.
By Astrid Beato
ReplyDeleteI agree with Khanh about fashion is also a mainstream culture because fashion is always changing and therefore people's choice of clothing style change. Like sometimes before people go out to public places, they think if these shoes or top is still the "it thing". For example, back then skinny jeans where very popular then no one was wearing it then it came back again.
By Daniel Ricciardi
ReplyDeleteMusic is mainstream culture! Walking around on campus, literally 9 out of 10 people have their headphones in. Music is a part of our society and our culture. People do everything with headphones in now, definitely our culture.
I see what you are saying Khanh and Astrid however I honestly was never into fashion nor focused on the new trends. I actually pay attention to music more than fashion. I def agree with Daniel ever since smartphones and Ipod's came out more and more people have headphones on at all times.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this blog 100%. I believe music has the biggest impact of all. It is associated in every aspect of the media in one way or another. When we watch movies, there is an original score and soundtrack. When we watch sports, music is playing at some point during the game. It is something every single culture has in common. Each culture has its own style and form of music however; it is never received by another as something that is completely foreign or unfamiliar.
ReplyDelete