ACOM 227 - Pop Century: The Culture, Crisis and Conflict of Popular Music in the Postwar Era

Rock, Punk, Funk, Folk, Motown, Glam, Metal, Reggae, Grunge, Trance, Rave, Goth, Lounge, Country, and Soul are descriptions that not only fall under the umbrella term ‘Pop’ but, more importantly, add up to an understanding of 20th century culture and its continual need for a beat. But the beat in question doesn’t just apply to the music itself; each genre and movement of Pop correlates almost precisely (especially in terms of the young) to particular socio-economic/cultural flashpoints. But did popular music drive social change, or did it simply reflect it? In either case, what we have come to understand as popular music in the post-war era has become the signifier of all that is young, all that is ‘cool’, and all that is ‘hip.’ It’s relationship to fashion (both as a catalyst and reflection of trends) cannot be ignored. Fashion has taken terms such as ‘punk’, ‘grunge’, ‘rockabilly’, and ‘hip-hop’ as descriptive of its own output, yet has seemingly forgotten that each of these ideas has its genesis in music. And yet you can’t know fashion until you know Pop.
3 credits
Prerequisite: ACOM 111