Pop music, pop music, pop singers are synonymous concepts. "Pop" is an abbreviation of the word "popular", that is, famous, famous. From this article you will learn the meaning of this term and its characteristic features.
Pop vs pop
There is a term like pop music. In a broad sense, he refers to any music except classical, jazz and folklore. In the narrow sense, a similar word denotes pop music, in other words, famous music in combination with ordinary vocals, not hostile and, as a rule, dance or lyrical. These are songs that can be heard on the radio.
Pops is not a term. This is a slang word that denotes pop music in a very narrow sense and often expresses a person’s negative assessment of such “art”.
As for the negative meaning, the common list of cons is usually expressed in unpretentiousness, lack of depth, low level of performance and, curiously, excessive popularity. Simply put, pop music is something that does not reach the musical standard in the understanding of some people. Thus, pop music is sometimes called any music, if it is simple, not producing any impression. It is only necessary to take into account the fact that music (pop music in particular) is always perceived by people differently.
Suppose admirers of the Pink Floyd group’s creativity are quite capable of calling the singer Lady Gaga “poppin” for the reason that she’s trivial. In other words, pop songs often have unpretentious lyrics, simple arrangements, are easy to remember, and the motive “haunts” the whole day. More serious performers and world-famous bands (Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, The Beatles, Vladimir Vysotsky and many others) create truly “strong” things that are relevant at any time. Pops is what matters only today. Over time, such music is not of interest even to those people who listened to it just because it was at the peak of popularity.
History
In the Soviet Union, the term "pop" came quite late (presumably in the second half of the 1980s). Before its appearance, singers were correlated only with "Soviet art". The adjective “Soviet” is quite appropriate here, since this term was used to mean music approved by the party for the entertainment of the inhabitants of the USSR. Different groups of people did not like pop music in different ways. Rockers, for example, found it too folding, unprincipled in relation to the government, creatively connected, due to a number of formalities. Others did not like her frivolity, dependence on fashion trends of music.
Pops began to form at a time when the informal art of songwriting gained relative popularity. At first, in youth circles, an unremarkable and then growing discord was made between music intended for dancing and soulful songs in which each person found a special meaning for himself. In other words, Russian pop music from the very beginning was purely entertaining music for young people of the 1980s. Then the "fresh" term gained wide promotion in a certain rock sphere, then it already resulted in widespread speech and received other meanings.
The word "pop" itself (translated from English as "popular" means "famous, popular") does not mean anything rebellious. But it is impossible not to notice that it began to be often pronounced only with the advent of Western progressive technologies and the media.
The ambiguity of the term
The term "pop" is extremely subjective and indefinite. At first it was used to express its position on frivolous and shallow music, but with this wording perplexity appears immediately. First of all, what does shallow music mean and can you also name, for example, the great Beatles band pop-music? There you can rank a good half of the national creativity, etc. Ultimately, in the field of art that is not related to pop songs, there will be only advanced and other creative work that is difficult for mass perception.
By and large, the wording that pop music is just music that is popular and that the vast majority of people love is inaccurate. Since famous music is not a genre or even a style, this is just evidence of the event.
This category includes both "one-day groups" and truly talented singers. How can you compare the Beatles, Abbu, Mozart or Vysotsky? The most important thing is where all this "popularity" will go in a few years. Therefore, if a song or a group is completely forgotten, it means that its fame is worthless. Thus, demand is not a sign of pop music in any way, no matter how they wish to make us think so, for whom the indicator of wide coverage is the main task of all activities.
In this case...
Pops is music for entertainment
I wonder what this definition implies? If by this term we mean music that is intended for an atmosphere of entertainment, it turns out that Beethoven may well be a pop-music. And if you equate pop music and dance music, then pop music can be called both tango and waltz. In addition, the practical electronic music of the 1990s is quite interesting in a creative way, and it’s a mistake to blindly call it pop music. But really ...
Uncomplicated, amateurish creativity
Low-grade music - this, of course, is not good. However, how to regard its simplicity and "shallowness"? If we keep in mind the arrangement, then Bulat Okudzhava with his guitar has nothing to compete with even the Mirage group. If we talk about the expression of texts, then in this case the songs of the Lyube group are written more professionally than the texts of most of the songs of the famous Tsoi. As for the vocals, everyone already knows that Nikolai Baskov takes notes better than, say, Vysotsky. If someone says about sincere performance - and there is an example: after all, both Shevchuk and Pugacheva sing, sparing no energy, putting their whole soul. So which of them is Russian pop? Now you can slowly proceed to the next wording ...
Mediocre music
Such a definition is much closer to the essence. Since pop, in essence, is not gifted with adventurism and poetic risk. Due to the fact that ...
This, apparently, is not music as a form of sincere and genuine creativity, but a product made for money and popularity.
In fact, it all depends on priorities. Fame (and usually money comes after it) is a completely reasonable dream. To find his admirers, to find the material opportunity to improve his own creativity - this is what every singer consciously or unconsciously fantasizes about. But in reality, such glory will never bring him joy if for her he sacrifices creativity.
Among other things, the distinguishing feature of pop music is the desire for quick money, trying to pay off as soon as possible and in the simplest way. Popsa is a specific market for the poor, like Chinese consumer goods, cheap vodka with a catchy sticker, brand-name sandals that burst at the seams for the next season.
The creators of pop music do not need to make a creation. Indeed, the creation of a masterpiece is unthinkable without creative search and trial. And any unaccounted commercial test is a dangerous and slippery business. Here pops and steals all sorts of already tested ideas, robs them of scale and depth. Thus, the producers act in the following way: create such nuggets, polish them or simply find already prepared “stars”, process them under the required parameters and release them to the “conveyor”.
Characteristics of Pops
Of course, it doesn’t matter to many that a whole host of similar “products” have no depth, sincerity or sincerity. In addition, popsey is unfamiliar with intuition in creative work, since inspiration cannot be controlled and, therefore, it is commercially unstable. So pop music as a term could have arisen directly at the same time as the industry of representations, that is, a certain manufactory that masterfully generates and meets the cultural requirements of a standard mass consumer.
Accordingly, even if we take as an example the "thieves" songs that are written in places of deprivation of liberty, and if they are creatively not rich, they cannot be called unconsciously pop-music. In the same way with folk art. Of course, it is also quickly accepted by the masses, has a simple motive and execution, as well as the selection of topics. Like pop music, folklore is practical creativity, because it is used for certain tasks and human needs. However, the "primary culture" appeared suddenly, due to this it is natural, and not false. And the fact that folk art was formed over many centuries could not but affect its creative sincerity and expressiveness. Well, of course, folklore from the very beginning did not establish the mercantile task of earning, in this regard, it is by no means a pop music.
Definition of pop music
As a result, we can distinguish the following specific wording of pop music: "Pop music is a product of a musical nature for the masses, created in the process of commercial activity, in which the desire to earn undoubtedly prevails over the creative principle (and does not even combine with it)."
Features of the pop industry
The pop industry is characterized by a rapid gain in popularity and profit - this can be said to be its key and main goal. It already implies typical for pop music, creative straightforwardness, triviality, affordable entertainment, lack of principle, substitution of the singer’s uniqueness and talent for an unnaturally formed “star” image, thoughtless interchangeability.
Pops is in no way fraught with moral standards if there is a chance to get instant earnings without any threat. In other words, the more a person is willing to sacrifice for the sake of quick popularity and profit, the more he is “poppy”. It is very important that the words "poppy" and "mediocrity" are not equivalent, but only often combined.