POP ROCK

By: Sameer

K-Pop Group, BTS in the Love Yourself Tour, South Korea, 2018

Introduction

Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, early pop rock was influenced by the beat, arrangements, and original style of rock and roll. It may be viewed as a distinct genre field rather than music that overlaps with pop and rock.

History and Development

The term ‘pop’ has been used since the early fourth century to refer to popular music in general, but from the mid-1950s it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. In the aftermath of the British Invasion, from about 1967, it was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock, to describe a form that was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible.

It originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms popular music and pop music are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles
it influenced. Rock and pop music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which pop became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. As of the 2010s, “guitar pop rock” and “indie rock” are roughly synonymous terms.

Features of Pop Rock

According to Reuters, characteristics of pop rock music include an aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology, and an emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal “artistic” qualities. Besides this, three identifying characteristics of pop music: light entertainment, commercial imperatives, and personal identification. Pop music grew out of a light entertainment and easy listening tradition. Pop music is more conservative than other music genres such as folk, blues, country, and tradition. Many pop songs do not contain themes of resistance, opposition, or political themes, rather focusing more on love and relationships. Therefore, pop music does not challenge its audiences socially, and does not cause political activism. Pop Rock music is equally dependent upon vocals as well as instruments which include synth, drum machines, percussion, guitar, bass etc.

Vocals are often accompanied by an acoustic guitar in pop songs

Notable Artists

Artists started to use symbols and references which were a direct reference to everyday products, brands, and mass symbols – the ‘culture’ which was influencing people’s lives, views and habits. These ‘icons of modern-day society’ represented the world in which these artists – and people in general – grew up. The brands, images and faces of Hollywood stars were seen everywhere, recognizable in adverts, on the shelves of the local supermarket or in the kitchen cupboard. They were the omnipresent visual symbols of ‘Pop Culture’. Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Mariah Carey are some of the big names who dominated the pop world in the 20th century

American Pop Legend, Michael Jackson, is often dubbed as “The King of Pop”

From the early 2000s, by starting to use the common symbols and icons, realizing the effect of these strong images, artists soon became stars themselves. More than ever before, the Pop World has in fact transitioned into a world of celebrities. Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande are among the renowned pop legends in this era whose vocals leave an everlasting imprint on people thus giving them a humongous fan base.

Teen-pop sensation and American singer, Ariana Grande performing in the AG World Tour, 2019

Psychological Impact of Pop Rock Music:

Whether a conscious music taste or a guilty pleasure for “those days”, it’s probable that there are very few people who haven’t heard pop songs. These pop songs seem to be playing everywhere, from the “Top Hits” on Spotify to Youtube’s homepage. However, the definition of pop music has changed one too many times- and often even confused with popular music. And it is deliberately flexible. At any given time, the type of music that is identified as pop is constantly changing. Pop music can hence be defined as the music that is most popular at any time, or the most accessible to the majority of the population. However, recent pop music has certain similarities that cannot be denied. There are three main reasons why pop songs today sound so similar:

One, the similarity of music gives the listeners a feeling of nostalgia. The mere exposure phenomenon, studied by social psychologist Robert Zajonc suggests that things familiar to the human brain are often more pleasant.

Second, most pop music now is written by the same people. Most pop artists bring on the same slew of producers that have written countless hits before and know what they are doing.

Third, most pop songs are written with a formula. A study done by Percino et al in 2014 assigned a value of instrumentation complexity to 15 genres and 374 sub-genres of songs. Styles of low instrumentation complexity had generic instrument styles that could also be heard in various other genres. On the other hand, styles of high complexity were characterized by a larger variety of instruments that could not be found in other genres.