week5 Can popular music ever really be unplugged?

When answering this question on whether popular music can ever really be plugged or in other words can popular music really work without the help of electrical techology, there seems to be two sides to this argument. Popular music can be unplgged but only to a certain extent which is when it comes to performing music live. You do not necessarly need electrical intruments to do this, you can use your voice and acoustic intruments. The downside to this is that it may effect the venue where the performance is held at and plus the sound effect will be limited. But i honestly do not think that popular music can ever really be unplugged in this day and age exspecially with all the new different types of new digital and electrical technology, which is what i think makes what popular music has become today and without it, it would not be the same.

week4 What is world music?

World music seemed to have came from the musics that come from outside the 'normal' Anglo-American sources, mainly from tropical countries or music that does not fit in the American pop chart. World music has usually been linked with music from Africa and the African diaspora. This category has expanded and now includes isolated forms of ethic music from diverse geographical regions. The term is used to classify the many genres of non-western music. However, world music does not only mean traditional folk music, it may refer to the indigenous classical forms or various areas and to modern pop music styles as well. This could be described as 'local music from out there'. Music from around the world and different cultures influence one another and i think that world music is a blend of modern and traditional music. The purpose of world music is to bring all kind of music together and it exists simply because we live in a very multicultural society where music can or needs to suit people from various ethnic backgrounds. 

week3 Is popular music a mass produced commodity or a simple art form?

I will start by saying that i think popular music can be looked at as mass produced commodity and a simple art form, simply because i personally found it quite hard to say that popular music is one or the other. Theodor Adorno considers popular music to be a mass produced commodity and thats it. His theories and ideas for this is because he believes that popular music is a capitalist, something to feed the people to keep them satisfied and something that basically distracts us and takes you away from reality for a moment, which i agree with. Adorno also argues that popular music does not challenge us and that listening to it just gives us something to do. But when looking at popular music as an art form, we have to define what art is. Many people would say that art is a form of creative expression, whether that be theatre, paintings and music because its still a way for the artist to express them selves but then they could just be doing it to make money. Popular music is also open to interpretation and meaning when looked as an art form. So I guess popular music can be looked at as both a commodity and an art form depending on how you look at it but i agree with Adorno's theory.