"Chirpy Cheep Cheese" by Jeff Salamon
Summary: The article is a somewhat old intro to the Happy Hardcore genre which shines it in a somewhat negative light (as hinted in the title). The author describes the genre as being somewhat ‘gay’ because of its happy, sped up, female vocals while not exactly targeting a homosexual audience. The “helium [localed]” music is a mashup of several genres including disco, breakbeat, and many other genres while being a direct descendant (according to the author) of ‘kiddiecore’ and ‘jungle’ music. The music (was) largely underground, especially in the US, but started to gain popularity in the UK thanks to passing interest from fans of the jungle and kiddiecore genres.
Analysis/Reflection:While I agree with the author that the genre is somewhat ‘cheesy,’ I feel that the author is too harsh when describing the genre. One possible explanation for the authors harshness could be the lack of good happy hardcore songs back when he wrote the article (like he said, there were very few accessible happy hardcore tracks). That said, I greatly enjoy the genre, it being one of my favorites. I look past the cheese and enjoy the happy vibe that the music gives off, but I also understand that many people are not able to look past the ‘cheese,’ as with most underground music, and dismiss it as ‘bad’ because it is not mainstream. This reminds me of ‘the Science of Hit Music’ article I blogged about earlier, which describes this phenomena of people tending to favor music they know is liked by others.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Week 6 Blog
"Geeksta Rap Rising" by Brain Braiker
Summary: White rappers have been getting a bad.. rap (ha.. ha) since rap's original inception into popular culture, and this article gives the skinny on nerdcore and how the genre is standing on its own legs by keepin' it real. The article claims that, nowadays, the only white rappers taken seriously are the Beastie Boys and Eminem, thanks to people like Vanilla Ice who did not "keep it real," and thus plummeted downward into a hole that scared off any other would be white rappers. Nerdcore is different because the creators are true to themselves.
Analysis / Reflection: Nerdcore rap is a genre that I encourage because of its bashing down of stereotypes with the creation of arguably good rap by the kind of people who are the complete opposite of typical rappers. While I'm not a huge fan of nerdcore rap by any means (MC Chris is the only artist I listen to often), I think it's amazing that such a movement is occurring and I can only express my hope that the genre continues to progress. That said, I agree with the article in that it will be a while before such a genre dips into the mainstream. There are some notable artists in the genre, but none that are truly amazing. When I expose people to MC Chris, a common response is "Why is this guy rapping about candy," because they have come to expect rap music to comprise of traditional rap lyrics, and thus they don't take the genre even remotely seriously. Originally, I too would not consider myself a fan of MC Chris, but after some time the catchiness of the rhymes and the relatablility of the lyrics won me over and I am in love.
Summary: White rappers have been getting a bad.. rap (ha.. ha) since rap's original inception into popular culture, and this article gives the skinny on nerdcore and how the genre is standing on its own legs by keepin' it real. The article claims that, nowadays, the only white rappers taken seriously are the Beastie Boys and Eminem, thanks to people like Vanilla Ice who did not "keep it real," and thus plummeted downward into a hole that scared off any other would be white rappers. Nerdcore is different because the creators are true to themselves.
Analysis / Reflection: Nerdcore rap is a genre that I encourage because of its bashing down of stereotypes with the creation of arguably good rap by the kind of people who are the complete opposite of typical rappers. While I'm not a huge fan of nerdcore rap by any means (MC Chris is the only artist I listen to often), I think it's amazing that such a movement is occurring and I can only express my hope that the genre continues to progress. That said, I agree with the article in that it will be a while before such a genre dips into the mainstream. There are some notable artists in the genre, but none that are truly amazing. When I expose people to MC Chris, a common response is "Why is this guy rapping about candy," because they have come to expect rap music to comprise of traditional rap lyrics, and thus they don't take the genre even remotely seriously. Originally, I too would not consider myself a fan of MC Chris, but after some time the catchiness of the rhymes and the relatablility of the lyrics won me over and I am in love.
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