scorpsfan830

So I'm currently in and AP United States History class and we often talk about why people take certain sides on topics throughout history. For example, in the 1960s many historians began writing books about slavery and how it was bad. This was because the Civil Rights movement was going on.

I was thinking that the same thing could be applied to music. Why is it that folk bands like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers are so popular all of a sudden. Before they came around much of mainstream music was pop music like Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. What is going on in the world right now that would cause folk music to make a comeback? I love Mumford & Sons, but I never would have heard of them if they hadn't become popular. Is it possible that certain bands and genres become popular based on what is going on in the world at the time? If so, what is going on that is making bands and genres more popular? Discuss.

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GEAR

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opc100

Mumford and Sons aren't folk. They're pop with a banjo.

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Burgery

because people

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WholeLottaIzzy

Sex appeal

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JohnnyGenzale

Association. Being able to relate.

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sometimes I see us in a cymbal splash or in the sound of a car crash

Saint78

Because they are catchy and don't seem threatening to old ladies or little girls.

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JackWhiteIsButts

The only thing I can say for certain is that it is certainly not based on anything musical.

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Burgery

http://www.mumu.io/player/scumslip

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Neo Evil11

It's the Dopplereffect.

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Obsceneairwaves

Why does house music make me wanna dance?

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It's over simplified, So what!

Bair

It sounds like the TS is intoxicated.

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"Spin the middle side topwise. Topwise!"

"And there's Jimmy Page, the biggest thief of American Blues music"

Bad Kharmel

marketing, theoretically the only real difference between folk and pop is usually timbre, both are cheap, simple and easy..... so when people tire of one cheap, simple, easy act, the industry replaces it with another and people can feel all anti-establishment by liking mumford and son, and hating nicki minaj, even though they are very similar. This is compounded by a familiarity effect, in which when you hear the same thing you've heard a million times you like it do to familiarity, in this case you hear the same I IV V progressions over and over and just find a change in timber refreshing

DisarmGoliath

There are lots of reasons, sometimes combined and sometimes on their own, that can cause popularity for things. I can't be bothered to go into this much right now, because I could easily write a several thousand word essay on the subject, but a major element or cause of popularity in music is the same as fashion or other lifestyle choices - there are people who like to follow the crowd, and there are people who like to do their own thing. Sometimes their own thing happens to be what is possible, and sometimes the people who claim to be doing their own thing are actually just trying to be 'anti-popular'.

Age also plays a role, and fashion has a mutual influence on music - that is to say that trends in popular music often affect, and take inspiration, from trends in so-called 'high street fashion' (the stuff worn by the general public, as opposed to high fashion or glamour).

Look at emo, for example - a few years ago, it was huge. There was a target audience (young kids, mainly) who were impressed or interested in the culture and no doubt because enough people got behind it, it carried on growing as more people 'bought into' the culture to stay cool with other kids at school. Then, there was a backlash as many 'emo kids' started to mature (seems a harsh word, can't think of a better one) and either went the one way - towards heavier stuff and dressed that way - or towards scene kids where the majority was forming, and this was a return back towards the 'trendy' or rest of the general public.

So there are many scenes that pop up and influence music and other related industries, only these days the trends and scenes are often quicker to hit the mainstream, and also become over-saturated faster and die off. It's a consequence of how the music industry is on the backfoot these days and chases each big thing and tries to make a quick buck. In the past, the music industry was controlled easier by the major labels as it was more expensive for bands to get access to instruments, and to recording equipment. Now that these things are more accessible, the industry giants have to control the competition in other ways (i.e paying larger sums of money for exposure of their acts on radio, in magazines etc. and by setting up tours where all the bands on the bill are on that label and no unsigned/local bands get the chance to play to these crowds).



Yeah, this probably has little-to-no relation to TS' topic... I'm half-asleep and rambling so I'm gonna stop grumbling before I get on to the subject of how my back is hurting today and I feel old

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Insanity ninja

Music goes in and out of fashion. It happens, seems obvious to me.

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Gibson LP studio, Fender Fatstrat, Tokai Firebird

DancesWithSheep

This occurs when a lot of people like something...

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Burgery

this guy is right

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WCPhils

teenage girls

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Venice King

Will.i.am.

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Blog Of Awesome UGers.

whywefight

This thread is nuts. If anyone really had the definitive answer, they'd be a rich man.

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