Music from 1970 to today in the USA and the UK

1970's

USA. The 1970's served as a bridge between the seriousness of the

music that came out of the late sixties and the excessiveness of music

from the 1980's. Disco became one of the biggest and most despised

trends in music during the decade. It was so pervasive that many

established singers and bands came out with disco songs to keep up with

the trends, including rockers like Blondie and Rod Stewart. Heavier rock

music and punk rock also emerged during the decade, some of it as a retaliation to disco. Punk fashion

was also popular with distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam

rock, skinheads, rude boys, greasers, and mods. Punk fashion likewise influenced the styles of

these groups, as well as those of popular culture. Many punks use

clothing as a way of making a statement

UK. The first big new sound of the 1970s was “Glam Rock”, the main

figures of this were David Bowie, Elton John and of course Gary Glitter.

In the bleak political backdrop, these larger that life British bands and

characters brought a welcome relief with their platform boots, sequins,

nail varnish and colourful hair. The punk movement of the late 1970s

began in England. Great British bands of this scene were The Sex Pistols

and The Clash. The Punk style was Mohicans, bondage clothes, safety pins, piercings and bovver boots.

1980's

USA. In the 1980's music was dramatically changed by the introduction of MTV (Music Television). This

meant that music videos became more and more of a necessity in order for

artists to gain popularity (especially with the youth) and sell records. A

greater importance was placed on the appearance of musicians. Michael

Jackson emerged as one of the most dominant artists of the decade and

was helped by his creative music videos and pure talent, with his Thriller

album and video setting pop music standards. New Wave and Synth-Pop

were popular genres and their electronic sounds fit perfectly with the

beginnings of the computer age. Hair Metal bands also became popular during the decade with their

theatrical and outrageous music videos and performances. Hip-Hop also came into the mainstream during

the decade.

UK. The 1980s saw the rise of hip hop and rap music, with American influences powerful once again in

the form of such groups as Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It also saw the rise

and fall of the 'New Romantics', typified by groups like Adam and the Ants, who dressed as pirates and

highway men and wore huge amounts of makeup.

1990's

USA. Like the sixties, the 1990's was a decade of extremes with under-

produced, anti-establishment grunge bands and gangster rappers

enjoying just as much success as the overly produced and studio

manufactured pop groups. The decade was ruled by powerful singers with

Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston topping the charts.

Many artists' personal problems including drug abuse and rap feuds

overshadowed a lot of the talent during the decade as well, with the death of many popular musicians

due to drug overdose and the murders of rappers like Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.

UK. Grunge music alongside similar subgenres peaked in popularity during 1990/91 with the success of

bands such as Nirvana. This style today is still strongly associated

with this decade.

Britpop, a subgenre of alternative rock created in the UK was

formed in this decade. This subgenre developed as a reaction

against various musical and cultural trends from the early 1990s,

especially the US made Grunge. Blur was one of the several groups

to launch this movement by referencing British guitar music of the

past and writing about uniquely British topics and concerns. This

caught on and other bands still famous to date, such as Oasis

joined this trend. Female pop icons such as the “Spice Girls"

managed to break America, taking the world by storm and becoming

the most commercially successful British Group since The Beatles.

2000's USA. The music of the 2000's showcased a variety of genres and

it reflected a great deal of the pop music that came from the

nineties, with many of the same artists and bands remaining

popular between the two decades. As the technology of computers

and internet sharing developed, a variety of those genres started

to fuse in order to see new styles emerging. Terms like

"contemporary", "nu", "revival", "alternative", and "post" are added

to various genres titles in order to differentiate them from past styles. The popularity of teen pop

carried over from the 1990s dominated the charts in the earlier years of the decade.

UK. Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 21st century continued to expand and develop new

subgenres and fusions. While talent show contestants were one of the major forces in pop music, British

soul maintained and even extended its high profile. New forms of dance music emerged, including grime

and dubstep. There was also a revival of garage rock and post-punk, which when mixed with electronic

music produced new rave.

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com

Answer the following questions. Justify your response with quotes from the text.

1 Disco became the biggest trend in music during the 1970's. True False

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2. Disco became one of the most loved trends in music during the 1970's. True False

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3. Why did established singers and bands came out with disco songs?

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4.What was "Punk style"?

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5.How did MTV change the music industry?

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6. Give two characteristics to describe Grunge music.

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7.. Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston were very popular in the 1990's. True False

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8. Britpop dealt with international topics. True False

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9. A lot of the music in the 2000's revisited popular music from the 1990's. True False

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What kind of music do you like? Why? (Write a paragraph)

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