The Impact of Music in Pop Culture

 by Milly Wilson

The Hurrian Hymn

Music has had a large affect on society throughout history, there is no doubt about that. But what some people fail to realise is actually how music has impacted society and even just humanity as a broader group. 

The first records of music are dated to around 1400 B.C. in Ugarit, Syria. Historians and archaeologists in the 1950s found clay tablets containing a tune to a song ‘Hurrian Hymn No.6’ which was an ode to the Goddess Nikkal, the tablets were found alongside a near-complete set of musical notations. 

Music in the 1920s such as blues and jazz, brought to American society by Creole and African origins. Due to the increase of production rates at the time, the radio was produced more efficiently which lead to it being more affordable, because of this listening to music started to become more of a day to day activity rather than a luxury to just be enjoyed by the upper classes. This further influenced fashion, culture and language. Music had a much more significant impact than print media at the time as it was an easier way for individuals to express themselves, rather than just entertainment, radio was useful to communicate thoughts and feelings, as well as providing a way for people to connect with each other. As the 1920s brought a powerful innovative surge, the economy boomed and families found themselves more well off and with more leisure time which increased music and radio consumption even more.

Almost mirroring the cultural change that music brought about in the 1920s was the impact of rock’n’roll on society in the 1960s. The ‘musical start’ to the decade came about in 1963 when charts started to diversify with different sub-genres of rock, such as surf-rock and psychedelic-rock, which was mainly influenced by the growing usage of the drug LSD. As the world was emerging from a period of war, music allowed teenagers of the time to express themselves and to have a voice in society, which was strongly encouraged by the parental generation of the time due to the lack of childhood they had succumbed to due to the war. Music became a gateway for people to express their opinions on social justice, this became known as Protest Music. The message that protest music usually gave was one that was heavily affiliated with the growing Hippie movement as it suggested ideas of world peace, love and freedom. The link between the Hippie movement and the music industry in the 1960s in undeniable, this is shown through the lyrics of songs which spread the word of anti-war and world peace.

Further down the line in the 1990s music in society changed even more, with a lot of well known bands splitting up and members becoming solo artists. The 90s brought more than just old artists emerging again, it brought grunge music. To most grunge music is usually seen of as a counter-culture towards the hippie movement which was regarded to have failed and ‘ended’ with an image of extreme perceived poverty in some cases like Cobain’s. Grunge music brought about a new trend in clothing, with the main style pieces being work clothes and thrifting from second hand shops. The change in music from the 80s was drastic, from big hair and bright colours in music videos to heavy music which was introspective and dealt with challenging themes. 

Overall the influence of music is all around us, it affects our politics, our fashion trends and even the way we think, and it has been this way since it was first introduced, all the way back in 1400 BC, and, in my opinion, the way music influences us as a society will never change.