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Showing posts from March, 2023

Big Blog No. 1: American Roots Music (Hip-Hop)

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 Hip-hop has proven itself to be a very popular genre of music in the modern world today. Hip-hop is a genre of music that can be related to a strong, rhythmic beat and a rapping vocal track. According to an article by the "masterclass", Hip-hop originated in New York City in the 1970's as a cultural exchange among Black, Latino, and Caribbean youth and has today grown into being one of the most popular and consumed genres of music in the United States. According to the same article the four main pillars for Hip-hop goes as follows; DJ'ing, rapping, breakdancing, and grafitti. When talking about where and how Hip-hop came from, it all started in New York City. According to an article by "The Kennedy Center", it all came together in the Bronx borough in the early 1970's. The times were tougher than usual for the poorer parts of urban America.  It is very interesting, because from basically nothing, and a whole lot of imagination, Hip Hop were created. The...

Music and Genders

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I will start off by telling a quick story of my mother, Astrid. When she was younger, in the beginning of her 20's, she was a member of a choir, where she would be one of the main singers. She used to tell me how there is a difference between boys and girls and how they are allowed to performed due to gender stereotypes. One have to think about what is "socially acceptable". The examples she told me was for example; what clothing the boys are allowed to wear, certain lyrics that boys cannot sing, and how they are viewed by the audience are all effected by these gender roles.  Outside of the choir, my mother would also tell me that it is normal and socially acceptable for women to wear skirts and dresses, but for men it is not. It is small but very essential details that separates gender stereotype roles of women and men.  Moving on, a very famous artist in the modern world today that "pushes" these music and gender stereotypes is Billie Eilish. A very successful...

Music and Rituals

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Because I am from Norway, I would say I have a different feel/view on music and rituals compared to American rituals and music. One of my favorite times of the year, Christmas, is a great example of rituals and music. Christmas is a bit different back in Norway compared to the United States. We celebrate it on December 24th, most Norwegians go to church in the morning, spend the day with friends and family, and lastly we open up the presents at night. Anyways, I would say there is always a certain type of music that you will only hear at certain occasions/rituals, such as Christmas. In Norway, we have a choir of young children called "Sølvguttene" that sings specific songs on Christmas day that are being broadcasted all over the country for everyone to see. The children that are members of the Choir are the best of the best singers, which is why they are also so popular due to their beautiful voice and skill. It is a tradition for many Norwegians to watch "Sølvguttene...