流行音乐(Popular music)是属于一种有着广泛听众极具吸引力音乐,相较于艺术音乐站和传统音乐。流行音乐是一个不分年龄人人共享音乐以“雅俗共赏”通称。
摇滚(Rock and Roll)是一种音乐类型,起源于1940年代末期的美国,1950年代早期开始流行,迅速风靡全球。摇滚乐以其灵活大胆的表现形式和富有激情的音乐节奏表达情感,受到了全世界年轻人的喜爱。摇滚乐并在1960年代和1970年代形成一股热潮。
20世纪80年代涌现出像迈克尔杰克逊、王子、麦当娜优秀流行音乐家,不仅商业成就出众而且拥有极高音乐造诣,彻底改变了流行乐坛。杰克逊著名公益音乐、呼吁世界和平、种族团结,麦当娜以女权、性解放,对当今流行音乐主题以及全球流行文化产生巨大影响。
迈克尔杰克逊开创现代MTV,打破白人垄断的流行音乐界,把当时还处于亚文化黑人音乐推向主流世界,为后代的黑人艺人铺下了光明大道。在那个黑人和白人观众都只知道坚守着自己一贯的聆听习惯而不肯相互欣赏的年代,是杰克逊让这些坚守自己小圈子的人们走到了一起。他的音乐和唱腔,不仅影响流行歌手、同时也影响无数摇滚、R&B、hip hop艺术家。而王子是多才多艺的艺术家,精通吉他,贝斯,键盘,鼓的演奏,实验放克、硬摇滚、流行音乐、新浪潮、民谣、舞曲各种类型音乐,作为一位高产艺术家作品无一例外获得评论界一致好评, 滚石杂志评价王子是历史上最有才华的艺术家之一,他影响了Maxwell和hiphop组合outkast 等以音乐才华出众著称后辈。麦当娜有着精明商业头脑,对流行元素的判断拿捏为人称道,制作概念性强的专辑,以及标志性锥形胸罩和大胆前卫舞台表演,影响了无数流行女歌手。
Rock & Roll is often used as a generic term, but its sound is rarely predictable. From the outset, when the early rockers merged country and blues, rock has been defined by its energy, rebellion and catchy hooks, but as the genre aged, it began to shed those very characteristics, placing equal emphasis on craftmanship and pushing the boundaries of the music. As a result, everything from Chuck Berry's pounding, three-chord rockers and the sweet harmonies of the Beatles to the jarring, atonal white noise of Sonic Youth has been categorized as "rock." That's accurate -- rock & roll had a specific sound and image for only a handful of years. For most of its life, rock has been fragmented, spinning off new styles and variations every few years, from Brill Building Pop and heavy metal to dance-pop and grunge. And that's only natural for a genre that began its life as a fusion of styles.