Essay Example on The Evolution of Underground Music

The Evolution of Underground Music Music is something that has been around since the dawn of man Since its creation music has been evolving But one thing has always remained true about it Music is real It can convey a mood tell a story make people laugh and might even just be nonsensical music There is one scene of music that s quite different from the mainstream and that would be the Underground Some of the earliest records from this scene can be traced all the way back to the 1920 s Underground music has created one of the most diverse cultures that has spread across the world since its origins and continues to do so through old and new projects First of all one must understand what music itself is and that the definition can differentiate from person to person It can be described as a meaning making and meaning sharing activity which allows for the formation of affective alliances among social actors Cushman 10 It could also be seen as a cultural activity which is situated within particular social structural conditions which responds to and is affected by such conditions Cushman 10 And just like the definition a person s reason for making music will usually be different from someone else s Music perhaps more than any form of aesthetic culture allows for a sharing of the innermost experiences of individuals and their unification into a coherent 

We which is the foundation of all social groups and communication Cushman 9 10 That being said a reason for making music can be to share experiences and bring people together We like to penetrate into the inner world of another man and to touch the most sensitive string in another s heart and observe its secrets quivering we strive to know its treasured secrets in order to compare and confirm to find justification consolation and proof of similarity Aleksandr Herzen My Past and Thoughts Underground music on the other hand is a type of music that combats the mainstream and doesn t contour to what society thinks they want out of it The Underground has evolved into a very unique culture One of the best parts being was that it was all about being real Corporate rock was about living large indie was about living realistically and being proud of it Azzerad 5 This statement was not just true for the United States The culture was all around including but not limited to America Japan and Russia Even though the culture stood for the same thing in the other countries the sound was not always the same For example in Japan the collective style generally leaned towards a guitar rock or kitschy punk aesthetic with quite a lot of screaming fondly referred to as sakebi often in a nonsensical Japanglish or intensive mumbling Matsue 1 In Russia Soviet rock music developed in an atmosphere of official disapproval and technological deprivation Orloua 1 American Underground wasn t too different To begin with the key principle of American indie rock wasn t a circumscribed musical style it was the punk ethos of DIY or do it yourself 

My War Azzerad 4 But rock and indie weren t the only underground genres AntiPop Consortium and Aesop Rock where two of the leading acts in New York underground hip hop Senneh 1 Underground music all started simply because they were great bands that would never be signed to major labels Azzerad 3 On September 24 1991 an album called Nevermind by a band called Nirvana came out went gold in a matter of weeks bumped Michael Jackson off the number one spot on the Billboard chart soon afterward and prompted music journalists Ginn Arnold to proclaim We Won Azzerad 1 And thanks to that plethora of great albums the music was now being noticed my mainstream audiences critics and record labels Azzerad 4 Now one can see that the idea of music and how underground artists have put their own twist on it has worked together to form the unique and diverse culture that the underground is known for Today as it continues to evolve new great artists will emerge and quite possibly become the next big thing Just like many artists new and old they would have the underground to thank for their success