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The Heart Beats in Breakdowns
rom the north campus to the south campus, the students of Pikes Peak Community College share a love of music. Although society forms trends inspired by different musical genres, the students, while giving in to the trends, establish their own ideas of what defines popular music. Music is a definitive form of popular culture. It has been evoking trends within societal sub sects as far back as the days of Mozart and Beethoven. The effect of musicians is not only prominent in their sound, but also their attire. In some instances, these styles produce a stereotype, assuming listeners choose clothes dependent upon how the singer, songwriter, or band members dress. For example, what trendsetters call skinny jeans are associated with listening to emo or screamo, while baggy jeans and sideways baseball caps are associated with listening to rap or hip-hop. On the other hand, Keely Jewell, an English major dressed in a hippie-like, organic fashion, observes, “Though I do listen to a lot of rap and hip-hop I wouldn’t say that
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represents me. I dress more like Zooey Deschanel than Lil’ Mama.” Popular music is a term open to interpretation. The heading popular alludes to the idea that listeners everywhere are pumping these jams through their iPods. If the radio continuously plays a song, everyone must love it, right? Just because a group of studying students can turn on the radio and sing every word of a Katy Perry song, does not make that song loved by all. “It is anything that can be heard on three radio stations at once,” Jewell states in reference to popular music, “I was tempted just to say Justin Bieber.” By the students’ standards, the radio defines what is popular versus what is not. Radio is a major outlet for musicians, which is why even those who cannot call Adele their favorite artist can still remember all the words to “Rolling in the Deep.” The sound of music is always changing. Artists are writing new songs, while musicians are creating new sounds. As music changes, the old become tarnished, while the new shine bright, thus creating a new wave of popular music. “I have a very bad habit of listening to the