The Kooks and Postmodernism

The Kooks and Postmodernism on Prezi

Music and Postmodernism

Pick 'n' Mix culture: the past, or distant and exotic cultures, are a) detached from their

environment and b) used selectively to anchor the chaotic images of modern European

and American life (Elvis Presley's 'It's Now or Never/O Sole Mio'; Gregorian chants in the

Top Ten) A modern example would include artists such as Lady Gaga, MIA, Madeon and

Active Child.

My example of Pick 'N' Mix culture would be Belle by Jack Johnson as it has the style, lyrics and language straight from French culture whilst encompassing the often chaotic problem of relationships.

Intertextuality: The preference for parody, nostalgia, kitsch and pastiche over realism 

My example of a song with a preference for parody and nostalgia over realism would be that of Tim Minchin and his songs, which are based on real occurrences and issues however they play parody and comedy over realism.

The dominance of surface over depth

Surface over depth implies that greater emphasis is based on the image of the singer or song writer whilst the song is made in a style that would is most applicable to the widest audience. In today's society I would say that this is the 'X-factor' audience. My example of a song writers or artists which place surface over depth would be that of One Direction.

No strong sense of history or the future. Alienation is abolished by saying, 'Utopia is now'

as in raves or music festivals.

I think that this is obvious within the club scene. Especially within the newly domination Dub-steb scene and preference of other artists to make there work rave like and seem like the whole thing is made for a club. For example Rihanna.

A new status for art culture. Art does not represent or reflect reality: it is reality Like the

characters in a soap opera, pop stars can seem more 'real' than our own friends.

This has had increasing relevance over time and the development of social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook. The pop stars use of these sites often brings them closer into the lives of many people. Especially when this is coupled with the existence of magazines such as Heat. This is increasingly obvious as normal people use twitter accounts in the name of the famous as a way to spread good wishes and pass statements of wisdom.

Postmodern music

A very interesting aspect of postmodern music theory. This will help you with your next essay.

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

1. is not simply a repudiation of modernism or its continuation, but has aspects of both a break and an extension
2. is, on some level and in some way, ironic
3. does not respect boundaries between sonorities and procedures of the past and of the present
4. challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles
5. shows disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity
6. questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values
7. avoids totalizing forms (e.g., does not want entire pieces to be tonal or serial or cast in a prescribed formal mold)
8. considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts
9. includes quotations of or references to music of many traditions and cultures
10. considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music
11. embraces contradictions
12. distrusts binary oppositions
13. includes fragmentations and discontinuities
14. encompasses pluralism and eclecticism
15. presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities
16. locates meaning and even structure in listeners, more than in scores, performances, or composers

Jonathan Donald Kramer (December 7, 1942, Hartford, Connecticut – June 3, 2004, New York City), was a U.S. composer and music theorist.

Active as a music theorist, Kramer published primarily on theories of musical time and postmodernism. At the time of his death he had just completed a book on postmodern music and a cello composition for the American Holocaust Museum.

Postmodernism and Music

The postmodern sensibility is that anything can be considered cool in an ironic 'I know it's bad, but it's so bad it's good' kind of way.

I think that an example of this would be James Blunt and Your Beautiful. I would say this because it was a large hit yet popular consensus was that it was a terrible song.

Work that is created based (entirely or in part) on older material. This incorporates sampling and will take you from the realms of hip hop culture transporting you finally in today’s modern fragmented musical landscape. You will have to listen to some of the artists to fully appreciate them and their work.


Whilst this was not made by either The Kooks or Kanye it is still examples of sampling as the producer has drawn his work from to separate songs and put them together.

Audiences that are both niche and mainstream. E.g.: Radio 1, 1xtra, BBC6, XFM

I think bands such as the Fleet Foxes, Noah and the Whale or Mumford and Sons fulfil this catergory as whilst they play music that would be considered niche, they now present themselves to a mainstream audience

The ways in which people engage and listen to music e.g.: iPod, DAB, mobile phones etc


The iPhone is a perfect example of this, as it is seemingly universally widespread.

The legal issues surrounding sampling. (Led Zeppelin borrowed heavily from old bluesmen and it took years for the songwriters to be credited and paid royalties. The same group took a hard-line stance initially to be sampled by hip hop groups.)

It has been claimed that Coldplay used Joe Satriani's chord progression in the song Viva la Vida:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/joe-satriani-sues-coldplay-for-viva-la-vida-plagiarism-20081205

The state of the music industry incorporating any recent developments that change how we access/ interact with music e.g.: Spotify, X Factor, iTunes, illegal downloading, free cds with newspapers etc

Matt Cardle made a single out of Biffy Clyro's Many of Horror. Which then becamse a success due to his X-factor performance. Number 1 hits tend to be from X-factor winners.