Manuel
A. Beltran
SOC
385
Blog#9
Bourdieu
Bourdieu examines social practices through the application of his concept
the habitus and field. Habitus according to Bourdieu is a set of preferences
that is a structured structure. It gives one the knowledge needed to distinguish
the differences between things. For this blog entry I chose to study three
different music genres, Jazz, Rap/Hip Hop, and country. I picked these three
because they are fairly different from each other.
For Jazz I feel many songs and artists, particularly some of the older
songs tend to be more laid back yet can be pretty upbeat or cheerful (at least
the stuff I listen to). Even some of the more sad songs tend to incorporate
humor in them or even take religious songs and turn them into dance songs like
the case of Ray Charles. The social field of jazz includes songs which tend to
talk about hanging out, having a good time, maybe drinking and also about love.
I like listening to this music not only because of this but because the music
itself is constantly changing and does not have a lot of the same “hooks” found
in some of today’s more popular music. Jazz music in the U.S. particularly
during prohibition is interesting since it covers a lot of the lifestyle many
people had at the time; going out to clubs, drinking and dancing and pretty much
avoiding the law. Despite the latter aspect, there is not much profanity in
these songs and many tracks are instrumental. One also needs to understand the
habitus of jazz in order to appreciate it. Otherwise as my friends tease, it
just sounds like “old people music”.
Hip Hop or Rap music has over the years turned almost into Pop music. It
is very different from what it was even ten years ago and there is very little
in common with the first hip hop artists’music. Much of the songs today focus
largely on sex, “balling out”, more sex, and sometimes songs do not have a real
theme but rather a catchy “hook”. Most songs coming out today that get radio
play if not all have significant amounts of profanity in their lyrics as well as
make reference to violence and drugs. However the latter two are glorified in my
opinion differently than in the early 1990’s when “gangster rap” became popular.
Back then they glorified gang banging and trying to make money from selling
drugs. Today I feel the emphasis is on the already established drug-dealer who
is somehow “legit” now. Many songs also glorify violence towards people such as
informants or people who tell law enforcement about illegal activities. Many
people still listen to this despite not being able to really relate to the
lyrics as much. I mean most people especially in today’s economy probably cannot
afford to smoke ridiculous amounts of drugs or buy all of these cars just to go
out to clubs and show off. Similarly to jazz many songs talk about having a good
time and may include some alcohol but I feel with a much less positive
perspective.
Country music like the two genres mentioned above also talks about
alcohol. The social field includes drinking, falling in love and also suffering
the loss of romance. Country music tends to reflect life out in the country side
or in small towns. It is many times very cheerful music since it talks about
simple things that make life good. This varies from alcohol, working, to
religion. However sometimes it can be quite depressing. An example would be
Johnny Cash’s song Hurt. The video shows him talking about how he hurt himself
because he is so messed up emotionally that he is almost numb to pain. The video
keeps flashing back to old pictures and clips of cheerful moments
however.
A. Beltran
SOC
385
Blog#9
Bourdieu
Bourdieu examines social practices through the application of his concept
the habitus and field. Habitus according to Bourdieu is a set of preferences
that is a structured structure. It gives one the knowledge needed to distinguish
the differences between things. For this blog entry I chose to study three
different music genres, Jazz, Rap/Hip Hop, and country. I picked these three
because they are fairly different from each other.
For Jazz I feel many songs and artists, particularly some of the older
songs tend to be more laid back yet can be pretty upbeat or cheerful (at least
the stuff I listen to). Even some of the more sad songs tend to incorporate
humor in them or even take religious songs and turn them into dance songs like
the case of Ray Charles. The social field of jazz includes songs which tend to
talk about hanging out, having a good time, maybe drinking and also about love.
I like listening to this music not only because of this but because the music
itself is constantly changing and does not have a lot of the same “hooks” found
in some of today’s more popular music. Jazz music in the U.S. particularly
during prohibition is interesting since it covers a lot of the lifestyle many
people had at the time; going out to clubs, drinking and dancing and pretty much
avoiding the law. Despite the latter aspect, there is not much profanity in
these songs and many tracks are instrumental. One also needs to understand the
habitus of jazz in order to appreciate it. Otherwise as my friends tease, it
just sounds like “old people music”.
Hip Hop or Rap music has over the years turned almost into Pop music. It
is very different from what it was even ten years ago and there is very little
in common with the first hip hop artists’music. Much of the songs today focus
largely on sex, “balling out”, more sex, and sometimes songs do not have a real
theme but rather a catchy “hook”. Most songs coming out today that get radio
play if not all have significant amounts of profanity in their lyrics as well as
make reference to violence and drugs. However the latter two are glorified in my
opinion differently than in the early 1990’s when “gangster rap” became popular.
Back then they glorified gang banging and trying to make money from selling
drugs. Today I feel the emphasis is on the already established drug-dealer who
is somehow “legit” now. Many songs also glorify violence towards people such as
informants or people who tell law enforcement about illegal activities. Many
people still listen to this despite not being able to really relate to the
lyrics as much. I mean most people especially in today’s economy probably cannot
afford to smoke ridiculous amounts of drugs or buy all of these cars just to go
out to clubs and show off. Similarly to jazz many songs talk about having a good
time and may include some alcohol but I feel with a much less positive
perspective.
Country music like the two genres mentioned above also talks about
alcohol. The social field includes drinking, falling in love and also suffering
the loss of romance. Country music tends to reflect life out in the country side
or in small towns. It is many times very cheerful music since it talks about
simple things that make life good. This varies from alcohol, working, to
religion. However sometimes it can be quite depressing. An example would be
Johnny Cash’s song Hurt. The video shows him talking about how he hurt himself
because he is so messed up emotionally that he is almost numb to pain. The video
keeps flashing back to old pictures and clips of cheerful moments
however.