CONCEPTS, THEORIES, AND RELATED STUDIES
2.2 Part 2: The Process and Strategies in Creating Songs of the NCPO
2.2.2 Pop Songs or Pop Music
From the evolution of pop songs or pop music, the two words are signified the same. In other words, “pop music” means “pop songs” (Pop is an abbreviation of popular, which means “popularity”). It is often decoded in relations to commercial meaning or songs are aimed for the youth‟s popularity in the market. Pop songs often are short and simple, using technology and innovation in producing a new style of music from the old style. Mostly, pop songs will absorb the form from other genres (Komson Wongwan, as cited in Anongsulak Yaila-or, 2012).
A pop song or music means “A popularity in music.” It is a modern and favorite song with amusing rhythm but is easy to listen. The listeners of this music are teenagers. (Longhurst, as cited in Anongsulak Yaila-or, 2012). Pop songs are
influential in assimilating into other music genres, i.e., Hip Hop, Reggae, Dance, R &
B, Punk, or even Folk, especially Rock and Roll, which later become pop music in Rock style, etc.
Pop music originated among black people in America. It was developed from country music, which firstly became Rock and Roll in the first period (Rockability) and was a type of song transforming to be a pop song. A part of pop songs was composed and aimed towards the mass of listeners with support from record labels, divided into the following periods:
1) During the „50s, Rock and Roll were famous. It was pop music with a dancing rhythm and a body movement. This genre of music yielded some famous artists or singers, i.e., Elvis Presley, etc.
2) During the „60s, it was the period of Teen Idol in which musicians rearranged Folk and Blues music influenced by Rock and Roll. The examples of artists during this period were The Byrds and Janis Joplin, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Cliff Richards, Rolling Stones, Sandy Shaw, etc.
3) During the „70s, it was the period where Rock music was produced variedly with themore complicating music style. The music that emphasized the harshness of Blues was called “Blues Rock” or “Heavy Metal,” which became Pop music. The artists were The Bands Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest. It was the beginning period of Disco music with artists like Abba, Bee Gees, etc. Besides, Country music was also popular, such as the Eagles, as well as Pop music influenced by Rock with the artists, i.e., the Carpenters, Rod Stuart, Carly Simon, Cher, etc.
4) During the „80s, it was the period of dancing music in a nightclub called Disco, Which People preferred Pop music style. Accordingly, record labels let experts try music genre different from the old forms by bringing songs during 1980- 1989 of The Car to be mixed to get a new feeling. Very well-known pop singers of this period were Michael Jackson, etc. who was very influential in the pop music circle at that time. Also, other famous singers were Madonna, Tiffani, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Wham. In this period, a music synthesizer was invented into music. The songs of this period were mostly dancing songs, and the style of music also influenced dress fashion in this period as well. (Longhurst, as cited in Anongsulak Yaila-or, 2012)
5) During the „90s, R & B was very influential. The artists in this period were TLC, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Brandy. The power of Rock music also influenced some vocalists, such as Jewel, Nirvana, Eric Clapton, Tori Amos, and The Ever Flexible Madonna. Tori and Madonna also adapted their style to what was popular at that period. Listeners were very crazy and responded well to the music genre and artists of that period, i.e., NSYNC, Ricky Martin, New Kids on the Block, Willa Ford, and Britney Spears. During these ten years, pop songs were also mixed with Hip Hop. (Suphadra Orasudhikulchai et al., as cited in Anongsulak Yaila-or, 2012)
6) During 2000, pop music was specified as a piece of favorite music in relations to Commercial Purposes in complying with consumerism trend. It was because this style of music often portrayed updated events and music genre favored in each time. Mainly, the style of pop songs during 2000-2010 was highly popular with Hard Rock, Hip Hop, and Punk. The famous artists were Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, etc.Other pop trends were Pop and Punk, i.e., Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne, including the emergence of the hot program like American Idol, which produced several successful artists, such as Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. Besides, pop and R & B were mixed, and pop songs increased the style of R & B in their traditional form. The artists of this style were Nelly Furtado, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, etc.
Kovit Kanthasiri (2007) explained about pop songs in Thailand that Thailand also got an influence of pop music. To illustrate this, many musicians and bands in the past played this kind of music, such as Phayong Mukda, Suntaraporn Band, Public Relations Department Band, including Big Band, Shadow Band, Combo Band, String Band, etc. All of these adapted their composure, music-playing, and sound- harmonizing from western Pop music and integrated into a contemporary genre, including playing it for dancing in the modern period. Consequently, it is rather difficult to distinguish clearly these rapid and substantial changes in music playing, orchestral mixing, electric-aided instruments, and new inventions played by young musicians nowadays.
As a consequence, it can say that pop music or songs were adapted dynamically from other music styles or genres and adopted music culture from these
genres, i.e., Rock and Roll, Jazz, Blues, Heavy Metal, etc. In summary, they were developed from all types of music and possessed no fixed style or no particular style.
In other words, they were unlimited in adopting all kinds of music.
In short, a pop song or music is a kind of music containing various music genres: Folk, Blues, Rock, Heavy Metal, etc., without limits as it will be adapted to respond to the listeners‟ preference in each period. Once the listeners prefer to listen to it until it becomes predominant popularity in a society, it can be called as a pop song that means popularity among listeners.
Accordingly, the study of the background of its meaning and evolution helps to point out that pop music emphasizes young listeners with easy-to-listen, relaxing, and enjoyable rhythm, which is the style of the NCPO‟s patriotic songs aimed to reach these groups with this preferred style.
2.2.3 The Concepts of the Process and Strategies of Creating Songs of the