Modern pop music can trace its origins back to the 1950s and 1960s. Before it became a catch-all to describe the most commercially popular sound on top 40 radio, pop music and rock and roll used to be synonymous. And then they weren’t. In the 1970s, pop music artists began to experiment with and later standardize electronically produced sounds (despite the fact that the technology was there for a decade prior), eventually rejiggering disco, funk, and new wave for the MTV generation in the 1980s. In response to this, rock music artists and fans—who favored live performance showcasing performers’ virtuosic guitar-playing—staked the genre’s reputation in positioning itself in binary opposition to pop music.
Now That's What I Call 1980s Music!
Now That's What I Call 1980s Music!
Now That's What I Call 1980s Music!
Modern pop music can trace its origins back to the 1950s and 1960s. Before it became a catch-all to describe the most commercially popular sound on top 40 radio, pop music and rock and roll used to be synonymous. And then they weren’t. In the 1970s, pop music artists began to experiment with and later standardize electronically produced sounds (despite the fact that the technology was there for a decade prior), eventually rejiggering disco, funk, and new wave for the MTV generation in the 1980s. In response to this, rock music artists and fans—who favored live performance showcasing performers’ virtuosic guitar-playing—staked the genre’s reputation in positioning itself in binary opposition to pop music.