Uncut Magazine Review

Uncut magazine has the essence of pure rock and role. It offers in depth, extensive reviews on new, breakthrough artists as well as a nostalgic look at the bands and legends that made rock great. Not only does it look at music, but it also reviews films and TV shows as well. It speaks to its readers as though they are well educated which is evident in its articles are well written and occupy most of the page compared to its pictures. Their audience are financially comfortable and passionate about their music if the advertising is anything to go by as most the adverts are for concerts, new CD releases or other music related technology. The May 2011 issue is accompanied by a free CD, featuring great tracks, exclusively compiled by Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. 

Are Blackness and Whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

Some people may use black and white to describe the origin of a genre but essentially the birth of rock and roll came from the combination of many different music styles , some that could be considered white and some black. As music evolves, different styles of music combine all the time. 


The main difference in styles of music comes from class not race. Elvis and Eminem were both white yet they produced what many consider to be ‘black’ music. This was predominantly due to their upbringing  and coming from a working class background. A lot of ’black’ music such as the blues and rap essentially comes from suffering.        


In conclusion I believe that  black and white music are not useful terms for describing music as they do not give enough information and do not take account the rest of the world such as Asia 

Does the emergence of the digital download signal the end for the music industry?

Lawrence Lessig suggests four types of digital downloading: a substitute for purchasing, a way of acquiring old music that is copyrighted but is no longer in circulation, to sample and then later purchase or to access material that has not been copyrighted. Record companies would have us assume that only the first type of downloading occurs and this is the only type where record companies would loose money.  


The illegal sharing of music can benefit artists such, for example Metallica, who gained fame through the illegal copying and sharing of their early material on cassette tapes. Now with growing technology such as you tube and myspace this is a lot more common and easy today. 


People will always find ways of copying music and getting it for free and digital downloading doesn‘t change that.  Real artists should perform their music for artistic reasons rather than financial gain and hope that if they are good enough, people will pay to see them in concert. 

Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

Music is essentially a way of getting a message across. Even though a lot of songs do not appear to be political and may not even contain lyrics, Brian Longhurst argues that any piece of music is political. It is common for protestors to accompany their marching with a repetitive, unanimous chant and the effects of messages in music can even be seen in hymns sung in church.  Many songs have been seen to have a political impact such as Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday which may have had something to do with the beginning of the civil rights movement and was named Song of the Century by Time magazine. There have also been  music that has failed in its attempts to impact politics such as Red Wedge.


In conclusion I think that music alone can deliver a message and raise awareness but cannot have a political impact. Changes come from a combination of music and the context in which it was produced.