david bowie and postmodernism
TRANSCRIPT
David Bowie• David Bowie was born in South London on January 8, 1947.
• His first hit was the song "Space Oddity" in 1969.
• As Bowie's celebrity profile increased, so did his desire to keep fans and critics guessing. He claimed he was gay and then introduced the pop world to Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's imagining of a doomed rock star, and his backing group, The Spiders from Mars.
• Due to him merging together popular music genres, and adapting to the changes in music over the years, he is now known as the original pop chameleon.
• His 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, made him a superstar. Dressed in wild costumes that spoke of some kind of wild future, Bowie, portraying Stardust himself, signalled a new age in rock music.
‘The Stars Are Out Tonight’
‘The Stars Are Out Tonight’
Baudrillard’s ‘Hyperreality’ Theory• “A condition in which ‘reality’ has been replaced by simulacra”
• Celebrities who reach a point at which every aspect of their lives is taken care of by someone else are said to live in a hyperreal world.
• They lose the ability to interact with people on a normal level and are cocooned in Hyperreality. Normal people often try to copy this.
• “And they know just what we do/That we toss and turn at night/They're waiting to make their moves/But the stars are out tonight” This song may be seen as an example of this theory as the lyrics and the video are about what it would be like if celebrities knew everything that we do, like the general public know about celebrities due to the media.
What makes music postmodern?• Postmodern musicians often borrow lyrics, riffs and styles from
other artists.
• Postmodern music is often written in different styles, sometimes even music styles from other cultures, such as Arabian or Indian.
• Using major and minor keys in the same song is common amongst postmodern music, as well as unusual lyrics or sound effects.
• Postmodern musicians tend to use a wide range of different instruments in their music; often using electronic instruments as oppose to acoustic instruments.
What makes a music video postmodern?
• Conventional themes of postmodern music videos consist of more comical elements like parody or playfulness, or they’re more deep and meaningful with themes such as paranoia or fragmentation.
• Postmodern music videos tend to replicate reality, in a surreal way.
• The artists tend to be very self aware in these types of music videos.