The word popular has had many different meanings throughout history, ranging from vulgar and common, to widely favoured. Therefore it's difficult to determine what 'Popular Music' means. Some say that it means that the music is good, but how does this account for singles by artists such as Mr Blobby, reaching number one? Others may argue that popular music is accessible to the public, but in the example of 'Strange Orchestra – T Rex' we can see that it's not always accessible music that tops the charts. Robert Burnett, in his book Global Jukebox says 'when we speak of popular music, we speak of music that is commercially oriented' however, one may argue that when a musician first picks up their instrument, they aren't learning because they think it will make them rich. Overall, I believe that popular music means music that sells well at some point since it's release.
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A pretty good summary of the lecture (although Strange Orchestra never topped the charts).
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