Create an annotated playlist analyzing a musical genre of your choice through ten indicative recordings. For each item on the list, write a paragraph (4-5 sentences) that places it into the context of the genre, elaborates how it fits into the artist’s larger work, and highlights key aesthetic elements. Your document will also include a headnote that introduces the genre and the major themes, concepts, or musical streams you would like to illuminate within it (a sample template is below). Compile the actual playlist on Spotify and include the link in your document OR insert links to audio or video sources for each piece into your document.
Your playlist should specifically analyze how a music practice has been shaped by the music industry. As you research your genre, pay attention to its origins, roots, and initial emergence into a broader industry space. In particular, interrogate the differences between the practice of the form, how it is represented in recordings, and how it has been marketed. Questions to consider include:
Where, how, and by whom did the genre originate?
What is its sonic profile?
What other genres or styles fed into it?
What are the primary representations and/or stereotypes associated with it?
Who is the music marketed to?
Who actually listens to it?
Who are prominent artists in the genre and how have they engaged with the music industry through it?
For artists and work samples, include examples that are representative of the main contours of the genre or that might be considered essential listening. Also include examples that push against the core of the style, raise questions about the genre’s definition, or perhaps even attempt to redefine it. Rather than a static portrait of a genre, think about how to represent the evolving nexus of images, people, practices, and sounds that make up the discourse around the genre (Ogren’s portrait of jazz is a good example). How can you capture the political stakes of genre definition in a playlist that is compelling and dynamic?