Postmodern Music

Last week we listened to Pop music; in other words, very popular music. The week before last we listened to Alternative Rock music. Today we will listen to even more “alternative” music – especially in how it sounds. I call this music Postmodern Fusion, also known as Postmodern music, because very different styles are fused into a new “sound.” Postmodern music is therefore eclectic in style and genre.

One example would be Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which we listened to at the beginning of this semester (Week 3: Harmony). “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a fusion of two unique genres, namely classical rhapsody and rock music. A rhapsody is a single piece of music, but with different parts representing different moods. Listen, for example, to Johannes Brahm’s “Rhapsody in G minor” Op. 79, No. 2. The song “Bohemian Rhapsody” is similar, in that it has different parts with different moods. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a postmodern composition because it mixes two different genres with each other.

Listen to Alanis Morissette’s “Baba” in the YouTube-video below. The song is from one of my favourite albums “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.”



This song also has a mixture of genres. The first genre is Rock. What is the other genre(s)? Maybe the lyrics can give you some clues.

Now listen to Fiona Apple perform “Shadow Boxer.” What music genres can you identify in this song?



How about Fiona Apple’s song “Extraordinary Machine”?



Another artist known for interesting fusions is the Dave Matthews Band. Listen to their song “Spoon.”



Watch the video of a live performance of Björk performing her song “Enjoy.” What instruments are being used? What sampled sounds are used together?



Beck is another artist that makes use of many synthesized sounds, including sampled audio clips from popular culture. “High 5” is an example:



Nightwish, a band from Finland, is described as a “symphonic power gothic metal band” with opera-style vocals.



Also mixing metal music with symphonic sounds is Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Listen to their “Good King Joy.” Notice the fusion of Christmas carols with metal music.