K-popK-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s, especially in the international context. The Korean term for domestic pop music is gayo (), which is still widely used within South Korea.
Distortion (music)Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly used with the electric guitar, but may also be used with other electric instruments such as electric bass, electric piano, synthesizer and Hammond organ. Guitarists playing electric blues originally obtained an overdriven sound by turning up their vacuum tube-powered guitar amplifiers to high volumes, which caused the signal to distort.
Complex NetworksComplex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, Complex, by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular and emerging trends in style, sneakers, food, music, sports and pop culture. Complex Networks reached over 90 million unique users per month in 2013 across its owned and operated and partner sites, socials and YouTube channels. The print magazine ceased publication with the December 2016/January 2017 issue.
ClappingA clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), but also in rhythm as a form of body percussion to match the sounds in music, dance, chants, hand games, and clapping games. Some people slap the back of one hand into the palm of the other hand to signify urgency or enthusiasm. This act may be considered uncouth by others.
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992.
Political hip hopPolitical hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a form of political activism. Political hip-hop generally uses the medium of hip hop music to comment on sociopolitical issues and send political messages to inspire action, create social change, or to convince the listener of a particular worldview. It was inspired partially by politically-focused 1970s artists such as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, as well as the Black Power movement and revolutionary politics of the 1960s and 1970s.
DiscogsDiscogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user generated and described in which the New York Times describes as "Wikipedia-like". While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the largest online database of electronic music, the site now includes releases in all genres on all formats. Discogs was started in 2000 by Kevin Lewandowski who worked as a programmer at Intel.
Music festivalA music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or holiday. Music festivals are generally organized by individuals or organizations within networks of music production, typically music scenes, the music industries, or institutions of music education. Music festivals are commonly held outdoors, with tents or roofed temporary stages for the performers.
Loop (music)In music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections can be repeated to create ostinato patterns. Longer sections can also be repeated: for example, a player might loop what they play on an entire verse of a song in order to then play along with it, accompanying themselves. Loops can be created using a wide range of music technologies including turntables, digital samplers, looper pedals, synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines, tape machines, and delay units, and they can be programmed using computer music software.
Rage Against the MachineRage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. The band is known for melding heavy metal and rap music with punk rock and funk influences, as well as their revolutionary socialist political views. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide.
