Music Along The Years.

Music is widely spread throughout the world since ages. It evolves and divided onto genre and sub-genre from time to time. Pop music are among the genre that massively evolving from 1960’s till today.

Written by Firdaus Raihan

1980s - The new age of Rock. This is the time where bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden and many more spawned. Music at this point of time is strongly used to express hard emotions, and hence many of these rock bands are pretty rebellious, in their sense of writing and character. Due to these guys, they stirred many ‘rockstars’ around town. Rebellious, free-livin’, and down right ‘bad boy’. Eventually, these ‘rockstars’ did create a movement.
(Sources: http://www.kidzworld.com/article/5281-pioneers-of-heavy-metal, http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html )

Written by Maskurnia Sayuti

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the early 1980s in the American city of Chicago follow by Europe. It then began to influence popular music in Europe, with popular songs such as "House Music" by Benny Benassi in the pop charts. Since the early to mid-1990s, house music has been infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide. House Music is not hip hop or techno, it’s a repetitive 4 by 4 beats. Unfortunately, House Music bring out negative impact on teens like drug, and alcohol.
(Sources: http://carlme.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/house-music-dance-culture/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music)

Written by Danny

1990s- Popular music in the 1990s saw the continuation of teen pop and dance-pop trends which had emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. Additionally, hip hop grew and continued to be highly successful in the decade, with the continuation of the genre's golden age.
Similarly to the 1980s, rock music was also very popular in the 1990s, yet, unlike the New Wave and glam metal-dominated scene of the time, grunge (Nirvana), Britpop (U2) , industrial rock and Electronic music, which had risen in popularity in the 1980s, grew highly popular in the 1990s, as well as new EDM genres such as trance, drum and bass, intelligent dance and trip hop.
(Sources: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/90smusic.html )

Written by Wesley Wong

2010’s - K-pop has undoubtedly became a world-wide phenomenon. K-pop is getting loads of recognition even from the American culture which is a huge deal because it is a tough industry to break into. However, has the K-pop culture impacted society in a good way or bad ? Based on my opinion, K-pop has affected society in a bad way. Based on http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221051752AAlShjL, “The whole process of only choosing those with the prettiest faces, 'hottest' bodies - completely ignoring any real musical talent or innovation - and then making them sing and dance in such an appealing-to-the-masses way”.
(Sources: http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221051752AAlShjL)

Written by Lee Wern Keith

Along the years, there have been many changes to the sound that entertains. It is certain that a genre brings a culture with it. Whether good or bad, it is the listeners who decide how to utilize the music.

Written by Dhivakaran Jude

Attracting young readers to read print newspapers.

How to attract young readers to print newspapers? Discuss your ideas with examples. 

In this revolutionary era, we find that there is a sudden decrease in newspaper readership. Most readers now switch to a more digital medium which is online news. However most youths do not event touch the newspaper, it might be due to the dull appearance and tiny font.

-Wesley Wong 

To tackle youngsters to read is a challenge. Therefore we need to tackle them right at their very heart. Among the ways to attract them are by increasing the activity in the library or bookstores by organizing an acoustic show inside the library or bookstore. Visiting the bookstore could encourage youths to buy a book for the attractive cover and/or interesting synopsis. Also, promoting comics and graphic novels also can increase all this teenagers to read. When comics and graphic novel hit bookshelves by storm, most illiterate kids and teenagers strived very hard to learn to read due to their interest in that genre. Furthermore, we can put the reading materials at the waiting rooms. Those reading material must be the one that attract youngsters, not newspapers, business magazine and family magazine. 'Silent disco' inside libraries and bookstores are among my favourites because it is an alternative way to attract young readers to hang around at that area, because it is more comfortable to read the book while listening to the music. Anyhow, the basic of getting all this young readers is by making sure they step inside the library or bookstore. By having that, 50% of the objective is already achieved and the other 50% will come by itself.

-Firdaus Raihan 

Considering the constant decline in newspaper readership, it would be fair to say that the future of newspapers will permanently go digital. With already having tablets that support newspaper applications, more readers prefer having the portable device that is convenient as it does not have inked pages and is also environmental friendly.

-Dhivakaran Jude

Youtube - It's impact on society

The Background of Youtube
Youtube founded in February 2005 allows billions of people to discover, watch and share videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube was awarded a 2008 Peabody Award and cited for being "a 'Speakers' Corner' that both embodies and promotes democracy".



Has Youtube impacted society negatively or positively?
Youtube has contributed has contributed hugely to the society. From political, cultural, media, legal and educational aspects.

Youtube has a large variety of videos that’s meant for everyone to watch and enjoy. From gaming videos to music videos, anyone can upload a video onto Youtube for the world to view. There are certain videos that can cause huge influence on society. For example , videos on youtube such as PSY’s “Gangnam Style” became a worldwide phenomenon over night. With the video reaching over a world record 1 billion views ad it is also the most “liked” video on Youtube. Moreover , it became so famous that everyone around the world begin to upload their own version of the Gangnam style. This simple K-Pop song helped the Korean phenomenon PSY rise to superstardom overnight. If it wasn’t for Youtube , PSY’s rise to superstardom might never have happen.

Besides that , there are too many controversial video’s on Youtube such as the “Jerry Springer!" The Viewers Battle The Klan!". It’s talk show about racism in America which contains lots of abusive words and so on. There are videos on Youtube such as this that will be a big influence on society. This is because , the contents on that video not only contains vulgar words but it also contains sensitive issues about race.

In conclusion...
Based on my research, Youtube has played a big part in society. It influenced us in the both good as well as bad. There are sevral videos on Youtube that aren't appropriate for people with a weak mind.

A Role Model or a Victim of the Media?

WHO IS HE, AND WHAT DID HE DO?
Justin Bieber is a Canadian pop musician. Born in London, Ontario, this Canadian can play instruments such as the drums, piano, guitar and the trumpet. Currently signed to Island Def Jam Records, he was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube, and later became his manager. Although he is living the life every teen would die for, he was accused of being the father to some girl’s unborn child in early 2012. He was also rumoured to have smoked marijuana which led to many ‘Beliebers’ cutting themselves to express their frustration and disappointment.

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Bieber

-Dhivakaran Jude

WHAT ASPECTS OF HIM IS TRENDING?

Justin Bieber has successfully created a social movement, whereby whatever that he does is sure to influence others, mainly his fan base which consists of young teenagers. Hairstyles, fashion sense, personality and personal character that is portrayed by Justin Bieber are factors that is likely to be picked up by his ‘Beliebers’, and all these factors are compiled into one term known as ‘Swag’.

-Maskurnia

WHAT CAN HE DO TO HIS FANS

Since Justin Bieber has the power to influence, the balance of bad and good effects are depending on what he does. But however it does give a positive impact on the music industry as many youngsters venture in being an artist because they want to be like how Justin Bieber is.

-Wesley

DID HE PROMOTE GOOD VALUES?

Definitely, being a well-known personality, every move they make is being observed by millions . On Valentine’s Day, 2011, Justin surprised six-year-old fan and brain cancer sufferer Avalanna Routh by flying her to New York, where he spent the afternoon playing board games and eating cupcakes with her. Justin Bieber also has supported the following charities:

-Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

-City of Hope

-Cure Duchenne

-Food Bank For New York City

-Give Back Hollywood Foundation

-GRAMMY Foundation

-It Gets Better Project

-Jumpstart

-KaBOOM!

-Musicians on Call

-Pencils of Promise

-Red Cross

-Usher's New Look Foundation

Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/justin-bieber#ixzz2MegYMMko

-Ng Thiam Eng and Firdaus

WHAT WE THINK…

We look at this character as a rich brat as all he portrays the thrifty lifestyle in his videos. From being surrounded by girls to luxurious cars, there is not much values that he exhibits, compared to other artists like Alicia Keys or The Script that promotes healthy values. Despite what is shown by the media, he isn’t all that bad, we genuinely think he is a hardworking boy.

-Keith

Gratifications Of Media Use

Gratifications Of Media Use

"The uses and gratifications model posits that audience members have certain needs or drives that are satisfied by using both nonmedia and media sources." - Dominick, J 2013, The Dynamics of Mass Communication, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Here's what we gotta say...

Cognition
"I found this advertisement through Youtube. I was browsing through videos when I saw an advertisement of David Beckham as the new face of Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), I clicked on the link to find out what clothing line he was promoting." - Jude.


Diversion
"I was distracted by this arousing video that I stopped whatever I was doing. Although it is 1:40min in duration; It was hilarious and I find it relaxing. It’s funny, watching Beckham chase after his robe like that, and I’m sure it’ll engage the curiosity to find out if Beckham ever got his robe back." - Wesley.


Social utility
"What I got from this video is to never give up in achieving our desires. Also, we need a contingency plan in what ever we do. Oh and, always put on a full dress whenever you go outside." - Firdaus.


Affiliation
"What got my attention most is David Beckham himself, that’s because I am an avid Manchester United fan and that is where Beckham came from. If it wasn't for his affiliation with United, I’d probably wouldn't bother watching the ad at all." - Mas.


Expression
"I felt the ad is funny because of Beckham running around only in his briefs. The ad was directed by Guy Ritchie for H&M. Ritchie puts his sense of humor and Beckham played it well by showing off his body and looks. Shots of Beckham pulling his briefs expressed something intriguing, yet sexy." - Danny.


Withdrawal
"Withdrawal creates a certain barrier that segregate us from different societies. People who admire David Beckham, are mostly those who knew him from his sports fame, and would usually separate themselves from people that might talk trash about their idol." - Keith.


We have to say, we think it's the content that influences media use. People respond to what they hear and see, and the content of that media will generate a feedback. As for this H&M ad, there wasn't even any sight of the brand's name on the wear, but who cares when all eyes are on Beckham.

The Media as a cultural story-teller.

The media shows you about a certain lifestyle. It can influenced and be influential. It had changed the lifestyle of many people. An example, women are now more "voiced" in many aspects as compared to in the past. Many things can be learnt through the help of the media, not just facts but also inspiring values. We chose "The Avengers" to find some values.

Righteousness. As portrayed by Nick Fury. Fury is strongly adhered to his moral beliefs. Fury had a vision on assembling “The Avengers Initiative” since the very start, by making the “ultimate weapon” gathering 4 special individuals as the “trump card” for S.H.I.E.L.D. Besides being extremely observant and critical, Fury’s righteousness in getting things going, pretty much built S.H.I.E.L.D. Personally, the value Fury portrayed, in how he’s able to wrap up something so bizarre that leaves an impact on the audience.

 

Teamwork. Something very obvious for a superhero movie. Captain America, who happens to be the ‘leader’ of the bunch. As you’ve watched throughout the movie, you begin to realize it shows something valuable. Everyone’s working together. It does inspire someone to have that nature of being a team player and work as one organization. That every unique character has the capability to be useful.

Agent Phil Coulson. He carried an indescribable value. This loyal and fearless Agent stands for the safety of his nation. Working with The Avengers, particularly Captain America, who has always been his idol, Coulson goes all out defending for his cause. Coulson died going solo against Loki (a God) and inspired ‘The Avengers’ to unite, Coulson portrayed a beautiful value.



Apart from being thought precious values, the media constantly feed our minds to think and question most of what we do. Without the aid of the media, we may be clueless as in making our next move. We learn that media plays a crucial role in our lives.



Writer: Danny
Editors: Keith & Maskurnia

WELCOME!

Helloooo everyone! Welcome to Macho Media Boys first ever blog! For our first post, we will be telling you a little bit of the media from our point of view. We are a bunch studying Mass Communication at Taylor's University Malaysia. Don't worry, we won't bore you, our post are as brief as it gets, hopefully... All of us of Macho Media Boys, would like to thank our beloved lecturer, Miss Jenny Heng, who has introduced us to the media world very thoroughly.