organic and synthetic bands relating to theorist

 RIHANNA - SYNTHETIC

When Rihanna was 16, she was signed to Def Jam Records and since then she’s amassed phenomenal success using her synthetic music and look.  Her trade mark is:  leather outfits, constant hairstyle changes, bright red hair, bajan accent, revealing outfits and her tattoos.  According to Fashion Lifestyle she's had over 150 hairstyles since her music career took off in 2005. Her trademark hairstyles are her Long Straight Brown (2006), Medium Length Black Bob (2007) and Short Cropped look (2008).  All of things these things as well as her music are “commodities to be sold to an audience who believe that they are consuming ‘true’ emotion” according to Theodor Adorno.  Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more ‘difficult’ and critical art forms that might lead people to actually question life and social structure.  Rihanna is a pure example of this theory as she follows the conformities that many synthetic artists follow in the music industry.  An example of this is the artist Kelly Clarkson, who changed her hairstyle a majority of times and used sexuality as a key part of her music.  All popular music products are commodities to be sold to an audience who believe that they are consuming ‘true’ emotion when really they represent all the same things.  Popular music products are characterised by this standardisation and also pseudo-individualisation, such as Rihanna being known as the ‘Caribbean Queen’ or ‘Barbados babe’.  However, more modern theorists have tended to view Adorno’s ideas as overly pessimistic and dismissive of mass audiences as passive and easily manipulated.  

BIFFY CLYRO - ORGANIC

Biffy Clyro is an example of an organic band that the theorist Dick Hebdige believed allowed the audience a freedom to resist the power of large companies by ignoring, undermining or finding alternative products to consume.  Organic bands are subcultures that don’t follow the mainstream commodities to an extent.  However, because this has proved very popular and successful, major companies inevitably have attempted to assimilate this resistance of these subcultures by attempting to provide products which these audiences or subcultures will consume.  Consequently, a majority of indie/organic bands have been incorporated into mainstream much against its initial ethos of independence.  According to Dick Hebdige, members of a subculture often signal their membership through a distinctive and symbolic use of style, which includes fashions, mannerisms and affectations.  As a result, organic bands use an alternative/individual style to mark what subculture they are representing.  Biffy Clyro represents this in many different ways, such as their rock music videos as in many they suggest a live performance, which emphasises they are an organic band.  In comparison, synthetic artists, such as Rihanna tend to use a narrative in their music videos rather than a live performance.  Even though Biffy Clyro is an organic band, they also use sexuality as a key part of their music.  For example, the main singer frequently has his top off during performances and music videos.