Content Analysis of Turkish Popular Songs of 2022 on Spotify: The Language of Contemporary Music Between Love and Egocentrism

Orçun Girgin; Ömer Küçük; Onur Uca

Makale detayları

Content Analysis of Turkish Popular Songs of 2022 on Spotify: The Language of Contemporary Music Between Love and Egocentrism

Yazarlar:

Orçun Girgin | Ömer Küçük | Onur Uca

Yayıncı:

Bursa Uludağ University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kültür Sosyolojisi | Müzik Sosyolojisi | Sanat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

International Journal of Social Inquiry Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.141-163

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

4/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001316176

pISSN:

1307-8364

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 This article examines the discourse of current popular music by analyzing the list of the most-listened Turkish songs on Spotify in 2022. Two competing theories about popular culture serve as the theoretical basis for this article: one from the Frankfurt School, which views mass culture as a means of manipulation, and the other from the Birmingham Center for Cultural Studies, which views popular culture as a field of submission and resistance. The study applies content analysis to the lyrics of fifty songs on the most-listened list. The themes investigated in the content analysis are social-political criticism, alienation through sub-themes of criminal tendency, egocentrism, and distance from social relations, social change and vision of the future, consumption culture, use of slang, masculine point of view and tradition through sub-themes of religious belief and nostalgia. The findings obtained from the content analysis show that love and emotional relationships are the main themes in todays popular Turkish music. This situation evokes an affinity with arabesque, the older popular culture form of Türkiye. The discourse of todays popular music seems semantically simpler than arabesque. Unlike arabesque, there are almost no elements of social-political criticism in todays popular Turkish music. The subject of the lyrics is embedded in the commodities offered by consumer culture. Hence, it is proposed that the prevailing individualistic tendency in todays popular music can be called egocentric individualism. Finally, the implications of consumption for sociopolitical resistance are questioned.

 This article examines the discourse of current popular music by analyzing the list of the most-listened Turkish songs on Spotify in 2022. Two competing theories about popular culture serve as the theoretical basis for this article: one from the Frankfurt School, which views mass culture as a means of manipulation, and the other from the Birmingham Center for Cultural Studies, which views popular culture as a field of submission and resistance. The study applies content analysis to the lyrics of fifty songs on the most-listened list. The themes investigated in the content analysis are social-political criticism, alienation through sub-themes of criminal tendency, egocentrism, and distance from social relations, social change and vision of the future, consumption culture, use of slang, masculine point of view and tradition through sub-themes of religious belief and nostalgia. The findings obtained from the content analysis show that love and emotional relationships are the main themes in todays popular Turkish music. This situation evokes an affinity with arabesque, the older popular culture form of Türkiye. The discourse of todays popular music seems semantically simpler than arabesque. Unlike arabesque, there are almost no elements of social-political criticism in todays popular Turkish music. The subject of the lyrics is embedded in the commodities offered by consumer culture. Hence, it is proposed that the prevailing individualistic tendency in todays popular music can be called egocentric individualism. Finally, the implications of consumption for sociopolitical resistance are questioned.

 This article examines the discourse of current popular music by analyzing the list of the most-listened Turkish songs on Spotify in 2022. Two competing theories about popular culture serve as the theoretical basis for this article: one from the Frankfurt School, which views mass culture as a means of manipulation, and the other from the Birmingham Center for Cultural Studies, which views popular culture as a field of submission and resistance. The study applies content analysis to the lyrics of fifty songs on the most-listened list. The themes investigated in the content analysis are social-political criticism, alienation through sub-themes of criminal tendency, egocentrism, and distance from social relations, social change and vision of the future, consumption culture, use of slang, masculine point of view and tradition through sub-themes of religious belief and nostalgia. The findings obtained from the content analysis show that love and emotional relationships are the main themes in todays popular Turkish music. This situation evokes an affinity with arabesque, the older popular culture form of Türkiye. The discourse of todays popular music seems semantically simpler than arabesque. Unlike arabesque, there are almost no elements of social-political criticism in todays popular Turkish music. The subject of the lyrics is embedded in the commodities offered by consumer culture. Hence, it is proposed that the prevailing individualistic tendency in todays popular music can be called egocentric individualism. Finally, the implications of consumption for sociopolitical resistance are questioned.

 Bu makalede, 2022 yılında Spotifyda en çok dinlenen Türkçe şarkılar listesi üzerinden günümüz popüler müziğinin dili analiz edilmiştir. Teorik çerçeve olarak, popüler kültüre iki alternatif yaklaşım olan Frankfurt Okulunun manipülasyon aracı olarak kitle kültürü teorisinden ve kültürel çalışmalar ekolünün direniş alanı olarak popüler kültür teorisinden yararlanılmıştır. Çalışmada söz konusu listedeki 50 şarkının sözlerine içerik analizi uygulanmıştır. İçerik analizinde araştırılan izlekler; sosyal-politik eleştiri, yabancılaşma suça yönelim, benmerkezcilik ve sosyal ilişkilere uzaklık kategorileri aracılığıyla, sosyal değişim ve gelecek tasavvuru, tüketim kültürümetalarla ilişkiler, argo kullanımı, eril bakış açısı ve gelenek dini inanç ve nostalji kategorileri aracılığıyla izlekleri olmuştur. İçerik analizinden elde edilen bulgular, incelenen popüler Türkçe şarkılarda aşk ve duygusal ilişkilerin asli tema olarak öne çıktığını göstermektedir. Bu durum, Türkiyenin eski popüler kültür formu olan arabeskle bir yakınlığı çağrıştırmaktadır. Günümüz popüler müziğinin söylemi, semantik açıdan arabeskten daha yalın kat görünmektedir. Arabeskin aksine, günümüz popüler Türkçe müziğinde sosyal-politik eleştiri öğeleri yok denecek kadar azdır. Şarkı sözlerinin öznesi, tüketim kültürünün sunduğu metalara gömülmüş durumdadır. Bu nedenle, günümüz popüler müziğindeki bireysel yönelimi benmerkezci bireycilik olarak adlandırmanın mümkün olduğu ileri sürülmüştür. Son olarak, tüketime ve bedensel hazlara yönelik taleplerin direnişe yönelik içerimleri sorgulanmıştır.

Makale detayları

Content Analysis of Turkish Popular Songs of 2022 on Spotify: The Language of Contemporary Music Between Love and Egocentrism

Yazarlar:

Orçun Girgin | Ömer Küçük | Onur Uca

Yayıncı:

Bursa Uludağ University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kültür Sosyolojisi | Müzik Sosyolojisi | Sanat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

International Journal of Social Inquiry Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.141-163

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

4/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001316176

pISSN:

1307-8364

Popular culture

mass culture

Turkish popular music

lyrical analysis

egocentric individualismPopüler kültür

kitle kültürü

Türkçe popüler müzik

şarkı sözü analizi

benmerkezci bireycilik

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Orçun Girgin | Ömer Küçük | Onur Uca

Yayıncı: Bursa Uludağ University

Ana Başlıklar: Kültür Sosyolojisi | Müzik Sosyolojisi | Sanat Sosyolojisi

Dergi: International Journal of Social Inquiry Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.141-163

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 4/2024

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001316176

pISSN: 1307-8364

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Orçun Girgin | Ömer Küçük | Onur Uca

Yayıncı:

Bursa Uludağ University

Ana Başlıklar:

Kültür Sosyolojisi | Müzik Sosyolojisi | Sanat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

International Journal of Social Inquiry Vol.17 Issue 1, pp.141-163

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

4/2024

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001316176

pISSN:

1307-8364