‘Unplugged’ music, (even acoustic) cannot be ‘popular music’ because recording and distribution would not be possible, which limits the audience. Technological inventions have made it so that society is so dependent upon technology that we take it for granted. Theberge notes that ‘without electronic technology, popular music in the twenty-first century is unthinkable’. Lee De Forest invented the Audion, initially created to boost power signals of long distance telephones, which has been used for music. Amplification developed to enhance the power of sound; made music accessible and became "part of the establishment of Rock and Roll” in the 1950s, allowing artists to amplify electric guitars/microphones (Little Junior Parker) and singers (Elvis) to be iconic or influential.
Technology has shaped and influenced popular music and therefore can never really be unplugged. Without technology music only reaches small audiences and I believe that we are dependent upon technology and would have difficulty reverting.
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