Townes 1

Marcus Townes
Mr. Campbell
UWRT 101
16 September 2014
Daydreamer
It takes getting everything you ever wanted and then losing it, to know what true freedom is
This is the quote from the song Ride by Lana Del Rey that sets the theme for the genre of Dream
Pop. The types of artist that sing Dream Pop music are smooth and soulful people. The smooth
vocals over a hip hop, jazz and instrumental beat gives the feeling of centralization of ones aura.
The genre of Dream Pop music is often unheard of but is the very genre of music people feels
like that speaks to their soul.
Urban Dictionary defines Dream Pop music is an atmospheric subgenre of alternative
rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody. It is a type of music that helps the listener
imagine world vast differently than there reality, people escape and feel things that they have
only dreamed of. The music gives comfort to the hipsters of the music culture but help brings the
pop crazed bubble gum pop music listeners to a centric aura to help understand the true meaning
of song / music. Dream Pop music is communicated not only via song but via visual arts like
music videos or live performances (musical tours). The communication of the genera is ultraimportant because it helps broadcast the message that Dream Pop represents raw emotions to the
popular masses.

Townes 2

When someone first hears the name of Dream Pop music they automatically think of the
fantasies they have, fairytales, and the world most amazing lands. Having the smooth beats and
not known for being loud; people call it Dream Pop cause of its way to make the listener imagine
and fantasize about with the song means. Dream Pop music has the conventions of freedom,
love, inner conflict, and belief. These conventions are shown in many songs like Tennis Court by
Lorde which talks about the balance of being a mega pop star at the age of seventeen and having
an escape to the tennis courts when she just need to be herself. The song speaks about the
amount of freedom she gets of not having the worry of thinking about what people may say
about herself or her aspiration in life. In listening to the song a person may feel the
empowerment of this true freedom of having the inspiration to do anything they want to. In the
song she says Be the class clown she means that dont be afraid to have people laugh at you
and that even though there laughing at you that there watching you and noticing you feeding to
the convention of belief and hope. This whole dream that she spells out via words is the essence
of free expression. The slow techno beat she has in a faded back ground to just an acoustic voice
help the listener feel that one on one connects people tend to feel when they listen to dream Pop
and it lets them know that the artist really care for their music. Which is one reason why this
genre is so popular cause its only of the rare genres where the artist is known for writing their
own music. Another artist of the same genre of Dream Pop named Lana Del Rey offers a more
realistic aged approach to this kind of music.
Lana Del Rey has the conventions of Love, Money, and Sorrow. The song Old Money
gives light to the true feelings of a young adult. The feelings that we dont always want to share
with event our dearest mate. Given the overall meaning of Dream Pop music as a genre its the
music the state the pure form of how young adults feel with the constant pressure put on us from

Townes 3

society. Its the expression out let that we look for. Old Money have an overall view on this
meaning of placing a person into their older years and looking back on what they have done /
happen in as they were young. Giving the since of lose she talk about a missing part of here. The
sorrow is what a lot of people feel in current times with falling in love and then falling out of
love and the constant need of being able to deal with having people walk in and out of your life.
Old money give a connection to one of the main conventions of Dream Pop music in the fact the
money is a capitalized dream that everyone has. If you were to ask someone what they aspired to
be in life they answer with either a high paying job or to simply be rich. The instruments used in
this song are a simple piano and violin in a faded background to add a high tone to the slow
song. The convention of sorrow is spoken in this song speaking about losing a true love. In most
dream Pop songs there is a since of empowerment to the audience feel better about them self but
in this song that is not the case. A since of acceptance is felt in the song, knowing that two
people have went their own way but she announce fault and accept that there was sharks in the re
ocean of love. Being able to expand the realms of dream pop with this song because it still
returns to the fact of love when stated If you call for me you know I'll run The deepest
connection the reader could feel dealing with loss of a relationship and knowing you will always
love that person even though they may never love you back.
The contexts and conventions of Dream Pop music can be related to a personal diary.
When writing a dairy a person is able to express their true feelings of love, hatred, and feel a true
since of freedom. A personal diary can be related to Dream Pop music mostly to the convention
of freedom. The pure words of what is running thru someone head while they are in this state of
bliss gives there diary a great deal raw emotion. Just like dream pop music. The ability to paint a
story with the words of a personal diary by the great details the writer adds. Though it may be

Townes 4

only one entire, a diary can spell out the thoughts of a person and the mindset they are in. The
genre of diaries is a way of dealing with life in an overall view. A personal diary helps a person
cope with the good and the bad. Sometimes people look on the old diary and see the darkness
they went thru and the little bit of good that came with it. Dream Pop music view that the listener
should always want the bad inured to have that shinning glimpse of happiness. A personal diary
may be a fairytale of emotions and stories and hopes or it can be a sad, beautiful, tragic book of
stories. In this day in time dream pop music and diaries are the only thing that can sustain the
true freedom writes in a world of plasticity.
The social and cultural context surrounding the genre of Dream Pop is unjudgmental free
speech. The listeners of this genre of music are not the everyday typical loud music lovers who
like to dance and drink to like the music, these kinds of listeners have old souls in young and free
bodies. Its not a pacific kind of culture of people that listen to Dream Pop but a needing in the
soul that calls for it. In the young age of fast cars, bright lights , and endless amounts of money a
young person is learning the true meaning of hard work in order to achieve ther dreams.
Dream Pop music gives an insight in a world of hope and freedom by its smooth beats
and soft high note voice. The conventions of freedom, love, inner conflict, and belief prove that
life is a work of art that is upon the social and cultural and freedom writers to create. The songs
of Dream Pop fuel this creativity which is how this genre is supposed to may you feel. It gives
you the settled calmness that opens a little pocket of wonder that comes with songs like Tennis
Court by Lorde and Old Money by Lana Del Rey. Dream Pop music will always be the subgenre
of alternative rock but the only genre where the listener can create it there self. Who are you?
Are you in touch with all of your darkest fantasies? Have you created a life for yourself where
you can experience them? I have. I am fucking crazy. But I am FREE.- Lana Del Rey