Music in American Culture - Section 6 @ams59fall2018section6-blog - Tumblr Blog

Nicole Richter

“This is America” by Childish Gambino was written and produced in mid-2018. As a very recent release, the issues addressed within are fresh in the modern social and political climate. However, Gambino includes many historical allusions to convey his message about the subjectification and objectification of black citizens in America.

In recent years, between 1999 and present, there have been many instances of gun violence and abuse of the right to bear arms in the United States. Mass shootings have dramatically increased since 2012, according to The Washington Post. A recent tragedy occurred in 2015 at a historically black church in Charleston, North Carolina, where 21-year-old Dylan Roof shot 10 and murdered 9 people during prayer in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This hate-crime sparked a fervent desire for gun control amid the black community and throughout America (Horowitz, Corasaniti, Southall). In one section of the music video for “This is America”, Gambino sings and dances alongside a gospel choir of 10 people before viciously murdering them all with an automatic weapon as a nod to the massacre in Charleston. The gun is then transferred to a man carefully holding a red cloth, and carried away with respect.

The red cloth insinuates that appreciation and honor is given to guns in America more than the lives of innocent people. This leads to the next topic Gambino covers, which is the current police brutality crisis towards people of color in the United States. Throughout the video, while Gambino raps and dances in the foreground, police officers are running after black individuals in the background with riot gear on, their bats on full display, beating on people whom they have captured. Throughout America’s history, there have been many instances of violence between black people and police officers. One of the most notable events was the riot in Montgomery, Alabama, referred to as “Bloody Sunday” during the civil rights movement in 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. led nonviolent protesters from Selma to Montgomery in response to previous instances of police brutality in the south. Police officers of Alabama reacted very poorly to this, breaking up the crowd with questionable methods such as beatings and tear gas. This event was groundbreaking because it was heavily publicised via television recording (Stanford). Although this event occurred over 50 years ago, police brutality is still a very real and current crisis in America, which displays the subject formation of black people beneath white police officers in authority. Gambino encodes that if police “catch you slippin’ up”(Gambino), it is possible for you, as a black person, to be beaten or killed.

Towards the end of the video, while Gambino is fervently running from the police, it is up to the viewer to decode his meaning. After all of the chaos occurring throughout the music video, there is a moment of calm, where Gambino stands atop a car in an empty structure. Suddenly, the video shifts from being calm to chaotic again when Young Thug begins singing about being “just a barcode” in this world. Gambino has a terrified look on his face while sprinting through the empty structure, away from white people. The viewer can interpret this as a reference to the rampant police brutality in America.

“This is America” has become a revolutionary song in the present day because of its various meanings and historical contexts. Gambino recognizes the hatred and violence occurring in America. He addresses how the black community has been treated throughout history by using both recent and century-old historical events to emphasize his point.

Sources:

Horowitz, Jason, et al. “Nine Killed in Shooting at Black Church in Charleston.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/us/church-attacked-in-charleston-south-carolina.html.

“Selma to Montgomery March.” Birmingham Campaign | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 21 Mar. 1965, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/selma-montgomery-march.

Uriel Rivas

Track: “Goodmorning America”

The historical conditions of Cat System Corp’s track Goodmorning America has to do with the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Furthermore, political conflicts in 2001 focused on the “war on terror” that President Bush had proposed in an effort to serve justice against terrorists after the September 11th attacks. The economic situation in 2001 wasn’t the best, however, as an 8-month recession ruled over most of the year.

Soft-rock from artists like Lifehouse and songs like Fallin’ by Alicia Keys let R&B and neo-soul maintain its high spot in the 2001 top hits list.The soft tones of these songs are used to play on a larger darker aspect of the song. For example, Alicia Keys Fallin uses an upbeat track in order to contrast with the darker lyrics about heartbreak. These popular songs illustrate ambivalence in 2001, an interchange of various emotions until the climax during 9/11.

The track’s contemporary historical conditions harken back to a quotidian lifestyle (as shown in the music video). The humble subtlety of the track helps arouse nostalgia. “Good morning, America,” that’s what the broadcaster says, but the impact of that day removes any tranquility from that statement and converts nostalgia into morbidity.

Nostalgia is encoded behind the overtaking jazz of the track, but this alters the nostalgia for that day into morbidity. Cat System Corp.’s decision to use jazz also has an encoded meaning. Jazz is a music genre that originated from African-American communities, and jazz contributed to enriching African-American culture by emphasizing their oppressive past. Jazz is the window African-Americans use to look into racial inequality, and just as jazz is a window into racial inequality for African-Americans, one can surmise the same for Cat System Corp.’s predominant use of jazz as a window into the soothing, yet increasingly morbid, past.

The dominant meaning of Goodmorning America is understanding what the gravity of 9/11 lost, the American Dream. The destruction of the both World Trade Center towers constructed anxiety within Americans, and this anxiety furnished stronger xenophobic, racial, and sexual sentiments that are still ardently discussed today. The collapse of the World Trade Centers was also the collapse of American harmony and the construction of social anxiety. Furthermore, Cat System Corp.’s cover for the album, News at 11, is simplistic, only showing the American flag and the album title and the black that’s surrounding these vibrant objects. The black color is predominant, and the album cover is a snapshot before disaster, before that black color engulfs the rest of the image. Of course, this snapshot metaphor can be transferred to the track that references pre-9/11 and its soothing nature. And it’s through this performing unit that helps the audience understand the morbidity of 9/11, the strong impact of a simple jazz track like, Goodmorning America, and the dominant melancholic nostalgia of 9/11 that entails with the track and the rest of the album.

Good morning, America, indeed.

Blog Post 2

Caroline Pogostin

The 1975’s song, She’s American, was released in early 2016 first performed live in late 2015 and was most likely written in that same year. The song is about the singers experience living in Los Angeles and his interactions with his American fans while there. The lyrics mostly criticize American culture in subtle ways, especially in regard to the superficially ideals that the American girls that Healey had encounters with promoted. This can be seen in the chorus of the song with the words, “If she says I’ve got to fix my teeth Then she’s so American (She’s American) And if she likes us cause we just don’t eat…She’s American”, these two lines show a lot about what Healey took away from “American” girls and what represent to him.

This idea of “American” girls being obsessed with looks is just the beginning of his criticism. Later in the song appear the lyrics, “You keep nodding at me looking vacant”, which is an encoded message which I have decoded as Healey’s view of American girls as dump who have nothing in their head and have nothing to contribute intellectually to society. In the lyrics also appear a comment on America’s relationship with guns, “And I think she’s got a gun divinely decreed and custom made”, which has a lot of meaning to it, but also relates to the historical context of the song because according to The Washington Post the second most “astounding” thing to happen in 2015 was that gun deaths became as common as traffic deaths in the U.S. In pop culture, 2015 was the year that Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner made their Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut. This is significant because they are celebrities whom young women look up to and they influenced the way that these young women want to act and dress and watching them walk on a runway makes the girls want to be like them even more. This ties into the commentary on vanity that The 1975’s song makes in regard to “American” girls.

Matty Healey’s point of view of “American” girls, as heard in this song, is shaped by his intersectionality. His background of being a British male who was a famous musician who had not interacted with American girls influenced his judgment of them when he did interact with them. His view of the world and of people was because of the way he grew up and he then judged these American girls off of the that view and this is evident in the song. This helps me understand where the performer is coming from and understand the meaning of the song more because it turns the song from just a good song to an outsiders perspective of American culture and it makes it so much more interesting to listen too.

Sources:

1975, The. “She's American.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Apr. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vllx-EDeako.

Healy, Matthew. “She’s American.” I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, Adam Hann, George Daniel, Matthew Healy & Ross MacDonald, Interscope Records and Dirty Hit, 2016, 5. Genius , https://genius.com/The-1975-shes-american-lyrics

Swanson, Ana. “11 Astounding Things That Happened in 2015.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 Dec. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/12/23/11-ways-that-2015-made-history/?utm_term=.a281347f4dd0.

Chang, Mahalia. “Year In Review: The Biggest Pop Culture Events of 2015.” ELLE, 1 May 2018, www.elle.com.au/news/year-in-review-the-biggest-pop-culture-events-of-2015-1-6248.

Keep Ya Head UP- TUPAC

Keep Ya Head Up was released in Los Angles on Feb. 16, 1993 by death row records when Tupac was 21, This song was written after Tupac had been accused with rape and . He had shown and written about respect to woman but after this he was dedicated to make a song that would change that way all woman but primarily black woman were perceived. This was so huge because at this time at 1993 black woman were treated poorly and it was if there was still a racial divide between them and others. This song was so helpful because it was written in a genre that was looked at poorly about the way woman were treated and it was still very much a mans game interns of the music. So this song not only touches on race because of bring respect and power to black woman but it also touches on gender and calls out men and inspires woman to not let men control their lives. As Tupac says “You know it makes me unhappy (what’s that), When brothers make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy, And since we all came from a woman, Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?” Tupac takes a stand here in a time where black woman were treated poorly and shows his support for them, this songs message had never been talked about in this genre like the message this one has. Tupac also touches on poverty and the way the united states was spending their money by saying “You know it’s funny when it rains it pours, They got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor”. This was another huge topic by Tupac addressing they was the government was spending money and the lack of help for the poor community’s of color. When talking about hegemony, Tupac writing this song was a huge example of this. His taking a stand towards the way black woman were being treated showed his leadership in his music, and really showed the way music should be used to being awareness and change they way people thing.

Citations-

JustinTinsley. “It's 25 Years Old: Tupac's 'Keep Ya Head Up' Is Hip-Hop's Definitive Ode to Black Women 'Tupac Cares, If Don't Nobody Else Care ...'.” The Undefeated, The Undefeated, 16 Feb. 2018, theundefeated.com/whhw/its-25-years-old-tupacs-keep-ya-head-up-is-hip-hops-definitive-ode-to-black-women/.

“Tupac's Keep Ya Head Up.” Let's Get Ethical, 5 Dec. 2013, bizgovsoc9.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/tupacs-keep-ya-head-up/.

James Spargo

“Easy” By the Commodores (1977):

“Easy” by the Commodores was produced towards the end of a very tumultuous decade. The 70’s adopted the Vietnam War from the late 1960’s but in no way willingly. American citizens were by and large opposed to the United States efforts in Vietnam due in part to media’s fixation with displeasing news stories (Vietnam War) (Vietnam Ending). On top of this, the United States was entangled in the Yom Kippur conflict in the Middle East due to the ongoing Cold War effort to quell communism. It wasn’t the fiscal cost of the proxy war that hurt the United States but instead the embargo that came as a result of US involvement (Oil Crisis). In 1973 OPEC crippled America’s oil supply with their embargo in an effort to force the US out of the Middle East and in doing so caused gas prices to skyrocket, leaving the public further infuriated and beaten down (Oil Crisis). Domestically the government hadn’t done much to win the praise of the people. The famed Watergate scandal involving Nixon’s campaigning fraudulence set a precedent for mistrust of government for many years to come (Watergate). Amid this chaos, the Commodores found their niche primarily in soul funk, making hits that would compete with the Jackson 5 and eventually the Bee Gees (Music in the 1970’s). A melancholy funk is featured in “Easy”, a sort of swaying, falling melody where a major key is quickly followed by minor key and then repeated at a lower pitch several times. In addition, the background harmonic during the chorus sounds like a deep exhale, adding to the laid back vibe of the song. The lyrics describe leaving a lover on a Sunday morning, which Lionel Richie says has some pretext in Southern America; he details that Saturday festivities ended before midnight in many Southern towns giving way to a quiet, tranquil Sunday morning. Also incorporated into the lyrics is the pain of being being “chain[ed]” down by a lover, and the “Sunday morning” euphoria is the associated feeling of being freed. The formal components and lyrics to form a decoded message of relaxation from angstful times (Stuart Hall).

It is clear that one reason the Commodores focus on the counter hegemonic emotional fervor of the times (spurred namely by government action) is because it was an effective way of creating music their listeners would enjoy. Targeting what constituents want was an idea discussed in Miller’s article on the early phonograph industry in the United States where he points out that the industry’s involvement in foreign markets had them realizing that “Primitive stereotypes...became the justification for taking local music seriously.” (Miller Article) The idea of playing what people want to hear and not assigning a single form of music as the ‘best’ kind has stuck around as an effective selling strategy ever since and is exemplified in “Easy”’s success, reaching #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 in August of 1977 (Billboard).

American History: U.S. Timeline, 1960-1969 - America's Best History, americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1970.html.

https://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1970.html

Oil Crisis: History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/1970s/energy-crisis. https://www.history.com/topics/1970s/energy-crisis

Vietnam Ending: “U.S. Withdraws from Vietnam.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-withdraws-from-vietnam.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-withdraws-from-vietnam

Vietnam War: “How the Media Shapes Public Opinion of War.” Rewire, Rewire, 7 Aug. 2017, www.rewire.org/pbs/vietnam-war-media-shapes-public-opinion/.

https://www.rewire.org/pbs/vietnam-war-media-shapes-public-opinion/

Watergate: History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/1970s/watergate.

https://www.history.com/topics/1970s/watergate

Music in the 1970’s: “1970s Music: History, Pictures & Artists.” RetroWaste, www.retrowaste.com/1970s/music-in-the-1970s/.

https://www.retrowaste.com/1970s/music-in-the-1970s/

Miller Article: pg. (175) Download Miller 157-159, 167-186.pdf

Miller, Karl Hagstrom. “Download Miller 157-159, 167-186.Pdf.” Duke University Press.

Stuart Hall: Download SH-Encoding-Decoding.pdf

Hall, Stuart, and SImon During. “SH-Encoding-Decoding.pdf.” Routledge.

Billboard: https://www.billboard.com/music/commodores

“Commodores.” Billboard, Billboard, www.billboard.com/music/commodores.

Lyrics: ://genius.com/Commodores-easy-lyrics

blog post 2

Jalen Smith

The song I have chosen for blog post 2 is Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. This song was recorded in Detroit on the set of “8 Mile” (Eminem movie on himself) on the date of October 22, 2018. When it first came out it was a huge hit. “Lose Yourself” was the popular the rest of 2002 and all of 2003 as well. This song is a very upbeat song that will get you going to follow your dream even though it looks bleak. This song came at a good time as well. 2002 was a very hard and enjoyable time for the United States. The economy was in a recession, US Airways and Kmart both filed for bankrupt (which were gigantic companies), and the US was still feeling the strong effects of 9/11. It was not a good time for the US at this time but Eminem “Lose Yourself” was a powerful song that helped people get through the troubling times they may have been having. It was an inspiration to everyone. It helped people get up and take risk even when it looked bleak because as Eminem says it ‘You only get one shot do not miss your chance to blow, opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” The encoding of the song was to inform people to get up and take risks because you only have few opportunities to make your dream come true. The decoding of the song to me was what the encoding was. I got the message that he was trying to give to us and i intend to imply it as well.

The key term I chosen for this blog post was hegemony. Hegemony means the dominant culture/ dominant because everyone agrees with them. In 2002 the most popular genre was rap and hip hop. Eminem song “Lose Yourself” was a huge rap song so everyone liked it because it was the cool genre at the time. Rap dominated the 2002 so it helped all the raps songs (especially Lose Yourself) to bigger heights than they probably would've now.

Copyscape. “2018 The People History Where People Memories and History Join”. The History of People. 2004

Ron. Waksman. “ Global News Eminem Lose Yourself”. Global News. 2018

Rebecca Munoz

Blog Post 2

Beyonce’s “Freedom” sends a message rich in historical context. It can be analyzed through both racial and sexual lenses, creating a certain power in its voice.

Beginning by taking a look at the gender implications, we can see a pattern of “black woman entertainers” speaking on “women’s empowerment, independence, and resistance to male domination and racism” (Trier-Bieniek 15). Beyonce’s “Freedom” saying that black women “need freedom too” is following a long line of black female musicians that had similar messages. Some of her predecessors include “Queen Latifah,” “Whitney Houston,” and “Janet Jackson,” all examples of “sexually assertive and/or politically conscious black womanhood” (15). “Freedom,” explained to be a sort of battle cry in my last post, is a beautiful example of Beyonce embracing her black womanhood and using it in the projection of her voice on her peoples’ inequalities.

It is important when talking about “Freedom” to look at the more specific and timely issues that were occurring on the political front. Released in 2016, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Presidential Election were both common conversations in regards to American culture and politics. The country was in a very tense political state with a great amount of discourse between communities. The Black Lives Matter movement had been present already for some time, but amidst the electoral year racial injustices were brought to the light as the country looked for her next leader. By calling out the unjust murders of black individuals by police officers, a movement “against the institution of systematic racism” was ignited (Shonekan 112). Probably the most poignant lyric in the song to the Black Lives Matter movement is in Kendrick Lamar’s rap, when he says that “death is around the corner” when running from what is revealed to be the “Five-O” (“Freedom”). Beyonce uses her song to discuss the fear a black man or woman might feel towards the people who are supposed to keep citizens safe.

The Black Lives Matter movement has polysemy shown through the “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter” movements which appeared as responses to BLM because their members felt that BLM was segregating because it only focused on one group (although that was the group being killed as a result of others’ biases). Because Beyonce’s song “Freedom” so clearly addresses the same issues addressed by the Black Lives Matter movement, her song therefore could have the same polysemy as the movement itself.

Beyonce uses her song “Freedom” to call out racial injustices as well as to show the strength black women possess as they navigate these injustices. Because of her established fame and reputation, her words have a wide reach and therefore capacity for a wide impact.

Citations:

SHONEKAN, FERNANDO OREJUELA;STEPHANIE. BLACK LIVES MATTER AND MUSIC;PROTEST, INTERVENTION, REFLECTION. INDIANA UNIV PRESS., 2018.

Trier-Bieniek, Adrienne. The Beyoncé Effect: Essays on Sexuality, Race and Feminism. McFarland & Company, 2016.

Maritza Guerrero Aguilar - Blog Post 2

The song ‘IDOL’ by BTS marked a spark in the music industry worldwide. BTS kept on breaking records when they were announced that the music video for ‘IDOL’ released in August of 2018 was the Most viewed music video on youtube within the first 24 hours of its release. In just 24 hours, ‘IDOL’ gained over more than 45 million views, breaking Taylor Swift’s record back in 2017 with her music video for Look What You Made Me Do having only 43 million views (The Independent). Their song expresses how just because BTS are considered idols or artists, they never forget about their true selves even with all the popularity. When BTS debuted back in 2013, they were considered underdogs. They came from a small company that was not known and many people told them they would never make it big. The music video portrays many different things that people have criticized about BTS including their appearance, what they wear, how they act and how they talk. Their lyrics are basically a message back, saying that no matter what other say about them, they’ll always be true to themselves and love themselves (DKDKTV). Subculture is something that expands once it gets picked up by popular media and BTS with their global fame, give out the message to be true to yourself. Because of this, BTS have the most loyal fan base and are known for expanding the positive message of self love. Some encoding messages that BTS include are drawings drawn by the members themselves, traditional korean outfits and cultural traditional old folk music dances (DKDKTV). How the audience decodes it or interprets it is up to them. They have broken the language barrier. BTS have several different meanings to just one symbol. Different people have different interpretations. BTS’ success has become a model for other aspiring artists. Since BTS have gotten so popular, not only have they made themselves known worldwide, but they have helped the South Korean economy immensely. BTS are predicted to have a $1 billion impact on the South Korean economy (NextShark). They have given Seoul in South Korea more attention than ever before. With this help, they have given South Korea more tourists, boosting the economy. BTS have recently collaborated with Visit Seoul (the city’s official tourism agency) and are the faces of Seoul, South Korea (Lonely Planet). This shows tourist especially BTS’ fans what fun things to do in Seoul. Because of this, BTS have included their cultural values and beliefs in their songs, including ‘IDOL’. BTS have shown through their music that they have never forgotten where they came from, even when people have told them in the beginning that them would never make it.

Works Cited

DKDKTV. “BTS - IDOL Explained by a Korean.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Aug. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL7PEjk1pys.

Geddo, Benedetta. “BTS Want You to Visit and Love Seoul Just like They Do.” Lonely Planet, Lonely Planet, 24 Oct. 2018, www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2018/10/24/bts-seoul-tourism-campaign/.

Jack Shepherd @JackJShepherd. “BTS Just Broke Taylor Swift's YouTube Record.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 28 Aug. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bts-idol-taylor-swift-youtube-record-views-24-hours-kpop-boyband-a8510671.html.

Samson, Carl, and Kyle Encina. “K-Pop Group BTS Predicted to Have a $1 Billion Impact on the South Korean Economy.” NextShark, NextShark, 5 July 2018, nextshark.com/bts-south-korea-1-billion-economy/.

Blog Post 2

Kalynne Hall

The popular alternative rock band Muse, released their album ‘The Resistance’ in 2009 following the London G20 protests. During this time, rock was the leading genre of music followed by alternative (Statista). The album’s title, ‘The Resistance,’ signified rebellion against a greater authoritative power. Following the message portrayed by their album, the band produced their album on their own . I believe that this was an extended metaphor for the members standing their ground, having their own authority over the music they were going to create, in order to solidify the true meaning of their album. The band wanted to exemplify rebellion against oppression and the G20 protests, along with George Orwell’s 1984, were the perfect models to create the album (Beaumont, Mark).

Lead singer, Matt Bellamy, noticed that the “US embassy and other embassies in the area were constantly targeted by protestors,” and he came to the conclusion that the “UK had come to the revolution it so desperately needed” (Beaumont). The G20 protestors targeted London’s financial district, wanting an end to the financial crisis that they believed the banks had caused. Most protests were peaceful, however, many feuds arose between the unemployed and the bankers, with the unemployed arguing that the bankers should be “blamed for the recession that is making jobless ranks soar” (CBS). The song ‘Uprising’ contains the lyrics, “Rise up and take the power back, it's time that The fat cats had a heart attack” directly meaning, take the power away from the banks since they have been in control for too long (Muse). The “fat cat” is a metaphor for a rich and powerful person that needs to have a heart attack so that it may fall from its position of power. The music video for ‘Uprising’ is centered around a lit fuse that is ready to go off at any minute, similar to the revolution in the UK that was sparked by the economic crisis.

During live performances of ‘Uprising,’ Muse wears dark colors and black makeup on their faces. Behind them, is a large screen playing scenes of police barricades and rioters. These images during their song amp up the audience, allowing them to interact with the performers themselves. Muse wants the audience to interact with them, since the song serves as a call to action, as well as to educate people about the injustice they are being faced with. “That is why rock audiences usually sing along, shout, whistle, stomp, and clap, regarding it as much their right to be heard as the performer’s” (Shumway, David R, 123). Matt Bellamy takes several breaks during the live performances, specifically during the chorus of the song, where the audience continues to belt out “They will not control us” (Muse). Although they are not participating in riots, the audience is telling the band that they agree with the message they are putting out- that change needs to happen within the financial district, and they are willing to support the change.

Works Cited

Beaumont, Mark. Muse: Out Of This World, Music Sales, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucdavis/detail.action?docID=4821541.

CBS/AP. “G20 Protesters Clash With London Cops.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 1 Apr. 2009,

www.cbsnews.com/news/g20-protesters-clash-with-london-cops/.

Muse . “Uprising.” The Resistance, Lake Cosmo, Italy , 14 Sept. 2009.

Shumway , David R. “Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture.” Present Tense: Rock & Roll and

Culture, by Anthony DeCurtis, Duke University Press, 1992, p. 123.

“U.S. Music Sales by Genre.” Statista, Jan. 2015, www.statista.com/statistics/188910/us-music-album-sales-by-genre-2010/.

Ammaar Vayani

In our second examination of Larry Heards Seminal House classic “The Sun Can’t Compare,” we focus on the impetus for the formation of such a sound, and the familiar motifs that circulate in the subculture that is ‘House Music’.

Larry Heard represents a subculture that is twofold; the rave/live show, and the listening experience. In that, the two modes of consumption of his music are through personal listening via Vinyl and digital releases and the second being the live show, which usually comprises of a light show, large sound systems and occasional choreographed dance. The sound of House music was developed in the social circles of LGBT African Americans in the mid 80’s, a breed of music that was looked down upon by your everyday machismo, hardnosed Hip Hop fan. It is known that generally, Black families tend to be more religious than most folk, especially in hotspots like Chicago and New York where not attending Sunday Mass is considered Blasphemous. With Preachers talking down on the gay community, and retelling tales of the sodomites, many parents in attendance of Church would then be against the ‘Gay lifestyle’. This caused a large number of young homosexual/trans African American men to leave home and live with other members of the LGBT community in residences that would be known as “Houses”. These men also frequented Ballrooms where choreographed dance could be showcased in the form of Vogue-ing (a dance style which imitates a fashion model's movements) to a backdrop of music which had a 4/4 kick drum and soulful vocals with call and response motifs taken from Gospel singing. The young men would attend these events to represent their “House” and compete in pageants, dance offs and more to a backdrop of a sound that became known as ‘House music’. This shows that House music comes from a troubled background, ripe with homophobia, transphobia and racism. In a documentary about ballrooms, Paris is Burning, Dorian Corey a famous drag queen states “Black people have a hard time getting anywhere and those that do are usually straight. In a ballroom you can be anything you want.” (Corey 1990)

In the modern day, House music as a part of black history is often forgotten, this is possibly due to its association with the LGBT community, and is often discarded in favor of the more hetero ‘Rap music’. On the other hand, this style of music was picked up by Europeans across the pond and is more popular now amongst ravers than ever before. In his article, ‘Can You Feel It? DJs and House Music Culture in the UK’, Tony Langlois says “Raves are characterized by their long duration and high volume music” (Langois 229). The rave is where Larry Heard’s brand of music thrives and the Chicago/New York scene is the subculture that he represents.

Work Cited

Heard, Larry. Presents Mr White, “The Sun Can’t Compare” 2006, Alleviated Records ‎– ML-2225

Langlois, Tony. Popular Music, Vol. 11, No. 2, A Changing Europe (May, 1992), pp. 229-238

Livingston, Jennie. Paris Is Burning. Richard Dooley, Oct. 1990.

The Smith’s “Meat Is Murder” was released in February 1985. The song calls attention to the horror and unpleasantries of the meat industry. Upbeat pop was the most prominent genre of music in the 1980s, so the abhorrent imagery of the lyrics and the discomforting sounds of the song’s introduction contrast with the usually fun and pleasant songs that were popular at the time. In the mid 1970s, overall meat consumption peaked; however, it began to decrease as health and environmental issues associated with meat consumption were being brought to light (Haspel). Some scientists in the 1970s began “linking red meat to cancer,” and the International Agency for Research on Cancer eventually placed processed meats in the same category as smoking and asbestos in terms of how harmful they could be (Haspel). At the same time, vegetarianism was beginning to gain some traction and become more known. While it was still often seen as another “weirdo protest of the head generation against mom-and-apple-pie-ism,” many people were beginning to reject societal norms and didn’t mind being seen as weird or different (Zaraska). This emergence of vegetarianism and dismay of the meat industry is reflected in “Meat Is Murder.”

The song begins with whirring noises and cow sounds, similar to what one might hear in a slaughterhouse. Throughout the song, lead singer Morrissey emphasizes the beauty and innocence of the animals and the violence of their deaths. In an interview, Morrissey equated eating animals to paedophilia, as they are “both rape, violence, [and] murder” (Kennedy). This relates to Hall’s concept of encoding and decoding, which states that the two processes are partially autonomous, so meanings may be misunderstood or interpreted differently (99-100). The unpleasantness of the lyrics and instrumentation are encoded as parallels to the unpleasantness of the meat industry. Although the unpleasantness of the song is meant to mirror and bright to light the violence and horror of the meat industry, it might just overshadow the song’s meaning to some listeners. This song also relates to Hebdige’s concept of hegemony, which refers to a dominant culture shaped by coercion and consent (366). Morrissey is criticizing the hegemony of meat eaters and challenges their view of the meat industry and their food.

Gabrielle Keh

915179136

Sources:

Hall, Stuart. “Encoding, decoding.” The Cultural Studies Reader. Edited by Simon During, Routledge, pp. 99-100.

Haspel, Tamar. “The decline of the (red) meat industry - in one chart.” Fortune, 10 November 2015, http://fortune.com/2015/10/27/red-meat-consumption-decline/.

Hebdige, Dick. “From culture to hegemony.” The Cultural Studies Reader. Edited by Simon During, Routledge, pp. 366.

Kennedy, Maev. “Morrissey: eating meat is the same as paedophilia.” The Guardian, 3 January 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/03/morrissey-eating-meat-paedophilia-smiths.

The Smiths. Lyrics to “Meat Is Murder.” Genius, https://genius.com/The-smiths-meat-is-murder-lyrics.

Zaraska, Marta. “This Is Why Vegetarianism Didn’t Catch on Until Recently.” Time, 2 March 2016, http://time.com/4220270/vegetarianism-history-meathooked/.

Spencer Helvig- Blog Post #2

“Jeremy”- Pearl Jam

While Pearl Jam has an array of fantastic songs that I grew up listening to and adoring, it was only recently that one of their most popular hits, “Jeremy,” started to truly captivate my attention as its message concerns an issue that seemingly becomes more relevant to our society by the day: the prevalence of school shootings in America today.

The song itself was written in 1992 in response to two different school shooters/suicides in the 1990’s. The first one and the focal point of this song is “Jeremy” Delle-- a neglected son and frequently bullied high school student who shot himself in front of his classmates. Upon arriving late to class one day, he was asked to leave and return with a tardy slip. “Instead, he returned with {a}gun, police said. He walked directly to the front of the classroom. ‘Miss, I got what I really went for,’ he said, then placed the barrel in his mouth and fired” (Bobbi Miller & Annette Nevins). The second shooting that influenced the creation of this song was carried out by a former classmate of Pearl Jam’s singer/songwriter Eddie Vedder, who was impacted dramatically by this event and draws several parallels between this shooting and the one performed by Jeremy Delle in the song.

As previously mentioned, both of the violent acts which inspired Eddie Vedder to write “Jeremy” took place during the early 1990’s-- the years, according to a study performed by esteemed Criminology professor James Fox, during which the number of school shootings were the highest in American history. In comparison with the number of these events today, Fox claims, “‘There is not an epidemic of school shootings’... noting that there were four times as many children shot and killed in schools in the early 1990s as today” (Zaid Jilani). As one might gather from the information present in the study, It is important to recognize that the time period of the 1990’s and the many shootings that took place during it not only influenced/sparked the creation of “Jeremy” in 1992, but it is also largely responsible for its widespread popularity.

Within the lyrics of the song itself, Hegemony and Subjectification work together to offer listeners another perspective on the matter of school shootings and to steer away from dehumanizing the shooters:

Clearly I remember picking on the boy

Seemed a harmless little fuck

But we unleashed a lion

Gnashed his teeth and bit the recess lady's breast

The main hegemonic culture and beliefs surrounding school shooters today is that they’re crazy or evil-hearted people; however, and as Vedder’s encoded message suggests, there is often more to the story behind the lives of those who carry out school shootings, such as ignored mental illness, familial neglect, and abuse. Vedder’s masterpiece attempts to expose how wrong the hegemonic assumption truly is and to show that like both of the people that became his character “Jeremy,” the subjectification, suppression, and oppression of normal human beings often transforms them into something unrecognizable.

Works Cited:

Miller, Bobbi, and Annette Nevins. “Richardson Teen-Ager Kills Himself in Front of Classmates.” Five Horizons: Articles, LA Times 11/20/94, 1991, www.fivehorizons.com/songs/aug99/jeremy_article.shtml.

Jilani, Zaid. “School Shootings Have Declined Dramatically Since the 1990s. Does It Really Make Sense to Militarize Schools?” The Intercept, 1 Mar. 2018, theintercept.com/2018/03/01/school-shooting-statistics-parkland-florida/.

Blog Post #2, Morgan Polterock

The song I want to discuss is “Do Right Woman, Do right Man” by Aretha Franklin. This song was recorded and released in 1967 by Atlantic Records which was and still is located in New York City. During this time period the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voter Rights Act of 1965 were passed that proceeded to outlaw discrimination based on race, religion, sex or national origin for voting, schools, employment and public settings. These laws were key factors towards the push against racial injustice, but they did not successfully prohibit discrimination of African-Americans in total. Around this time, many African-Americans would start peaceful protests or go on strike to stand up for their rights that were not always acknowledged by white people. For instance, during 1969 the University of North Carolina Food Workers Strike lasted for almost a year and fought against mistreatment of colored food workers. Being an African-American during this time period meant that on average they made half the money and were twice as likely to be unemployed compared to a white person. (Digital,1) Therefore, even though the laws were established, African-Americans were still mistreated.

For black women during this time period life was especially difficult. Along with racial discrimination, they had even more cultural, sexual and political issues because they were female. The objectification of African-American women was unacknowledged by the white-dominated feminist movement. These women had concerns and issues that the feminist community would ignore in despite of their race. In result, black female artists started to create blues songs about the sexual, cultural and political problems during that time period to raise awareness. Aretha Franklin was a key blues artist that voiced black female’s opinions to the world. One source describes the victims Franklin sang about, “Who were controlled or taken for granted by the men in their lives. Who fought for equal pay and economic independence. And who kept striving despite the systemic sexism that dogged their hopes and dreams.” (Hinds) She was an icon for females across the nation that struggled with inequality and sexism and her music will remain previllient for years to come.

In her song “Do Right Woman, Do right Man”, Franklin describes life being trapped under a male’s power. She sings, “Take me for granted,leaving love unsure...Makes willpower weak...And temptation strong”, and, “She’s not just a play thing...She’s flesh and blood just like her man.” This song’s sad plea to be treated right by a man shines light on how women are treated in romantic relationships. She encoded the song’s meaning to be about male dominance in relationships, and it was decoded by women when they related to it from their dehumanizing experiences from men and the society. An article stated, “Her febrile demands for respect and understanding chimed with counter-culture calls for equality..” (Beaumont) This African-American female community who preached their rights and demanded for respect was a subculture of a culture where men were believed to be above females and that black feminist thought was not valued in society. Women’s blues allows African-American women a voice to advocate their rights and demands while forever changing the way our society is today.

Works Cited:

Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3323.

Hinds, Julie. “Aretha Franklin's Empowering Songs Demanded Respect, Gave a Voice to Female Fans.” Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press, 16 Aug. 2018, www.freep.com/story/life/music/2018/08/16/aretha-franklin-dies-respect-feminist-empowered-women/1010110002/.

Beaumont, Mark. “Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018: an Icon for Feminism, the Civil Rights Movement and the Greatest Soul Singer of Her Generation.” NME, NME, 16 Aug. 2018, www.nme.com/blogs/aretha-franklin-1942-2018-icon-feminism-civil-rights-movement-greatest-soul-singer-generation-2366941.

BLOG POST 2

Andrew Peters, AMS Section 6

Yankee Doodle was first written in 1755 during the French and Indian war by British army doctor, Richard Schuckburg, with the intent to mock the British colonists by calling them ‘Doodle,’ or simpleton, and claiming they were so unfashionable that they thought putting a simple feather in a hat was equivalent to fine Italian fashion, or Macaroni. The song is a clear product of the time it was written, as the French and Indian war marked a turning point where British rulers began implementing more intrusive policies. “Under the terms of the Proclamation of 1763…colonists were not allowed to settle here or trade with the Indians…The essence of the policy was to maintain British control” (Baack 1). This would only be one in a series of acts that saw the British government infringe upon colonial autonomy, making colonists poorer and more restricted. “Domestic taxes had been raised substantially during the war…Furthermore, the British had decided in 1763 to place a standing army of 10,000 men in North America” (Baack 1). Tensions rose, resulting in the popularity of many songs attacking the other side, with Yankee Doodle seeing use by both sides. By the time these tensions turned violent, “[Yankee Doodle] was well known in the colonies...After the patriot colonists soundly defeated the British soldiers, it was often said that they sung ‘Yankee Doodle’ to mock the retreating redcoats” (Lehrman 1). This event meant the song would be known mainly for its use by the colonies against the British, rather than vice versa.

The underlying melody’s nebulous origin may have increased Doodle’s popularity among revolutionaries. After research, the 1887 New York Times found “the number of different accounts of its[the melody’s] origin...are simply bewildering,”(New York Times 6), leaving the melody unauthorized and without a clear homeland. This is likely a cause in the song’s popularity, as the colonists could use it to distance themselves from European culture. It was far from the only song re-worked by the colonists, but the other songs remained clear parodies overshadowed by their British counterparts. “God save the King” became “Let Freedom Ring” and “British Grenadiers” became “Free America”, but “Yankee Doodle” remained “Yankee Doodle”, allowing itself to become one of the first patriotic American songs that was distinguishable as American, which was instrumental in forming a novel cultural identity.

Finally, Doodle enjoys the benefits of being less overt than other patriotic songs. As said by sociologist Dick Hebdige in his essay “From Culture to Hegemony”, “the challenge to cultural hegemony that subcultures represent is not issued directly by them. Rather, it is expressed obliquely, in style”(Hebdige 367). Other songs that expressed revolutionary opinion, like “Free America,” would feature more direct lyrics in such lines as “blast the venal sycophants/who dare our rights betray” (traditional). Yankee Doodle, on the other hand, retains the subtlety of a song that is apparently inoffensive towards British cultural hegemony, yet in its contextual use, ironically became a patriotic hymn rallying the colonies against British rule.

“YANKEE DOODLE.". (1887, Aug 19). New York Times (1857-1922), https://search.proquest.com/docview/94504849?accountid=14505

“The Origins of Yankee Doodle.” Gilderlehrman.org, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2013, www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inlinepdfs/Origins%20of%20Yankee%20Doodle.pdf.

Baack, Ben. “Economics of the American Revolutionary War”. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. November 13, 2001 (updated August 5, 2010), http://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-economics-of-the-american-revolutionary-war/

Hebdige, Dick. “From Culture to Hegemony.” The Cultural Studies Reader, Edited by Simon During. Translated by Richard Nice, 1993, pp. 357–367.

Alice Mathew

I chose “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. This song was produced in Brooklyn in 2007, and the chorus features children from Brixton, UK. M.I.A is a British rapper from Sri Lanka. Her father was a revolutionary in the 26 year-long civil war within Sri Lanka; the war-torn nature of Sri Lanka is showcased in the chorus’ gunshots. The song discusses the refugee crisis that was produced by the Sri Lanka civil war. It mocks the American perception of refugees of third world countries, and immigrants in general, as violent leeches that seek only to do damage and steal from the countries that provide them asylum:

“Third world democracy

Yeah, I've got more records than the KGB

So, uh, no funny business

Are you ready all?

Some some some I some I murder

Some I some I let go”

In 2007, both the US and the UK maintained strict immigration sentiments. Attempts at immigration reform in the US in 2005 and 2006 failed due to lack of agreement between Democrats and Republicans (Higgins & Somodevilla). The UK Borders Act of 2007 aimed to crack down on undocumented immigrants living in the UK and included provisions that allowed the government to require children to carry identification and gave immigration officers search and seizure powers (UK Borders Act 2007). M.I.A herself was not allowed access to the US in 2005 due to her politically controversial lyrics.

M.I.A’s lyrics are counter-hegemonic in nature, criticizing the dominating ultra-capitalist and apathetic American perspective on immigration:

“All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)

And a (click, ka-ching)

And take your money”

Despite wars ravaging third world countries and driving refugees out, citizens of first world countries like the US and the UK maintain xenophobic sentiments in fear of losing their jobs and money. M.I.A was very insistent on keeping the gunshots in the chorus for the VMA’s, chastising MTV when they censored them for her 2007 performance (Buskirk). The gunshots are polysemous: symbolizing both the perception of immigrants as violent and the wars that forced the same immigrants out of their countries. These terms allow for a more insightful decoding of the song and its criticism of dominating xenophobia and egocentric nationalism.

When “Paper Planes” was released, rap songs like “Stronger” by Kanye West as well as punk-pop songs like “Thnks fr th Mmrs” by Fall Out Boy were popular. Both these genres influenced “Paper Planes.” Rap is intrinsically political; some of Kanye West’s old music was very racially charged. M.I.A is a very political rapper; in fact, she claims her song “Borders-” which again criticizes the Western World’s perception of asian immigrants- did not receive an MTV nomination despite receiving critical praise because of the song’s controversial content. In addition, “Paper Planes” sampled “Straight to Hell” by The Clash- a punk rock song. Punk-rock epitomizes the counter-hegemonic attitudes M.I.A emulates in “Paper Planes.”

Works Cited

Arulpragasam, Mathangi. “Paper Planes.” Kala., XL Recordings Ltd, 2007, track 11. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/track/1kusepF3AacIEtUTYrw4GV

Buskirk, Eliot Van. “M.I.A. Blasts MTV for Censoring ‘Paper Planes’ Video.” Wired, Conde Nast, 18 Dec. 2007, www.wired.com/2007/12/mia-blasts-mtv/.

Candela, Miguel, and Zigor Aldama. “The Scars of Sri Lanka's Civil War.” GCC News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 6 June 2016, www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/12/scars-sri-lanka-civil-war-151221062101569.html.

Higgins, Sean, and Somodevilla, Chip. “Why Immigration Reform Didn't Happen in 2007.” Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2012, www.washingtonexaminer.com/why-immigration-reform-didnt-happen-in-2007#!

Kenny, Glenn. “Review: 'Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.' Melds a Rapper's Music and Activism.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/movies/matangi-maya-mia-review-.html.

Lamont, Tom. “MIA: Is the Musician Paranoid, or Is Everyone out to Get Her?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Sept. 2016, www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/11/mia-is-the-musician-paranoid-or-is-everyone-out-to-get-her.

Thompson, Ben. “MIA's Paper Planes Turns Globalisation inside Out.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 June 2011, www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/mia-paper-planes.

“UK Borders Act 2007.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 19 Jan. 2009, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2008/dec/16/uk-borders-act.

By Shawn Leano

Giving context to Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry,” especially the final line “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street when gang banging make me kill a n***a blacker than me? Hypocrite!” the relationship between African Americans and authority figures such as police, at the time of the song’s creation, was shaky to say the least. Back in February 2012, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, whose trial later found him innocent. Trayvon did not stand alone as the only African American killed in this fashion; within the time period between Trayvon Martin’s death and Kendrick’s song’s release, Jordan Davis, Remisha McBride, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice were all killed by police, of which, only the police responsible for McBride’s and Davis’s deaths were sent to prison (Capehart).

Amid this turmoil rose the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, a collective that fights discriminatory tendencies of American society. Kendrick’s song consists mainly of counter-hegemonic themes that compliment the beliefs of the BLM; lines like “Institutionalized manipulation and lies, reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes” shame America for shoehorning African Americans under economic stress and social scrutiny, making it nearly impossible for them to succeed (systematic oppression). Although America claims “freedom and justice for all,” Kendrick suggests that this only holds true in the eyes of those in power. The “system” isn’t new. In fact, it has already seen a revolt in the recent past.

With the line “Burn baby burn, that’s all I wanna see,” he references the 1965 Watts Riots which claimed the motto “Burn Baby Burn.” These riots erupted after a violent altercation between step-brothers Marquette and Ronald Frye and the police during a drunk driving arrest. Spanning 6 days, participants turned a 50 square mile area in Los Angeles into a warzone with “sniper fire at police and Guardsmen, police raids on vehicles and apartments, and Molotov cocktails (History).” In the eyes of Kendrick, tensions between African American communities and the police are reaching a breaking point akin to that of the past. The phrase “that’s all I wanna see,” speaks in the perspective of the rioters, suggesting that those who incited violence under the guise of racial outrage during the recent riots are willing to reach extremes, going as far as to wage war with the authority.

As discussed in the previous blog post, however, Kendrick approaches the topic differently, not allowing the initial outrage dictate his perspective on the matter. With the final line of the song, the rapper takes note of the contradictory existence of rampant black-on-black crime in America, hoping to redirect the passion ignited from these tragedies inward in order to better the black community. Unfortunately, this was not the moral received by listeners as many interpreted the twist at the end as a justification of the killer’s actions (Barnes). Kendrick addresses these concerns in an MTV interview discussed in the previous blog.

WORK CITED

Barnes, Tom. “Kendrick Lamar Explains His Most Controversial Lyric.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., 29 Dec. 2015, mic.com/articles/131420/kendrick-lamar-explains-the-trayvon-martin-lyric-that-caused-so-much-controversy-this-year#.6DOERjKDH.

Capehart, Jonathan. “From Trayvon Martin to 'Black Lives Matter'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Feb. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/02/27/from-trayvon-martin-to-black-lives-matter/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fb22fc9dd729.

“Watts Riots.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots.

Shradha Singh

For this post, I chose to focus on the song "Top of the World" also by the Carpenters. Like the previous song I focused on, "We've Only Just Begun," this song features the same use of the major key the group was infamous for, as well as the same light tone and upbeat melody that marked many of their love songs. The lyrics themselves are also extremely happy and enthusiastic, with expressions like "I'm on top of the world," reinforcing the overall theme of happiness and contentment that permeates the song. However, while the music itself is extremely serene, the time in which it was recorded, the 1970s, was far from tranquil.

Following the tumult of the 1960s, and the rise of the hippie counterculture, the 1970s was a decade in which members of this group attempted to solidify these values amidst an increasingly conservative political climate. The Vietnam War, begun in the 50s and 60s was vastly unpopular, with US morale all but collapsing, civil rights related groups such as the Black Panthers were popping up in the news regularly in relations to violent encounters with local and federal governments, and the second wave of feminism was in full swing, all coinciding with the beginning of Richard Nixon's presidency. The younger members of society, vastly disillusioned by evidence of such social injustices turned increasingly to music that reflected the same intensity and criticism that they felt, such as the heavy metal produced by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (Pearlin). On the other hand, the dominant culture made up of older, middle-class professionals gravitated towards wholesome content that exhibited nostalgia for the 50s and 60s idealization of the domestic family unit.

It was in this latter category that groups such the Carpenters made their mark, distributing happy love songs in the genre of soft rock to offset the heavier, louder volume associated with the hard rock subgenre. But with the Carpenters, it wasn't just the music that intrigued their audiences. Their image, as a brother-sister duo, who had grown up happily in the suburbs even as they struggled in their lower middle-class existence, appealed to the conservative concept that hard work could inevitably lead to success (Nolan). Their backstory reinforced these hegemonic ideals of the American Dream and "bootstraps philosophy," and eventually became assumed to not just be a manufactured product of the performing unit, but in fact a reality of their personal existence. Just as their music was considered prime material for "elevator music" (Schmidt 8), light, pleasant, and humdrum, so too were the pair considered and at times expected to conform to standards of typified social and gender stereotypes.

Nolan, Tom. "The Carpenters: Up From Downey." Rolling Stone, 06 July 1974. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music- news/the-carpenters-up-from-downey-189063/

Pearlin, Jeffrey. "A Brief History of Metal." Metal.mit.edu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014. https://metal.mit.edu/brief-history-metal.

Schmidt, Randy. Little Girl Blue: the Life of Karen Carpenter. Chicago Review Press, 2010.

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