READING MUSIC
This Study Guide prepared by:
Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Elaine Bontempi,
M.Ed.
Catherine Kerley
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this chapter, the learner will be able to
1. Differentiate between pop music and rock music, "cheese" and "camp";
2. Describe examples of various types of rock music, and explain why they were popular;
3. Write about various examples of how nonblack artists "borrowed" or stole the music of black Americans;
4. Understand how and why rock trends connect with an entire generation of listeners;
5. Describe the cultural values embedded in or communicated by rock and popular music.
Kevin J.H. Dettmar and William Richey,
"Musical Cheese: The Appropriation of Seventies Music in Nineties Movies" Reading
Rock and Roll.
Author Biography
Kevin J.H. Dettmar is a professor and chair of the
Department of English at Southern Illinois University,
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read
Define camp and give three
examples. What is camp often associated with?
Why?
After You Read
Would you consider surfer music as used in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction to be a good example of "cheese"? Why or why not? Rent the movie and make notes of the scenes when surfer music is being used. How is it disjunctive?
Web Links
Reading Rock & Roll: Authenticity, Appropriation, Aesthetics. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023111/0231113986.HTM
Kevin J.H. Dettmar’s homepage. http://www.siu.edu/departments/english/gradfaculty/dettmar.html
History of Rock ‘n’ Roll. http://www.history-of-rock.com/
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. http://www.rockhall.com/
Pop Music. http://www.pop-music.com/
Billboard magazine. http://www.billboard.com/billboard/index.jsp
Author Biography.
Dave Marsh currently edits Rock 'n' Roll Confidential. He is a former editor of Creem and Rolling Stone music magazines. He has written several music books, including two on Bruce Springsteen and one on The Who. On a list of the Top 1001 Music Critics Ever, he would rank in the Top 10, sometimes at No. 1.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read
What is the
"message" in Chuck Berry's music?
Why was it so popular?
After You Read
What made Chuck
Web Links
Chuck Berry.
Mr. Rock ‘n Roll.
Chuck Berry.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/berry.htm
Lyrics.
http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/english/chuck_berry/summer.htm
mp3s.
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/card/0,,403695,00.html
The
Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," by Rian Malan (+race) Rolling Stone May 25,
2000 i841 p54(1)
Author Biography.
When faced with the crucial
rite-of-passage question of the South African fifties-born male--what do I do
about the army?--Rian Malan
actually left. He went to
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read
Do you think it matters very much if someone "borrows" a song from what they consider to be a folk source or a hymn, and then does not bother to try to find the original musician to pay him/her royalties? Why? Why not?
After You Read
In an interview, Elton John told his interviewer that his songs "are hymns" and the "Elton John sound is based on hymns." What would happen if someone were able to trace the hymn that corresponded to "Goodbye Norman Jean" or the one that corresponded to "Rocket Man," and so forth? Should Elton John pay? How much?
Web Links
The Tokens Homepage.
The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
http://www.trellis.net/users/gstarcher/tokens.htm
Lyrics.
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/lionslp.htm
The Tokens.
http://www.tsimon.com/tokens.htm
Who Are the Tokens?
The
Beatles, "I am the Walrus," by Ian MacDonald Revolution in the
Head: Beatles
Recordings and the Sixties. Fourth Estate; ISBN: 1857020995: 1998.
Author Biography.
Ian MacDonald is a musicologist and the author of Revolution in the Head: Beatles Recordings and the Sixties.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read
When you think of The Beatles, do you think of LSD-inspired songs? Does the idea of a drug-inspired song seem as progressive today as it might have in the 1960s? Why or why not?
After You Read
Some critics consider "I am the Walrus" to be one of the most brilliant rock songs ever written. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Web Links
The Beatles.
http://www.thebeatles.com/top.html
The Beatles Ultimate Experience.
http://www.geocities.com/~beatleboy1/
Songs, Pictures, and Stories.
The Beatles on Abbey Road.
http://webhome.idirect.com/~faab/AbbeyRoad/
Strawberry Fields Forever: Putting Together the Pieces. http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/strawberry-fields.html
Robert
Shelton. Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone," No Direction Home. New York: Da Capo, 1997.
Author Biography.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
1. According to Johnston, working with Bob Dylan
in the studio
a. is
easy because he’s very professional.
b. is difficult because he’s not very
professional.
c. is stressful.
d. is very preplanned.
2. Bob Dylan has been said to be very
a. whimsical.
b. intense.
c. moody.
d. picky.
3. Dylan had little sympathy for those who
a. dropped out of school.
b. did drugs.
c. hadn’t
fought the easy life.
d. rebelled against authority.
4. In "Like a Rolling Stone," Bob
Dylan refers to school as
a. an academic institution.
b. prison life.
c.
life.
d. none of the above.
5. Bob Dylan refers
to a school girl as
a. a female attending an academic institution.
b. a feminine male.
c. someone
afraid to step into the mainstream.
d. a sissy.
6. "Like a Rolling Stone" seems to
a. applaud the bourgeois.
b. talk about a loss of innocence.
c. applauds non-conformity.
d. apply
to b and c only.
7. Musically, "Like a Rolling Stone"
a. has a
splendid progression of chords.
b. has a sense of rehearsal.
c. was recorded in two takes.
d. is none of the above.
8. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded
after
a. one
take.
b. two takes.
c. three takes.
d. several weeks.
9. When Bob Dylan asked people to play with him
in "Like a Rolling Stone," he told
them to play
a. any way they felt was best.
b. in a sympathetic overtone.
c. his
way only.
d. loud.
10. The guitarist who played on "Like a
Rolling Stone" was
a. Bob Dylan.
b. Keith Richards.
c. Alice Cooper.
d. Mike
Bloomfield.
Before You Read
There are a few rock songs that seem to define the very essence of rock music. Name a few and explain their significance.
After You Read
"Like a Rolling Stone" is about the loss of innocence and the harshness of experience. Can you think of other songs that are about the same theme? How are they the same or different than "Like a Rolling Stone"?
Web Links
bobdylan.com
Bringing it all Back.
http://www.punkhart.com/dylan/
Lyrics.
http://orad.dent.kyushu-u.ac.jp/dylan/song.html
The Critical Corner.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/6752/
The
Michael
Azerrad.
Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Come As You Are.
Author Biography.
[Kurt Cobain] I grew up in New York State. When I was seven, entranced by the three tom-tom thumps that announce the chorus of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," I started playing drums in rock bands. My first rock concert was Three Dog Night--my grandfather took me. I got into punk rock on May 8, 1977, the day I got both Television's Marquee Moon and Talking Heads '77; that summer, a friend came back from a vacation in England with a big pile of singles by bands like the Clash, the Sex Pistols and the Damned. My life was never the same. Then I went to college in New York City, where I got a degree in Latin, a language that has served me in good stead in my professional life in many ways. After goofing off for a few years I eventually blundered into rock journalism, and wound up writing a couple hundred articles for Rolling Stone while writing for MTV News and a bunch of other magazines. A professional highlight was interviewing Ray Charles on the phone and making him laugh. Then I wrote Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, published in 1993. After a satisfying foray into the dot.com side of things, I started writing my current book, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991. Now I'm thinking about what book to write next.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
1.
According to the article, the editor for
Rip magazine, Lonn
Friend, had a fetish with
a. guitars previously owned by famous musicians
.
b. half
naked pictures with stars.
c. female vocalists.
d. lead singers.
2. Kurt Cobain felt that meeting with the editor
from Rip magazine was
a. prostitution.
b. insulting.
c. exciting.
d. an honor.
3. Rip
magazine
a. published a promotional article for Nirvana.
b. didn’t
support Nirvana until later.
c. criticized Nirvana.
d. hailed Kurt Cobain as an upcoming idol.
4. “Oldsters” called Kurt’s lyrics
a. angry.
b. deep.
c. hollow.
d. incoherent.
5. Most of Kurt’s lyrics came from
a. the band members’ poetry.
b. classical literature.
c. Kurt’s
poetry.
d. brainstorming with band members after
partying.
6. In his songwriting, Kurt deals with
a. synonyms.
b. antonyms.
c. homonyms.
d. all of the above.
7. Kurt recognized
that the dualities in his music were reflections of
a. his relationship with his mother.
b. his relationship with Courtney Love.
c. himself.
d. his audience.
8. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" portrays
a. the
dualities of people Kurt Cobain’s age.
b. the emotions of teen romance.
c. the spirit behind high school sports.
d. teenage suicide.
9. According to the article, what do bohemians
in their early twenties do?
a. become environmental activists
b. experiment with drugs
c. have a
revolution
d. write graffiti
10. What did the Calvanist
teen revolution hope to accomplish?
a. to create and control their own culture
b. to control their own political situation
c. to rescue them from a corrupt older
generation
d. all of
the above
Before You Read
When you listen to the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit," how do you feel? What are the emotions that surge forth, and how do they mesh with the lyrics?
After You Read
When Kurt Cobain says, "I'm such a nihilistic jerk half the time and other times I'm so vulnerable and sincere," can you relate to this feeling? Why? How? Use examples drawn from your life.
Web Links
Kurt Cobain. http://www.hotshotdigital.com/WellAlwaysRemember.2/KurtCobainNote.html
What Makes a Legend Most?
http://members.aol.com/outershel/legend.html
"Smells Like Teen
Spirit."
http://www.salon.com/ent/masterpiece/2002/04/15/teen_spirit/
Rants and Raves.
http://www.vh1.com/news/rants_and_raves/lefsetz/nirvana.jhtml
Lyrics.
http://www.cosmic-kitchen.com/Songs/Nirvana/SmellsLikeTeenSpirit.html
Student Paper--Bonus Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Kurt Cobain was labeled
a. a rebel.
b. the
voice of a generation.
c. a heretic.
d. a sell out.
2. The feelings that Kurt Cobain tried to
express in "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
were
a. conflicting.
b. unclear.
c. bitter.
d. sad.
3. Nirvana was part of the _______music scene.
a. pop
b. punk rock
c. underground
d. new age
4. In 1991, Nirvana signed on with
a. RCA.
b. BMG.
c. DGC.
d.
5. Nirvana paved the way for the
_______movement.
a. New Bohemian
b. Grunge
c. Aquarius
d. Generation X
6. Kurt Cobain wanted his music to be
a. heard.
b. appreciated.
c. felt.
d. rejected.
e. a, b,
and c.
f. all of the above.
7. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" starts
out with
a. a slow ballad.
b. a piano solo.
c. a
guitar riff.
d. a double drum solo.
8. The drums, bass and guitar in "Smells
Like Teen Spirit" leave the listener
with
a
a. sad feeling.
b. angry feeling.
c. confused
feeling.
d. haunting feeling.
9. When Kurt Cobain sings about being
contagious, he’s talking about
a. AIDS.
b. being
a social outcast.
c. the flu.
d. Ebola virus.
10. Tori Amos
illustrated why "Smells Like Teen Spirit" connects with so
many
by
a. making
a cover of the song that was in direct contrast to how it was
originally
sung.
b. expressing why in an interview.
c. singing about Kurt Cobain’s success.
d. doing all of the above.
Christopher
Sieving . Ice-T, "Cop Killer," (+race) Journal of Communication Inquiry october 1998 (22: 4)
Author Biography.
Christopher Sieving is a music and film critic, and has written articles for many different journals.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
1. The song “Cop Killer” by Ice-T created a lot
of public debate because
a. it was only heard by a small minority of
Americans.
b. it protested police brutality.
c. it
constituted an exhortation to kill police officers.
d. it told the story of the
2. Ice-T’s experience and his “black knowledge”
of the policing in
a. caused the
b. entered
into contestation with white power.
c. was used as evidence in the Rodney King
trial.
d. led to a banning of his videos.
3. The first album recorded by Ice-T’s rock band
was
a. Social
Inequality.
b. Street Thugz.
c. Body Count.
d. Screamin’ Streets.
4. On
a. Disney
b. Six
Flags
c. MGM studio
d.
5. What contributed to the targeting of “Cop
Killer” by conservative forces?
a. the fear that it would incite murder
b. the growing white hostility towards rap
c. the equation of black crime with black
culture
d. all of
the above
6. What influenced Ice-T’s decision to pull
"Cop Killer" from his album?
a. threats made by Time Warner
b. threats made by Ice-T’s daughter
c. threats made by Ice-T’s wife
d. a and
b only
7. It has been argued that "Cop Killer"
a. has different meanings when the lyrics are
taken out of context.
b. has different meanings when read by different
people.
c. could be beneficial to society.
d. has a
and b only.
8. One way that "Cop Killer" was
fought was through
a. racism.
b. deracialization.
c. demonstrations.
d. all of the above.
9. Another way that "Cop Killer" was
fought was through
a. decontextualization.
b. media.
c. politics.
d. all of
the above.
10. Doug Elder, the president of the
when
mixed with _____, would unleash a reign of terror in communities
across
the nation.
a. hot summer days
b. violence
c. drugs
d. all of the above
Before You Read
According to his publicist, "Ice-T not only invented
gangster rap, he has lived it. Ice-T is
the original embodiment of LA Hip-Hop.
Through his music, his book [The
Ice Opinion,
After You Read
How does the author suggest that Ice-T deracializes black rage? Does it make sense for members of the privileged groups to relate to black rage, except as to appropriate it as their own and project it onto normal teenage angst, rebellion, and needs for separation? Explore the possibilities and make connections to your own experience, using examples from your own life.
Web Links
MC Ice-T: The Official I-T Site.
http://www.mcicet.com/
Ice-T Speaks: Official Interview.
http://www.daveyd.com/iceprops.html
Rolling Stone Artists: Ice-T.
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/default.asp?oid=808
Biography of Ice-T by His Publicist
for Speaking Engagements. Ice-T's Fee: $5,000-$10,000.
http://www.kepplerassociates.com/ice_t.htm
Musicians Speak Out on Global
Affairs.
http://www.spitfiretour.org/icet.html
Official Site.
http://www.backstreetboys.com/fanclub/default.asp
MTV.com - Backstreet Boys. http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/backstreet_boys/artist.jhtml
Anti-Backstreet Zone. https://www.angelfire.com/mo/everybody/
How to Tell the Backstreet Boys
and Nsync Apart.
http://teenmusic.about.com/c/ht/00/07/How_Tell_Backstreet_Boys0962935098. htm
Backstreet Boys Parodies. https://www.angelfire.com/boybands/BackstreetsFlack/bsbparodies.htm
britneyspears.com http://www.britneyspears.com/home/index.php
Britney's Guide to Semiconductor
Physics. http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm
Britney Spears Playland. http://www.newgrounds.com/collections/spears.html
Behind the Music that Sucks. http://humor.about.com/library/ds/blds021901.htm
Adorable Britney. http://jupiter.spaceports.com/~beauties/adorable-britney/index3.htm
The Mystery of Britney’s Breasts. http://www.liquidgeneration.com/poptoons/britneys_breasts.asp
Wyclef Jean, "Gone Till November"
Author Biography.
Wyclef Jean--the "hip-hop Amadeus" and member of the multiplatinum recording group the Fugees--has drawn from an extraordinarily wide musical palette in assembling The Carnival. A kaleidoscopic journey through Wyclef Jean's eclectic musical interests, the album features: hip-hop appropriations of classic disco "We Trying To Stay Alive," the album's first single; an internationally-recognizable traditional song transformed into a hip-hop anthem "Guantanamera"; cutting edge rapping and scratching; four selections in French/Creole "Sang Fézi," "Jaspora," "Yelé," and the calypso-flavored "Carnival"--each has been a chart-topping hit in Wyclef's native Haiti); and a nonstop fresh blend of far-flung musical influences and streetwise poetry.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read
What do you think determines the popularity of Top-40 music? Is it the marketing, the image, or the commodification o some essential quality of the times? Explore various possibilities and illustrate them with examples.
After You Read
Do you think that pop music has the same enduring quality as rock classics, including "Like a Rolling Stone" and "I Am the Walrus"? Give reasons to support your position.
Web Links
Official Page.
Urban Music Showcase.
http://imusic.artistdirect.com/showcase/urban/wyclef.html
The Wyclef
Jean Spot.
https://members.tripod.com/nazaire1/wyclefjean/
Lyrics.
http://www.purelyrics.com/index.php?artist_detail=441
Wyclef Jean: The Ecleftic
Experience. http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2000/09/2608.cfm
Will Hermes. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP by Entertainment Weekly May 24, 2000.
Author Biography.
Will Hermes is a critic for Entertainment Weekly.
Multiple Choice Questions: Comprehension/Chapter/reading-specific
Before You Read essay question
Do you think that Eminem has ripped off black artists in the way that earlier artists did? Do you think his race is held against him?
After You Read essay question
Some have suggested that what Eminem is all about is the commodification of political incorrectness. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Web Links
Cover Girl Tori
Amos. http://nextmagazine.net/features/toriamos.shtml
Tori Amos Offers a Woman's-Eye View of Songs by Men. http://www.thedent.com/latimes070101.html
’97 Bonnie and Clyde.
http://www.lyricsstyle.com/e/eminem/97bonnieandclyde.html
Eminem and the Grammys: Rewarding Hate
and Violence? http://www.now.org/press/02-01/02-05-01.html
Eminempty.
http://www.americanewsnet.com/cmntrs/cmntrs20.htm
Visual Analysis
Answer the questions below based on the links provided.
Copyright
Casebook--Vanilla Ice, David Bowie and Queen.
http://www.benedict.com/audio/vanilla/vanilla.asp
1. Listen to the songs back to back--Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby" and Queen's "Under Pressure." Can you hear the similarity? Have other songs by Queen become appropriated in similar or dissimilar ways ("Another One Bites the Dust" and "We Are the Champions" come to mind) in advertising, by football teams' marching bands, or at sports events?
2. In a techno world of sampling and sharing of ideas, how can one not sample? Explore the idea that musical borrowings, image borrowings, language and fashion are all part of the polyphony of life and culture, and that we live in a collage, not a nearly organized reality, so such things are natural. The question becomes: When is someone claiming that something is his/her intellectual property (when it has clearly been sstolen), and when is the appropriation used for personal gain, without giving credit to the originators? Vanilla Ice committed a most egregious violation--he did not cite his sources!!
Copyright
Casebook - ZZ Top and John Lee Hooker
http://www.benedict.com/audio/zztop/zztop.asp
Essay
Questions:
1. This is yet another example of the shameless
thieving by predominantly white, mainstream musicians of African American
musicians' songs, riffs, lyrics, and attitude.
On the one hand, they are popularizing and mainstreaming something that
was, at one time, very much on the fringe.
However, shouldn't there be some sort of attribution, and then shouldn't
the borrowers share the royalties and fees?
What do you think? Take a
position and argue it.
2. Lists five white musicians who have been
heavily influenced by black music.
Describe their music and their influences, and also provide a profile of
their audience. Did they make
modifications along the way to heighten the appeal to their audience? What was it, and how did they do it?
http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/milli_vanilli/artist.jhtml
Essay
Questions
1. Ah, yes, the infamous Milli
Vanilli! Was
their crime so heinous? When should they
have admitted that they were a fashion statement and part of a hype machine for
a music video-driven mainstream market?
Express your opinions. By the
way--here's a thought. According to Behind the Music, when the two first started
performing as Milli Vanilli,
Rob did not speak English (only German), and Fabrice
spoke French (not English). Hmmm. How did they communicate?
2. What would you do? Imagine that a German producer asked you to
perform and be the front person for a collection of studio mix-meisters and an absolutely nonvideogenic
lead singer? You would become famous and
would get to lead the life of a rock star.
How could you say "no"?
Would there be anything you would refuse to do or wear?
https://members.tripod.com/boygeorgefan/id60.htm
Essay Questions:
1. Analyze Boy George's "look." In what ways is he doing the fashion equivalent of sampling? List the various culture, gender, and fashion "samplings" that make his look a pastiche of juxtapositions, a walking collage. What is this saying about his ideas about labels, categories, and contemporary life?
2. Boy George has changed his look in recent years. Do you think his old "look" would still be valid for the 2000s? If you wished to portray a multicultural look, what would you include?
http://www.absolutely.net/love/pic27.htm
http://www.absolutely.net/love/
Essay Questions
1. How does Courtney Love simultaneously reinforce and undermine gender stereotypes surrounding "girl groups"? Refer to specific elements in the image to support your answer.
Read and Respond
Please visit the following sites and respond to the discussion question.
Milli Vanilli and the Scapegoating of the Inauthentic. Bad Subjects. November 1993. http://eserver.org/bs/09/Friedman.html
Milli Vanilli Overview Articles. http://www.crapfromthepast.com/millivanilli/overview.htm
Ebony magazine. Interview with Milli Vanilli in 1990. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/6448/before.html
Discussion Question
How did you respond when you first heard the tragic saga of Milli Vanilli--two dancers who were recruited to lip-sync, create music videos, and be the "fronts" for what amounted to a studio production in a pseudo pop-music factory in Germany? What was their major transgression? Do you think that there is anything unusual about this--after all, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and others do not always sing the songs attributed to them, and such DJs as Paul Oakenfold simply mix tracks. Describe your reactions, your thoughts, your judgments.
Destinations.
Rolling Stone
Magazine.
Origins of Rock Music.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860763.html
Music Styles.
http://www.allmusic.com/mus_Styles.html
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 500
songs that shaped rock and roll.
http://www.rockhall.com/exhibitions/permanent.asp?id=658
Rave: Inside 90s Counterculture.
http://www.thedailycamera.com/extra/rave/
Promoting Women in Rock Music.
Bikini Kill--Riot Grrl Music.
http://www.techsploitation.com/socrates/riot.music.html
http://www.columbia.edu/~rli3/music_html/bikini_kill/bikini.html
Riot Grrrl
Retrospective.
http://www.emplive.com/explore/riot_grrrl/index.asp
Stephen Amico.
“Gay Men, House Music, and the Trope of Masculinity.” http://www.utu.fi/hum/historia/kh/iaspm/amico.htm
Dead Musician Directory.
http://elvispelvis.com/fullerup.htm
“Elvis Speaks in Tongues.” Did
Elvis steal black music? http://wlt4.home.mindspring.com/musica/elvis-theft.htm
“Courtney Love Does the Math.”
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/