Watch Me Now!

Throughout the course of this class we took a journey through popular music and its many dimensions.  We have learned some historical information in regards to music such as the evolution of the many forms of mediation. We have journeyed through the politics of popular music as well as the geographies of music (inside and out).  We also had the opportunity take a look at popular music as being taught in the educational system. We watched the Movie School of Rock with Jack Black and evaluated his approach and methods of taking a classroom and teaching them about Rock music. We also had the chance to share our creative thoughts by developing a multitude of assignments that could be used in the classroom centered on popular music. Within each lesson we had for this class, there was always a point where we either observed or acknowledged a process of evolution, so to continue wit that theme, today we are going to look at some Instructional dance songs and how things have changed over the years.

Instructional dance songs have been around for a while, since at least the 1950’s. With the success of that song, we have seen and heard many more since then. Many people discredit the artists of these songs (more particular in the hip-hop culture) because they feel that the songs are commercialized and that the artists lack creative lyricism. I must say that I am not a big fan of most of these songs, not because I don’t like them but because I am not much of a dancer. Which brings me to my point of how important these songs are to music. Whenever you hear a song you immediately want to start moving, whether it be nodding your head or taping your feet, music makes you want to move. When you go a party and there is music playing you always see people dancing (why do you think they are called school dances). Music and dances come together as one package, it is hard for one to dance if they do not have music and when music is being played it is hard for one to not dance; so it is hard to have one without the other, kind of like cereal and milk.

So what does this have to do with anything you may be asking? A lot! These artists recognized that in order for one to fully enjoy music, you have to tap into all aspects of it. You have to be able to reach each and every listener, from the person who likes to hear fresh beats to the busy body that wants to get up and move. Not only that but what about those people that love listening to music but they can’t dance because they don’t know the latest dance moves? This is where the creative lyricism (that most argued about the lack thereof) comes into the picture. You have to be extremely creative and talented to form your own dance and I credit those artists that are out there in the world that have done so. Now some of these songs/dances are not the most challenging but you have to give them credit for making an attempt. This brings me to my next point, the evolution of dance songs.

Like I mentioned earlier, instructional dance songs have been around for a while and to accompany those songs you have video footage as the tools for learning. It is one thing to hear the steps but how do you know if you are doing them correctly. Thanks to one of the evolving tools of mediation we can not only hear the song being sung but we can see the moves being performed as well. So now if I am visual learner, I can watch television and follow along as the artist is demonstrating the moves to me. This is key because with time, the dances in the songs have gotten more creative and complicated. Below is an example of how instructional dance songs have changed over time.

The first song was created and performed in the year of 1959 by an artist named Chubby Checkers. The name of the song is called the twist. The twist is a dance where it is simply twisting your body around the hips. Check out the video and lyrics below:

Chubby Checker - The Twist Lyrics

Come on baby let's do the twist

Come on baby let's do the twist

Take me by my little hand and go like this

Ee-oh twist baby baby twist

Oooh-yeah just like this

Come on little miss and do the twist

My daddy is sleepin' and mama ain't around

Yeah daddy is sleepin' and mama ain't around

We're gonna twisty twisty twisty

'Til we turn the house down

Come on and twist yeah baby twist

Oooh-yeah just like this

Come on little miss and do the twist 

Yeah you should see my little Sis

You should see my my little Sis

She really knows how to rock

She knows how to twist

Come on and twist yeah baby twist

Oooh-yeah just like this

Come on little miss and do the twist

Yeah rock on now

Yeah twist on now

Twist.

The next song takes us to the year of 1992. The song is called the Jitterbug Stroll. This is a remake of the swing dance song called the Stroll. The remake of the song allowed for it to be updated to today’s audience while allowing for new moves to be incorporated. This dances is a bit more complex than the twist because it requires more advanced steps and movements. Take a look at the old and new version of this dance with the dance steps included:

Jitterbug Stroll

first group (the first bar in every group starts with the right leg always)

Hustle forward (2 beats)

Skip back (2 beats)

Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)

Hustle forward (2 beats)

Skip back (2 beats)

Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)

Hustle forward (2 beats)

Skip back (2 beats)

Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)

Stroll Around (sometimes also called jazz pivot turn) (8 beats)

Hustle forward (2 beats)

Skip back (2 beats)

Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)

Break step (4 beats) (step right, tap left behind right, step left, tap right behind left)

Turn 90 degrees (4 beats) (step right, turn 90 degrees, step back left, step back right, step forward left)

second group

Knee slap right (2 beats)

Knee slap left (2 beats)

Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)

Knee slap right (2 beats)

Knee slap left (2 beats)

Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)

Knee slap right (2 beats)

Knee slap left (2 beats)

Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (to the left) (4 beats)

Stroll Around (same as above)

Knee slap right (2 beats)

Knee slap left (2 beats)

Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)

Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)

third group

Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)

Suzie Q right (start with left leg cross over right) (8 beats)

Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)

Stroll Around (same as above)

Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)

Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)

fourth group (last one)

Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)

Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)

Boogie back kicking with left leg (4 beats)

Tick Tock (to the left) (4 beats)

Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)

Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)

Stroll Around (same as above)

Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)

Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)

Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)

and repeat from the top

Next we have the Cha Cha slide. The song and dance was created by a Chicago DJ by the name of DJ Casper in the year of 1996. This dance is a remake of the original dance called the Electric slide. The Cha Cha slide incorporated more steps while still maintaining some of the original flavor. If you every go to a African American wedding, family reunion or any other event where family is present I can guarantee 100% that either version of this dance (if not both) will be done. It is fun and easy to learn. Here is an example of the dance both new and old with the lyrics to the new one:

Artist: Dj Casper

Title: Cha Cha Slide 

[Mr.C Talks]

 

[Mr.C]

To the left, take it back now ya’ll

1 hop this time, right foot let’s stomp

Left foot let’s stomp, Cha Cha real smooth

 

Turn it down, to the left

Take it back now ya’ll

1 hop this time, right foot let’s stomp

Left foot let’s stomp, Cha Cha now ya’ll

 

Now it’s time to get funky

To the right now, to the left

Take it back now ya’ll

1 hop this time, 1 hop this time

Right foot 2 stomps, left foot 2 stomps

Slide to the left, slide to the right

Criscross, criscross

Cha Cha real smooth

 

Let’s go to work

To the left, take it back now ya’ll

2 hops this time, 2 hops this time

Right foot 2 stomps, left foot 2 stomps

Hands on your knees, hands on your knees

Get funky with it, aahhhhhhhhhh yaaaa

Come on, Cha Cha now ya’ll

 

Turn it down, to the left

Take it back now ya’ll

5 hops this time

Right foot let’s stomp, left foot let’s stomp

Right foot again, left foot again

Right foot let’s stomp, left foot let’s stomp

 

Freeze, Everybody Clap yo hands

Come on ya’ll, check it out

How low can you go?

Can you go down low?

All the way to da floor?

How low can you go?

Can you bring it to the top?

Like it never never stop?

Can you bring it to the top?

1 hop, right foot now

Left foot now ya’ll

Cha Cha real smooth

 

Turn it down, to the left

Take it back now ya’ll

1 hop this time,1 hop this time

Reverse, Reverse

Slide to the left, slide to the right

Reverse Reverse, reverse reverse

Cha Cha now ya’ll

Cha Cha again

Cha Cha now ya’ll

Cha Cha again

Turn it down

 

To the left, that it back now ya’ll

2 hops 2 hops, 2 hops 2 hops

Right foot let’s stomp, left foot let’s stomp

Charlie Brown, hop it out now

Slide to the right, slide to the left

Take it back now ya’ll

Cha Cha now ya’ll

 

Turn it down

To the left, take it back now ya’ll

3 hops this time

Right foot now, left foot now ya’ll

Cha Cha it out

Turn it down

 

To the right, to the right ya’ll

To the left, take it back now ya’ll

4 hops this time

Right foot now now ya’ll, left foot now ya’ll

Cha Cha now ya’ll

Cha Cha again, Cha Cha again

 

Turn it down

Take it back now ya’ll

Right foot let’s stomp, left foot let’s stomp

6 hops this time

Right foot let’s stomp, left foot let’s stomp

Right foot 2 stomps, Left foot 2 stomps

Criscross, Criscross

Slide to the left, Slide to the right

Let me hear you clap yo hands

Cha Cha now, Cha Cha again

 

Turn it down

To the left, take it back now ya’ll

2 hops 2 hops, 2 hops 2 hops

Right foot 2 stomps, left foot 2 stomps

Hands on your knees, hands on your knees

Aahhhh yaaaa, get funky with it

Get down now ya’ll,

Come on, come on

Cha Cha now ya’ll

Let’s go to work 

[Mr.C Talks]

The last song was released by a young hip-hop artist by the name of Soulja Boy Tell em’. The song was released in the year of 2007 and it was called Crank Dat Soulja Boy. The song is a combo song, where the artist instructs when to do the dance moves while rapping t the same time. This song created much buzz around the country with its creativity and catchy hook “Now, Watch me You....Crank Dat Soulja Boy.” With the excitement around this dance it had everyone from little kids at birthday parties to politicians doing the dance. Check out the video and lyrics of the song below:

Crank Dat Dance lyrics

[Chorus: x2]

Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe

Watch me Crank It

Watch me Roll

Watch me Crank Dat Soulja Boy

Then Super Man Dat Hoe

Now, Watch me You....

(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)

Now, Watch me You....

(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)

Now, Watch me You....

(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)

Now, Watch me You....

(Crank Dat Soulja Boy)

[Verse 1:]

Soulja Boy Off In This Hoe

Watch me Lean And Watch Me Rock?

Super Man Dat Hoe

Then Watch me Crank Dat Robocop?

Super Fresh, Now Watch Me Jock

Jocking On Them Haterz Man

When I Do Dat Soulja Boy

I Lean To The Left And Crank Dat Dance

(Now You)

I'm Jocking On Yo Bitch Ass

And If We Get The Fightin

Then I'm Cocking On Your Bitch

You Catch Me At Yo Local Party

Yes I Crank It Everyday

Haterz Get Mad Cuz

I Got Me Some baby napes

[Chorus x2]

[Verse 2:]

I'm Bouncin On My Toe

Why Me Super Soak Dat Hoe

I'ma Pass It To Arab

Then He Gon Pass It To The Low (Low)

Haterz Wanna Be Me

Soulja Boy, I'm The Man

They Be Lookin At My Neck

Sayin Its The Rubberband Man (Man)

Why me Do It (Watch Me Do It)

Dance (Dance)

Let Get To It (Let Get To It)

Nope, You Can't Do It Like Me

Hoe, So Don't Do It Like Me

Folk, I See You Tryna Do It Like Me

Man That Shit Was Ugly

[Chorus x4]

In conclusion, music/dance is a very important part of our lives. It gives us an opportunity to express ourselves creatively while engaging others in the fun. It is a good way to relieve stress and get some sort of exercise.  As we have seen above, with the change in times, the music will change and when the music changes the dances will change with them. Let’s just hoe that the artists will keep thinking of us and showing us how to move long with it.

Pop Music as lessons pt.2

Rationale

Over the course of this class we have read some interesting things. In chapter 6 of the book Popular Music in Theory it talked a lot about geography in regards to music. One of the sections of the chapter talked about how certain music was formed, the region it came from and the cultural background of the music. Negus talks about how certain areas are known for their type of music and how this came to be. As I was searching the web for some topics I came across some article that talked about using popular culture/music in the classroom for a variety of topics. Some focused on Culture, some on Race, Class and Gender. Another article focused on using it in a foreign country as a way to learn English and there was even one that wanted to use it to learn Mathematics. These articles help to solidify that the world is ever changing and that they way we teach should be evolving with the rest of the world. From reading these articles, I have gathered some ideas of assignments that could be used in schools using popular culture and music.

Objective

            The objectives of these assignments are to have youth explore world cultures through popular world music. Students will have the opportunity to learn historical information while engaging in different musical styles that have been presented and created over time.  

Assignment 1: Geography in Music

            Taking from the articles and some of the readings, this assignment will focuses on world geography. This assignment will give students the opportunity to learn about select styles of music as well as the places they come from. It will allow students to learn about different cultures across the world. This assignment will be done individually instead of in groups. Each student will be given a selected style of music (for those that may think there may be more students than musical styles, that is impossible for there are over 1,000 styles of music) and will be charged with the following instructions:

Take the musical style that you have been given and research its history.

1. Find out where the style was developed.
   
2. Who was the creator of the musical style?
   
3. What other styles influenced the creation this style?
   
4. What social issues initiated the musical style and what issues had an impact on the style?
   
5. How did this new style impact its social environment? How did the people react to it?
   
6. Are there any dances/activities/festivals associate with this style?
   
7. How has this style changed over time?
   
8. Is this style still around today? If so, is it the same and where can it be found?
   

After the students have completed their projects, they will be giving presentations to the rest of the class. To encourage creative expression, the students will be allowed to present their information in any form they feel comfortable. They will be provided with all tools necessary to do so.

Assignment 2: Pop Culture and Health

            This next assignment will focus on health. Pop culture and pop music both have significant impacts on the dietary lifestyles that we live. Sometimes there are individuals within pop culture that display some healthy habits but more times than not we are bombarded with unhealthy negative images. Images such as constant fast food commercials or extra skinny models being displayed as the poster child of beauty. This assignment will encourage the students to dig inside of the pop culture world/music to show us what types of health messages it shows us.  The students will once again be divided into groups of 3 to 4 for this project. To make the assignment more interesting the groups will either be pro or con. The groups that are pro, will present to us the positive health messages pop culture present to us. The students that are con will focus on the negative images of health in pop culture. This will allow the students to present a case for their stance in the form of a debate, will help them to work on their public speaking as well debate skills. Once the groups have been decided they will be given the following information:

How Popular Culture/Music impact our Health

1. What is the overall message of health through?
   
2. What are some ways the message is contradicted?
   
3. What role does media play in it? (give examples)
   
4. What role does movies/television play? (give examples)
   
5. What role does music play? (give examples)
   
6. How is society affected by these messages?
   
7. How has the message changed over time?
   

Once the students have completed their projects, they will be debating with a group that will be taking the opposite stance on the issue. Only two groups will debate at any one time. Once those groups have finished their debate, the remaining students will vote on the winning team.

 

Pop Music as Lessons

Rationale

            Why is it so difficult for us to think outside of the box? When it comes to teaching new things in schools today, there is always a form of resistance. Sometimes it may be major sometimes it may minor but there is always some form at any given point. In the first blog post I did, I talked about the importance of teaching/utilizing music in the classroom. Today I am going to be suggesting two possible assignments using popular music to back up my theory. These assignments will display that one can use experiential learning methods to cover the basic subjects that schools place so much time and efforts into teaching. The subjects that will be covered in these assignments will be: history, writing, reading comprehension, social studies and help build presentation/public speaking skills. The purpose of these two assignments will be to show that traditional learning can take place in an experiential way by utilizing popular music and by the end of the post it will be visible to you.

Objective

            The objectives of these two assignments are to get the students to dissect music and find the world that is within them. The students will learn about history and social issues by studying songs and the concepts behind them. By the end of the assignments, the students should know about history and social issues outside of their own lives.

Assignment 1: Music History 101

            The assignment focuses on world history through the lens of a musician. The class will be divided into groups of 3 to 4 people. The students will be given the option to pick who they want to work with. This is key because you don’t want to place people in a group who don’t work well together. After the students pick their groups they will be given assignment as followed:

1. I will be given them a song. Each group will have a different song by a different author. The songs will vary across genres, dates in time, themes and country. The purpose for this is to give the students as much diversity as possible to allow them to further explore different types of music as well as issues that are not of their own.
   
2. The next step will be for the groups to take their song and digest/dissect it. They will be responsible for finding out the meaning of the song, what is the song talking about?  They will also be charged with finding themes and issues or hidden meanings in the songs.
   
3. Third the groups will have to do some research. They will be responsible for finding put how that song applies to what was going on at the time in that particular region. For example if the song was “Image” by John Lennon, the students would be expected to figure out what was taking place in Britain during that time to make the artist want to write that song.
   
4. The next step is for the groups to apply the song worldwide. They will take what they learned about what was going on the place of origin of the song and compare that to what was taking place in the world as a whole (was there a war, depression ect…).
   
5. The last phase of this assignment is for the groups to apply the song to today. The groups will be posed with the question “if that artist were to write that song today, what would it sound like?”  After they would have though about the question, they will have to re-write the song in relation to today.
   

This will be a project that the groups would have some weeks to work on to give them adequate time to research and prepare. After the projects are completed, the groups will be responsible for sharing/teaching this information to the rest of the class. They will also have to perform their songs as well.  At the end of the presentations, the groups will evaluate one another and the final grades will be based off their evaluations and the presentation.

Assignment 2: Music as a Social Influence

            This next assignment is similar to the previous assignment but it focuses more on social issues. This time around instead of picking the songs/topics for the students we will do it as a class. Students will be asked to throw out some themes, these themes could be things that are personal to them, things they see in their neighborhoods or just things that they have heard of or watched on television. Once we have collected a fair amount of themes, the students will then choose their groups by the themes. So if sexism is one of the topics all the people that have signed up for that topic will be one group. There will be limited space for these groups, so again 3-4 people. Once the groups have been formed, the assignment will be as followed:

1. Students in their groups will be responsible taking their theme and displaying how it is reflected in the world of music.
   
2. The groups will be responsible for finding 2 songs and breaking them down. They will be responsible for letting us; the audience know what both artists are talking about in each of their songs.
   
3. Next they will have to do a compare and contrast between the two songs. Is there similar language? Is the message the same? How are they trying to get their points across? What is the perceived emotion behind the song?
   
4. Next the groups will have to relate this to the world we live in today. How do these songs affect the lives of the listeners? Do they affect the listeners? How does the song resonate with them as the listener? Do these songs have positive or negative affects on a community? If so then what and how? This portion is designed to really get the groups to think about the role music plays in our everyday lives.
   
5. The last step is for the groups to choose one of their songs and create a video for it. This will allow them to actively reflect and voices their thoughts/opinions about the song they chose. After competition of this final step, the groups will present their work to the rest of the class.
   

Two Sides to Every Story!

In chapter 7, Negus focuses on the “politics” of music. Now one would naturally assume that he is going to cover the ins and outs of the music business, such as how an artist gets signed, how their money is distributed, how much royalty they receive and other aspects of this topic. Well he doesn’t. Negus focuses on the dynamics of power and influence.

            He begins the chapter with a focus on the “message” of music. When we listen to songs, why do we listen? What makes a particular song on an album more attracting than the track before or after it? Why does a couple pick a song to dance to as their first dance during their wedding? Or why do some parents, teachers and other authority figures disapprove of our youth listening to certain songs? It is because of the message! When we hear something that relates to us personally or our current circumstances, we naturally gravitate to it.  This applies to music as well.

            So what is it about music and the messages they bring, what is the big deal? First off Negus goes to explain to us how music has become versatile. When a writer writes a song, that musician may be writing about something they see happening in the world around them but the beauty of music is because everyone experiences things different when we hear a song, it may have a totally different meaning to you than the original intended meaning of the author. Say for example you hear a song about poverty. The artist may be writing about a poverty stricken area in near their home. When you hear it they meaning may be relevant to a poor person begging for change on the freeway exit. While someone over seas may be listening to that song and looking right in their home. The author may have intended for us to begin to recognize and admit that poverty exist while you may begin to think about how to help and that person overseas may be crying for help. Negus gives us an example of this with the song “Imagine” by the late Beatle John Lennon. The song “imagine” is asking the listener (you!) to imagine a world without things that cause conflict and division. Things such as: hunger, countries, religion and even possessions. Lennon is merely asking for us to think as the world as being “One.” Negus points out the versatility of the meaning of the song by informing us of where it has been heard. In 1987 the song was sang by a group at a conservative party conference in Britain as a greeting to Margaret Thatcher at the same time it has been sang by those who were protesting the wars and violence taking place during that time frame. On one hand the message of the song was to ask the listeners to imagine unity and on the other hand some took it as a form of protest. To the point where it had to carefully be considered before it was allowed to be played on the British BBC radio waves.  This brings us to our next point, music and their messages as influence. 

            Just as different songs have their messages, sometimes those messages can be viewed as a threat. The song “Imagine” by John Lennon was intended to bring unity to people but some saw it as a way to get people rallied up about circumstances. Because of the misreading of the message behind a song, some governments interfere with the distribution of music to “protect” their domains. An early example of this was in Nazi Germany. For fear that their cultural values would be corrupted by foreign influences, Hitler imposed a music policy in Nazi Germany. Hitler placed policies prohibiting jazz music or any other music written, performed or developed by blacks and Jews from being heard. Anyone caught would suffer time in jail or be placed in concentration camps. The justification behind this was “to purify a population.” Hitler felt that the American music had an influence on the people. He wanted to prevent “Americanization” through music and the washing away of traditional culture. This was the beginning and early stages of censorship. I will not go into this topic because it is one to go into much depth but if you want to know more about it click here. Recent example of fear put onto government through the influence of music is 90’s gangster rap group NWA. With their controversial lyrics about violence and feelings toward the police, there were numerous attempts to censor this group for fear of listeners adopting these point of views and acting on them. 

            Negus goes on to conclude that the purpose of this chapter was to illustrate how popular songs don’t have just one meaning politically but rather how the create and connect different political agendas. The messages in songs can either serve its intend purpose or be viewed as something else and create an opportunity for politicians to get there agendas put on the table and further control the people. I don’t want to scare away your creative expression, I just want you to realize that there are always two sides to a story!

I Heard it from... The Journey of Music from the Musician to You!

So as I began to read chapter 3 of the Popular Music in Theory book, I was truly intrigued on how they would tackle the topic of “Mediation” in which the chapter was titled. Unlike the traditional definition of mediation, Negus breaks this term into three main points of focus:

1.     Mediation as intermediary action

2.     Mediation as transmission

3.     Mediation of social relationships

Negus describes mediation as intermediary action as the process in which individuals intervene in the music process. The process of production and consumption; between corporation and consumer and between artists and audience.  This concept deals with the many different people that take part in the different stages of music from productions to distribution to consumption. Individuals involved in the process range from staff at record companies to DJs and even music video producers. These people are known as the “gatekeepers” because they ultimately make the decision of what you and I hear and buy.

The next point of mediation is mediation as transmission.  This phrase describes the process in which popular music disseminated to us through technology. Negus describes to us that there has been at least six different ways in which music has been given to the people. From street peddlers pushing sheet music and printed word on the streets, sound carriers, the broadcasting of radio, musical instruments, moving images and telecommunication technologies. Each of these stages had its internal evolutions that eventually led to something new. These new forms of transmission have not necessarily taken over the previous but have added to.  For example we not only have song lyrics and music videos but rather we have some music videos that display the lyrics on screen while the video is taking place.
                                                    (lyrics begin at 1:20)

The third and final aspect of mediation is the mediation of social relationships. This last aspect focuses on the relation of the previous two. The impact of what happens with music from who is involved and how they are involved to the way it gets out to us s listeners. This takes us back to chapter six of this book where we looked at the geographical aspects of popular music. Just as rap group Wu Tang Clan sang the song C.R.E.A.M. (cash rules everything around me), this is very true for where music is heard and what kind of music is heard. The more social influence one has on a particular area, the more the musical selections of that group will reflect in that area. This is partly why we have different radio stations.

Have you ever noticed that radio stations and music stores reflect one another? When you walk into a music store you have to walk around to find the section of the musical genre you like. When you turn on the radio, you have to change the stations to find the musical genre you like. This is not a coincidence. According to Negus, this is a strategic move done by record companies, music stores, radio stations and other individuals that are involved in the intermediary action process. This strategy was to allow for different types of music to be evenly distributed across a region but still at the same time control what we hear.

I am a fan of urban music so I listen to a lot of hip-hop and r&b so you will come to know that a lot of my references are examples of that genre.  Even though I listened to Gospel rap, I still hear what is popular in secular rap. I you ever wondered why you like the kind of music you like? You may think that it is because of your musical taste. In some cases that may be true, but how did you get exposed to it? Have you ever wondered why some the most talented remain underground but every man, woman and child knows how to do the “Soulja Boy” or the “Stanky leg” (I still can’t understand why anyone would be excited to have their leg be affiliated with anything that stinks)? These intermediaries are giving us selected limited material and saying, “you choose.” This brings me to my next point.

With the constant advances of the forms of media transmission, artists are not as creative as they once were. Not to discredit the artists of today, because you have to be very talented to come up with your own dance every few months; but they are no longer storytellers like the days of old. When there was only radio transmission, musicians had to be creative enough to tell you a story. You could not see where they were; only hear what they were telling you. So they had to be able to tell the story good enough to allow you to create a picture in your head and travel to that place with them. Old emcees like Slick Rick, Rakim, Biggie, Tupac, Nas and Eminem painted a picture for you, to let you see what they saw. So when the music videos were made, the image that you envisioned while listening was the image you saw in the video.  Now we are in the era of every song on the album becomes a hit and a music video is made. Negus goes to state that this allows the artists to heavily depend on music videos to reach us as an audience. So now I no longer have to be a storyteller to show you what I am talking about, I can give you instructions and show you myself on my new music video.

So as we continue to be a species that is constantly upgrading, there will be new forms of mediation as it relates to popular music (look at cds, pretty soon everything will be digital) we have to remember that it is all in the package. We have to treat them like a marriage, for better or worse; we just have to learn how to take the good with the bad.

My School Teacher is a Movie Star!

Image a world without school teachers. How will our youth learn, who will stand by them, who will fight for them, who else would care for them but most of all, who will be their voice? These are all the attributes that have been associated with teachers in our society today. Shannon and Crawford have pointed out that Hollywood has taken the lead on romanticizing teachers, school and teacher-student relationships. Because of the portrayal of teachers in movies they are now viewed by society as being: caretakers, a savior, drillmasters, keepers of wisdom, technicians and most importantly agents of change. A perfect example of this is the 2003 movie release of “School of Rock” featuring Jack Black. 

School of rock is about a guy named Dewey Finn who frauds the school system by becoming a substitute teacher. Dewey is an aspiring dead end rock star who mooches off of his roommate Ned Schneebly who is a substitute teacher. Given an ultimatum by Ned to either come up with the rent money by the end of the week or get out, Dewey decides pretend to be Ned when a school calls requesting him to come and sub. Dewey’s initial thoughts on teachers are that they are Babysitters (you can find this in the beginning scene where he is debating with his roommate) and that is exactly the way he approached the position. For the first Day and a half, Dewey didn’t want to interact with the kids; he didn’t want to attempt to teach them. He wanted to sit, make sure they were alive (and I doubt that he even cared about that) and get to the end of the day. His only suggested thoughts were to keep them occupied (like most baby sitters) by telling them to go to recess. After spying on the kids in their music class, Dewey has found a way to connect with the kids and teach what he loves to do “music.”

 Initially, Dewey wants to teach the kids rock & roll to develop them into a band to play with him at the Battle of the Bands contest to win money but he soon begins to do more than just teach. During this process Dewey transforms from being “a babysitter” to what Shannon and Crawford calls a “facilitator.” Dewey takes what each individual kid is good at and helps to further develop their skills while teaching them life lessons. He took one guy who could only play the cymbals in music class to molding him into a percussionist on the drums. He takes a guitar and bass player and teaches them with the electric guitar and bass. He takes a pianist and develops him on the electric keyboard. He finds singers and uses them as well. Not only does he help their musical skills but also helped others furthered their skills with computers, design creative expression and even helps build a girl's managerial skills. Like I mentioned before, he also teaches the kids life lessons through his “stick it to the man” philosophy. He helps build confidence, self-worth, self –esteem and resiliency by teaching them not to give up and never take no for an answer. In the end, like in most movies, the kids display what they have learned by encouraging him in his time of despair. Then all ends well with your traditional happy ending. He becomes somewhat successful by booking gigs with the school of rock band and the kids get to continue to learn from him and further enhance their skills.

In an article on the “Top Ten Picks for Great Teachers Flicks,” teachers explore the impact these movies have on teachers and society.  Some of the teachers say that these types of movies show how important teachers are to society. Others say they are great recruiting tools and that’s why they decided to become teachers. The teachers say that movies such as: Mr. Holland’s Opus, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, October Sky, The Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, Dead Poets Society, To Sir with Love and Up the Down Stairs all speak to the heart of teaching. They say that these movies touch on three things: Teachers have tremendous positive impacts on students; everyone can learn and if the system doesn’t work for students, change it.

By Hollywood romanticizing the profession of teaching and the student teacher relationship, I believe personally that it sets up false hope. For one, I have never had a teacher like the ones that are in the movies. Not to say that my teachers were not outstanding, they just didn’t put in the extra work like those in the movies. Second, people see these movies and decide to go into teaching but quickly realize that real life is not like them movies. Yes every now and then teachers will be able to make an impact on the students they are working with. But most of the time it does not happen that way and as they years past, it puts more wear and tear on the teachers. That is why you have some teachers who initially began teaching so they can become the agents of change that they see in the movies but get worn down to the point wear they dread going to work. They go from attempting to save the world to just doing the minimum to get by. I will agree that these types of movies are very entertaining and they are good for making one feel like they can change the world. But if you don’t want to be disappointed I would take it with a grain of salt.

Musical Sexology

We’ve come a long way from Leslie Gore to Lil’ Kim. From musical lyrics, videos, imagery and even our culture. Sexuality in the music industry has made significant leaps from where it used to be. Some may say that the music over the years has made on impact on society but I would beg to differ and reverse that assumption and say that our society has made a huge impact on music. More specifically our society has changed the role of women and sexuality in music, which is changing the role of women in society.

Just as everything else in the world, when you have a culture that is constantly changing, other aspects of that participating world will change right along with it. Let’s take sexuality in the music industry. In the beginnings of music sexuality was an aspect of music that artist dared not to touch directly, not for reasons of fear but rather it was he forbidden fruit of its time. In the early years of American society, anything having to do with sex was matter that was dealt with in the homes of families. So why would this reflect any different in music. Since music is a mirror of what’s happening in the world, one would not touch on that subject, at first! Take a look at early music and music videos; the songs that were sung were about love, not lust. They were about silly romance not sex (trust me there is a difference in the two).

Let’s take a look at the video for Leslie Gore’s “It’s my Party.”  In this music video there are some things to notice, first thing are the lyrics. Leslie is singing about a boy that she had a crush on. Seeing the boy someone else other than her hurt her. She was telling the world that it is her right to cry when she is hurt, even if she is crying over a boy. The imagery of the video is really conservative. The video is your traditional black and white singers on stage everyone else is dancing below. Looking everyone is fully cloth and the dances are very non-sexual, they are not even touching one another with the exception of an occasional touching of the hands. That was the world they lived in during that time, girls shouldn’t kiss boys. They were looked down upon for doing so.

Jumping ahead to the 90’s where it was more common to display sexual forms affection outside of the home. It was regular boys and girls to hold hands, hug and kiss in public. Sex was talked about outside of the home and having sex was the up and coming popular thing to do as teenagers but women where still not to be the aggressors. They had to remain a lady and if anything did happen, the male was praised while the woman was left with the guilt. Take the “Criminal” song by Fiona Apple in 1996. The song is about her committing some sort of sexual activity and is seeking resentence for it. She makes it known exactly what she did but she is referring to herself as a “criminal” for doing it. This is interesting because I remember in the 90’s when guys would brag about the number of women they had sexual encounters with and other guys cheered them on for it, even if they had a girlfriend. On the flip side, women were seen as scandalous and promiscuous and called derogatory names for doing the same act. This video is a mirror of the world at the time.  Women did something wrong sexually and she now is seeking for forgiveness for doing it. Something to also note is the imagery in this video. The scenes are more risky than that of the Leslie Gore video. You have drunken men and women laid out half naked. Fiona shared a bathtub with another man showing the increase in sexual behavior and acceptance at this time. Even though the imagery was more acceptable, the act that was committed was not.   

The last video we looked at was Lil’ Kim’s “How Many Licks” uncensored music video. Already this is a dramatic shift because it is letting us know that there is extreme sexual content in what we are about to see, something that was not and did not have to be included in the other videos. So it by that we are already placing ourselves in a new day and age where sexuality is even more acceptable. The song is filled with sexual explicit language and imagery. The women barely have any clothing on and the men are shirtless; so over time music videos have transformed from completely clothe to barely leaving anything to the imagination. The language that Lil’ Kim is using is the complete opposite of the Leslie Gore video; Kim is not crying over and pursuing the man but rather the exact opposite. This is shown in a scene close to the end of the video where she pulls up in a car and a guy looks in, then these words appear of the screen “she does not please you. You please her” and then she pulls the guy into the car. This shows the complete shift of power with sexuality in our society. Women have taken control of what men want and now use it to their advantage. There is no longer “crying over you” or “ I feel like a criminal for doing what you do all the time” but now it’s I don’t care what you need; you will give me what I need. 

With the acceptance of sexuality and the confidence of women to use it in their music and music videos, the women in society are being reassured that what they are already doing is okay. So now you have a young lady telling a guy “if he liked it he should have put a ring on it” to artist such as Beyonce making a hit song out of the phrase; now to all the single ladies using this s their chant. They are saying “ I don’t belong to you so I can be with who I want and not “crying” or feel like a “criminal” when doing it. I believe that as the views of sexuality continue to change in our society, they will continue to change in our music with time.