...Throughout history, music has been used by movements seeking social changes in the world. In various cases, protest songs are written in response to historical events or social activities by the person who has experienced. In other cases, these songs can be responsible for initiating a shift in a society’s beliefs and assumptions. Many musicians have raised awareness and championed causes to alleviate human suffering from social problems caused by famine, natural disasters, war, civil rights violations, environmental abuse and others. Some have achieved it through their music, some by using their fame as musicians and others using both. Bob Dylan Music has played an important role in African American history from the earlier days because the...
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...Brendan Heffernan Mr. Wallace History Day rough draft 09/11/14 “Music can change the world because it can change people.” (Bono)Throughout history people have sought change through music. From opposing war to combatting racism, using the power of music for social change is an American tradition. The genre perhaps most closely associated with protest music is folk. Folk trailblazers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger are important not only because they changed the thinking at the time, but because they left a legacy that inspired generations of politically active artists. One of the first stars of folk protest music emerged as part of the labor movement in the early 1900s. Before the movement took hold many workers were paid unfair...
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...Lennon, an ex-member of the famous Rock band Beatles, is also a gifted composer. He had admitted that he was influenced by “The Time Are a Changin”. In the journal “Bob Dylan and John Lennon's Weird, One-Sided Relationship”, Scott Beauchamp and Alex Shephard states that Lennon commanded that “For three weeks in Paris, we didn't stop playing it. We all went potty about Dylan” (Beauchamp and Shephard). After Beatles disbanded, Lennon started to compose his protest songs. By releasing the song “Give Peace a Chance”, he successfully demonstrated his ideas about peace and showed it to the world. As another protest song singer after Dylan, he came out the songs as good as Dylan’s. In the journal “John Lennon 1940-1980: History Professor Jon Wiener...
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...Humanities INTRODUCTION Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black body swinging in the Southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant South, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh, And the sudden smell of burning flesh! Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop. By Lewis Allan, 1940 These words paint a picture and speak of an unpleasant time in American history, where blatant racism, lynchings and inequalities were committed against African Americans. Strange fruit can be considered a protest song of the pre-civil rights era. Its importance to the movement can be felt in the lyrics of the song paving the way for protest songs of the civil rights era and its impact on the world today. Strange Fruit was composed by Abel Meerpol, a school teacher from the Bronx, NY who wrote a poem under the pseudonym Lewis Allan (Independent Lens, 2003) about the horrors of racism after seeing graphic photos of a lynching of two teenagers, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. These teenagers, who were accused of killing a white man, were taken from an Indiana jail and lynched by a mob of angry whites (Koppes, 2010). Their bodies badly beaten and burned, left hanging from a tree their bodies blowing with the wind for the world to see. Although...
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...Music and the Sixties The 1960s was a time of transformation in cultural standards, fashion, and society attitudes. This decade of change was particularly apparent in the radical shifts in this era’s music. The music of the sixties had very distinct sounds, portrayal of events and attitudes. Social movements and political events influenced the culture through music. There were also several genres and artists that contributed to the influence of culture. During the 1960s, the music played a major role in shaping the culture. The music echoed the events and movements that were happening in society. Prior to 1963, the music reflected the sounds, styles and attitudes of the previous decade. Music of the 1960s magnified the rebellion and standing up to the emerging cultural changes. The music about protest relayed messages that everyone could and would to sing along to. Through the multiple events during the sixties the music and the American culture mood began to change. Current events in America also played a role in how music influenced American culture. The British Invasion, the Civil Rights Movement, and the escalation of the Vietnam War were major events that impacted the music. The British Invasion occurred when an explosion of British artists took the United States music scene by storm in the mid 1960s. Kenneth Olwig wrote an article titled, “The ‘British invasion’,” and summarizes, “The British Invaders that were listened to, were inspired by and faithfully played a...
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...that has many public figures, including our current President Donald Trump, in debate is the fact that a few NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem as a peaceful way to protest. Some people believe this is a great disgrace to our country, while others think that is a great way to peacefully protest against police brutality. Regardless of what people think on the topic, one must first take a look at the history of the song they are protesting or fighting for. In times of great distress and turmoil greatness can arise, and in the hours The Star-Spangled Banner came into fruition was no exception. Francis Scott Key was...
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...Name of Student: Name of Professor: Course Code: Date: Contemporary Art Thesis statement An analysis of contemporary artwork reveals that there is a strong relationship between contemporary art and everyday life as artists can use them for environmental and political activities. Introduction One question that most people usually ask themselves when asked about the history of arts is whether art can have a history. Yes, art has a long history, older than most if not all individuals currently living on earth. Most people think of it as being timeless because art has remained beautiful and attractive since the Old Stone Age. Individuals enjoy looking at arts for its own sake not knowing that they may have a significant meaning and the knowledge of its context inasmuch as viewers from different generations and cultures may see same artworks and interpret them differently from the previous generations. Most of the art works we see around originate from things of the past. Rarely does an artist come up with an imaginary art from vacuum (Art History, par 1). Most of them usually refer their arts by critiquing the outmoded models, borrowing some traditional techniques and methods, researching the old and forgotten stories as well as building on some timeless themes to enable them obtain new ideas (Par 3). It is very important for us to understand the historical precedent as it guides artists in obtaining context since art began from the caves by the Old Stone Age Homo sapiens...
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...English 123 II – 2.2 Final Project Milestone One: Annotation Bibliography By Vincent Berry WHAT IS YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION? Are record labels racism and political in the music industry? What impact does racism and politics have on the artist and fan base? SUMMORIZE SOURCE INFORMATION FOR EACH ANNOTATION Suisman, David. "Co Workers in the Kingdom of Culture: Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of African American Music." Teaching the Journal of American History Vol. 90, No. 4.March 2004 (2004): 1295-1324. Web. 1 Mar. 2004. African American owned Record Company, which produced records for African American consumers, was faced with attempts by a large record corporation to force them into bankruptcy. Why would a large company do this for such a small African American owned company? How would it merit attention from African American people in this medium when you have more important subjects like voting rights and lynching? Moreover, why would it merit any attention at all, not to mention, selling records to black consumers. This article answers these questions and investigates the rise and fall of the small record company and explores the political economy in which it operated. Black Swan Records created by Henry H. Pace, who saw a way to respond to a hostile environment that African American people faced with, both in the entertainment industry and in American society. The protégé of W.E.B Du Bois, also saw that African Americans were not equally even when they...
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...POPMUS 305 The Punk movement as a reaction to stagnant music scene of the 70s Ivan Stevanovic 3461726 The Punk movement is often seen as a reaction to what was regarded as a blown up and stagnant, self-indulging music scene in the mid-70s. In wider perspective, it is considered not merely as a music genre, but more as a complex mixture of social, cultural, rebellious upheaval of the marginal, disillusioned young white generation, first in the US and UK and then in the rest of the western world. This essay will try to explore these statements and find out whether any of the two can be considered as the only cause for the emergence of punk. MUSIC INFLUENCES AND BACKGROUND One would say that any form of modern music in its initial phase is a protest, by default. That could be supported by numerous examples throughout the music history when rebellious young artists were crossing the boundaries of the conventional music genres and styles and often rejected from the music establishment. The stylistic music origins of punk could be found in second half of the twentieth century. First it was rock’n’roll of the fifties that shook the post war society with its wild rhythms and raw cords played on electric guitars amplified to produce more “noise”. The other influences were R&B, country and rockabilly and in the 60s many sub-genres that emerged on the rock music scene like: garage rock, frat rock, psychedelic rock, pub rock, glam rock, and proto-punk. Although its origins...
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...Politics and social commentary- Music and politics and Social Commentary can be finely interlinked together and has been seen throughout history from the civil rights movement to feminism and can be used to share or inform about any topic to a wide range of people. Political music is used to represent a group of peoples beliefs or how people feel about what is currently happenning and even to inform people. This helps to unite people against or for a cause which links in with protest music.The most commonly known types of political music are anti-establishment, protest, anti-war for example Bob Dylan's song "Master's of War" where he expresses his opinion about the cold war, this is a perfect example of how political music spreads its message with lyrics that speak frankly about society and through imagery for example "Come you masters of war / that build all the guns ... I just want you to know / I can see through your masks.". Another common type of political music often forgotten about are national anthems which are pro-estblishment. The messages in political music however don't transcend time as they speak usually speak about current events in a specific place that are happenning at the time of creation, so you must have an understanding of the historical context so the music can't necessarily connect with all people. In America pre-Vietnam war the most common political or social music discussed unions and the labour movement, Pete Seeger a famous political songwriter...
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...bandleader and composer believes that for music to grow or become anything, the artist must experiment and try new things. Herbie Hancock's theories allow for the movement of jazz music from the traditional to a more progressive new form. He believes what makes history is what music reflects on. Music has made an impact on all levels in history. The early days of jazz provided many styles, which highlighted the talent and innovation of African American music including Ragtime and Dixieland. Ragtime also contributed to the movement of African Americans to march against racism. Dixieland was a form that made a mockery of how Caucasian people danced. Soul is the movement of power to African Americans, all of which reflected what was going on in history during that time. For traditional jazz to be played in the present time would have no meaning to the people playing it. For instance, a young jazz musician playing Charles Mingus' song "Fables of Faubus" (which was about the wrong doings of governor Faubus) would have no meaning to the musician because he/she never lived that era. As for new, recent music, the artist plays what he/she feels in respect to the present. For instance, Herbie Hancock's new album came out about a month ago called "Possibilities". This album was called his "all-star project" (Downbeat; Pg 38) because it featured new artists like John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, and Paul Simon. The album depicts a movement of music in how a new form of jazz, soul, and pop...
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...important wars in American history took place; the Vietnam war. There are a lot of similarities and differences that I noticed between my generation and the 60’s while watching The Sixties: The year that shaped a Generation. Here are some that I thought were very important and stood out to me. In comparing the sixties and my generation, the more I tried to find more about their differences I came across more similarities. One of the first major similarities, both the sixties and my generation share is about the youth, free thinking, creativity, and expressing. It was the youth that fought for where my generation youth are today. It was their idea and thoughts. And I personally believe that it’s the...
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...just have an endless list. One year in the 60’s though stood out from the rest; 1968 was quite possibly one of the most influential years in American History. A counter-culture tore through classic American Traditions, a controversial war segregated the population, protests, assassinations, and riots were front page news every couple of months. These were times of trouble yet growth in the American culture, and we are still feeling the effects of them today. 1968 With Tom Brokaw takes the viewer into the past by compiling footage and interviews with those who lived through the key events of 1968. Brokaw speaks with those who were first pioneers of the counter culture, those close friends and associates of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy (both assassinated), musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Michelle Phillips who experienced how influential music was to the counter culture, police and protestors alike who prevented and participated in riots, and the list continues. Each of these interviews gives us, the viewer, a better understanding of chaotic of a decade the 60’s were, and how many up and downs there were within the single year of 1968. Focusing specifically on the music and events that shaped the music of the 60’s, it’s funny to actually see the various connections between the events and the music of the time era. In the opening clips of the documentary we are given a brief clip of Timothy Leary saying his classic phrase “Turn On, Tune In, and...
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...were early rock-and-roll greats. - Simple 3. Teenagers loved the new music, but it disturbed many parents. - Compound 4. As much as the music itself, it was the sexually suggestive body language of the performers that worried the older generation. – Complex 5. The social turmoil that marked the 1960’s influenced many performers, and some began to use their music as a vehicle for protest. - Compound Exercise 31.7: Circle the simple subjects and verbs in the following passage. Place one line under each independent clause and two lines under each dependent clause. (Recall that as independent clause can stand on its own as a complete sentence.) Many argue that the blues and jazz are the first truly American musical forms. With its origins in slave narratives, the blues took root during the 1920’s and 1930’s as African-America composers, musicians and singers performed in the cabarets and clubs of Harlem. Jazz, however, has is origins in New Orleans. Today, we can still appreciate the music of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and B.B. King. Rock and roll is also a distinctively American form of music. Our country’s first “rock star” was without a doubt Elvis Presley, who emerged in the nation’s airwaves in the mid-1950’s with such hits as Heartbreak Hotel, Don’t Be Cruel, and All Shook Up. A decade later, Americans were expressing themselves musically through rhythm and blues, pop, folk rock, and protest music. Today, thanks to recording technology, we have easy access to our country’s...
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...We shall overcome The music behind the Civil Rights Movement We shall overcome The music behind the Civil Rights Movement Jennifer Christopher Christopher.jenniferj@gmail.com HUMN 303 Course Project December 14, 2014 Jennifer Christopher Christopher.jenniferj@gmail.com HUMN 303 Course Project December 14, 2014 There is no other social movement in the entire history of the United States that is more poignant and significant than the civil rights movement – not even the Boston Tea Party. Some may argue that this movement was nearly our downfall as a country since it allowed the world to see all of our imperfections. How can we say that all men are created equally in our Constitution when in the south, African-Americans were treated as second-class citizens? We had no rights and contrary to what was stated in our Constitution, we definitely weren’t freed. As a researcher and student, you cannot research this period of time without perusing the countless articles, news reels, pictures, and the written accounts given by people who actually participated in the marches and sit-ins. My research led me to numerous articles and videos of events that occurred during this time period. My heart ached as I watch people of all color being hosed down and attacked by dogs. I cried at the images of seeing young black men swinging from tree branches as onlookers stood there laughing and pointing at these “Strange Fruits”. I wondered what their crime was and why the crowd felt...
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