Thank You for the Music

I had a great class. I hope you did, too.

Rest up. Happy Holidays. Please keep in touch.

-D

Week 18: The Beatles

The Beatles, "If I Fell (US #58, 1964)

Week 18: The Beatles

Mon 12.17*

*Sec. 1 Final Exam Period

Meet: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Flames (across from MLK Library)

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Week 17: Chet Baker

Chet Baker, "My Funny Valentine" (1954)

Week 17: Chet Baker

Wed 12.12*

*Sec. 7 Final Exam Period

Meet: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Whispers (in back of the Hammer Theater)

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Upcoming:

Week 18: The Beatles

Mon 12.17**

*Sec. 1 Final Exam Period

Meet: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Flames (across from MLK Library)

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Week 16: The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys, "Surfin' U.S.A." (US #7, 1964)

Week 16: The Beach Boys
Mon 12.3/Wed 12.5**

*Last full week of classes

Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop

Due: 
MON 12.3: CLOSE READ (FINAL DRAFT)
WED 12.5: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (DRAFT 1; BRING 1 COPY), REFLECTION 8

Upcoming:

Week 17: Chet Baker

Wed 12.12***

*Sec. 7 Final Exam Period

Meet: 7:15 – 9:00 a.m., Whispers (in back of the Hammer Theater)

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Week 18: The Beatles

Mon 12.17****

*Sec. 1 Final Exam Period

Meet: 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Flames (across from MLK Library)

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Music News 12.1

• Here are iTunes' top holiday albums for 2018 (PopVortex)
• The woman of SNL sing a special holiday song aimed at Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller: "All I Want for Christmas is You" (Billboard)
• Here are 18 albums every man should own (TheManual)
• Esquire's best country albums of 2018 are truck and beer-free (Esquire)
• Will Ed Sheeran and BTS soon be collaborating? (BBC News) 
• Are these the most annoying Christmas songs ever (Salon)

Reflection 8: Snowed Out—Surviving the Christmas Music Avalanche

It used to be that they wouldn't show up until at least the day after Thanksgiving—at the earliest. Any earlier than that and it just seemed like jumping the gun. But these days, the dust of Halloween has hardly settled before someone, somewhere, eagerly rolls them out. Whenever it is they come, Christmas songs come with a vengeance. And while some people can't wait to revel in holiday cheer, others quickly feel inundated by the near endless stream of Christmas music. And though these songs can be expected at a holiday party or at church, they can also be heard while on hold on the telephone or in every mall in America. How do you feel about holiday music? Which songs do you like and which do you detest? What is the line between this music celebrating the season and it spoiling the spirit? Finally, if you do not celebrate Christmas, how does holiday music affect you?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "Science Behind Why We Love, or Hate, Christmas Music" (WDIV)
• "Ten Best Christmas Songs for Atheists" (Alternet)
• "The 40 Best Christmas Songs of All Time' (Cosmopolitan)
• "Christmas Music for People Who Hate Christmas Music" (Billboard)
• "Why Do Millennials Love Christmas Music So Much?" (Vogue)
• "Too Much Christmas Music Could be Bad for Our Mental Health" (Business Insider)

Mechanics:

• One page in length
• MLA Style
• Works cited page

Due: Wed 12.5

Week 15: Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You" (US #1, 1992)

Week 15: Whitney Houston

Mon 11.26/Wed 11.28

Class: Multimedia presentations; English Department Assessment prep*
Due: CLOSE READ

*please bring a laptop or mobile device to class on Wednesday

Upcoming:

Week 16: The Beach Boys

Mon 12.3/Wed 12.5**

**Last full week of classes

Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop

Due:
MON 12.3: CLOSE READ (FINAL DRAFT)
WED 12.5: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (DRAFT 1; BRING 1 COPY), REFLECTION 8

Week 17: Chet Baker

Wed 12.12***

***Sec. 7 Final Exam Period

Meet: 7:15 – 9:00 a.m., location TBA

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Week 18: The Beatles

Mon 12.17****

****Sec. 1 Final Exam Period

Meet: 7:15 – 9:00 a.m., location TBA

Due: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT (SUBMIT VIA CANVAS BY 5 P.M.)

Music News 11.22

• See Elton John's devastatingly emotional new ad for the UK's John Lewis department store (People)
• After facing a backlash over his use of private firefighters, Kanye donates $500,000 to California fire relief (TMZ)
• BTS overtakes One Direction to break event cinema record (NPR)
• Queen storms the charts once again (CNBC)
• The story of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Yahoo!)
• What's an ideal Thanksgiving playlist? (GQ)

Close Reading: This Woman's Words

Sometimes, it's not until a piece of art is examined in fine detail that new meanings arise. When cultural context, the artist's intentions, even your own prior knowledge, are set aside, a new way of "seeing" the art can emerge. This is the purpose of a close reading (sometimes called an explication).

For this essay, you will conduct a close reading of a song by a female songwriter. The goal is to delve deeply into this song in hopes of uncovering new ways to understand it. You will have wide latitude in how you choose to engage it. However, your focus should be concise. minute details. For example, instead of examining the Mona Lisa as a whole, in a close read, you'd consider only the hands.

As always, ground your analysis in a strong thesis, supported by evidence from the song. Choose only one of the following songs for your analysis:

1. Dolly Parton, "Jolene"
2. Andra Day, "Rise Up"
3. Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights”
4. Anaïs Mitchell, “Wedding Song”
5. Sade, "Jezebel"
6. Hole, "Doll Parts"
7. Suzanne Vega, "Luka"
8. Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car"
9. Fiona Apple, "Criminal"
10. Carole King, "You've Got a Friend" 
11. Loretta Lynn, “Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)”
12. M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Please these versions of the songs. Lyrics of reach can be found HERE (UPDATED).

Note: When quoting lyrics, use this form: "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb. little lamb/Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow"

Mechanics:

• 1-1.5 pages in length
• MLA Style
• Works cited page

Due: Mon 11.26

Week 14: Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott, "The Swan" from Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals, 2007

Week 14: Yo-Yo Ma

Mon 11.19/Wed 11.21*

*No class—Thanksgiving

Class: Multimedia presentations

Upcoming:

Week 15: Whitney Houston

Mon 11.26/Wed 11.28

Class: Multimedia presentations

Due: CLOSE READ

Music News 11.16

• #justicefroglitter:Mariah Carey fans push the soundtrack to her infamous bomb to number 1 on iTunes and international charts (TheRoot)
• Three-day free concert series coming to College Football Championship Weekend in San Jose to feature Logic, Ellie Goulding, OneRepublic (San Jose Mercury News)
• Celine Dion debuts gender-neutral childre's clothing line (Vox)
• Lady Gaga delivers pizza and coffee to fire evacuees in Malibu (People)
• Is America ready for Asian rapper? (Rolling Stone)
• New book chronicles Hip Hop's evolution in pictures (WUSA9)