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)

Week 13: Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand, "My Man" (US #2, 1968)

Week 13: Barbra Streisand
Mon 11.12*/Wed 11.14
*No class—Veterans Day

Listen: DB—Singer & Songwriters Playlist
Class: Listening discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: REFLECTION 7

Upcoming:

Week 14: Yo-Yo Ma

Mon 11.19/Wed 11.21*

*No class—Thanksgiving

Class: Multimedia presentations; Guest speaker—TBA

Due: CLOSE READ

Reflection 7: Reel Music—Exploring Movie Soundtracks

It's difficult to imagine the movie-going experience without music. For over 100 years, music has been an integral part of what makes the movies so special. Many films are regarded as legendary, in part, due to their musical soundtracks. Below is a list of iconic scenes made even more memorable through their use of music. Choose four of the following scenes (two 20th century; two 21st century) to examine how music enhances its overall effect. For example, how does the music effect you, as a viewer? Are you being manipulated? And if so, how? What emotions are being elicited? What would change in the scene if the music were omitted? Finally, can you imagine this scene with different music? What would be gained and/or lost?

Choose one of the following:

1. "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca (Music and lyrics by Herman Hupfeld, 1942)
2. "Put the Blame on Mame" from Gilda (Music and lyrics by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher, 1946)
3. "The River Kwai March" from The Bridge on the River Kwai (Music by Malcom Arnold, 1957)
4. "Psycho Suite" from Psycho (Music by Bernard Herrmann, 1960)
5. "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's (Music by Henry Mancini, 1961)
6. "The Sound of Silence" from The Graduate (Music and lyrics by Paul Simon, 1967)
7. "The Blue Danube" from 2001: A Space Odyssey (Music by Johann Strauss, 1968)
8. "Main Title" from Jaws (Music by John Williams, 1975) 
9. "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky (Music and lyrics by Bill Conti, Carol Connors, and Ayn Robbins, 1976)
10. "You Should be Dancing" from Saturday Night Fever (Music and lyrics by The Bee Gees, 1977)
11. "Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme)" from Superman (Music by John Williams, 1978) 
12. "Main Title" from Halloween (Music by John Carpenter, 1978)  
13. "Rhapsody in Blue" from Manhattan (Music by George Gershwin, 1979)
14. "Chariots of Fire" from Chariots of Fire (Music by Vangelis, 1981)
15. "Saying Goodbye" from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Music by John Williams, 1982) 
16. "Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger from Risky Business (Music and lyrics by George Jackson, Thomas E. Jones III, and Bob Seger, 1983)
17. "If You Were Here" by Thompson Twins from Sixteen Candles (Music and lyrics by Thompson Twins, 1984)
18. "Danger Zone" from Top Gun (Music and lyrics by Kenny Loggins, 1986)
19. "Love is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia from Dirty Dancing (Music and lyrics by Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, and Ethel Smith, 1987)
20. "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers from Ghost (Music and lyrics by Alex North and Hy Zeret, 1990) 
21. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen from Wayne's World (Music and lyrics by Freddy Mercury, 1992)
22. "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" from The Piano (Music by Michael Nyman,1992)
23. "You Can Never Tell" from Pulp Fiction (Music and lyrics by Chuck Berry, 1994)
24. "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Music and lyrics by John Williams, 1999)
25. "These Days" by Nico from The Royal Tenenbaums (Music and lyrics by Jackson Browne, 2001)
26. "Starálfur" by Sigur Rós from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, Music and lyrics by Sigur Rós) 
27. "Anyone Else but You" from Juno (2007, Music and lyrics by Kimya Dawson and Adam Green) 
28. "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates from (500) Days of Summer (Music and lyrics by Sara Allen, Daryl Hall, and John Oates,  2009) 
29. "Married Life" from Up (Music by Michael Giacchino, 2009)
30. "Symphony No. 7" from The King's Speech (Music by Ludwig van Beethoven, 2010)
31. "Skyfall" by Adele from Skyfall (Music by Adele and Paul Epworth, 2012)
32. "Flight" from Man of Steel (Music by Hans Zimmer, 2013) 
33. "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Suede from Guardians of the Galaxy (Music and lyrics by Mark James, 2014)
34. "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith from Spectre (Music and lyrics by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes, 2015)
35. "The Fools Who Dream" from La La Land (Music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul, 2016)
36. "Remember Me" from Coco (Music and Lyricas by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, 2017)
37. "Bellbottoms" by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion from Baby Driver (Music and lyrics by Judah Bauer, Russell Simins, and Jon Spencer, 2017)
38. "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs from Call Me By Your Name (Music and lyrics by

    	John Ashton, Tim Butler, Richard Butler, and Vince Ely, 2017)

39. "No Man's Land" from Wonder Woman (Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams, 2017) 
40. "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Music and Lyrics by Electric Light Orchestra, 2017)

Mechanics:

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

Due: Thu 11.14

 

 

Music News 11.6

• How do you feel about A$AP Rocky's "grandmother scarf" look? | New Music Express
• Fyre Festival organizer reflects on his crimes before six-year prison term | Rolling Stone
• John Lennon's 1971 anthem, "Gimme Some Truth" revived | Rolling Stone
• Now That's What I Call Music 101 tracks revealed | OfficialCharts
• How Fentantyl has killed several musicians recently | People 
• Number one this week 45 years ago: Gladys Knight & The Pips' "Midnight Train to Georgia" | YouTube

Week 12: Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar, "HUMBLE" (US #1, 2017)

Week 12: Kendrick Lamar
Mon 11.5/Wed 11.7
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Close Reads: A How-To"
Due: EXPOSITORY (ANNOTATED)

Upcoming:

Week 13: Barbra Streisand
Mon 11.12*/Wed 11.14
*No class—Veterans Day

Listen: DB—Singer & Songwriters Playlist
Class: Listening discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: CLOSE-READ

 

Music News: 11.3

• In honor of the Queen biopic, here is "Bohemian Rhapsody" performed in 42 styles by Ten Second Songs | Billboard
  
• Michael Bublé "Stands Up for Cancer" on Carpool Karaoke | YouTube
• Post Malone collaborated with Crocs to create his signature footwear, Posty Crocs | People
• The Color Purple being remade as a musical | Variety
• A look inside Taylor Swift's Beverley Hill home | Taste of Country
• Here are all the performers at 2018's MTV EMAs | YouTube