Module 7

This week's listening was a mixed bag. The first three songs I listened to ("Sweet Dreams," "Jump," and "Sledgehammer") all had one major thing in common - electronic sounds, usually a synthesizer. I honestly didn't know that the singer in "Sweet Dreams" was Annie Lennox. For the majority of the listening experience I thought I was hearing a man. Perhaps I'm just wrong, but when I think of Van Halen I usually think of rock music. I would not consider "Jump" to be a rock song. It's definitely pop-rock, a new genre that probably originated in the 80s. It was very upbeat and made the listener want to get up and move - it would probably work well on a workout playlist. I couldn't tell if "Sledgehammer" began with humming or instruments. Again, another pop-rock style. This song, however, seemed to be using tools as codes for sex.

I'm not a fan of Prince. I respect him as a musician and believe he is very talented, but I don't like his sex anthems of the 80s. I had to find a video for "When Doves Cry" because it seemed almost impossible to find on a streaming music service. I regret watching that video. If the lyrics were bad, add a video with Prince basically dry-humping some girl. It definitely wasn't something I'd voluntarily watch or listen to.

Since I pretty much know nothing about hip-hop and am choosing to write my final paper on the history and evolution on hip-hop, I used most of my elective listening options on the hip-hop selections. The first one, "Walk This Way" as a duet by Run DMC and Aerosmith is great! I actually found a documentary online where one of the members of Run DMC said that they were told to sit down and learn the original lyrics. By doing that, I think Run DMC and Aerosmith were able to respect and work with each other better and produced a great crossover hit. This was a great example of what hip-hop music was, fun and upbeat. Then Public Enemy came around and changed things. They were there to use hip-hop to really shed light on social issues and injustices that the world just simply ignored. I really liked "Night of the Living Baseheads." The fact that the lyrics were clear and easy to understand was great - usually hip-hop/rap that is more recent is very hard to understand. I like the lyrics really meant something - discussing the drug problem in inner cities. This type of hip-hop reminds me of early folk music, like the music of The Almanacs, where they are singing about something that needs to change. Sadly, I followed this with "What's My Name?" I'm definitely not a fan of gangsta rap. The lyrics were unintelligent (sorry, but who really cares about how great Snoop Dog is?) and there really just wasn't anything special about it.

I'm not sure how I feel about Nirvana. I've heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" many times, but I never really listened to the lyrics. So I sat down and followed the lyrics with the song. It was pretty pointless since I had no idea what he was talking about. I really like the fact that we've brought back the real instruments and started this new sub-genre -alternative rock. After doing some digging online, it seems that the lyrics are supposed to represent the revolt of teenagers. I think there are much better Nirvana songs. I like this performance of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" because it's acoustic, but if you watch the beginning you can see how real Kurt Cobain is. He honestly gives no craps about anyone!

"Doo Wop" was great. Lauryn Hill really just says it like it is. She starts by talking about how if a girl is going to give it away easily one time, she'll probably do it again just as easily. The same goes for the men, except she starts talking about how men need to step up (she specifically mentions child support). Continuing on the powerful women, "Nowhere to Stand" is a song that I'd never heard. It sounded very folky to me with the acoustic instruments and the meaning behind the song. I could be wrong, but I interpreted the song as being about child abuse.

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