Marvin Gaye, Getting His Way

   

In class on Tuesday, as we were going through songs carrying important, powerful message in a number of ways, my attention was hooked by Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" the most. First and foremost, I've never had a chance to hear his music, I only just learned about him in Talkin Bout A Revolution. The raspy yet smooth, gentle singing voice Marvin is gifted with, along with him and his bands amazing instrumentals, lures me in so much, that I'm gladly persuaded into listening more closely. Being already so impressed, it's not hard for me to respect and take his lyrics more seriously, the ones standing out most being "Picket lines and picket signs/Don't punish me with brutality/Talk to me, so you can see/Oh, what's going on...". These sad, yet consistent lines are repeated again and again, in a surprisingly happy, relaxed tone, to get the message across in quite a different way than some of the other artists we talked about.

Rather than a more aggressive approach like N.W.A or Public enemy made, Marvin takes it upon himself to give this song a peaceful, comforting theme as to not force the listener in right away. This is almost the same approach as Aretha Franklin in "R-E-S-P-E-CT", or The Temptations in "Ball Of  Confusion". Along with their light, upbeat tones, they successfully carry out their messages about the injustice against African Americans in society, and the struggles they're struggles in general in such hard times. Songs like these speak to people so well, and Marvin Gaye displays these problems with ease and style, and I really appreciate the beat and how people can relate to this song while still having a good time. I also appreciate Gaye using his voice in a more creative way than in his previous records, as he was forced to use his quite seductive sounding voice to be a sex symbol for a while. It's nice to see how exactly he got his chance to express himself in the way he wanted, and in a rather impactful, important way as well.