Nina Simone

The thing that interested me the most this week was listening to Nina Simone's music. Her music is powerful, emotional, and has a strong message. The song I listened to this week was four women. This song talked about the history of African-Americans,and how they were oppressed. Nina uses powerful imagery to describe scenarios.

This was just one of the few examples of how she writes music. By listening to Nina Simone’s music, it opened up new thoughts on her writings. It also showed how great of a writer and activist we was. She fought back against oppression with her words by being strong through the process.   

The Life of Nina Simone

This week in class we watched a Netflix original on Nina Simone a singer/ pianist from the blues and jazz era of music. Nina Simone changed her name once she started performing, it was previously Eunice Waymon. When she was younger she started to play the piano when someone took interest in her and started to give her lessons. Waymon started by playing classical music and pieces written by Bach, Mozart and more. Since she was young, she dreamed of being a classical pianist. She went to college for a few years until her money ran out and she had to go and find a job to help support her parents. Waymon found a job playing piano at bars during the evening that was enough to support her family. However, the owner said that if she wanted to keep up the job, she would have to start singing while playing. That is when Eunice Waymon became Nina Simone. She didn’t want her mother to know what she was doing so she changed her name. Simone started singing and playing at bars all around town to support her family. Once she made a name for herself, she started to use her music to voice the problems her and others were facing. Simone used her musical career to speak up about the problems that African Americans were facing on the daily. In the beginning of the Netflix documentary on Nina Simone, she was asked what freedom meant. Simone answered that everyone had their own ideas of what freedom was. It was hard to hear the question was does freedom mean to you because for some people, it’s asking them to explain something that they have never had. To Simone, freedom was no fear. When Simone meant Andrew Stroud, she knew that he was the one for her. Stroud left the police force to manage Simone’s career because he believed in her. Stroud put everything into Simone’s career, he managed her and helped her write and produce some songs even. Without him, who knows if Simone’s career would have taken off like it did. Simone sang because she belonged in the music business, she used her talents to convey powerful messages that everyone could understand through her lyrics.

2-23'2019

Hello everyone! Last week in class we talked about a paper we had to write about different songs and I picked and compared the songs "Maggies Farm" by Bob Dylan and Rage Against the Machine. We also went over the chapter " The Two Gulf Wars, 9/11/2001 and Afghanistan" and while talking over the chapter one of the songs from the chapter called "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. The entire song was about how patriotic he was and how everyone was Proud to be an American. He says "I love being an American" so it's a very patriotic song that proves that during the time of the gulf war there was a strong sense of Unity within the country at the time. So songs like these and many others were being released when big events happen like the gulf war and the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Star spangled banner

In class, we talked about how Music protests really have an impact on our society and why it is very influential. We heard different songs like star spangled banner by Whitney Huston, Beyonce, Jimmy Hendrix, and many more artist, and what I could tell is that even though a lot of the artist did in their own way I believe that their message was clear which was "WE ARE PATRIOTIC, AND WE LOVE AMERICA!" which if you listen how they did the song they wanted  to get that message while also letting the audience to feel the same way because with different artist which means that many different walks of life might be feeling the same way.

The Legacy of Eunice Waymon

On February 21, 1933, in the small town of Tyron, North Carolina, Eunice Kathleen Waymon was brought into the world. Ms. Waymon began to realize her passion for music somewhere around the age of three through learning to play the piano and singing in her church’s choir. The girl’s obvious talent attracted the attention of the woman who would eventually make her into the artist she became. Special funds were set up by her teacher and some other members of Waymon’s community in order to pay for her admission to Juilliard School of Music in New York. Unfortunately, the aspiring performer was unable to keep up with the abrasive payments for school, and thus dropped out soon after her arrival at the college. Temporarily putting classical music on the backburner, Waymon began performing blues and jazz renditions among the night clubs of Atlantic City and decided upon the stage name to which she is commonly referred, Nina Simone.

Simone’s first major hit came in the first album she released. “I Loves You Porgy” made it onto the top 20 charts, finally bringing the ambitious star into public light. Along with this, she popularized cover music, making Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” and the Beatles “Here Comes The Sun” her own. Within each song she wrote or covered, however, Simone made sure her roots in gospel, folk, and pop were easily identifiable.  In fact, Nina Simone hated to be referred to as a jazz singer, stating in her autobiography, "If I had to be called something, it should have been a folk singer because there was more folk and blues than jazz in my playing.” Simone presented a new prospect in what exactly it meant to be a lyricist. Nonetheless, she was best known for her active stance on the political occurrences of her day.

Nina Simone was already a prominent figure of the Civil Rights Movement by the mid-1960’s. In response to the assassination of Medger Evers and the bombing of a Birmingham church which killed four African-American girls, she wrote “Mississippi Goddam.” This song was a lively, but heartfelt, account of the unfortunate events Simone witnessed unfold. She later wrote “4 Women,” which spoke about four black women and the struggles and realities they were born into.

Ms. Nina Simone was a key proponent of the Civil Rights movement and many other political movements to follow. Today, her impact on the music and entertainment of our time can still be felt. Just within the past two years, Jay-Z released “The Story of OJ,” a song which recognized the unfortunate realities African-Americans currently face residing among today’s social climate. Simone can be heard reciting “4 Women” in the background of this track. Though Nina Simone unfortunately passed on April 21, 2003, her legacy of political questioning and instilling pride into the black community is still relevant today.

Works Cited:

- “Nina Simone.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 24 Jan. 2019, www.biography.com/people/nina-simone-9484532.

Star spangled banner

            As many of us have stated that it is difficult finding a topic to write about since we only had one day of class this week. I saw that someone has written about when we listened to The Star-Spangled Banner and all of the different versions so I decided I would reflect on this as well.

            We listened to Whitney Houston’s version of the song, Slash and Jimi Hendrix I decided that I enjoyed Whitney Houston’s version over the other two. I preferred her version over theirs because hers made me feel the proudest about being from this country. Although Slash’s was very patriotic and really made you think about how much effort it took from people in the past to get us where we are today it still wasn’t at patriotic as Whitney’s. On the other hand Jimi Hendrix’s version was very different. Hendrix version made me feel as if there was something wrong with our country and how we fight in our wars. Jimi Hendrix version seemed to be more of a protest song. I don’t think you should use The Star-Spangled Banner as a protest song ever. I definitely preferred Whitney Houston’s version of the both of theirs for many important reasons.

            After hearing these different versions of the song I realized that it is important how you deliver a song or else you could send the wrong message. I think each of these artists delivered these messages exactly how they intended. It is important to make sure that you are sending the message you want to send otherwise you could offend people.

Blog post 2-23-19

This week in class was a slightly different week then most weeks in this class. On Tuesday we just talked about a paper we had to write. And Thursday’s class was canceled, and we had to do work online for it. This week was unusual. So, I am wondering what I’m going to write about since we didn’t do much in class this week. 

            Last weekend we read the text book chapter called “The Two Gulf Wars, 9/11/2001, and Afghanistan”. This chapter was about all those things and we really didn’t get to talk about it too much in class. So, I believe this is the time to talk about it. 

            The first second was about the gulf war of 1991. To be honest I didn’t know this war was a thing. I also enjoy how he breaks up the chapters, how he tells the history and then tell you about the protest songs of that era. The one song that stuck out to me in this section is the first song mentioned here by John Trudell called “Bombs over Baghdad”. This song came out in the early 90s so I feel like they could get away with a lot more stuff then song writers can today. He called the President at the time “Queen George” and the government “vampires”. This is bold.

            Then 9/11 happened and that lead us straight into the second gulf war. At this point in history we are much farther right now. This war started to find Osama bin Laden and he has been found at this point and has been put to death for what he did to this country. The songs from this part of part of history were more of the style of country. Artist like the Dixie chicks, Willie Nelson, and Toby Keith all did protest during this time. 

            One song that surprised me that it was a protest song was Green Days song American Idiot. I listen to that song as a child and knew every word of it minus the swears. But still now listening to this song now I can hear it how it would be a protest song. And it makes sense also that I heard a cover of it a few years back during more troubling times in American telling us not to be stupid and to sand up to stuff. And listening to the cover of the song, they bleeped out all the swears, the really afensive ones also. 

The Monstrous Minstrels

Though we didn’t meet for Thursday’s class this week, I was still able to take something away from the readings assigned. These texts focused on the struggles early African-Americans faced and the way in which they used music to make it through that point in time. The first few writings relayed how slaves used music, however, with drastic limitations. The writings, soon after, divulged me in a subject which I shared some prior knowledge on, Minstrel shows.

             These shows were an American theatrical form based around the comical interpretation of African stereotypes. Taking place in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, racial discrimination was never a concern for the wealthy, white attendees. Early on, Minstrel shows were acted out by white performers adorning blackface and adopting the exaggerated qualities of what they understood it meant to be black. Minstrels were a combination of song and dance, with “comical racism” dispersed throughout. Interestingly enough, these shows were able to take an even darker turn during the 20^th century allowing women and African-Americans to take part as well.

            These texts have taught me one thing in particular. The fact of the matter is, we were a cruel, uncaring bunch of humans for a long span of time. Minstrel shows were used as a catalyst for the continuation of racial separation. Fortunately, now we are able to be exposed to these videos and texts from a different light, depicting exactly where we went wrong in the past thus, we don’t risk repeating our ancestors’ mistakes.

           

"The Star-Spangled Banner": Overview

Happy Friday blog. I wasn’t exactly sure about what I wanted to discuss in this week’s post, similar to last week, but we only had one day of class this week which made the task even more difficult. I noticed that a few people talked about their article summaries but rather than repeat myself, I thought I’d speak on my reactions to the various covers of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, those of which we watched in class earlier in the semester. We heard the renditions of Whitney Houston, Slash and Jimi Hendrix.  

After listening to Whitney’s cover, I thought her voice sounded majestic and she projected it very well. Whitney sang in a variety of tones (low and high) and you could hear plenty of emotion in her voice as she sang. Her voice is both soothing and powerful.  

However, Slash’s performance was much different in the sense that there was no voice in his set. He strummed a guitar and brought a more rock and roll feel to the table instead of a soul vibe.  

Jimi Hendrix also stood out from the crowd, adding his own spin. It didn’t sound much like “The Star-Spangled Banner” we've come to know with Jimi’s flavor added to the pot. I initially believed that his rendition was to purposely make fun of the way some artists switch up famous songs so much that you can hardly recognize them, but I don’t think that was the intent. The attitude Jimi Hendrix brings to the stage is violent-like and represents the dangers of war.  

It seems that although multiple artists may be singing/performing the same song, the message comes across differently from person to person. Some people may recognize a style better than the next and how a song is performed brings out emotions that help determine its message and meaning. Without variety, everyone would sound the same and our opinions, more alike. The individuality of musicians today is part of what keeps us a healthy society.  

Article Analysis

   From the article that I read for the article summary was an article about the upbringing of Rock and Roll. I feel that within this class we cover the importance of music. I feel that Rock and Roll was one of the most important genres in the music world. In the article that I read it talked about the history and the roots that created the new sound of Rock and Roll. Rock and Roll originated in the 1950's which we all know was a time of segregation in America. The roots of Rock and Roll are blues and folk music. Producers and artist took these two genres and made a whole new sound of music. The thing that was so special about Rock and Roll was obviously the sound but the roots of blues and folk music. Blues music was a predominately black cultured style of music. Black artists played and originated blues music from the deep south. Folk music was a predominately white cultured style of music. Rock and Roll was born with a producing company and a man named Elvis Presley. 

  

  In class we are covering these roots and who popularized these style of music. It is important to know how theses styles of music were brought up and why they are so special. Rock and Roll changed the music ways with lyrical intent and sounds. Rock and Roll was one of the first genres of music that introduced the sound of the electrical guitars. America was in a time of rebellion, most of the population was very young and rebelled the old ways. The people wanted new, so it was up to producers to fill this want of new music. Rock and Roll took the style of protest lyrics and took it to a higher level. This is what the people wanted to hear and what they wanted to follow, and the new sound of Rock and Roll was gold to the ears of the listeners. Unfortunately the old style of Rock and Roll has died out, but original Rock and Roll was the genre that allowed Rock to grow throughout the years.                                                                                           

9/11

For those alive and old enough to remember September 11, 2001 is a day that no one will forget. Almost anyone would be able to tell you where they were and what they were doing on the terrible day almost eighteen years ago. The amount of deaths and the number of people injured did not compare to anything that had happened in the Unites States prior. Not only were those in New York present for the tragedy but Americans across the country were able to watch the collapse of the twin towers on their televisions. This left the country grieving and in fear.

September 11^thhas always been a historic day that has interested me when learning about it in school. Other significant and tragic events that have happened in the past feel much more distant from me. 9/11 was an event that I was alive for and was not just an incident I read about in a history book. The summer before my junior year of high school I was assigned to read the book “102 Minutes” which described the moments before and after the planes crashed into the twin towers. This was an informational text that included aspects from the floor plan of the towers to what individual people were experiencing. The book was based on eyewitness accounts and emergency phone call transcripts. It explained instances from both towersdocumenting escape, evacuation, and rescue attempts. 

Due to my prior knowledge and interest in 9/11 I chose the article “Requiems for a City: Popular Music’s Response to 9/11” for my article summary. In the book I read in high school there were detailed experiences of firefighter and other rescue workers, people inside the towers, and those watching from the outside described, showing what many different people went through and what they thought and felt.Similarly, the music during this tragic time in our history reflected the emotions and feelings of all of Americas. In the article I worked on this week the author, Christine Lee Gengaro, focused on two albums created about 9/11. The album “The Rising” by Springsteen expressed the immediate emotions people felt of the tragedy. Much like how the book allowed readers to empathize and put themselves into the shoes of firefighters climbing the stairs of the towers or those stuck in the tower desperately trying to escape, the album allowed listeners to do this as well. Gengaro even states “When people listen to The Rising, for instance, they are the fire fighters, the rescue workers, they are the grieving family members. The listener assumes each of the identities that Springsteen assumes when he sings. To share such grief and such courage with both the characters in the songs’ narratives, and with other listeners, can be a powerful experience” (Gengaro 29). In general, music allowed Americans to truly understand what happened and what other Americans were feeling. This led to many Americans uniting and coming together during a time of crisis.

Reflection on Chapter 3

I am dedicating this blog post to the chapter we are currently reading, “African Americans” in the Weissman book. I specifically want to reflect and react to how blacks were portrayed in media and how music has impacted the community as a whole. Before reading anything in this chapter, I knew some bits of how they were portrayed in media and performances. I, specifically, knew about white men putting on ‘blackface’ and mocking African Americans. This is just disrespectful and makes me sick thinking that people were treated in such a demeaning manner. Something that I found interesting and bizarre was that Jim Crow became law because of a character in a minstrel. Also, I did not know that there were African Americans that acted in these degrading skits and performances.

Music, for everyone, expresses our concerns, feelings, and usually a message. I feel like music was used more as a tool to spread a message about the issues in society back then. Many artists used their platforms to get that message out there. One artist that stood out to me and that I already knew about was Marvin Gaye. As the book stated, Gaye was considered a sex symbol but he wanted a more ‘artistic career’. I did not know and I also found it interesting that he made a song that was about wanting peace and love in the world.

This chapter was definitely an eye-opener to what happened to slaves and how they were treated via media. I now have a better understanding of the music that has impacted the black community and how artists made a big change in society.

Protest Music, and Points of View

We had a good discussion this week about protest music. I liked when we discussed our paragraphs as a class, and what they meant to us. Although not everyone did them, it was still a good discussion on what information people found out.

On the topic of 9/11, it was a very dark time in American history. I enjoyed learning about the different viewpoints on how Americans were taking the aftermath. I enjoyed learning about all of the different artists who raised money for the fallen victims, and there points of view as well.  

Protest music can be used for many different things; mainly to protest against violence, war, hatred, and others. It is a powerful subject to discuss, and is something to be taken seriously. Protest music can unite people as well as divide people. It has been used throughout history to discuss appropriate and inappropriate manners.   

The Impact 9/11 Had on Me

This week in class we talked about the way music developed around the time of the gulf wars, 9/11, and Afghanistan. I was only 3 at the time of 9/11 but, I will always remember what happened and the way people reacted. I won’t personally ever understand what people were going threw but I can only imagine how awful and heartbreaking it was. Personally 9/11 affected my life because my dad is a Marine, I would say was a Marine but they have a saying, once a Marine, always a Marine and I would hate to disrespect that. My dad wanted nothing more than to join and fight again after what happened on 9/11/2002 and I always wonder, what if my mom hadn’t been pregnant and he did? As I said I can’t personally connect to anyone about that incident but I couldn’t imagine what it was like to be in New York on that day. People everywhere were scared, they had no idea what had happened or if their was going to be any more attacks. The east coast was affected more than the west simply because we were closer to the incident. Although we were closer, people everywhere extended their help or anything they could to those in need, including singers and songwriters. When something tragic and explainable happens, people look for answers, for ways to cope, for a remedy for their pain, anything that will take the pain away, even if it’s only a 3 minute song. Many songs came out after 9/11 about the incident and how people came together and dealt with it. There is one song in particular that always sticks in my head when I think of music related to 9/11. The chorus especially always makes me think, a few of the lines are “Have you forgotten how it felt that day, To see your homeland under fire, And her people blown away, Have you forgotten when those towers fell, We had neighbors still inside, Going through a living hell.” The entire song talks so much about what happened that day and how traumatic and permanent those memories are going to be. I actually read a book once about two people who were inside the towers the day of 9/11 and what they did, only one of them survived but still, the book described what everyone was going threw and how they were all trying to evacuate at once while trying to avoid fires. There is so much information about that day, personal stories, families stories, survivor stories, it’s just so awful to think about. I know we’ve been involved in a few wars and other situations, but getting hit on home soil is a whole other thing. It’s more personal and terrifying because you never know what will happen and that was a more personal attack. A lot of artist used this tragedy to make music to help people heal. Music is a way that everyone can connect no matter what you’ve been through and sometimes hearing about it makes it known that you are not alone and that you are not the only one going threw this. Obviously some people had worse experiences than others, but everyone experienced loss that day.  

Analysis of Bob Dylan

Jack Brophy
Melissa Santos
Music and Social Consciousness
2/17/19

Analysis of Bob Dylan

   
     Just from doing a small google search about Bob Dylan it is pretty clear that most of his music at least the most popular songs were about social change and political change. In the song “Blowin in the Wind” by Bob Dylan it is a very strong message that you might not pick up on if you are not paying your full attention because of the entertainment it creates in a whole. The song “Blowin in the Wind” by Bob Dylan was created in the year 1962. One piece of the song was “how many times must the cannonballs fly, before there forever banned?” This is just one line and probably the most blatant line about political change. I took this as him asking how many times must we make the same mistake and go to war before we realize that it’s not worth it. Another great part of the song that tries to strike social change is “ the answer my friend is blowing in the wind”. This is a great way to wrap up all of the questions he asked prior and basically say that the answers are out there we just aren’t looking or do not want to look.

    I think the delivery of the song was very good for the message of it as a whole. The actual music was very soft and intense. It is great music to complement what Bob Dylan is trying to say in the lyrics without taking the spotlight. The main message of this song is about the protest of the Vietnam War. The first line of the song goes “ how many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man”, this stands for the beliefs that people held back in the 60s, it was that any man wasn’t a man until he has been through war. You might not pick up on the meaning of these lines until you get some background information but that’s what makes music interesting, the unknown and want you have to picture in your own mind, and what realizations do you come to on your own. Not only is this song about political change referring to the Vietnam War it is also about social change referring to the African American discrimination. A very powerful line was “ Yes n how many times can some people exist, before they are allowed to be free”, this is a line directly referring to the miscare and inequality of the African Americans at this time. “Yes n how many times must a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn’t see?”, this line is very powerful in the fact that is is referring to the rest of the population including himself for looking the other way when it comes to inequality for African Americans, everyone just bats an eye. Another powerful line in this song is “how many years can a mountain exist, before it is washed to the sea?”, and I think that this line, if I am keeping with the ideas that I have pulled so far stands for the pride of the people that are initiating this war. As the second part of the line suggests that all pride will be washed away at some point in history. “Yes n how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died”, in this line there is no tiptoeing around the subject or creating “symbols” for his message, he wants to be direct and blatant with the message that he wants to get across to his listeners, and I personally think that is the main way that you spark social or political change, not being afraid of standing up for your beliefs, and having heart.