Due to growing up in the eighties, I was rather excited about starting off with the chapter in Rockin’ Out that Reebee Garafalo dedicated to that decade. Learning about the music that I grew up with definitely interested me and kept my attention - again, I have to make a bit of an aside to reiterate that if we could catch our students’ attention by engaging them in a topic that they are interested, we will achieve this same effect with them. They will want to acquire more knowledge in that area and we, as educators, will sneak in that pesky reading that they seem adverse to. Ok. Rant over. Back to the topic at hand.
While I don’t define myself with the songs and artists of the eighties, I am sure that they had some influence over me. This influence could have taken root in the more political aspect of my life. I find that I agree with the outcome of the political actions of the eighties. Now I know that my political leanings did not come solely from the music of the eighties (since I was between the ages of 0 and 10) but I am sure they influenced the people around me and therefore passed on when I got to the age to think more politically.
While reading Chapter 9: Music Videos, Superstars, and Mega-Events: The Eighties, I found myself immersed in the story of the time. As a naïve, passive music listener, I really had no idea about the history that surrounded this decade. I grew up in a world where MTV dominated the television. In fact, I only lived one year of my life devoid of this channel. It was interesting to learn how the pairing of the auditory and the visual helped the recession that occurred in the music industry to bounce back.
On the other hand, it was quite sad to learn about the racist and sexists practices MTV succumbed to in order to make money. I realize that big businesses have to follow the practices of the times if they want to make money, but you would think that a revolutionary business would be willing to takes more risks and take them in a speedier manner than they actually occurred. This was just not true.
As far as the topic of race was concerned, the music industry showed its true colors both in the artists it signed, but also in the artists it showed on television. I think that the quote by veejay Mark Goodman really sums up the argument against promoting African American performers: “Of course, also we have to try and do what we think not only New York and Los Angeles will appreciate, but also Poughkeepsie or the Midwest. Pick some town in the Midwest which would be scared to death by Prince, which we’re playing, or a string of other black faces, or black music” (298). This just shows the political influence that controlled the music industry. I will be forever grateful to Michael Jackson for breaking down the color barrier that exists not only in the music industry, but also in our society. Who knows where we would be as a society if he had never gained the fame and popularity he did.
When approaching the topic of women in music, and specifically in music videos, I feel that my last post goes into a lot of that detail, and I refer you to that if you haven’t already read it. However, I will say that I do not believe that the use of women in male artists’ videos has changed much in the last thirty years. It seems that the idea of using women as visual hooks is still alive and well. Will this ever change? Part of me hopes that it will, but the larger part of me thinks that this is a trend that will stay for a long time.
Overall, I was thrilled with the leaps and bounds that the political realm gained due to or at the same time as the leaps and bounds made in the musical realm of the 1980s. On the other hand, while reading the chapter in Rockin’ Out that talked about the history of the 1970s, I had the opposite reaction.
My beef doesn’t really reside with the music of disco, but rather with its counterpart of punk music. Since I was not a child of the 70s, I really had no exposure to the music that came out of this decade. Even my older brother, who was born in 1973, missed this era of music entirely. I do now, however, have a group of students that are taken over by puck music. In fact, one of my students decided to do a research project on punk music, reading for weeks about intimate detail of two of his favorite bands. After reading chapter eight in our textbook, I began to wonder if he really understood what punk music meant or represented. It would be interesting to find out if this particular student knows the history of the punk music or if he just fell in love with the sound of the music.
I have to say; I understand some of the philosophy behind punk music. I understand not wanting to be controlled, and instead opting to be something different. But, I do think these thoughts were taken to some pretty far extremes. And sadly, these extremes showed up in the political climate of both Britain and the U.S. I know that it wasn’t the goal of the punk movement to become a symbol for the National Front, but when you choose to use symbols such as the swastika to make a political stand, it can come back and haunt you. The book states that it was more about confrontational art and not an endorsement of racism, but it amazes me that they could have over looked the history of the aforementioned symbol.
Not only did they forget about the history surrounding the swastika, they used it not to enhance their beliefs, but instead to make more money. For Westwood and McLaren, it became a way for them to put a stamp on the fashion of the times as well as get themselves immersed in markets other than music, such as the film industry. To make money off of the tragedy that surrounds this symbol is disgusting to me.
I was glad to hear that groups formed to combat the message and beliefs of the National Front. I feel that the Rock against Racism (RAR) was indispensable to what our country became. I loved that they worked to bring not only blacks and whites to the stage at the same time, but worked also to cross the gender and sexual orientation barriers. It is amazing to me that the culture of music has such a wide reach that it could help a politician gain the popular vote in an election. And this is not something that only happened in our history. This is still going on today. You can see it in shows such as Rock the Vote. I am glad there are people who are using their influence to make people think about what it is they want our country to stand up and believe in.
As a teacher, it seems like a no brainer to want my students to understand how politics and music go hand in hand. I think in noting this connection, it will help them understand the music and lyrics that they are enamored with.
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