Final Flashcards
Jali/Griot
- Ancient tradition of travelling praise-singers, musicians, and oral historians of West Africa
- Gatekeepers of their culture, repositories of oral tradition
- Ambiguous social class
- Poetry/spoken word is linked to this
Ring shouts
Worshipers move in a circle while singing and using body percussion
Spirituals
Christian-themed songs with double meaning
Blues
- Secular storytelling
- AABB form
- Everyday issues
R&B
- Draws on blues, gospel, pop, jazz
- Secular lyrics
What causes the relationship between commerce, politics, and genre in black popular music?
Wanting/needing to make a living from their music
Contested meanings
Like “Keep on Rockin’ In The Free World” or “Born In The USA”
Pre-civil rights, artists had to be ___ when presenting a political message in their music. An example?
Subtle; “Chain Gang” by Sam Cooke
Which two cities had more political messages and why?
Detroit and Chicago due to less oppressive politics
An example of a post-civil rights song with a political message
“Message from a Black Man” by the Temptations
Typology
A classification system according to the shared or distinct characteristics
Internal audience
Music with a message intended primarily for members of the marginalized community
Nationalist
Intended to promote community political mobilization
External audience
Music with a message intended to tell stories/send messages to listeners in the dominating group
Integrationist
Music with a message intended to cross over to white audiences
Double coding
- Secular songs that address particular social issues
- Common during the civil rights era
- “Respect” by Aretha Franklin
Audio imagery
- The experience of “hearing” a song without auditory stimulation
- Facilitates the transmission and retention of information because of how melodies and rhythms are stored in our brains
- Useful for encoding/decoding
Community theatre
Spaces that provide audiences with the chance to encounter and negotiate with one another
Documentary
1) Internal or external
2) Describes and documents negative conditions
3) “Living in the City” by Stevie Wonder
Jeremiad
1) External
2) Challenges outsiders to help
3) “If There’s a Hell, We’re All Going to Go” by Curtis Mayfield
All God’s Children
1) Internal or external
2) Calls for equal treatment
3) “People Get Ready” by Curtis Mayfield
Defiant Challenge
1) External
2) Demands for external forces to stop exploitive behaviour
3) “Fight the Power” by Isley Brothers
Awareness Raising
1) Internal
2) Describes negatives conditions to raise awareness
3) “Respect Yourself” by Staple Singers
Collective Self-Helf
1) Internal or external
2) Calls for collective problem-solving efforts