Musical Functions

In the 1960s, Rock ‘n’ Roll was replaced in popularity by other branches of rock such as Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock and Hard Rock as a hippie counter culture arose, mainly to protest against the Vietnam war. These new forms of rock provided social commentary on the wide range of assassinations and anti-civil rights actions that infested the country, and united those that wanted to end them. They too celebrated anti-authority actions, but now they were used to promote peace and drugs. Americans—mainly college students—were still rebelling against societal constraints, but instead of fighting against the conformity of white suburbia and their parents, they were uniting to fight against U.S. governmental authority. Rock in the 1960s still mainly appealed to the younger generations, but its influence was spreading. Folk Rock (Bob Dylan) was playing in protest, reminding the individuals there that they were fighting for peace, and Psychedelic Rock—which replicated or enhanced the mind altering experience of psychedelic drugs—created a soothing and new atmosphere in the U.S. Music festivals such as Woodstock in 1969 sprung up to promote peace, do drugs, listen to music, and enjoy being alive and young.6 However, this element of extreme partying and pleasure, eventually brought a few stars to early deaths, such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. In the

The music shaped society during the 1900s, helping in the development of society’s social history. Music and society are highly influenced by one another. Music both inspires and motivates people to do what they feel is right. When we realize how they correspond with each other, it brings others together, for example, “On February 9, 1964, an estimated 70 million Americans tuned into the Ed Sullivan show”(Wong, 39), all different kinds of people in America came together to watch what was called “The Beatlemania”, which featured The Beatles. The Beatles inspired other music artists to push the way they play music in a new way. The more music being played, the more media it would receive, which would bring in more profits. Music is in every culture, such as, Christians who sued music as a praise to Christ, to thank him and worship his holiness. It is widely varied between all times, places and cultures. People express their emotions and ideas through their music. Music expresses people’s emotions, concerns, and feelings about situations like, the Civil Rights Movement.

Vanilla Ice willfully sampled “Under Pressure” without their permission, which is a direct offense of copyright law. This type of infringement is equatable to stealing property (Moser & Slay, 2014). After a stern confrontation from the collective legal team, Vanilla Ice’s initial defense was incredibly weak: author J. Runtagh, for the Rolling Stone, states his defense makes this one of the most “hilarious” copyright cases ever. One could argue that a more appropriate course of action would be to take Vanilla Ice to court and have him formally charged with copyright infringement, as well as not allowing him to purchase all the publishing rights. Vanilla Ice’s nonchalant attitude toward the infringement lends one to believe he does not understand or care about his actions. Moreover, allowing David Bowie and Queen to keep their share of songwriting royalties and publishing royalties serves more appropriately as a settlement due to the fact that it allows for income to be pursued as long as the rights are

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

Popular singer Elton John once said; “music has healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours”, and for most, music is the portal to an out of body experience. African American lyricists especially have been found to use the art of music to escape the real world, commencing from the slavery era and onward. The blues song titled The Tracks of My Tears does just that; expresses the ability to remove your soul from a treacherous reality. Similarly, the lyrics from popular modern songs, written by black artists, speak volumes about what is presently going on in the country, parallel to the way African American slavery songs did. Music written at an earlier period have been found to correlate to music of the past through providing strong emotion toward present day commentary.

Others believe that music should not be censored because it would infringe on the artist’s right to freedom of speech, but music containing explicit lyrics should be criticized for their negative content. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas delivered a speech to the City Club of Cleveland. In his speech he discusses how music has a major affect on youth, and how crimes among teenagers have increased greatly, since music with explicit lyrics have been out on the market. He also expresses that music should not be censored, because the artist have the right to say what they want in their lyrics, but society also had the right to criticize the explicit lyrics in their music. (1-9) The right to freedom of speech is given to all people under the bill of rights. If people weren’t allowed to speak what they felt this country would not be where it is today.

Modern examples of musical cultural appropriation are numerous. The digital age of music production has led to appropriation going wild. It’s called sampling in digital music, where small beats, refrains, or lyrics are used in small digital recordings and placed in new arrangements to make songs. It became popular in Rap and Hip Hop, but now is being done in all aspects of popular music. Some music is even being made using samples from several artists that are not even in the same recording studio, or have not even met face to face! A good example of musical cultural appropriation is Sam Smith’s song “Stay With Me” which was discovered to have a very similar melody and lyrics as Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”. According to CNN, “Petty

Furthermore, various songs are specifically written with certain intentions and nuances to express the artist’s values and beliefs about a topic such as, love or the natural phenomena. Based on the passage, “ Source 2: Selling Out Not Worth the Risk”, it states “ But when outside interests enter the mix, they can replace the passion in an artist’s music and turn the art into just another tool for corporations.” To emphasize, businesses have the power to change any lyric in the song, so the song would lose it’s meaning and instead be about the product the business is selling. Even though, allowing corporations use an artist’s song for advertising a product, enables the artist’s song to be heard from an even more

Since the Constitution of the United States was written, Americans have practiced their right to freedom of speech as a way to express their point of view on issues facing the country. Over time, voicing one’s opinion went from outspoken newspaper articles to large rallies, and during the Vietnam War, music was a prevalent tool in aiding the protests. Allowing political messages to be shared nationally, the music had touched the lives of the younger generation. Author Jerome L. Rodnitzky explains in his journal, “The Sixties between the Microgrooves: Using Folk and Protest Music to Understand American History, 1963-1973”, how music was “trying to be all things

Through songs many people express their feelings of the world threw the words they have wrote. Many songs talk about civil rights of the people and how change should be an option. In the world we live in today we have social issues that people have to face such as: police brutality, racial profiling, discrimination etc. Through Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, The Game, Bebe Winans, and N.W.A they will use their voice as a weapon for change among all people. Music with a message thrives in a live setting, for obvious reasons, and many politically conscious musicians aim to channel the heightened emotions

The United States has a storied musical history, shaped by a massively diverse population and geography. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Dixie’s Land” are two of the most important songs to American popular music history, and shaped the outcome of the Civil War and much of the past two centuries. Historically they represent entirely opposite ideals, but they interact immensely over the course of American history. Their complicated evolving relationships with society and each other represent the changing politics and culture of the United States from the Civil War to present day.

A human writes a piece of music when they feel driven to in some way or form. Some music is direct story-telling such as American country music, or Korean

During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed

Rock Music has traditionally, among political authorities, been viewed as a medium that has the potential to bring about unrest and revolution among listeners. Even in its early stages, rock music has been seen as a threat to the stability of society. In a 1968 Time magazine article, Robert Sam Ansons declared rock music to be "one long symphony of protest…the proclamation of a new set of values…the anthem of revolution" (qtd. in Wicke 103). While the comment acknowledges the influential potential that rock and roll has, it views it negatively. Similarly, politicians have been out-spoken against rock and pop musicians, declaring they have a negative effect on society. In the mid 1990's, during presidential election campaigns, Bob Dole and Bill Clinton both declared that rock and roll plays a part in the corruption of American youth (Christenson 2). Historically, many politicians have seen rock and roll as being in opposition to positive political change.

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.