Week 18: Beyoncé

Beyoncé, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008)

Week 18: Beyoncé
TU 12.15/TH 12.17 (FINALS WEEK)
Sec 38 Final Exam Time: Tu 12/15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM
Class: Class review

Music News 12.7.15

• M.I.A's new single tackles the world's refugee crisis (Slate)
• One Direction accounted for five of the top ten retweets on Twitter in 2015 (VentureBeat)
• Pitchfork names the best music videos of 2015 (Pitchfork)
• The 2016 Grammy nominations announced (MSNBC)
• Apple Music and iTunes Match bump up capacity to 100,000 songs (DigitalTrends)
• DJ Earworm releases his annual mashup of the year's biggest singles (YouTube)

Week 17: Sam Smith

Sam Smith, "I'm Not the Only One" (2014)

Week 17: Sam Smith
TU 12.8 (LAST REGULAR DAY OF CLASS)/TH 12.10 (SEC. 63 ONLY; FINAL EXAM TIME) Sec 63 Final Exam Time: Th 12/10 from 8:00 – 9:30 AM 
Class: Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 8 (Due Tue 12.8)

Upcoming:

Week 18: Beyoncé
TU 12.15/TH 12.17 (FINALS WEEK)
Sec 38 Final Exam Time: Tu 12/15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM 
Class: Class review

Music News 12.3.15

• Carrie Underwood gives James Cordon's "Carpool Karaoke" a country spin (Entertainment Weekly)
• Eliot Sumner, daughter of Sting, comes out as gay, non-gendered (People)
• Holiday wish list item: An official Metallica skateboard (MetalInjection)
• Drum off: Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl vs The Muppets' Animal (Consequence of Sound)
• A new record: Seventeen of Justin Bieber's tracks are in Billboard’s Hot 100 this week (Fortune)
• Psy is back (CNN)

 

Reflection 8: Snowed Out—Surviving the Christmas Music Avalanche

It used to be that they wouldn't show up until at least the day after Thanksgiving—at the earliest. Any earlier than that and it just seemed like jumping the gun. But these days, the dust of Halloween has hardly settled before someone, somewhere, eagerly rolls them out. Whenever it is they come, Christmas songs come with a vengeance. And while some people can't wait to revel in holiday cheer, others quickly feel inundated by the near endless stream of Christmas cheer. While these songs can be expected at a party or in a church, they can also be heard while on hold on the telephone or in every mall in America. How do you feel about holiday music? Which songs do you like and which do you detest? What is the line between this music celebrating the season and it spoiling the spirit? Finally, if you do not celebrate Christmas, how does holiday music affect you?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "Centuries-old Christmas Carols Endure" (Tennessean)
• "Science Behind Why We Love, or Hate, Christmas Music" (WDIV)
• "The Ten Most Annoying Christmas Songs" (Gawker)
• "Ten Best Christmas Songs for Atheists" (Alternet)
• "Christmas Songs that Upset Me" (phillyBurbs.com)
• "Five Christmas Songs that Don't Suck" (Nerve)

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be two full pages in length
• Must include a works cited page

Due:Tu 12. 8 (Note Tuesday due date)

Week 16: Billy Joel

Week 16: Billy Joel
TU 12.1/TH 12.3
Read: OWEN—Pg. 101 – 200
Class: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES; Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: INFOGRAPHIC (Note new due date; email Thu 12.3 by 5 PM)

Upcoming:

Week 17: Sam Smith
TU 12.8 (LAST REGULAR DAY OF CLASS)/TH 12.10 (SEC. 63 ONLY; FINAL EXAM TIME)
Sec 63 Final Exam Time: Th 12/10 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM
Class: Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 8 (Due Tue 12.8)

Week 18: Beyoncé
TU 12.15/TH 12.17 (FINALS WEEK)
Sec 38 Final Exam Time: Tu 12/15 from 7:15 – 9:30 AM
Class: Class review

Music News 11.23.15 (Adele Edition)

• How Adele and the BBC pranked a group of Adele impersonators (Entertainment Weekly) 
• Adele smashes Beyoncé's iTunes sales record (People)
• 25 release is on track to be the fastest selling album in America—ever (Guardian)
• Adele and Drake in a virtual lovefest (Rolling Stone)
• Hear Adele's stunning raw mic feed from this weekend's Saturday Night Live (Independent)
• Also ... Saturday Night Live shows how Adele can silence your conservative relatives during Thanksgiving (YouTube)