Reflection 4: As Heard on TV—The Music of Commercials

Let's face it, music can have great influence over us and that includes the ability to sell us things. Advertisers have known this for decades, which is why TV  commercials have been laden with music since the early days of radio. Today, music is still an integral part of commercials. Advertisers work diligently to find music that enhances the appeal of a product, knowing that pairing the right song with the right product can result in increased profits. Additionally, many artists' songs have been resurrected, or plucked from obscurity, after being placed in a major commercial. For many artists, having "that song from that commercial" can translate into a considerable bump in album sales. For this reflection, you will examine three of the following commercials to assess the overall impact music has in the ads. (Note we are not looking at songs that are modified for a particular campaign, but songs that are used in their original form in order to help sell you something.) Each of these songs was chosen for a reason. But what do you think those reasons were? What likely was the desired effect? How is the product enhanced by this music? If you are already familiar with the song, how does your prior knowledge affect your appreciation of the ad or the product? Finally, do songs in television advertising ever influence your own purchase of products?

 

Choose three of the following ads for your analysis:

• Subaru Forester's "Making Memories" featuring Gregory Isakov's "Time Will Tell" (2015)
• Android's "Friends Furever" featuring "O-De-Lally" by Roger Miller (2015)
• Google Play's "Play Your Heart Out" featuring "Rainbow Man" by Busy P (2014)
• Android's "And You" featuring Andrew W.K.'s "Party Hard" (2014)
• Apple iPhone's "Metal Mastered" featuring "Ooh La La" by Goldfrapp (2013)
• Coach's "Coach Love" featuring Blonde Redhead "Girl Boy" (2013)
• Target's "Threshold" featuring “So Groovy Now" by Jocelyn Alice & Right The Stars (2013)
• The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas' "Misfit Right In" featuring Major Lazer ft. The Partysquad's "Original Don" (2013)
• Chipotle's "The Scarecrow" featuring "Pure Imagination" by Fiona Apple (2013)
• Taco Bell's "Viva Young" featuring fun's "We are Young" in Spanish (2013)
• Target's "Color Changes Everything" featuring "Alouette" by The Delta Rythmn Boys (2012)
• The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas' "Let Him Go" featuring Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2012)
• Internet Explorer's "IE9" featuring "Too Close" by Alex Clare (2012)
• Chipotle's "Back to the Start" featuring Coldplay's "The Scientist" (2011)
• Hieneken's "Date" featuring “Jaan Pehechaan Ho” by Mohammed Rafi (2011)
  
• Volkswagen Passat's "The Force" featuring "The Imperial March" by John Williams (2011)
• Apple iPod's "iPod Nano" featuring "1234" by Feist (2007) 
• Gap's "The Skinny Black Pant" featuring "Back in Black" by AC/DC (2006)
• Apple iPod's "Life is Random" featuring "Jerk it Out" by The Caesers (2006)
• Epic Games' Gears of War's "Mad World" featuring "Mad World" by Gary Jules (2006)
• Gap's "Pretty Khaki" featuring "I Enjoy Being a Girl" from Flow Drum Song (2005)
• Chanel's "Le Film" featuring "Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy (2004)
• Mitsubishi Eclipse's "Days Go By" featuring "Days Go By" by Dirty Vegas (2003)
• Mitsubishi Outlander's "Breathe" featuring "Breathe" by Télépopmusik (2002)
• Volkswagen Jetta's "Big Day" featuring "One Million Miles" by J. Ralph (2001) 
• Gap's "Simply Irresistible" featuring Daft Punk's "Digital Love" (2001)
• Volkswagen Cabriolet's "Pink Moon" featuring "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake (2000)
• Gap's "Khaki Swing" featuring "Jump, Jive, and Wail" by Louis Prima (1998)
• Diet Coke's "Diet Coke Break" featuring "I Just Want to Make Love to You" by Etta James (1994)
• Pepsi's "Just One Look" featuring "Just One Look" by Doris Troy (1992)
• Nike Air's "Revolution" featuring "Revolution" by The Beatles (1987)
• Honda Scooters' "Don't Settle for Walking" featuring "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed (1986)
• Levi's "Launderette" featuring "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (1985)

Required:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be two full pages in length

Due: Tu 10.6

Week 7: Céline Dion

Céline Dion, "The Power of Love" (1993)

Week 7: Céline Dion

Tu 9.29/Th 10.1

Read: “Writing about Music” (University of Calgary), “A Guide to Writing about Music, Pt. 2: Thinking” (Invisible Oranges)

Class: Reading discussion; presentations

Due: EDITORIAL (FINAL DRAFT—ATTACH DRAFT 1 TO BACK)

Upcoming:

Week 8: Journey
Tu 10.6/Th 10.8

Listen: DB—Iconic Female Songwriters music primer

Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Lecture—“On Wordiness: Exercises”

Due: REFLECTION 4 

Music News 9.24.15

• Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams reinterprets Taylor Swift's entire 1989 album (NPR)
• Sam Smith previews a snippet from "The Writing's on the Wall" from Spectre (JustJared)
• Actress Rose McGowan challenges Hollywood beauty standards in her striking new music video (Rolling Stone) [NSFW]
• Sean Combs is the world's highest paid rap act (Forbes)
• Fox's hip hop soap, Empire, returns for season 2 (Tampa Bay Times)
• Chris Cornell cover's Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Rolling Stone)

The Hip Hop Wars: Old School Video Playlist: 1979 - 1992

Here is a video playlist highlighting some of the biggest hits of the first dozen (or so) years of hip hop:

• The Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight" (1979) 
• Kurtis Blow, "The Breaks" (1980)
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "The Message" (1982) 
• Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, "Planet Rock" (1982)
• Grandmaster Melle Mel, "White Lines (Don't Do It)" (1983)  
• Whodini, "Freaks Come Out at Night"(1984)
• Run-DMC, "King of Rock" (1985)
• LL Cool J, "I Need Love" (1987)
• Beastie Boys, "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" (1987)
• Salt-N-Pepa, "Push It" (1988)
• Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, "It Takes Two" (1988)
• Neneh Cherry, "Buffalo Stance" (1988) 
• Jungle Brothers, "I'll House You" (1988) 
• Kid 'n Play, "Rollin' with Kid 'n Play" (1988) 
• Tone-Lōc, "Wild Thing" (1988)
• Queen Latifah ft. Monie Love, "Ladies First"(1989)
• Young MC, "Bust a Move" (1989)
• De La Soul, "Me, Myself, and I" (1989)
• LL Cool J, "Mama Said Knock You Out" (1990)
• Salt-N-Pepa, "Let's Talk About Sex" (1990)
• A Tribe Called Quest, "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo"(1990)
• P.M. Dawn, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (1991) 
• Monie Love, "Work it Out" (1991)
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, "Summertime" (1991) 
• Beastie Boys, "So What'cha Want" (1992)
• Arrested Development, "Tennessee" (1992)

Week 6: John Williams

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, "The Imperial March" from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, (1982)

Week 6: John Williams
Tu 9.22/Th 9.24
Read: WARS—Chapters 11-13
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Writers workshop
Due: EDITORIAL (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES)

Upcoming:

Week 7: Céline Dion

Tu 9.29/Th 10.1

Read: “Writing about Music” (University of Calgary), “A Guide to Writing about Music, Pt. 2: Thinking” (Invisible Oranges)

Class: Reading discussion; presentations

Due: EDITORIAL (FINAL DRAFT—ATTACH DRAFT 1 TO BACK)

Editorial: Saving Hip Hop Today

In The Hip Hop Wars, Tricia Rose argues:

Hip Hop is in a terrible crisis. Although its overall fortunes have risen sharply, the most commercially promoted and financially successful hip hop—what has dominated mass-media outlets such as television, film, radio, and recording industries for a dozen years or so—has increasingly become a playground for caricatures of black gangstas, pimps, and hoes. Hyper-sexism has increased dramatically, and homophobia along with distorted, antisocial, self-destructive, and violent portraits of black masculinity have become rap's calling cards. Relying on an ever-narrowing range of images and themes, this commercial juggernaut has played a central role in the near-deception of what was once a vibrant, diverse, and complex popular genre, wringing it dry by pandering to America's racist and sexist lowest common denominator.

Is there any turning back for hip hop? Can a multi-million dollar industry abandon its trite motifs, and return to a simpler time? How does hip hop return to its roots? Is there hope for hip hop? In a concise editorial, explain how you believe hip hop can be reclaimed. To support your thesis, cite evidence from The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop—and Why It Matters

Requirements:

• MLA Style, including parenthetical citation
• 3-page minimum
• Include a works cited page

The best papers will:

• Have a title that articulates its point of view
• Stay within the parameters of the subject matter
• Have a concise thesis which outlines a clear position
• Be written in a voice that is casual, yet informed
• Clearly support their theses with solid evidence and a logical structure, thoughtfully citing from The Hip Hop Wars.
• Conclude with a summation of the argument
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
• Are in compliance with MLA Style

Sample editorials from around the country:

• "Donald Trump is an Aimless, Angry Leader" (Washington Post)
• "Refusal to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses is Not an Expression of Religious Liberty" (New Haven Register)
• "A Shameful Response in Europe to the Refugee Crisis in North Africa and Mideast" (Los Angeles Times)
• "Overreaction in Clock-Bomb Mix-Up has Chilling Effect" (Dallas Morning News)

Due: Draft 1 - Thu 9.24 (Bring 2 copies); Final draft - Thu 10.1 (Attach draft  1 to back)

Week 5: Carole King

Carole King, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (1971)

Week 5: Carole King
Tu 9.15/Th 9.17
Read: WARS—Chapters 8-10
Class: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL; Reading discussion; Presentations; Lectures—“Better Reading 101” and “Citing Sources in MLA 101”
Due: REFLECTION 3

Upcoming:

Week 6: John Williams
Tu 9.22/Th 9.24
Read: WARS—Chapters 11-13
Class: Reading discussion; Presentations; Writers workshop
Due: EDITORIAL (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES)

Music News 9.8.15

• Sam Smith lands the coveted theme for the next James Bond film, Spectre (CNN)
• With "What Do You Mean?," Justin Bieber becomes youngest male artist to debut at #1 (Entertainment Weekly)
• Survivor frontman: Use of "Eye of the Tiger" at Kim Davis rally was unauthorized, sues for $1.2 million (NBCNews)
• Sia's new single was reclaimed for herself after it was cut from Adele's 25 (New York Daily News)
• Report: Bruno Mars offered to headline half-time show for returning for Super Bowl 50 (Entertainment Weekly)
• Country legend Merle Haggard on country music today: "They're talking about screwing on a pickup tailgate, and things of that nature ... I don't find anything you can whistle, and nobody even attempts to write a melody. It's more of that kids stuff." (Rolling Stone)

Reflection 3: We Are(n't) the World—Exploring International Music

J-AX (Ft. Il Cile), "Maria Salvador" (#6 on iTunes Italy Singles Chart)

Despite "Gangnam Style's" recent success, we don't often get the opportunity to hear non-English music on American commercial radio. While we might hear the occasional song sung partially in another language (e.g. "Macarena," "Time to Say Goodbye," "Bailamos"), songs sung entirely in a foreign language are still rare (e.g. "La Bamba," "Bamboleo"). However, that's not the case around the world, where foreign language songs, including American music, routinely become hits in a number of markets. But Americans, it is said, are notoriously resistant to songs that aren't in English. So, while the rest of the world gets to hear a variety of international artists, Americans are largely limited to music from English-speaking countries (e.g. the UK, Canada, Australia). For this reflection, you'll take a musical trip around the world. First, go to PopVortex's iTunes International Charts page, which compiles Apple music sales worldwide. Next, choose three countries, and spend some time sampling the local musical fare. As you do, consider what are these countries' musical tastes are at this moment, and to what degree American music has penetrated their charts. Finally, do you you believe any of the music you sampled could have a shot at success in America? Why or why not?

Requirements:

• Must be in MLA Style
• Must be two full pages in length
• Works cited page
  

Due: Thu 9.17

Week 4: Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys, "This Girl is on Fire" (2012)

Week 4: Alicia Keys

Tu 9.8/Th 9.10 

Read: WARS—Chapters 4-5, 7; eR—"Millennials Need to Find a Soundtrack For Their Generation" (Mic), "I Haz Music: Choosing a Musical Genre to Define Millennials" (Mic) Class: Reading discussion; Watch—“Gospel for Teens” (60 Minutes); Lecture—“Crafting the Essay: Writing as a Process”

Upcoming:

Week 5: Carole King
Tu 9.15/Th 9.17
Read: WARS—Chapters 8-10
Class: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL; Reading discussion; Presentations; Lectures—“Better Reading 101” and “Citing Sources in MLA 101”
Due: REFLECTION 3
 

Music News 9.3.15

• Watch a 21-year-old mechanic's audition bring Simon Cowell to tears on X Factor UK (Daily Standard)
• Miley Cyrus goes undercover on Jimmy Kimmel to find out what America really thinks of her (CNN)
• Taylor Swift duets with Friends' Phoebe Buffay (AKA Lisa Kudrow) to cover "Smelly Cat" (Chicago Tribune)
• Also ... Swift accused of racism in her new Africa-themed music video (Guardian)
• Zac Efron's EDM movie, We Are Your Friends, hauls in only $1.8 million at box office (BBC News)
• Lena Dunham thinks Justin Biebers’ “What Do You Mean?” promotes rape culture (Dlisted)