Weeks 10-12
Modernism:
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
1) how has it been interpreted? (cite examples)
2)what are some of the key features
3) In what way has it been influential
Post-Modernism
1) What common qualities do 'the beats' share? Why 'beats'?
2) How is beat poetry linked to rap?
3) How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
4) On what grounds was 'Howl' accused of being obscene - grounds for the defense?
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDeleteHere we go….
Modernism
What dose 'The Wasteland' mean...
2) What are some of the key features?
This poem of the Waste Land by Eliot has a large array of features. For me the first major feature is the disarray of content, jumping from topic to topic and narrator to narrator. For me it was a poem of a troubled mind like a shattered mirror that has lost its purpose of being a mirror, that it didn't know what to do next. I had to read it four times before this realisation come to being. But this is not surprising as we see a world shattered by a WW1 called the “war to end all wars”. Or as Kenner puts it “ …the first quality of the waste land to catch a newcomer’s attention , its self-sufficient juxtaposition without copulae of theme and passages in a dense mosaic…” (Kenner, 1959 citied in Blooms, 2006) and Menand states ‘ The Waste Land appears to be a poem designed to make trouble for the conceptual mechanics not just of the ordinary reader but of literary reading (1987). A key feature to me of how this was done was the constant shifting of places and themes and speakers. Kenner states that it appears to be through a spoken or a unspoken monologue (Kenner, 1959 citied in Blooms, 2006) but for me how can we tell. In the poem there is the following “ I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself , HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME” Kenner later on in his text demonstrates that the first two utterances are of one character and the “Hurry up please its time” is another character (Kenner, 1959 citied in Blooms, 2006). Thus we see a feature of disarray. Nothing for the reader to hold on to not even time as it shifts dramatically through out the poem.
Thus, This all appears to be a break from tradition and could be new methods of modernism in creation and shifting away from 19th century styles. Such breaks from what was done in the last centuries that I could tell. Like no class system and religious or anti industrial tones which we saw in the works of Blake in last section of the reader. This is a reaction feature to the loss of mans way where he has departed from nature. Created his own world but it has failed, all there was is destruction through war which left everything and everyone broken shifting from place to place and the poem shows this as a feature. As I continue to read more and find out more of what Modernism is I hope to describe and demonstrate more through the text. What do you guys think on the mark or far away…?
Cheers
Nick:)
References
Blooms, H. (2006). T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (Kindle version). Retrieved from www.amazon.com
Menand, L. (1987). Discovering Modernism: T.S. Eliot and His Context. Oxford University Press
Great post, Nick. A good start for grasping this deliberately difficult poem which, as you point out, was designed to resist interpretation .
ReplyDeleteHay guys,
ReplyDeleteIts ‘code switching’! as Mike has pointed out today. Now I have a phrase to link these concepts to. But it makes me wonder. About this feature who would know what the other languages in the text mean. Such as the code switching to different languages for example in ‘the Burial of the Dead’:
Frisch weht der wind
Der heimat zu
Mein Irisch Kind
Wo weilest du?
Which means in English:
Fresh blows the wind
To the homeland
My Irish child
Where do you linger?
This is not only code switching in another language but it’s a section of text from another genre that of opera almost the same words from Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde as shown on the poetry genius site (2014). Thus if you can even understand the words its from a very different context and tempo that will really put off any muilt-lingul reader.
Then we have in ‘the fire sermon’ is:
Et, O ces voix d’enfants, chantant dans la coupole!
Once again translation from the poetry genius site (2014) the text means
And, O those children’s voices, signing in the cupola!’
This was to connect us to a poem by Paul Verlaines chort poem Parsifal. Thus we seen not only another code switch to another language but another genre form very different to what the flow of the waste land is but also very different to the other text of code switching above.
Therefore we see a crazy roller-coaster of code switching in a language sense changing to different languages but also tempos and genres and time locations. Reinforcing the feeling of disarray. Where we are shifting in our seat or bed uncomfortable of what is in the text of the waste land. No rest for the reader no comfort. Possibly we are even venturing into the concept of our minds where in the 20th century are shifting constantly. Always trying to grab on to something then suddenly shifting to another thing. And maybe we have lost a connection to nature or our hearts and our minds are so afraid, it’s trying hard to cling on to something. To keep it occupied to avoid screaming that we in our modern world have done something very wrong to nature to god…that we have lost our connection? Just a thought….?
Cheers Nick
References
Poetry Genius (2014)
http://poetry.rapgenius.com/Ts-eliot-the-waste-land-annotated#note-325060
How was Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' involved in controversy during the Bush administration?
ReplyDeleteMasters of War is a song released by Bob Dylan in 1963. It is one of his most famous, or infamous, protest songs and it is addressing the build up of arms in the U.S.A during the Cold War. As Dylan himself states,"'Masters of War'... is supposed to be a pacifistic song against war. It's not an anti-war song. It's speaking against what Eisenhower was calling a military-industrial complex as he was making his exit from the presidency. That spirit was in the air, and I picked it up."
It became the center of controversy in 2004 when a high-school band was rehearsing the song to perform at the school's talent show, and a concerned mother overheard them. She became worried that President Bush's life was being threatened. This prompted agents from the Secret Service to arrive at the school and question people present including the Principal. I think it is particularly interesting to note that Saddam Hussein had just appeared at his first trial in the United States.
The concerned mother claimed that her daughter had overheard members of the band performing the lyrics "George Bush, I hope you die, and I hope you die soon," and "I'll stand over your grave." This, to me, is eerily reminiscent of the Parson's children in Orwell's 1984.
The actual lyrics however, are aimed at ALL who benefit from war (i.e Arms makers, politicians etc.) and are as follows "And I hope that you die, and your death will come soon/I'll follow your casket in the pale afternoon/ I'll watch while you're lowered down to your death bed/And I'll stand over your grave 'til I'm sure that you're dead."
The lead singer of the accused band stated that if people think that a 40 year-old folk song is aimed at George Bush, then they are drawing their own conclusions. I agree with her, and if a President can justify sending the Secret Service out to a high-school over some lyrics then what does that really tell you about him?
Threatening the President is a federal crime, and it is clear that none of these kids actually had any real intention of means of harming (or killing) George Bush. And in a country where 2 out of 3 14 year olds can't read and write properly, perhaps Social Service expenditure shouldn't be such a priority?
Hi Max,
DeleteGreat reply to the question.
I was trying so hard to find more examples to answer this question and then I was trying to figure out where you got your information and then just clicked on your references.
I found it quite amazing how just students singing the song for their talent show and then some random mother hearing things blew everything out of proportion. I was trying to figure out how this woman would have called up the, secret services in order to prompt them to go to the school just to question the people involved. Things just seem to get sensationalised a lot in America. And then the mother said that the daughter overheard the members. Seems like Chinese whispers to me.
I found this song very interesting.
When you read the title of songs now days you expect the title to be in the song quite a few times and also you expect there to be a chorus but I guess since this song was written back in 1963 that Bob decided not to have a chorus and not repeat the title throughout the song. The tune of the song and the pace, tone all add to the song to make it have more impact.
Also Max you basically found the information which has made it hard to reply to the question so well done on covering this song.
Cheers
Tamiana
“BELIEVE IT”
Cheers Tamiana!
DeleteYour point regarding how the mother would have even managed to get hold of the secret service is such a good one! It never even crossed my mind to begin with. But it really makes it seem even sillier now.
I suppose places like America take things like this very seriously, and I imagine that not only were there chinese whispers going on through the school, but also through the governmental services!
It would hardly be the first time U.S has 'miscalculated' their top-secret information ;)
Thanks for the comment!
Max :)
References:
ReplyDeleteGundersen, E. (2001). Dylan Is Positively On Top Of His Game. Retrieved fromhttp://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/2001-09-10-bob-dylan.htm#more
Maass, A. (2004). Is Bush Afraid Of A Bob Dylan Song? Retrieved from http://broadeducation.org/about/crisis_stats.html
Norman, T. (2004). Yes, The Times They Are A-Changin'. Retrieved from http://www.rense.com/general59/stime.htm
The Broad Foundation. (2011). Crisis Stats.Retrieved from http://broadeducation.org/about/crisis_stats.html
Cool stuff Max,
ReplyDeleteMaster of War is a fun song to play very easy once the capo is on the guitar and the 6th string is tuned down to a D. I always felt that certain tuning created a sense of doom relating to the lyrics. But For me I felt that Desolation row or Blowing in the wind were more impactful for me on such issues. Thanks for the memories brother. Have you ever listened to visions of johanna it sounds almost like poetry for me kind of like what Mike was talking about today.
Cheers Nick :)
Hey Nick,
DeleteDefinitely gotta agree with you, I think certain tuning absolutely can reflect the tone and, i guess, the 'personality' of lyrics. Yep a lot of Dylan's stuff is a lot of fun to listen to, Desolation Row and Blowing in the Wind are both classics in my book. I've always found it interesting the way he almost 'bends' certain words in his pronunciation in order to achieve a certain rhyme, very poetic.
Cheers :)
Hi Max, re Dylan bending words to rhyme, how about this example:
ReplyDelete'Don't you remember ma
when I went off to war...'
Ma and War rhyme, Maw and War!
Perfect example! It's an interesting technique, and I'm not exactly sure who was the very first to utilise it, but it seems to have been prevalent all the way up to today's contemporary rap acts (i.e Eminem).
DeleteFor example,
"I used to give a fuck, now I could give a fuck less
What do I think of success? It sucks"
Fuck less/Success
"...I got a match for ya
You couldn't flip shit playing in toilets with a spatula"
The colloquial way he pronounces the word 'you' as 'ya' opens up a new rhyming scheme and allows 'match for you' to rhyme with 'spatula' . It seems simple now, but to actually come up with it is something that impresses me every time I listen
I was wondering what about modern protest songs like say 2pac with his song Changes in 1998 and its rhyme such as .....
ReplyDelete'...And still I see no changes. Can't a brother get a little peace?
There's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East.
Instead of war on poverty,
they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me.
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do.
But now I'm back with the facts givin' 'em back to you...'
It feels to me that it has a message that is political and social and it has a real ring to it, from my point of view that its like a beat mentality. What do you guy's think....
Cheers Nick :)
:)
ReplyDeleteI saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night . . .
--Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” (1955)
Who were they?
Beat poetry evolved during the 1940s in both New York City (the birthplace of modern rap music) and on the west coast of America as well, with San Francisco becoming the heart of the movement in the early 1950s (Poets.org, 2004). The end of World War 2 left poets like Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso questioning mainstream politics and culture. These poets became known as the Beat generation who were a group of writers interested in changing the consciousness and defying conventional writing. With this paradigm shift came hallucinogenic drugs, used to achieve a “higher consciousness”. Contributors such as Ginsberg were utilizing meditation and medication to achieve ‘higher levels of thought’ (Poets.org, 2004). Buddhism was especially important to Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg who both intensely studied the religion and figured it into much of their work.
Why the name?
Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase “Beat Generation” in 1948 to define the perceived underground, anti-conformist youth movement in New York. The name came to light in a conversation with writer John Clellon Holmes. The word “beat” colloquially means “tired” or “beaten down” in the African-American community (Britannica, 2014). Britannica continues to state that Kerouac appropriated the image and altered the meaning to include the connotations “upbeat”, “beatific”, and the musical association of being “on the beat”.
Continued:
ReplyDeleteHow is Rap related to beat poetry?
I will attempt to explain this answer entirely based on my own perception as a Hiphop radio DJ and former ‘rap’ musician. Let us take a look at the poem “Howl” by Ginsberg (written in 1955) and think about the type of society in which it was birthed; in a conservative culture, subjects such as drug use, homosexuality and electric-shock therapy were entirely taboo. This led to Ginsberg being tried and eventually imprisoned for obscenity charges. This did what any public trial for obscenity would have done…it drew attention to him and his work. Something which has been happening with rap music since its conception, think Biggie and 2pac. Let us look at present day, Yasin Bey, also known as Mos Def (rapper and actor who starred in the recent adaptation of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) is an Islamic activist who did a very graphic performance piece in protest of the treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners which you can view here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ACE-BBPRs
Arguably, this caused immigration issues upon his return to the states, source : http://www.spin.com/articles/yasiin-bey-mos-def-lets-go-mannie-fresh-us-tour-mystery-immigration-paris/
To draw comparisons of hiphop to beat poetry, at least 1 minute of this video has to be watched : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BWGzrhKKi0&feature=kp
This shows the renowned underground artist known as Immortal Technique, ‘rapping’ to his audience in acapella (without the aid of music). This has long been the essence of hiphop music, known colloquially as ‘freestyling’. Ginsberg did something similar, he would be jumping up and down on stage and screaming his poetry at small jazz club audiences (Vickers, 2005). In doing this he attempted to create a new form of poetry, feeling that poetry should not stilted and formulaic, as it is within its origins, Ginsberg attempted to find a way to write poetry that was “modelled on speech and breathing patters”. If we look at any hiphop or rap song, the lyrics are presented in such a way that matches the rhythm. This is prevalent with hiphop’s predecessor, from dub poets such as Linton Kwesi Johnson who used to recite poems over instrumental reggae music, or dub music, and artists such as Gil Scott Heron who was a remarkable soul and jazz poet.
With its emphasis on beat, language, life and the theatrical nature of spoken word, the Beats, including Ginsberg are cited as the predecessors for modern day rap.
References
Britannica. (2014). Beat movement. Retrieved from Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/57467/Beat-movement
Poets.org. (2004). A Brief Guide to the Beat Poets. Retrieved from Poets.org.
Vickers, C. (2005, 05 25). Allen Ginsberg: Poet Whose Work Led to Rap Music. Retrieved from Yahoo Voices: http://voices.yahoo.com/allen-ginsberg-poet-whose-work-led-rap-music-2212.html
Cool stuff Kamal,
DeleteHay, have you ever read the Naked Lunch by William Burroughs now that really hits the spot and when you noted the word ‘freestyling’ made me think of him, such as key quotes I still have marked down in an old note book from way back stating :
‘….Junk is the ideal product…the ultimate merchandise. No sales talk necessary. The client will crawl through a sewer and beg to buy…The junk merchant dose not sell his product to the consumer, he sells the consumer to his product. He dos not improve and simplify his merchandise. He degrades and simplifies the client. He pays his staff in junk…’
Kind of similar to your very cool Allen Ginsberg quote. The Naked Lunch was written in 1959 and it was kind of a protest in its own way, with its very freestyle from of writing as it flowed all over the place… just reading it will make you sea sick. Writing was about drug abuse and what it did to the characters based off real events if I remember rightly. It was I think in his own way of portraying the dangerous side of life and its effects on the soul.
What do you guys think another beat man like the cool examples Kamal have given us or is Mr Burroughs not the real deal?
Cheers Nick :)
Before knowing about The Beats, I always assumed that rap just kind of cropped out of nowhere or was a revolutionised genre that stemmed from another genre. But the fact that The Beats are "the predecessors for modern day rap" stated by Kamal, is really quite amazing.
DeleteAny song by itself is already a form of poetry due to the structure of the stanzas and the flow of the lyrics, but seeing that The Beats were actually writers and poets themselves of the 20th Century who directly inspired the genre of rap in later years is amazing.
Rap is really such an underappreciated form of music, but that can be attributed to the fact that the genre has now frequently strayed from political protest messages to focus on more worldly "vices".
Hi Kamal!
DeleteLook out for that Naked Lunch book. I would say it might be your cup of tea. I think the book that should have a warning sign on it “Don’t drive or operate heavy machinery after reading”. I tried to read it after about 10 pages I handed it back to Nick and said ‘..what the ***k’ (I really sorry for using this language in the post). Because in my culture this kind of writing is very outrageous. After looking around I found the there are many points in the book that many types of homosexual behavior display as caused by drug abuse. These is also a lot of fantasy mixing with reality due to the drugs and other factors. The writing is fluid and doesn’t hold back in any way. It would be nice if the writing was more simple for anyone to read.
Cheers!
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDeleteAs Kamal has given answers to some of the rap-centred questions, I would like to touch upon answering protest songs during the last decade.
When a person thinks of a protest, aggression, violence, and sometimes even a riot scene comes to mind. However, in Macklemore's recent 2012 song "Same Love", Rey (2013, para. 3) states that this particular song "falls on the softer side of political rap" as in, the way Macklemore verbally delivers is more passive-aggressive than outright aggressive (if one compares it to songs similar to Eminem's "Mosh").
Macklemore's overall message of the song is for the world to be more accepting of homosexuality which is emphasised throughout the song. He not only targets society, but specifically religion which is a significantly huge part of why homosexuality is still not wholly accepted. Gay marriage rights are also highlighted and Macklemore is clearly an advocate which is blatantly shown in his lyrics "No freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it".
Macklemore also targets the hip hop and rap community in the lyrics "If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me" which is an outright jab at the genre. It is has been historically known that artists from this music genre do not frequently deal with the topic of homosexuality lightly or with positive regard. He continues on explaining "A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it / Gay is synonymous with the lesser". In recent years, Frank Ocean a fellow hip-hop artist of OFWGKTA has come out as gay, but he is only one of many artists that have hidden or are probably still hiding in "the closet" due to the negative views expressed by the genre, and the world as a whole.
The core of Macklemore's "Same Love" is for society to accept homosexuality as the norm because, as seen in the lyrics, "underneath it's all the same love". Protest rap songs are still common in the media, but have branched out from not only targeting political denominations, but also turning in on itself by targeting the hip hop/rap music genre displayed in "Same Love".
Reference
Rey. (2013). Top 5 political rap songs of 2012. Retrieved from http://reyshizz.com/r13/top-5-political-rap-songs-of-2012/
Epic Shelly…
DeleteThat is very cool song “Same Love”, it’s a good example I think of showing that through language and music we can surpass institutionalised images and status and heads for something different. To help those who don’t fit into a predefined categories, which music helps us to define and even protect by producing awareness for such groups like gays. It’s even those predefined categories that are meant to free us and make us feel good make us feel bad when we don’t fit into them or as Butler defines it better as ‘…the foundational belief in gendered or sexed identities is paradoxical, since it predetermines and fixes the subjects it aims to liberate…’ (2004 cited in Pennycook, 2009) Which I think is what this cool song Shelly has pointed out and then express that all can love and set boxes cant define.
This is one little point within the song that makes it a little hard for me to enjoy and accept the songs support of Gays. That is the chorus :
My love
My love
My love
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm
This is repeated a lot, it to me creates a feeling of separation of man and female bring us back to the concept of love needs a man and woman. Not the idea love is for all that love is for man man or woman woman or woman and man. Thus to me it creates some doubt of the songs intentions but it’s a very moving song none the less. Great pic Shelly….
Cheers Nick ….
References
Pennycook, A. (2009) Global Englishes and Transcultural Flows (Kindle version). Retrieved from www.amazon.com
I can actually agree with you on this, Nick. The person singing the chorus is female (Mary Lambert) which does support the overall feel of the song - support for homosexual views - but, on the other hand, it doesn't provide space for male homosexual views.
DeleteI don't believe Macklemore intended to distinguish love as just being for females with females because he clearly talks about homosexual love throughout the entire song, and the song itself is titled "same love".
Honestly, I think the reason for the chorus being structured that way is actually because of technical and marketing purposes. Just like in Eminem's song "Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna singing the chorus. I think a female voice brings diversity - another voice - which clearly stands out especially because in these particular songs, the females provide the melody and the only "singing" part in contrast to all the rap stanzas.
Think about it. Whenever you hear a rap song, do you recall every single word of the rap lyrics, or do you remember the chorus/singing parts the most?
Please let me know what everyone thinks.
Hi Shelly,
DeleteDamn you beat me to this song "same love". This was one of my examples I was going to use and now I shall have to use another example.
It is a great song, I do like Macklemore as a rapper. I think a lot of his songs have great lyrics.
This song does talk about "gay" meaning men with men as Macklemore talks about his uncle who is gay. Also having a woman Mary Lambert sing the chorus who is lesbian and is a spokeswoman for gay rights adds more impact too the song.
You got to check out the video clip too, the song may not specifically saying gay or lesbian but the video you can see that it speaks a million words. Like Shelly talks about how this song has Church involved but also about America as country.
As for Eminems song feat. Rihanna that would because she is on top of her game and that was a collaboration to help lift Eminem back into the spot light, a great marketing ploy as the songs that he and Rihanna have collabed on have all made it to number 1 in the charts.
But great song and great points Shelly.
Cheers
Tamiana
“BELIEVE IT”
Hey Shell!
DeleteI was thinking could the female voice just be there as a symbolism. I means it either represents the feminine side of the feelings that are within us. Or it's just showing the feminine qualities within the homosexual mind and its just a symbol through a female vocal. That’s what I believe.
Cheers!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhat kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
DeleteDefinition: Protest; “an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, ordissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid.”(Dictionary. n.d.).
With this question I thought of several different songs, but since I was beaten to “Same Love” by Shelly I decided to go for my other option which is “Dear Mr President”. As you can read the song title, this song is solely directed at the former President who was in power then and that was George W. Bush. “The song, released at the end of 2006, features the Indigo Girls, and was written and produced by Pink and Billy Mann.” (n.a., 2010.)
This is a deep song with the lyrics directed at Bush about his views of equal rights for homosexuals and then in Pinks song she sings “what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?” to make him see if it was to happen to him. This song also targets Bush as he is also a strong religious man but sings “You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine” Pink sings this so that he does not to forget where he came from to where he is now. When this song was released was also around the same time the Bush had sent soldiers to Iraq which America was in conflict with.
Once reading through this song you can form your own opinion but also the song was style was similar to Bob Dylans song “Masters of War” as its style is a folkie sing along song, no chorus just a catchy tune and it is sung and played slowly. The only other instrument playing apart from Pinks voice is the guitar with only a maximum of 4 chords playing in the background.
This song is a truthful protest song towards Bush and just going straight to the point, Pink singing wanting answers from Bush. She sings about his reactions and how he is as a person and man and how does he look in the mirror and still can hold his head up high when things like this are all happening around him and he is one of the main reasons behind it.
This to me is a powerful protest song as it is sung to the President and it is not generalized to anyone. It asks question about his actions and him as a person. You know what the song is about, there are no hidden messages. It is a moving song.
Cheers
Tamiana
“BELIEVE IT”
References
SongMeanings. (1999-2014.). Retrieved from http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858583638/
protest. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved June 04, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/protest
n.a. (2010.). Retrieved from http://marya330.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/2010/10/03/musical-analysis-dear-mr-president/
The song goes like this;
DeleteDear Mr. President I
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?
Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb, and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell
What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh
How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you?
Cheers
Tamiana
"BELIEVE IT"
Hey Man, cool!
ReplyDeleteI'll just clarify what a freestyle is because I didn't mention that before, Freestyle is a style of rap, with or without instrumental beats, in which rap lyrics are improvised, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics(Kool G Rap, 2009).
I am definitely going to check out Naked Lunch, Mike just told me that the first time he read it it really "f*cked his head up" so definitely something I would read. Mike also just told me that Walt Whitman for example would see something outside, like "a boy bouncing a red ball" and expand it into a full poem with focusing directly on the subject in mind.
Why don't we all try freestyling a poem on here?
:)
5) What kind of protest song/rap other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
ReplyDeleteIt would be extremely ignorant of me to say that there has been NO protest songs or media in the last decade, however I don't believe I'm wrong in saying that the spirit of protest is waning.
The 'past decade' begins in 2004, which would make you think that protest would have increased since then. A number of major events happened in 2004 that I would have thought would spark mass forms of protest. Maybe they did and the media just chose not to report on them?
In 2004, Bush was (unbelievably) re-elected, the CIA admitted there was in fact no threat of WMDs prior to the Iraq Invasions, the Abu Ghraib prison torturings were exposed, the 9/11 Commission releases its official report with no mention at all of WTC 7, and the list could go on.
The spirit of protest reached its peak, I believe, in the mid-1960s and 70s, with artists such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and John Lennon all speaking (and singing) against inhumanities. The spirit of protest enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 90s and 2000s with bands like Rage Against The Machine, System Of A Down, Beastie Boys and NWA. These bands were much more vocal and aggressive in their forms of protest, as well as using their considerable influence to stage events, marches and convince people to take their side.
Today, the spirit of protest does not feel present, or at least fairly represented in the media. As others have said, the biggest 'protest' song that has come out recently is probably Macklemore's 'Same Love', which to be honest isn't really that great of a song and to me seems to come across slightly irrelevant. This isn't the 1800s, if anybody in this day and age has a problem with another person's sexuality then it is their problem - most people don't need a song to tell them that. That being said, the wave of gay marriage legalisations recently has baffled me in that I can't believe it hadn't happened sooner! (or was even illegal to begin with!) And people think that just because Apple puts out a new iPod every 5 minutes that we're advanced as a society... Yeah right.
Hay Max
DeleteGreat post have to admit your kind of right. The spirit of protest as we know it is not very present any more. Heres my brief take on it from what I feel at this point in time. We see a very powerful media system in play which portrays a world in fear and creating fear in a way that we cant do anything about and if action is promoted it's the wrong action. This leads us to protest as it's not prevalent and if it is, its shown as a destructive force for it creates that word again of fear. Most protest now are very peaceful and centred around self action and responsibility and some are shifting to the individual not the group to take action. Which is very constructive and quite, it's not fighting the system with tooth and nail its just working behind the sense. So we have protest groups moving ( maybe we should call them movements now) in a new way responsible and constructive not destructive and loud. Thus if it's not destructive and loud a news broadcast cant create fear out of the story thus they don't both with it and more on to another story. Thats a big reason not the only reason but a big one why we don't see much protests in our eyes. One that I can think about off the top of my head is Zion Judah ( Judaah i think?) that works to bring awareness to charity for water and he produces some cool songs. So just a through maybe a bit to big but just a through on where some of the protest stuff has gone.
Cheers Nick
What does 'The Wasteland' mean?
ReplyDelete3) In what way has it been influential?
There are many influent factors within the Wasteland.
1. WWI effects: pessimistic viewpoints about millions people who died in the war and the affect on the people behind. It came with grieve and loss. As shown through the first section of the poem called ‘the burial of the dead’. We see a feeling of sadness of despair.
2. RELIGION: the poet seemed to believe the religion is the solution and hope for renewing mankind specie. For example:
“...Burning burning burning burning
O lord thou pluckest me out...”
Coming from the Fire Sermon by Buddha through another text noted within the notes of the poem. Thus show the influence of religion on his work.
3. The concept of DEATH: the poet using a metaphor of dead to the drowning of sailor is the dead of himself. This runs parallel with the knowledge that we know of Eliot. As you can see, his health was of great concern to him along with the contractual work with the bank of London that appeared to drain his energy away from the things he loves. Thus, it creates a sense of lose even maybe death of his freedom to be himself. Another factor that leads to Death pointed to by Nick was when I read the passage in Kenners (1959 cited in Bloom, 2007) essay of The Waste Land ( I did finish reading it). But there was some interesting information. The poem was re-written several times with edits of a sort by the help of Ezra Pound with deletion of sections that would have been painful for a writer. It was such Pound pointed out the following about the nearly completed poem ‘...that is 19 pages, and let us say the longest poem in the English langwidge. Don’t try to bust all records by prolonging it three pages further...’ (1959 cited in bloom, 2007)
Thus, there are a lot of influences on the poem from the sources Elliot used about religion and the war to people such as Ezra Pound that are affecting the writing of the poem. I wonders if Eliot was allowed to complete the poem would it as big as a book? But I understand how all those pressures of influences can create a poem with many sources in it such as I write this entry. I have the texts, web pages, pressure to do well and Nick constantly suggesting things creating what I have on paper. Makes me think if I did make this written work or did it make itself due to so many influences just like Eliot in his poem The Waste Land.
Cheers!
References
Blooms, H. (2006). T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (Kindle version). Retrieved from www.amazon.com