Samuel Juarez-Solis

• Why did the Home Alive collective form?
  • The Home Alive collective was formed in response to the rape and murder of the  singer Mia Zapata. The community felt unsafe, especially because they thought Zapata was such a powerful figure and never imagined someone like her being raped and murdered. A group of local musicians and artists close to Zapata decided to raise money to teach free self-defense classes to people who usually can not afford them.
• How did the Home Alive collective define self-defense?
  • The Home Alive collective defined self-defense as any means to keep oneself alive. Whether it be by physical means, guns, or escape routes the person had to stay alive.
• What are some of the issues and tensions the Home Alive collective faced once they became an organization?
  • One issue the Home Alive collective faced once they became an organization is that many places around the world wanted a Home Alive branch, but the members thought it would best to just stay local. Also, there was a problem of who was allowed to go to the sessions. One member complained they were uncomfortable that a person who identified as a woman had a penis. But the head members believes violence permeated through the lives of everyone so they let anyone join.
• Why does the work and approach of Home Alive matter? What is the organization’s legacy?
  • The work and approach of Home Alive matters because heinous crimes like rape and murder can be avoided if people have the proper self-defense techniques. The organization’s legacy is that they now have a website and are able to reach millions around the world. Whether they liked it or not, the organization did have feminism undertones that promoted the lives of women.
• This documentary emerged out of the oral histories that students conducted in the first version of this class in 2011. If you could make a documentary film on an artist, scene or music’s relationship to social activism, what would it be about? Why?
  • I would make a documentary film about Freddie Mercury in support of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. I feel like that community is facing a tremendous hardship right now and a documentary about one of society’s beloved rock stars would be a huge encouragement to support the lives of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ people.

Samuel Juarez-Solis

One claim I found compelling in Anzaldua’s “To Live in the Borderlands” is how brutal the lives are for people living in the Borderlands, yet most people probably don’t know about the harsh history of the Borderlands people. The poem tells us that people living in the Borderlands, “are neither hispana india negra española ni gabacha, eres mestiza, mulata,” and instead are half-breeds “caught in the crossfire between camps while carrying all five races” on their backs (Anzaldua). People living in the Borderlands seem to have gotten their identities displaced throughout history as they aren’t accepted in multiple race categories.

Also, in the same vein of forgotten history, in Dawes interview, the audience discovers about a self-defense group called “Home Alive” which is buried in news archives. The interviewee, Leah Michaels remarks “how is this not a huge thing? How did people not really know about this at all (Dawes)?” Michaels also exclaims they found it “really weird [that] there was this lack of history talked about that no one of [their] generation knew about (Dawes)”. Somehow the awesome initiative of women to promote self-defense and the harsh reality of Borderlands people were suppressed which sends a negative message that society that doesn’t care about them.

I’m glad these buried histories are being unearthed so future progress can be made. The uncovering of hidden histories reminds me of the songs A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke, and Changes by Tupac. Both songs talked about African-Americans whose oppression was hidden, but somehow they found the strength to stand up for their human rights.

References:

1. Gloria Anzaldua “To Live in the Borderlands” (PDF)
2. Laina Dawes, https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/finally-filmmakers-tell-the-forgotten-history-of-seattle-diy-self-defense-group-home-alive (Links to an external site.)

Song Links

A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke

Changes, by Tupac

 

 

 

 

Samuel Juarez-Solis

Band name: Queen

Song name: ‘We Are the Champions’

Album: News of the World

Song length: 2:59

We are the Champions is the battle song that crystallizes my victories. It reminds me of the mental sacrifice I’ve made to become the first one in my family to graduate from a university. And oh, I have made a lot of mistakes and had to contend with feelings of sadness and self-doubt. But regardless of how sad I felt, when it came time for an exam I put aside my feelings and put on my game face so that I could walk out of the exam room a champion.

We are the champions is the mantra that allowed my friends and I to fight through physics scenarios, organic chemistry reactions, and biochemistry pathways so that we could get the coveted grades that we wanted. But more than the grades we obtained an enormous sense of pride and trust, as if we had just climbed Mount Everest together. This song let’s my friends and I know that we are not losers. It communicates that we are the champions that will help solve the science and political problems that plague our world.

I’d be a selfish fool if I didn’t acknowledge the many advisors, friends, and family who helped me achieve this biology degree. So here’s a big thanks to the countless people who approved of my shenanigans and allowed me to gain this exquisite treasure.

But, it hasn’t been a bed of roses and I’ve had the unfortunate task of dealing with suicidal thoughts. Thankfully, I’ve come to accept my flaws and see the beauty within myself so that in any future challenge I’m not gonna lose!

Yes friends and family I’m alive and maintaining my happiness and peaceful state of mind. And I want us all to keep fighting to become better humans and obtain arduous victories to let our ancestors know that we are the glorious champions we were born to become. Yes Freddie, we are the champions that unite and overcome our physical and mental limits to make this world a better place for the future. I will not go to my grave a loser and will make sure things get better for my family, friends, and communities.

Of course i’ll continue to fail many times in my life but i’ll obtain some victories that will make life worth living and this song will commemorate them. Victories come in a variety of flavors from grand to modest. And honestly, one of my greatest triumphs is a modest one which is just staying alive. So watch out world because I won’t be fading away and I will accomplish more victories. Yes, the sacrifice of time and mentality was worth it to graduate from the University of Washington and I will die a proud champion of the world!

 

By Samuel Juarez-Solis

I found Garrison’s talk about resistance to be very compelling. Garrison noted that “Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill” said “resistance is everywhere, it always has been and always will be. Just because someone is not resisting in the same way you are… does not mean they are not resisting” (147). Kathleen Hanna is right resistance comes in many forms and I will be talking about two different forms seen in Alice Bag’s Violence Girl. The first form is resistance through physical violence which Bag’s father displays. Bag states “my father suddenly unleashed a vicious punch at the man’s jaw. The guy went down hard” (28). The second form is resistance through lyrics which Bag displays when she sings, “she’s a violence girl, she thrives on pain, she’s a violence girl you can’t restrain” (7). Bag is displaying resistance against society for making her turn into a violent girl due to constant domestic abuse she faced and ignorance from the police who let her father get away with it. While some forms of resistance are more effective and ethical than others, different people may be more comfortable with certain methods. Also, it’s really sad but true about Hanna’s comment that resistance always be around. Society will always find a minority group to chastise. NWA’s Fuck Tha Police appears as a prime example about resistance through lyrics. NWA used unfiltered and angry criticism in their lyrics to fight against police brutality. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s (CCR’s) Fortunate Son also is a great example of declaring resistance against society via lyrics. CCR used harsh commentary to denounce the Vietnam War.

References

1. Alice Bag, Violence Girl, selections (PDF)
2. Ednie Kaeh Garrison, “U.S. Feminism-Grrrl Style! Youth (Sub)Cultures and the Technologics of the Third Wave.” Feminist Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Spring, 2000): 141-170. (PDF)

Song Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jOqOlETcRU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0XKhAHR5I

 

A glamorous man calls upon the crowd as they thunderously yell back we will rock you and a guitar unabashedly radiates the arena! Yep, this is the band Queen playing “We Will Rock You,” which helped make the album, “News of the World,” a historical gem. The album was created at a pivotal moment in history in the late 70’s when rock & roll was evolving and punk and New Wave were starting to displace the glam rock style that Queen had popularized.1 Queen modified their style and introduced new techniques like the call and response which made “We Will Rock You” a popular tune. But have you ever wondered where that technique came from? I claim “News of the World” isn’t a unique work of art and just used pre-existing elements of African-American music. I will discuss how the album’s songs show the African-American techniques discussed by Starr and Waterman, how Freddie Mercury, the lead singer, has a style that is inspired by African-American women, and how two songs from the album are played in the style of the African-American rooted blues genre. The implications of this that one of the most beloved albums in history may not be as original as we thought.

These are the three African-American techniques Queen incorporated into their album: call and response, riffs, and timbre. First, the call and response is when “a lead singer and chorus alternate” and is “a hallmark of African-American musical traditions”.7 This is predominantly featured in the song “We Will Rock You.” Freddie belts out the lines “we will, we will rock you,” and then says lines like sing it or one more time to encourage the audience to repeat the phrase.6 Second, riffs are “short phrases that recur in a regular cycle” and in “African music-making repetition is regarded as an aesthetic strength”.7 Riffs are definitely heard in “We Will Rock You,” but many other songs in the album also display this feature such as “We are the Champions,” “All Dead, All Dead,” and “It’s Late.” Third, “African singers and instrumentalists make use of a wide palette of timbres” which include humming and growling.7 This technique is heard in “Spread Your Wings” where Freddie displays a powerful buzzing behind his voice.

Flamboyance and hyper sexuality are traits that characterize Freddie and made him a rare treat on the rock & roll scene, however these traits were borrowed from African-American singers, including Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. Maureen Mahon noted, “black women rock n’ rollers made choices about self-presentation designed to accentuate their charisma, blazing a path for succeeding generations of performers.”4 Etta heavily emphasized her appearance when she performed and she could pull off a fantastic combo of being glamorous and defiant.4 Freddie also loved to have a bombastic appearance and has Etta to thank for the concept. Freddie’s grandiose presence is highlighted in the music video for “We Are the Champions” where he wears a dazzling neck chain and an elegant black and white singlet. Another African-American singer, Thornton, helped “set the style for rock and roll by putting sexuality and play with gender expectations in the foreground.”3 Freddie is notable for lacing his lyrics with innuendo and unorthodox gender jabs and he has Thornton to praise for that. Freddie’s provocative lyrics are expressed in the song, “Get Down, Make Love,” where he says phrases like “you say you’re hungry, I give you meat, I suck your mind, You blow my head.”6

The songs titled, “My Melancholy Blues” and “Sleeping on the Sidewalk” were heavily influenced by The blues genre which is regarded as having an African-American origin.7 “My Melancholy Blues” has a shuffle beat with a 2/4 meter which is a fundamental blues beat.5 The song also has bluesy lyrics that evoke feelings of loneliness, love, and despair like, “Another party is over, And I’m left cold sober,” and “Baby left me for somebody new… Wanna be intoxicated with that special brew.”2,6 “Sleeping on the Sidewalk” is a blues rock that has bluesy lyrics that elicit perceptions of injustice and hopelessness such as “Now they tell me that I ain’t so fashionable, An’ I owe the man a million bucks a year” and “I sure get hungry and I sure do want to go home.”2,6 Queen’s emphasis on blues was uncommon delicacy only seen in this album and they have the African-American culture to thank for that.

Queen’s album “News of the World,” is a masterpiece with an infinite lifespan, but it was a copied package that mostly mixed antecedent African-American musical traits. The African-American derived techniques such as the call and response, riffs, and timbre are encoded in nearly all of the album’s songs. Freddie Mercury’s extravagant appearance and erotic woven lyrics are appropriated traits from African-American women like Etta James and Big Mama Thornton. “My Melancholy Blues” and “Sleeping on the Sidewalk” are imitations of the African-American entrenched blues genre. So the news of the world is that Queen has a lot to thank from the African-American community.

 

Critical Models

1. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/queens-news-of-the-world-10-things-you-didnt-know-195704/
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/arts/music/super-bowl-halftime-show.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Fpop-jazz-music-reviews&action=click&contentCollection=music&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

 

References

1. Epstein, Dan. “Queen’s ‘News of the World’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/queens-news-of-the-world-10-things-you-didnt-know-195704/
2. “GCSE Music – Blues – Revision 3.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/ztx3b9q/revision/3.
3. Maureen Mahon, “Listening for Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s Voice: The Sound of Race and Gender Transgressions in Rock and Roll,” Women and Music, 15, 2011, 1-17. (PDF)
4. Maureen Mahon, “Rock,” The Music of Black Americans: An Introduction.  Eds. Mellonee Burnim and Portia Maltsby.  558-584 (PDF)
5. “My Melancholy Blues.” Queen Songs, LG, www.queensongs.info/song-analysis/songwriting-analyses/no-synth-era/news-of-the-world/my-melancholy-blues.
6. Queen. News of the World. EMI Records and Elektra Records, 1977.
7. Starr and Waterman, “Introduction” and “Streams of Tradition: The Sources of Popular Music,” American Popular Music (2008) online access at UW Libraries http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo1267/american-popular-music.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

 

In “The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay,” what I found most compelling was the idea of afrofuturism. The concept portrays a “complicated [history] of people of color and visions of the future with people of color at the center while simultaneously critiquing dominant systems of power and subjugation” (Durham et al. 733). Afrofuturism appears to be expressed in lots of music videos and lyrics. In a similar vein as afrofuturism, Jeff Chang discusses how many hip-hop artists today are making conscious lyrics to fight against oppressive systems of power and subjugation. Chang discusses how the hip-hop artist, Hamada Ben Amor, created a song called ““Head of State” which had the lyric, “President, your people are dying.”” Through powerful lyrics, Hamada allowed the audience to envision a future ruined by a despotic president. This allowed the mobilization of protests against the tyrannical regime in Tunisia.

The idea of afrofuturism seems to be highlighted in the song by Childish Gambino called “This is America.” In Gambino’s song, the history of African-American music is shown to be evolving through different styles like folk and gospel while being subjugated by guns and violence from the dominant American society. I can see the power influence of Hamada’s song in another song by Queen called “I Want to Break Free,” where the provocative lyrics helped fuel protests against oppressive regimes in South Africa and countries in South America. Music can be a powerful vehicle for people of color to highlight injustice and I’m happy that with improved technology more people can create and share music to uncover more hidden discrimination.

Childish Gambino’s “This is America”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH8q2ifO3pI

References:

Aisha Durham, Brittney C. Cooper, and Susana M. Morris, “The Stage Hip-Hop Feminism Built: A New Directions Essay,” Signs, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring 2013) (PDF)

Bill Moyers Show interview, Theresa Riley with Jeff Chang, Q & A: Still Fighting the Power (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Samuel Juarez-Solis

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/23/rec/20

Making Scenes

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/487/rec/4

Building Communities

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/wwr/id/244/rec/8

Reel Rebels

 

 

By Samuel Juarez-Solis

I found “Big Mama” Thornton’s story of limited success and thefts of style and the song called Hound Dog by Elvis Presley to be very troubling. Mahon notes Thornton was very frustrated “at being a stepping stone to [Elvis’s] success while struggling to establish a viable career of her own” (9). I feel like Thornton never got to properly voice her frustrations with Elvis. Mahon mentions that Thornton never published an autobiography which I think would have been an amazing platform to alleviate her frustrations (3). Similarly, I feel that the WWR Digital Oral History Archive project is also an amazing platform to voice frustrations and for individuals “to preserve and tell different stories about their work and lives” (Habell-Pallán 6). The WWR project allows for the “vantages, voices, queries and findings of African American women and other women of color” to be crystallized and can serve as evidence towards any future music industry injustice (Habell-Pallán 12). Furthermore, I found it inspiring that Thornton gave Janice Joplin the “right and the permission to make ‘Ball and Chain,’” even after the uncredited theft of Hound Dog (Mahon 13). Thornton was very proud of Joplin’s rendition of her song and I’m happy that Joplin gave due credit to Thornton and even “invited Thornton to open for her on a couple of dates” (Mahon 13).

The relationship between Joplin and Thornton reminds me of the relationship between the bands Queen and Metallica. Queen made a riveting fast pace song called Stone Cold Crazy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0kTkxhyWNo). Metallica would later receive acceptance from Queen to cover the song and they made an even edgier version that was able to cinch a coveted Grammy award (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j89-cyVEYD4). Similar to Joplin, Metallica would give credit to Queen and both bands would perform the song together at concerts.

Music covers or samples can be a great thing as long as the original creators are given credit and (if allowable) can give permission.

Works Cited:

Mahon, Maureen. “Listening for Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s Voice: The Sound of Race and Gender Transgressions in Rock and Roll,” Women and Music,15, 2011, 1-17. (PDF)

Habell-Pallán, Michelle et al. “Notes on Women Who Rock: Making Scenes, Building Communities: Participatory Research, Community Engagement, and Archival Practice.” NANO(New American Notes Online) special issue, “Digital Humanities, Public Humanities.” July 2014. (PDF)