Ednie Kaeh Garrisons talk on resistance was very much compelling and opened up a new perspective. The formal definition of resistance is the event to prevent something from happening by actions or argument. There is constant resistance everywhere throughout the day and many different forms of resistance. A very powerful quote was mentioned by the lead singer of Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna, as she said “Resistance is everywhere, it always has been and always will be. Just because someone is not resisting in the same way you are (being a vegan, an ‘out’ lesbian, a political organizer) does not mean they are not resisting” (146,147). Garrison goes and shares a great example that gave me a new perspective of resistance. Garrison stated, “being told you are a worthless piece of shit and not believing it is a form of resistance” (147). My thoughts of resistance were always physical methods such as the ones mentioned by “Rebecca Walker, a young African American woman” as she voiced out and said, “I intend to fight back, I have uncovered and unleased more repressed anger than I thought possible” (147). I’ve noticed some of these different forms of resistance in Alice Bag Violence Girl. Two perfect examples of resistance were mentioned as she shared her experiences of domestic violence from her father. Bag showed physical resistance when trying to stop her father from hitting her mother. She shared, “…I rushed over and grabbed his arm…I tried to pull him back, but he pried my finger from his arm…” (19). Bag also shows us a form of verbal resistance when her father ordered her, “You spit on her!” but Bag resisted as she replied, “NO” (20). Resistance is everywhere, from large scale resistance to small scale resistance. It is sad but true, everyone has their own way of resistance and that’s something that will never change.
Citations
Ednie Kaeh Garrison, “U.S. Feminism-Grrrl Style! Youth (Sub)Cultures and the Technologics of the Third Wave.” Feminist Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (PDF)
I found the power of feminism most compelling in this week’s readings. In Emily White’s, “The Great Indie Debate,” she expresses strong emotion on feminism in Indie Rock. Mary Lou Lord, a singer songwriter originally from Boston and resettled in Olympia, created a record on Kill Rock Stars and was one of numerous women indie artists that was pursued by major labels. Mary Lou Lord sang, “’I don’t fit into this indie world’” on her debut record. She is emphasizing her emotions in her song, “His Indie World,” however, her delivery “has an edge, and her lyrics call up images of scruffy boys (or male rock artists) …” (White, 475-476). The riot grrrls urged their listeners to “resist psychic death” and “cry in public” (White 476). They ranted against sexism and attacked feminist issues. Women musicians were always on the outside and “whether you were talking about indie or major, the world of rock in the early 1990s was primarily a man’s world” (White 476). The rise of indie-girl rock in the early nineties “often became a tale of clashes and bad blood” (White, 478). The antics and lack of agreement between performers shoes how women in power are as “complex and conflicted as men in power” (White 478). Women were still struggling to be accepted in the music industry, but some used their anger in their music and demeanor as they performed.
Similarly, with Alice Bag’s, “Violence Girl,” she conveys the notion of women’s power and how it is expressed in the music. The writing shows the energy and excitement on stage, “there is so much energy coursing through my body that surely I am dangerous to touch” (Bag, 7). I am able to visualize the performance being described, “I’m stomping, jogging and dancing all over the stage, teetering precariously on my high heels” (Bag, 7). The image created here is a woman who is using her power and energy on stage, much like how a male would in his performances to tell a story. It shows progression in women being a part of the indie rock world, and their influences on listeners.
I am not super familiar with many indie artists, however, after doing some research, I found a group named Camp Cope whose song, “The Opener” is directly related to women being overlooked in the music industry. It is a powerful song sung with a strong voice and has a catchy tune that will not leave your head! Another group I found named the Bully, have a song named “Kills to Be Resistant” that is sung by an amazing female artist that doesn’t only sing but plays the guitar. She is also the one who produced all of their records! I love how she has taken all initiative to be a powerful women in her group and be a leader.
Emily White, “The Great Indie Debate,” Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone Book of Rock (New York: Random House, 1997) (PDF)
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
Alice Bag, Violence Girl, selections (PDF)
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)
The common notion that all Hip Hop music is
misogynistic, violent, and sexist is an unfortunate over generalization of a widely
varied music style. There are artists who have pushed back against these stereotypical
constraints and addressed the sexism of Hip Hop, even if in doing so they forfeited
radio stardom. LaBennet addresses some of the unknown pioneers of Hip Hop,
which are usually left out of the male centered “creation narratives”. Through
oral history research and interviews, she provides the uncommon story of Hip Hop,
in which for the Bronx female artists she interviewed, “hip-hop represents a
means for demonstrating a feminist consciousness and for claiming racialized
belonging” (LaBennet). Using Hip Hop as a tool for political activism as a
women of color defies many of the codified “rules” of sexism and hyper-masculinity
ingrained in Hip Hop. For Hip Hop to grow and evolve into a genre which more beneficial
than it is harmful, artists like La Bruja, Lah Tere, and Patty Dukes need to be
recognized and appreciated. One way to do this is through events that showcase
these artists and community members like Momma’s Hip Hop Kitchen where they
have a chance to be acknowledged and connect. Similarly, 50 Next: Seattle Hip
Hop Worldwide achieves this through, “generating and promoting inter-cultural,
inter-generational and international connectivity,” (The Compilation). These
events and the recognition of “hidden narratives” are vital in restructuring
the popularized harmful aspects of a Hip Hop.
The songs I chose are “Roxanne’s Revenge” by Roxanne Shante
and “Poor Georgie” by MC Lyte, because they were pioneers of feminist hip hop,
and rapped about subjects important to female empowerment.
There are a few strong connections between Kevin Youngs writing titled “Final Chorus”, and Labennet Oneka’s “Histories and “her stories” from the Bronx: excavating hidden hip hop narratives”. One of the main connections I see in the two is that they are both speaking on how people are being portrayed in hip hop. Things such as how women are portrayed and how black people are brought up are two connections I make. In “Final Chorus” the author says, “Hip Hops focus on both its poor roots and its inevitable rich future knows this: one raps of being rich in order to become rich” (315). He is stating that the things people rap about may not be true, but they are rapping about it to hopefully become true one day. Not everything a person says is going to be true in hip hop. The link to rapping about money and thinking that makes a man a man is what he is talking about. Well in the other article Oneka states, “With women’s roles erased and women’s narratives stifled, one might listen to the “official” creation story of hip hop and think that it is therefore no wonder that hip hop developed into an overtly masculine cultural form”. Both of these quotes and articles pinpoint that there is a common theme of hip hip, masculinity.
There are a few strong connections between Kevin Youngs writing titled “Final Chorus”, and Labennet Oneka’s “Histories and “her stories” from the Bronx: excavating hidden hip hop narratives”. One of the main connections I see in the two is that they are both speaking on how people are being portrayed in hip hop. Things such as how women are portrayed and how black people are brought up are two connections I make. In “Final Chorus” the author says, “Hip Hops focus on both its poor roots and its inevitable rich future knows this: one raps of being rich in order to become rich” (315). He is stating that the things people rap about may not be true, but they are rapping about it to hopefully become true one day. Not everything a person says is going to be true in hip hop. The link to rapping about money and thinking that makes a man a man is what he is talking about. Well in the other article Oneka states, “With women’s roles erased and women’s narratives stifled, one might listen to the “official” creation story of hip hop and think that it is therefore no wonder that hip hop developed into an overtly masculine cultural form”. Both of these quotes and articles pinpoint that there is a common theme of hip hip, masculinity.
When I first opened up the website Momma’s Hip Hop I was so empowered by all the pictures of the women of color. There are not many website, places, articles or even news of women in hip hop. I haven’t came across a community organization that helps educate and empower women of color through music. Its really cool to see how much they have been growing since they first started this organization in 2007. I first started scrolling through all the pictures and saw many smiling and they seem to look very comfortable performing. You can see the emotion in their eyes. I can only imagine if this type of places existed all over the world. Just like the type of conferences they hold for women, I went to something called Student of Color conference for two years in a row and it was very empowering I learned a lot about my identity. Just like Hip Hop kitchen at the conference they “used poetry, songs, dance, and art”. In the reading it talk about being unapologetic, that is something that i’ve struggled with and continue to struggle with. My mom has taught me to be in the background and try not to stand out because we were already “different”. Now that I am learning about social justice I have enough facts and information to backup myself up when I need it. In the article it says “ we are unapologetic now, it is second nature and we know how to manage it”. Which I something i’m still working on.
Moahi- It was honestly really cool to see the information on hip hop in Seattle. I honestly don’t see Seattle as a hip hop city. Reading through the information on the website there was so much that surprised me. They said Seattle is a “trendsetter when it comes to fashion” it was a really interesting fact because like I said before I don’t see Seattle as a hip hop city. When I think of music artist from Seattle I think of Macklemore. I am really interested in this center, for sure I am going to plan a visit there soon. I have never heard of a center like this in the Seattle area. They talk about the “creating a human look at this dynamic art form”, they have put so much effort into putting stories and experiences of seattle performers. Their hard work into this center really shows in the pictures.
The album DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar was released on April 14, 2017 produced by Aftermath Entertainment. DAMN. is an album that consist of changes throughout rich beats, enraged rhymes, and pure storytelling of Kendrick Lamar’s future as an American. Kendrick’s ability to tell stories through the rhythms and melodies of his songs has been one of his most lethal aspects of his music career. Through that story telling method he tries to paint a picture in the audience’s head of what his upbringing was like. DAMN. is a full story that can be played backwards from bottom to top. Doing so does not change the ending of the story but more so the feel of it. through that story telling method Kendrick leaves his audience with this theme of “wicked or weakness?”. If you look back at Kendrick’s older album To Pimp a Butterfly,he speaks on changing the world, but in DAMN. he focuses on changing himself first. I claim Kendrick Lamar’s album DAMN. is a self-evaluation of himself and his fear of damnation. I will be using different songs and lyrics from this album to support the claim that DAMN. covers Kendrick’s self-reflection of an immoral sinner, (wickedness) or a weak Christian (weakness) with a fear of damnation. If you look at the album title alone, by definition, damn means, “to be condemned by God to suffer eternal punishment in hell.
The album consists of fourteen tracks and if you split those tracks in half, you’ll see that half speak of Kendrick Lamar’s weakness and the other half his wickedness. BLOOD., YAH., FEEL., PRIDE., LUST., XXX., and GOD. all address his weakness while DNA., ELEMENT., LOYALTY., HUMBLE., LOVE., FEAR., and DUCKWORTH., address his wickedness. Playing the track forward will bring you to Kendrick’s death in DUCKWORTH. at the end, but if you play it backwards it will bring you to Kendrick’s death in BLOOD. at the end. In DUCKWORTH. Kendrick raps, “Whoever thought the greatest rapper / would be from coincidence? / because if Anthony killed ducky / Top Dawg could be servin’ life / while I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight”. As a result of DUCKWORTH. Top Dawg kills Kendrick’s father causing a fatherless upbringing resulting in Kendrick’s death from gang/drug related problems ultimately representing wickedness. In the songBLOOD. Kendrick sees a woman struggling and decided to help her and ultimately pays the price. He raps, “‘Hello ma’am, can I be of assistance? / seems to me that you have lost something / I would like to help you find it’ / she replied, ‘Oh yes / you have lost something / You’ve lost, your life’”. The blind women in this is a representation of Gods consequences for disobedience. Ultimately it is on the audience to determine whether Kendrick dies from his own wickedness or weakness.
Throughout this album Kendrick walks us through his thoughts of himself as each song on the album speaks on a piece of Kendrick’s life. He touches upon his black heritage in DNA. rapping, “I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA”. He also acknowledges the wickedness he sees as he reflects, “I know murder, conviction, burners / Boosters, burglars, ballers, dead / redemption, scholars, fathers, dead…”. YAH. covers his weakness to resist temptations as he acknowledges it’s, “first on my list, I can’t resist”. In ELEMENT. he recognizes the root of his hostility being that of his own weakness and fear. That slowly shifts into hopelessness in the track FEEL. as he expresses a feeling of overwhelming expectations that came from the fame and fortune, he encountered. The one song that plays a big part in the album is FEAR. The song initially starts off with a voicemail from his cousin carl. In that voicemail he left a scripture from Deuteronomy that said, “The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart”. In the book of Deuteronomy, it speaks of the laws of Moses and the breaking of this curse of damnation. In this track Kendrick takes us on a journey of three different fears as he grew up. He starts the song with, “Why God why God do I gotta suffer?” which leads him right into his different stages of fear. at a young age he shows us the fear of his parents. As a teen he fears an early death due to gang related events as he raps, “I’ll probably die anonymous/ I’ll probably die with promises”. The last fear he shares is his fear as an adult with all of the fame and fortune. The track YAH. also ties into the song fear as he mentions his cousin car again. He mentions carl in YAH. when he raps, “I’m a Israelite, don’t call me black no more / That word is only a color, it ain’t facts no more / My cousin Carl, my cousin Carol Duckworth / Said know my worth / and Deuteronomy say that we all been cursed”. This ties back into the song fear using these lines to show us his knowledge of and belief in this curse of damnation. Kendrick finish FEAR. by listing many of his fears. He rapped, “I’m talkin’ fear / Fear in losin’ loyalty for pride / ‘Cause my DNA won’t let me involve in the light of God / I’m talkin’ fear / Fear that. My humblness in goin’ / I’m talkin’ fear / Fear that love ain’t livin’ here no more / I’m talkin’ fear / Fear of that is wickedness or weakness / Whatever it is, both is distinctive”.
Using the different rhythms and lyrical flows Kendrick Lamar takes us on a journey of self-reflection. Confronted by his fears and emotions, Kendrick acknowledged his biggest flaws while educating us with his knowledge of the curse of damnation, spoken about in the book of Deuteronomy. Collectively this is Kendrick Lamars way of changing himself before trying to change the world.
There are many people that talk about artist as original and very unique. In this generation there are many rising artist because of social media and how quick one person’s video can go viral. It takes minutes for the whole world to see a video. I also believe with all the social media outlets people are quick to believe and assume what they see online. When I first started listening to Amy Winehouse I would go on the comments on youtube and see everyone posting about how original she was. To be honest I was thinking the same thing I felt like there were no other artist with her type of style, very pop and jazzy. After a couple weeks of this class I started seeing how much artist and music type influence the music of today. In my critical review, I make the following claim about Amy Winehouse live album at the BBC that; although one may seem unique their style of music and singing has a history through different genres and singers. I will use specific examples of songs from artist with similar style, songs from her album, as well as quotes from articles as evidence to support my argument that although Amy Winehouse was special she was not the only one with similar music style.
Amy Winehouse was 27 years old when she died. She was born London, England in 1983. Her first album Frank was released in the year of 2003. Her last album made a debut in the year of 2011. The album I am critiquing is a posthumous live album released on November 12th. The songs that are chosen for this album are some of the best in showing her performance skills as a live performer. When watching Amy’s live performances I see that most of her shows are done with her drinking on stage. I understand that many artists drink and perform but it seemed that towards the end of her career she would perform drunk. Even though she was drunk or sometimes even high on drugs her fans would still help her remember words by singing along and dancing to her music. Her choice of music and way of performing made her stand out and often recognized as “one of a kind” in reality her style of music is very much like past jazz, blues, R&B, and rock singers.
In the 6th song of the album, “You Know I’m No Good” starts off with congas sounds. This shows how there is some influence of Puerto Rican style of music. In fact according to Music of Puerto Rico the “conga drum was adapted from Africa” . This shows the influence music and style around the world. We as consumers of the music are sometimes not as well informed about the history and influences of music we listen to causing us to think the artist we hear are the originals. In the publication American Popular Music by Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman he talks about the influence of African Americans in popular music. He states that “African-American Culture took different forms in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and the United States”(9). With this we can see how much styles vary but still have the same origin no matter how unique something may sound it has a history as seen through Amy’s songs with a tropical vibe.
Apart from the tropical sounds she mainly uses soul and as her style of music. Soul was first sung and influenced by gospel singers, mainly African American that sung at church. It’s interesting how the faces of these genres aren’t always where it comes from. In the very popular song titled “to Know Him Is To Love Him”. we are able to hear the influence of soul into her song. The song has slow tempo very melo almost just in the background drum noises. The drummer keeps the same rhythm throughout the song. This song reminded me of the popular song by Percy Sledge titled “When A Man Loves A Woman”. The drummer keeps the same rhythm throughout the song as well as keeping the tempo very slow. In the Article Maureen Mahon “Big Mama Thornton’s Voice” they explain how blues and soul came to be popular. They said blues artist like Thornton, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and many other were “surprised by the audience: young, predominantly white Americans and Europeans”(7). the audience had fallen in love with this type of music so much so that “they started creating their own music” (7). As we can see this type of music traveled to Europe where Amy is from. There must have been influence in her music. I’ve seen a quote by an unknown author that read “people say soul died but it has always been here, it just evolved”. I see that as I hear her songs with a hint of soul in her own way.
Amy Winehouse is a very talented women and it is very sad that she passed on at a young age. She shared her talent with the world and made her fans happy with her performances. There is definitely something special about Amy Winehouse, she brings something edgy and different to the table. One thing is certain that her style of music is not one of the first. As I have previously stated her style of music has a history especially in the African American communities such as blues, soul, R&B and jazz. Even though it may not be completely the same as these genres it does have aspects integrated in her songs. Music keeps evolving!
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)
Maureen Mahon, “Rock,” The Music of Black Americans: An Introduction. Eds. Mellonee Burnim and Portia Maltsby. 558-584 (PDF)
Starr, Larry, and Christopher Alan Waterman. American Popular Music: from Minstrelsy to MP3. Oxford Univeristy Press, 2003.
The Irish rock band U2 that formed in 1976 has continued to surprise me with their music that often embellishes sociopolitical themes. U2’s members are Bono (vocals), Edge (guitar and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums). Not only is U2 known as the most musically innovative bands in history, but since the band has been together, they’ve been active through their voice and lyrics to change the world and people’s perspectives. U2 has achieved substantial commercial and critical success, selling millions of records and performing sold-out arena concerts well known for their unique visual effects. They have been acknowledged for their political dedication to humanitarian ideals and Christian principles. More specifically, U2’s “Songs of Experience” exploits ideas of masculinity and the power of having a voice and expressing emotion. Music is a chance to convey something ubiquitous, which connects with the artist’s and audience when they personally are struggling to put it into words. The euphoria in the arena gets people on their feet and into tears at how the artist targeted the feelings the listener is experiencing at that moment. Moreover, the combination of the rapture and elation that comes with sharing that feeling with thousands of people simultaneously. What is more rock and roll than that? I claim that “Songs of Experience” conveys the importance of expression and how masculinity is justified in popular music. I will discuss the controversy of masculinity in the music industry and how it correlates with expression using U2 as an individual example.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bono said, “I think music has gotten very girly.” He claims that with the exception of hip hop, the recording industry was lacking a place for young men to express their anger and thoughts at the world. Questions you might be asking are what about punk? Metal? Bono claims that music, along with other popular culture, has become feminized. People immediately shot down Bono’s notion accusing him of promoting male privilege. Expressing that male anger struggles to find a vent in popular music is dissimilar to saying that female anger either doesn’t exist or isn’t relevant. In “A Spy in the House of Love,” by Ann Powers, Ellen Willis a feminist critic of rock writes, “Individuals, [communities, and society] could be enlightened by the ‘ecstatic experience’ of visions expressed through music’s rhythm and noise and that such joy might lead us to create different ways of loving and sharing power” (Powers, 40). Jennifer Lena notes in “Music Genres Hip Hop” that, “music is a participatory, community-based activity…we discover more evidence that debates over political content of music is keyed to the scale of the community size” (Lena, 3). Bono as an activist, hopes to use his music to share his feelings and emotion toward political views in hopes that his listeners will work to make a change with him.
U2’s most recent album, “Songs of Experience” reflects the political and personal annihilation that bono felt had happened in his life. In “Pop; When the World Falls Apart,” Weisbard said, “no book on music in troubled times could avoid the theme of anger…” (Weisbard, 5). Men are told that they can’t be angry and that their anger is menacing. In the song, “Get Out of Your Own Way,” Bono expresses his frustration towards Trumps politics. Moreover, he tried to use some irony to reflect the anger of individuals out on the streets using the line, “Fight back, don’t take it lying down you’ve got to bite back.” Bono explained in the Rolling Stone, “when I was 16, I had a lot of anger in me. You need to find a place for it and for guitars, whether it is with a drum machine – I don’t care.” Bono is stressing the importance of having a voice and eliminating fear of having a loss in masculinity.
Men are being encouraged to be themselves, but only if their selves are allowable to others. Men should be encouraged to embrace their vulnerability and admit their feelings rather than complying with inherited ideas of what it means to be a man. Bono admits that “Songs of Experience” isn’t for everybody, but for him it felt right. His last two albums, “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” are a combination of personal and political so that you don’t know which one you are listening to. Overall, embracing your feelings and having the willingness to share them with an audience is important to engage with listeners and release internal emotions. The Edge in the Rolling Stone says, “I think every time we make a record, we learn.” U2’s aspirations are to continue to find desire somewhere to incorporate into their music.
jay.lyons.class 