American Pie
With every aspect of our lives we are making a point, arguing a belief, or refuting some other aspect of our existence. Aesthetic pieces, most avidly poems and songs, argue a message both in the lyrics and in the meaning posed between the lines. “American Pie,” in a multitude of ways, argues that American lives and memories are closely intertwined with the music of the time period. Not only does “American Pie” argue a message it also pulls many generations together. Today, thirty years after the initial release, “American Pie” still has an effect in our music and continues to be popular with all age groups. Don McLean accomplishes this task through using the context of the time period, placement of words, the words themselves, the punctuation and grammar, the rhythms, and many other facets involved. Because of this, the people of a nation and even the world are influenced.
One major concept needed in order to understand any song thoroughly is to comprehend the period in which it was recorded and released. Don McLean released the song, “American Pie,” in 1971. During the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the United States was becoming progressively commercialized. With the commercialization, Americans began losing touch of the “little things in life,” and the things that make life worth living; instead they were more interested in the materialistic things. Throughout the time period there were many clashes around the world—most famous being the conflict in Vietnam. With the amount of turmoil that was present during the late 1960s and early 1970s, McLean writes about the 1950s (a period of calmness between two storms—the World Wars and Vietnam) as an escape for the people of his time. Several classics in other part...
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... placement of words, the words themselves, appeals, imagery, figurative language, the punctuation and grammar, the rhythms, and all the other facets involved, shows that the people of a nation are influenced. Through all of these methods Don McLean uses “American Pie” to argue that American lives and memories are closely intertwined with the music of the time period. Not only does the argument and its message span over a period of time it inevitably pulled many generations together.
Works Cited
Howard, Allen. (November 3, 2001). Don McLean Online, American Pie Man’s Internet Home. [World Wide Web]. Available: http://www.don-mclean.com. [November 28, 2001].
McLean, Don. American Pie. American Pie. Released by United Artists (1971).
Super70s.com. (2001). Super70s.com: Timeline. [World Wide Web]. Available:
http://www.super70s.com. [December 1, 2001].
To the persistent individual, though, there is a body of music in existence that merits regard. It is powerful music written by the youth of America, youngsters who did have a stake in the Vietnam War. There can be little question about the origins of the power which American protest music conveyed: those who wrote such music lived each day with the real knowledge that they were losing friends in, and could possibly be forced themselves to go to, Vietnam. One such group, Creedence Clearwater Revival, made its contribution to this genre near the end of the Vietnam War.
"HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR...HUT, TWO, THREE, FOUR...” What do a bunch of grunts calling out raunchy marching cadences have to do with pop culture? There’s more to the cadence then just keeping soldiers in step, there is a deep sense of pride, patriotism, unity, motivation, and nostalgia, which can be found within these songs. The Military cadence is used to motivate, inspire, and foster company cohesiveness while keeping soldiers steps in time and hands down the rich oral traditions of the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air force. The cadence is a song sung when marching or running and the songs require a caller, who normally sets the pace and leads the formation. Like robots, the soldiers echoed their leader's sing-song" Jody Call" in beat to their pounding footsteps. The way a unit sounds while running or marching tends to reflect on that unit's morale and leadership. This paper will illustrate the similarities that cadences share with pop culture music through lyrical examples. As you will see, the lyrics of these cadences are expressions of individual feelings, goals, and fears, and are quite similar to the themes of other popular culture musical genres. The theories of subculture, appropriation and improvisation that have been proposed in lecture will be reviewed and illustrated within cadences. The military cadence as a subcultures oral tradition will be examined, through analyzing the theories of popular music which can be applied to the genres’ history, structure, and socio-political influences.
Porter, Eric. “’It’s About That Time’: The Response to Miles Davis’s Electric Turn’” in Miles Davis and American Culture. Gerald Early (Saint Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press, 2001).
If analyzed carefully, the melancholy verses of the song are in sharp contrast to the overpowering chorus. Ignore the addictive chorus "Born in the U.S.A.” and what you really hear is a protest song that tells the depressing story and struggle of Vietnam Veterans returning home to a disillusioned life. To his most devoted ...
Because the war was so unpopular back in the United States, the returning veterans faced many challenges on their return home. What should have been a celebrated homecoming became a nightmare for many veterans. In addition to any injuries or lasting effects of the war, their needs were largely ignored by the nation. This plight of the Vietnam veteran is the subject of Bruce Springsteen’s popular song “Born in the U.S.A.” The song is the lead track on his 1984 album of the same name and was a huge hit for Springsteen. Personally Springsteen considers it one of his greatest songs, but he is disappointed that its message was never fully understood. Coming in at a length of 4 minutes and 44 seconds, the song “Born in the U.S.A.” is exactly twice as long as “Fortunate Son.” However the impact is not twice as great. Springsteen’s message and cause is noble and needs to be heard. He sees that Americans have collectively turned their backs on the very men who risk their lives to protect their freedom. But the songs simple chorus anthem is often misunderstood by those who hear the song. Like Fogerty, Springsteen sings with more passion than classic technique. He shouts and screams above the crackling drum driven beat of the song as he tells the story of a poor boy fighting a rich man’s war. This theme is very similar to “Fortunate Son” and in fact a person could see this man as the same character in
Breast Cancer is a disease that can sometime lead to ovarian cancer and has caused a lot of women’s death. “About five to ten percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result from gene defects called mutations inherited from a parent”. Related Risks early menstruation, oral contraceptives and child bearing 20 percent. (1)An environmental risk is that toxins can damage breast DNA. Over time damaged DNA can lead to cancer. Your risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. “1 of 8 breast cancer are found when women are younger than 45. 2 of 3 breast cancer are found in women age 55 years or older 75 percent greater chance”.(1) Breast Cancer can lead Peutz Jeghers syndrome the effects of Peutz Jeghgers is spots on your lips and in their mouths. Women with no children or who had a child after age 30 have slightly higher breast cancer risk. “Screening for breast cancer is early diagnosis increases chance of survival and annual mammogram after age 40”. Women who took Diethylstilbestrol while pregnant could have a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer. Birth control peals also cause higher risks 40 to 50 percent for breast cancer risk calms down after they have stopped taking them.(1) Using combined hormone therapy after menopause increase the risk of getting breast cancer , it also increase women chances of dying from it. If you are over weight or obese after menopause greatly increase breast cancer risk 20 percent. Drinking alcohol can cause a major effect for you to start developing breast cancer the risk increase the more you drink. Tobacco smoke, Night work, Antiperspirants, Bras and Induced abortion. Breast cancer takes a lot of toll on women and men of all races and...
These are the two lines of reasoning I will take to argue against drug prohibition in this paper. After giving a brief history of prohibition, I will show that it is wrong in principal and that there is no moral basis for this policy. I will then show that, regardless of moral considerations, prohibition has not and probably cannot work, and more specifically that the "war on drugs" has been a disaster which should be ended immediately. I will then conclude by discussing possible consequences of legalization.
Breast Cancer, as well as other forms of cancer, scientists do know how it occurs, but they do not know an exact cause. There are some genes in our body called oncogenes, genes that have potential to cause cancer, that increases the speed of cell division while other genes such as tumor suppressors, cause the cells to die at the correct time. Mutations that occur in the DNA, which “turn on” the oncogenes or “turn off” tumor suppressor genes, will cause some of the cells to be cancerous in the breast("American Cancer Society"). Also, Breast Cancer can be increased by inherited gene mutations and acquired gene mutations. The risk of Breast Cancer can be increased dramatically, through the inheritance from parent to offspring, if a mutation occurs. For example, if a suppressor gene, such as BRCA, forms a mutation, then it is likely to be passed to future generations. This gene no longer suppresses abnormal growth, therefore there is a higher chance of cancer being developed. Even though Breast Cancer can be inherited it is more likely to be acquired through one breast cell. The acquired mutations could be a result of of radiation or cancer-causing chemicals. ...
Many people hail “The Star Spangled Banner” as the greatest piece of American music. The audiences of America’s national anthem seem, instinctively, eager to express their respect by embracing the notion to remove their hats and stand up. However, not many people ponder over the question of what “The Star Spangled Banner” truly means. What does it mean? Why does it deserve so much reverence and honor? What exceptional difference allows it to prevail over the masterpieces of prominent composers like Mozart and Beethoven? The answer is fairly simple. “The Star Spangled Banner” symbolizes America’s perseverance, its set of moral laws and ethics, and its history that constitutes what America truly means.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” tells the story of a woman who is trapped in a room covered in yellow wallpaper. The story is one that is perplexing in that the narrator is arguably both the protagonist as well as the antagonist. In the story, the woman, who is the main character, struggles with herself indirectly which results in her descent into madness. The main conflicts transpires between the narrator and her husband John who uses his power as a highly recognize male physician to control his wife by placing limitations on her, forcing her to behave as a sick woman. Hence he forced himself as the superior in their marriage and relationship being the sole decision make. Therefore it can be said what occurred externally resulted in the central conflict of” “The Yellow Wallpaper being internal. The narrator uses the wallpaper as a symbol of authenticy. Hence she internalizes her frustrations rather then openly discussing them.
Recreational drug use has been controversial for years. Government has deemed the use of certain drugs to be dangerous, addictive, costly, and fatal. Governmental agencies have passed laws to make drugs illegal and then have focused a great deal of attention and money trying to prohibit the use of these drugs, and many people support these sanctions because they view the illegality of drugs to be the main protection against the destruction of our society (Trebach, n.d.). Restricting behavior doesn’t generally stop people from engaging in that behavior; prohibition tends to result in people finding more creative ways to obtain and use drugs. However, just knowing that trying to control people’s behavior by criminalizing drug use does not work still leaves us looking for a solution, so what other options exist? This paper will discuss the pros and cons about one option: decriminalizing drugs.
Barnett, Randy E. “The Harmful Side Effects of Drug Prohibition.” Utah Law Review 2009.1 (2009): 11-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.
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