Bebop to Hip Hop - Green

BEBOP TO HIP HOP: MUSIC AND YOUNG AMERICA HY 300-001 VIA LEMONADE DR. SHARONY GREEN UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

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In this course, you will learn how music narrates “postwar” life.To speak of the postwar period is to speak about life since the Second World War. TheUnited States entered this war in 1941. The war ended in 1945.The 1940s is not only important because of this war, but becAause of musical history. It was in Bthis decade that the genre of jazz known as “bebop” was born. We’re essentially talkingabout a type of playing where musicians were more adventurous than they had beenpreviously. They were known to improvise, or free style, in the manner that rappers would doby the 1970s.Between the beginning of bebop and the arrival of rap music, there were many socialchanges in and outside the United States. Some of those changes had to do with technologyincluding the arrival of vinyl records and the television, but also the “teenager.”A teenager was someone who could be distinguished from an older person on the basis ofnot just their age, but their tastes in records, or music that reflected social issues of the dayas the century matured.This semester, we will use the visual album “Lemonade” as a handrail to address numerous Ctopics. DKeep this handout as it will push your thinking. 3

Weeks 2 and 3 (8/29, 9/3, 9/5 and 9/7)Locating “Lemonade,” Or Postwar Fall of “Grand Expectations”The parking garage in “Lemonade” is a site to explore many things including the arrivalof the suburbs after the Second World War. A booming economy and governmentbenefits helped some people purchase homes away from the city center. Some suchpeople had what oneAhistorian has called “grand expeBctations.” From their suburban Chomes, they traveled on interstate the highways that were in part built to handleincreased traffic. All of these cars were often stored in garages in urban spaces whereother people still lived. Who are the people in question? How are they represented in thisvisual album? What else does the garage represent?DE F 4

Week 4 (9/12 – 9/14) – “Hold Up,” Norma Rae; The Plight of WomanhoodBy the early 1960s,women grappled withtheir identity. BettyFriedan’s 1963 bookFeminine Mystiquesuggested that womenwere not as happy assome believed. Shehelped start what isknown as a secondwave of feminism.The growing strength ofpostwar women, whichis certainly on display in“Lemonade,” manifestsin many culturalproducts including the1979 motion picture“Norma Rae,” whichconcerns a textile workerwho became a laboractivist. During thatsame decade, womenof African descentarticulated how theyfaced uniquechallenges as women.They appeared to meetat an intersection ofmyths about blacks andwomen. What kinds ofmyths are on display in“Lemonade” and howare the experiences ofwomen of varyingbackgrounds revealedin postwar music? 5

Important DatesWEEK 1 - Thur., Aug. 24 – IntroductionThur., Aug. 31 – Beats Lab. Meet in Gorgas 104 for a brief tour of Music Library holdings followed at4pm by visit to Sanford Media Center.Thur., Sept. 7 – Beats Lab. Meet in Gorgas 104.Thur., Sept. 28 – NO CLASS. INSTRUCTOR AT CONFERENCE. USE THIS TIME TO WORK ON BEATS PROJECTSept. 28 - FIRST TAKE HOME PAPER DUE at 8pm via TurnitinThur., Oct. 4 – NO CLASS. INSTRUCTOR AT CONFERENCE. USE THIS TIME TO WORK ON BEATS PROJECTThur., Oct. 12 – Beats Lab. Meet in Gorgas 104.Thur., Oct. 19 - MIDTERM EXAMOct. 26 – NO CLASS. FALL BREAKThur., Nov. 9 – Beats Lab. Meet in Gorgas 104.Nov. 23 – NO CLASS. THANKSGIVING BREAKNOV. 25 - SECOND TAKE HOME PAPER DUE at 8pm via TurnitinWeek 15 (Nov. 28 and Dec. 3) - Name that Tune - Is Music a Reliable Text? (BEATS PRESENTATIONS)Thur. Dec. 14 - FINAL EXAM - 7-9:30pm 6

Week 5 (9/19 and 9/21) On Being Urban, Or “What Happened at the New Orleans?”By the 1970s, and on the heels of the growth of the suburbs and risingunemployment rates as jobs left city centers and the United States entirely, theblack body became associated with the city. This impression of cities persiststoday even amid gentrification. Countless postwar singers, among them MarvinGaye and Stevie Wonder, as well hip hop performers, have addressed theunrealized promises of American life in the crime-ridden and poverty-strikenurban spaces. How do we reconcile those dire images with the pleasure thatcomes from listening to music – no matter the lyrics?

Week 6 (9/26)White Dresses On Southern Porches, Conservativism and On Why Johnny Cash Hurts Johnny Cash is best known for his country music recordings. He permits, too, an opportunity to look at the complexities of what it means to be white and male in a changing world. Conservative thought in and outside the white working class community seemed to culminate with the election of Ronald Reagan. The growth of the southern white voter was also critical. How do these social developments show up in postwar music? What tensions do they pose with other developments including the efforts of other groups, among them African Americans and immigrants, to improve their lives in the 1960s and 1970s? Where does family fit in? Where does the church fit in?

Week 7 and 8 (10/3 and 10/10) Locating Community via Watts, the Black WoodstockIn 1972, thousands of African American people gathered to commemorate the1965 riots in the Watts section of Los Angeles. Performers for Stax Records playedsoul, gospel, R & B, blues, funk and jazz at this festival, which was captured in a 1973documentary.The event is often billed at the black version of Woodstock, the four-day musicfestival held on an upstate New York dairy farm in 1969. With both events, onesenses an American public unhappy about many things. Their anger and joybubbles up in the music. As we watch this documentary, which images in“Lemonade” resonate and why?

Week 9 – 10/17 and 10/19) Entrepreneurship in America, Or Being a Black Bill Gates in the MakingWithout question, there have been socialimprovements in the United States sincethe Civil Rights Movement. Suchimprovements occurred alongsideongoing social conflict between blackand white Americans.Via their music, Beyonce and her husbandJay-Z suggest that having one’s ownbusiness is one solution to the problems inthe black community.What does entrepreneurship look like acrosstime in the 20th century and in the postwarperiod?Berry Gordy’s “Motown” is an example of thepossibilities of starting one’s own business.Why is the success of that venture complexand what does it tell us about the messypostwar period?

Week 10 and 11 - (10/24, 10/31 and 11/2)Identity and Becky with the Good Hair Why is it necessary for Beyonce to remind us in her song “Formation” that she has “hot sauce in her bag”? What is she addressing about what it means to southern and black and a woman in the United States? Which other postwar songs provide room to consider the identity politics in this song (and not)?

Weeks 12 and 13 – (10/31, 11/2 , 11/7 and 11/9) Globalization and the Rise of Rihanna. Is it a Small World After All?When Walt Disney World opened in Floridain 1971, it did so by offering the “It’s aSmall World Ride.” The various culturesfeatured in this amusement ride suggestthat the world was smaller, something theidea of globalization showcases, too. Sodo the lyrics of many postwar songs. Wemay even think about the rising trend ofhearing Caribbean accents in popularmusic sung today. How do these postwardevelopments encounter social conflicthappening at the same time? What canmusic accomplish that our everydayencounters with one another fail toaccomplish? When are we all on thesame page and why?

Week 14 (11/21)“The Story of O.J.” – Peeling Apart the N---- Word and #444 As the semester closes, and as we prepare to present our original beats, it is worth it to ponder the persisting images about certain groups and how these images are marketed even as they are resisted.