Wednesday, 27 May 2009
And finally.......
Finally, when Don Mclean was asked what American Pie meant, he wouldn't tell he just said that it meant he didn't have to work again!
I've loved doing this module, although got a bit confused at times! Everyone on it has been good fun and I've had some great times and laughs So, I hope you don't mind if I just do one last posting for you to sing along to - doesn't have anything at all to do with American Pie and Adorno would think it is total rubbish but, hey ho, I love it!
I've loved doing this module, although got a bit confused at times! Everyone on it has been good fun and I've had some great times and laughs So, I hope you don't mind if I just do one last posting for you to sing along to - doesn't have anything at all to do with American Pie and Adorno would think it is total rubbish but, hey ho, I love it!
Friday, 22 May 2009
The theory bit
In this blog I've discussed what some in society thinks about American Pie, but what would the theorists make of it. Adorno said that this type of music is just right for the lower classes - music to keep them happy and that doesn't require much thinking about. He said that this type of music all the same - that the songs just have slight variations to them and they are churned out to appeal to the masses. Higher classes would listen to something requiring more intellect, like classical music. However, although undoubtedly the song appeals to a lot of people, if you actually listen to the words they are actually quite serious and indepth, and you do need to listen to them to appreciate what they mean.
The way society was changing at the time of the song, with teenagers having more disposable income and getting into different types of music and rock and roll seems to be in line with Gramsci's thinking that the element of power changes continuously - as we can see here with teenagers gaining more power and not depending on their parents so much. Also, Gramsci though that youth rebels to the dominant classes and this seems to be the case in relation to hippies, as they seemed to be rebelling to the upper classes in society by having their peace rallies etc. However this was only because they were learning more and more about the world and wanted to do something about what they saw as the wrong doings and to be fair they didn't seem to cause much serious trouble. The CCCS carried this on - they recognised that people were divided by their subculture - by their race for example, and this also is shown in song when Mclean talks about the three black teenageers being killed.
We could also mention Bordieau here and his habitus - this is still a popular song all round the world - certainly I know it from my parents being part of the youth culture in the 60's and this type of music being played in the house, and I'm assuming a lot of Americans know it by the same way - perhaps as we grow up singing Flower of Scotland or Auld Lang Syne, so our taste seems to come from where and who we are in society.
So, although American Pie seems be just a good old wholesome song on the surface, ther are a lot of serious elements to it - probably the same can be said of a lot of music that Adorno would pass off as "trashy"! So, although theorists do play a large part in helping us understand youth culture, theories are just that, theories, and they can be wrong sometimes.
The way society was changing at the time of the song, with teenagers having more disposable income and getting into different types of music and rock and roll seems to be in line with Gramsci's thinking that the element of power changes continuously - as we can see here with teenagers gaining more power and not depending on their parents so much. Also, Gramsci though that youth rebels to the dominant classes and this seems to be the case in relation to hippies, as they seemed to be rebelling to the upper classes in society by having their peace rallies etc. However this was only because they were learning more and more about the world and wanted to do something about what they saw as the wrong doings and to be fair they didn't seem to cause much serious trouble. The CCCS carried this on - they recognised that people were divided by their subculture - by their race for example, and this also is shown in song when Mclean talks about the three black teenageers being killed.
We could also mention Bordieau here and his habitus - this is still a popular song all round the world - certainly I know it from my parents being part of the youth culture in the 60's and this type of music being played in the house, and I'm assuming a lot of Americans know it by the same way - perhaps as we grow up singing Flower of Scotland or Auld Lang Syne, so our taste seems to come from where and who we are in society.
So, although American Pie seems be just a good old wholesome song on the surface, ther are a lot of serious elements to it - probably the same can be said of a lot of music that Adorno would pass off as "trashy"! So, although theorists do play a large part in helping us understand youth culture, theories are just that, theories, and they can be wrong sometimes.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Some meanings
"I can still remember how That music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, That I could make those people dance, And maybe they’d be happy for a while"
- Mclean wanted to write songs and this is a reference to it.
"But February made me shiver, With every paper I’d deliver"
-referece to Mcleans paper boy job and reading the headlines as he delivered them.,
But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died.
- talking about the plane crash and saying that the deaths of the three musicians was the day the music died.
"I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye Singing “This’ll be the day that I die, This’ll be the day that I die.”
- this is said to talk about the deaths of three black students who were murdered after trying to gain the right to vote, which seems unreal. Their bodies were reputedly put into a levee, which is a place that kids used to go and hang/make out!
"Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"
- music was said to be able to save your soul - can it?
"Well I know that you’re in love with him ‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym"
- at that time music was supposed to be a declaration of love and when it goes on to say "you both kicked off your shoes" it refers to having to dance to the new rock and roll music in your socks so your shoes didnt mark the gym floor.
"Man, I dig those rhythm ‘n’ blues"
- before rock and roll became popular, music was segretated and the music of black performers was predomiately listened to by black listeners (seems so strange now in our multi-cultural society). This music was referred to as rythm and blues musid and through the media such as the radio, white teenages started listening to it aswell (one way that music lends itself to all cultures and race)
"And while Lenin read a book on Marx"
- various interpetations here ranging from the political one of Lenin reading Marx's Das Kapital and communism or the lighter meaning of John Lennon - The Beatles were prevolent during this period aswell showing that their music influenced songwriting on the other side of the Atlantic.
"Now the half-time air was sweet perfume"
- this is supposed to be talking about tear gas in relation to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 with the "sergeants played a marching ture" referring to the police ejecting people from the convention venue.
"And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage; No angel born in hell, could break that Satan’s spell"
- Don Mclean made a lot of references to the Rolling Stones in this song and this line is thought to refer to the death of a man called Meredith Hunter at one of their concerts. The Rolling Stones has got some Hells Angels as bouncers and they are alleged to have stabbed and beaten him to death. the outcry that followed meant that the rolling stones didn't play their Sympathy for the Devil song again as it is thought that this played a part in inciting the violent beating. - this shows, perhaps in a radical way, that the public believe that music can responsible for influencing people, in this instance in a horrific way
"And in the streets the children screamed"
- this is another political reference in relation to the vietnamese children during the war - also thought to be the hippie children being beaten during being ejected from the convention as noted above.
So from the above we can see that the song relates a lot to the changing times in America and the evolution of music that happened during that period. It's only when you truly examine the words of the song closely that they start to show what they really mean, in both a historical context and also showing that because of one man writing about how he was influenced by what he saw in society at that time that we have a song that has lasted a long time.
- Mclean wanted to write songs and this is a reference to it.
"But February made me shiver, With every paper I’d deliver"
-referece to Mcleans paper boy job and reading the headlines as he delivered them.,
But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died.
- talking about the plane crash and saying that the deaths of the three musicians was the day the music died.
"I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, Them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye Singing “This’ll be the day that I die, This’ll be the day that I die.”
- this is said to talk about the deaths of three black students who were murdered after trying to gain the right to vote, which seems unreal. Their bodies were reputedly put into a levee, which is a place that kids used to go and hang/make out!
"Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?"
- music was said to be able to save your soul - can it?
"Well I know that you’re in love with him ‘Cause I saw you dancing in the gym"
- at that time music was supposed to be a declaration of love and when it goes on to say "you both kicked off your shoes" it refers to having to dance to the new rock and roll music in your socks so your shoes didnt mark the gym floor.
"Man, I dig those rhythm ‘n’ blues"
- before rock and roll became popular, music was segretated and the music of black performers was predomiately listened to by black listeners (seems so strange now in our multi-cultural society). This music was referred to as rythm and blues musid and through the media such as the radio, white teenages started listening to it aswell (one way that music lends itself to all cultures and race)
"And while Lenin read a book on Marx"
- various interpetations here ranging from the political one of Lenin reading Marx's Das Kapital and communism or the lighter meaning of John Lennon - The Beatles were prevolent during this period aswell showing that their music influenced songwriting on the other side of the Atlantic.
"Now the half-time air was sweet perfume"
- this is supposed to be talking about tear gas in relation to the Democratic National Convention of 1968 with the "sergeants played a marching ture" referring to the police ejecting people from the convention venue.
"And as I watched him on the stage, my hands were clenched in fists of rage; No angel born in hell, could break that Satan’s spell"
- Don Mclean made a lot of references to the Rolling Stones in this song and this line is thought to refer to the death of a man called Meredith Hunter at one of their concerts. The Rolling Stones has got some Hells Angels as bouncers and they are alleged to have stabbed and beaten him to death. the outcry that followed meant that the rolling stones didn't play their Sympathy for the Devil song again as it is thought that this played a part in inciting the violent beating. - this shows, perhaps in a radical way, that the public believe that music can responsible for influencing people, in this instance in a horrific way
"And in the streets the children screamed"
- this is another political reference in relation to the vietnamese children during the war - also thought to be the hippie children being beaten during being ejected from the convention as noted above.
So from the above we can see that the song relates a lot to the changing times in America and the evolution of music that happened during that period. It's only when you truly examine the words of the song closely that they start to show what they really mean, in both a historical context and also showing that because of one man writing about how he was influenced by what he saw in society at that time that we have a song that has lasted a long time.
Some Background
I thought I would look into the meaning of American Pie initially as I just really liked the song - I have to say that I really love the Don Mclean version and quite like the Madonna version, apart from her scary wavy dancing in the video! At the start I just wanted to find out what made a song so popular that it is still a hit nearly 40 years after it was first released (1971). Absolutely loads of people have sung it at one time or another - Garth Brooks sung it at President Obama's inauguration concert, Tori Amos has sung it at the end of her concerts, and on youtube there are countless people singing it in one form or another. Most recently Chris De Burgh put it on his Footsteps album which is supposed to be made up with his favourite songs. I don't mind Chris De Burgh normally - but him singing American Pie begs the question - WHY? Anyway, rather than just singing along with the song I started researching the words and it turns out this might be a mystery. Don McLean won't reveal what the words mean, other than to confirm that he was a paper boy when the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Giles Perry Richardson jnr in it crashed (this is what the song is alleged to be dedicated to), and that the song is autobiographical, charting Mcleans move from the innocence of being a child into adulthood He describes it as half fantasy and have reality.
There have been various interpretations of the song, quite a few political meanings to some of the lines. The song is said to be about rock and roll evolving in America, with the teenagers who listened and danced to it being influential in the transformation of the country just by sheer number. In the next posting, I'll post up some lyrics with the interpretations I feel are relevant to helping us understand how music can help us learn about history. Altough there has been great debate about the lyrics, I don't think the people who sing the song, especially the chorus, think about the meaning - they just enjoy singing words they know to a good tune.
There have been various interpretations of the song, quite a few political meanings to some of the lines. The song is said to be about rock and roll evolving in America, with the teenagers who listened and danced to it being influential in the transformation of the country just by sheer number. In the next posting, I'll post up some lyrics with the interpretations I feel are relevant to helping us understand how music can help us learn about history. Altough there has been great debate about the lyrics, I don't think the people who sing the song, especially the chorus, think about the meaning - they just enjoy singing words they know to a good tune.
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