MY JERICHO MAY 18TH POP..POP..POPULAR MUSIC - What Makes a great song?
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MY JERICHO POP..POP..POPULAR MUSIC
What makes a great song?
18TH MAY YOU TUBE 18.00 https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Flive%2FIpmXZc4NuYk%3Ffeature%3Dshare&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cf99c602e5d044c41fe7508db52d5cd2f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638194850479784670%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=u9hQl56LuC9Nmzg7qwL55LIzuZu4YhMWLcyMP6%2BK8UQ%3D&reserved=0
Professor Gary Browning Professor of Political Thought Oxford Brookes
and Jan Butler Senior Lecturer in Popular Music Oxford Brookes,
We will start off with some thoughts on Bob Dylan’s recent book on popular song. Which songs does he choose? Why does he choose them? He likes songs that are open, where the stories they tell are not finished or closed. Hence in ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’ he wonders what the singer who is telling the story is doing and what is happening to the girl he has left behind. Dylan’s choices are maverick, reflecting a maverick personality and his own background. Mostly they are by male singers and songwriters and they are mostly from the 1950s and 1960s, though he chooses some punk rock songs. He thinks the singers and listeners are important in determining songs. They are never finished once and for all. What would you choose? Dylan thinks music in a song must work with the singer and not dominate.
SONGs- Dylan’s Picks
Nina Simone Please Don’t Let me be misunderstood’
A great song with the singer displaying controlled emotion and dignity. She’s determined to be understood for who and what she is. Hence this could be seen as a political song. A young black woman standing up for herself.
The Clash London Calling
A song of desperation. Punk was mostly about aggression, anger frustration but for Dylan this one is about desperation. How do we get out of here? We can’t. Dylan sees the river as a means of escape. He’s wrong on this. It is not an escape for the Clash- a time of flooding and fear of a big flood.
Hank Williams Your Cheatin’ Heart
A great country singer. Dylan sees this song as not giving too much away. Maybe it is a view of the future when the singer has revenge on a cheating lover. The demon lover can be seen in many ways.
Joni Mitchell Both Sides Now
A great song by a female singer and writer. Full of insight and richness into life. But is it trying too hard to be insightful- Joni Mitchell was very young at the time.
The Beatles Strawberry Fields
Song about the past. Childhood and about a neighbourhood- a place of executions. And with a strong backing. It takes me out of time like all good songs should.
