Donald Grover’s song “This is America” was a controversial song addressing the issue of gun violence in the United States. More specifically, it brought to light the issue of mass shootings and racial discrimination against African Americans. Although asked about the meaning behind the song, Grover refused to comment any further than the song being “a song for people to play on the fourth of July” (IndieWire). The message of the song along with the music video is clear, which may be the reason why Grover chooses not to elaborate on it further. Even though Grover refuses to comment further, I don’t believe listeners “added their own political purpose to it”. The song was made to have political purpose. Even without Grover explicitly saying it, we see this in the lyrics and video very clearly. “This is America” would be part of the musical genre of trap music. Trap music itself is more popular than political.

The first part of the song is very carefree. Then there is a juxtaposition after the main intro which is revealing a more serious problem in contrast to the “carefree” and “nice sounding” beginnings. The beginning of the song repeats:

We just want the money (yeah)
Money just for you (ooh)
I know you wanna party (yeah)
Party just for free (yeah)
Girl, you got me dancin’ (girl, you got me dancin’)
Dance and shake the frame (ooh)

Then after the intro, the song repeats these phrases in a more serious tone:

This is America
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
Look what I’m whippin’ now
This is America (woo)
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
Look what I’m whippin’ now

One musical characteristic of the piece that make it a useful tool for political protest would be catchy beat. This is useful for any kind of political protest because it is memorable and danceable too. While the song holds a grave message, the beat makes it easy for people to listen to.

In ” High For Hours” J.Cole speaks on politics throughout the song. His message is very straightforward. He talks about violence in America. Police brutality is also talked about and how America is celebrating violence. The genre of this song is rap and, rap music has been used for political statements in the past.

He says “they came here seeking freedom and they end up owning slaves”. This is addressing the idea of the “American Dream” and how people came here for freedom. However, that’s not the reality when looking at the way society is made up. “Claiming that he reached for a gun” this is speaking on police brutality. In America, there have been numerous cases of police brutality happening. With these cases, there have even been videos showing the victims weren’t reaching for a gun. The violence that was used on them was uncalled for, and that is what J.Cole is bringing up. Furthermore, this song focuses on “American hypocrisy”. He lists how this hypocrisy can be seen. Whether it is celebrating violence or justifying it.The Timbre in this song remains the same throughout the song. This allows what he’s saying to be the focus rather than a change in the beat.

Fight the Power was originally was on the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s “Do the Right thing”.,  but the song definitely stood its own ground as it stays one of hip-hop most recognizable and quoted lines. This song and its lyrics were huge for the civil rights movement, the lyrics are quoted by artists and social activists everywhere.  It is in the hip-hop/rap genre, rap genre is used as a response form of music, for example rap battles. The lyrics go into depth attacking racism and classism straight on its head. Starting with the title of the song “Fight the Power” is kind of the clean way of saying F*** the police and bring against those in power not those with authority. The people in higher positions that take advantage of people’s skin color and their class so they can get away with more. One of the most shocking lyrics, till this day, is when Public Enemy said:

“Elvis was a hero to most But he never meant sh*t to me you see           Straight up racist that sucker was Simple and plain Mother f*** him and John Wayne”

Many Black people felt that Elvis stole elements from black music and culture. His music and his lyrics suggest so.  Later in the song PE says:

“What we got to say    Power to the people no delay Make everybody see In order to fight the powers that be “

The “Power to the people” line is in reference to the slogan used by the black panthers in protests, working to help the powerless and cross racial lines. These were protests to the people of corporate America and the racists who exploit all their power. One musical characteristic that this piece can’t be without is rhythm. One of the most recognizable samples in the piece is the Funky Drummer break that comes in about 20 seconds in. James Brown’s Funky drummer was a commonly sample song at the time but more effectively used because James Brown was a large civil activist at the time, Public Enemy actually samples The Funky Drummer another 7 times. 

The piece of music I choose is “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar and it focuses on the Black Lives Matter Movement. Many of his songs from his album “To Pimp a Butterfly” had become anthems that reflect on the modern social justice movement. This song became very popular in our generation and its chorus became very important to have that hope for things to get better. The chorus consists of a rallying cry of protestors in the United States. They said, “a kind of comfort that people of color and other oppressed communities desperately need all too often: the hope-the feeling- that despite tensions in the country growing worse and worse, in the long run, we’re gon’ be all right”. The song itself reflects on the Black Lives Matter community, their protest to fight for equal rights, and most importantly for them to have a voice and not be harassed for their opinions. Many also speak out through this song about the treatment they have involving police brutality especially the student activists at Cleveland State University. The song was known for its beat as well while Lamar worked with Pharell Williams to put together. The dah dah dah sounds in the song is actually Williams disembodied voice, which is constantly played throughout the song. He wanted for the beat to not just be a tune but a statement to be told. It contains rap and complex rhythms and references to Jazz which was started in the South in black communities. A set of skittering drum beats and jazz horns, timbres in the saxophone, and piano. make this music piece stand out as well. This is where he decided to bring back the struggles of the modern black experience in America as well as the years that passed. Slaves would sing songs to keep their heads up with the struggles at the time and now four hundred years later people still need that music to heal. It was written in terms of positivity with a backdrop of civil unrest. This piece is a part of the Hip-Hop genre, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the genre itself is political. The song itself is a mix of R&B, dance-pop influences, and the 1990s deep house music.

In the song Democracy written and sung by Leonard Cohen it talks about his views of America. Although he was a Canadian, he cared about America and wanted people to listen to his song because he was horrified and worried about what America was slowly becoming. Some of his lyrics were great representations to what was happening in America today. For example, from the protesters of Black lives matter the lyrics “it’s coming from the sorrow in the street, the holy places where the races meet. Another example are the feminists that are also protesting for equal rights, he said “from the homicidal bitchin’/ that goes down in every kitchen/ to determine who will serve and who will eat”. Although he passed away recently, many Americans still play his music for the wise words and opinions in his song. It is known that if words don’t hinder someones feeling a poem or song will, which is why people listen to these types of songs, possibly to pass on the message. 

The beginning of the song you could hear a snare drum that closely sounded similar to the beginning of an American marching band. This song is a genre of pop as it was widely recognized and played by many people all around the world. His music video shows different pictures of the history of America and could be heard saying U.S.A multiple times. I think his addition of drums in his song are a very effective way to create a political feel to it. Not only does the title of the song give away a political vibe, but his use of instruments also show a great example of a political song. 

The songs that punctuate Hindi films and provide them lots of their terrific worldwide attraction are particularly enormous websites in the cinema’s try to deal with challenges to regular buildings of authority. Focusing on mind-blowing moments of non‐narrative – and often explicitly erotic – pleasure, such songs proffer utopian eventualities within which the tensions raised by means of the narratives of kinship in disaster that dominate Hindi film are emolliated. It is the moments of melodic fantasy embedded in Hindi film, the tune and dance routines which provide these condensed pics of reconciliation, that predominantly working classification youths in Britain appropriate in order to categorical the conflicting hopes and fears that symbolize their very own cosmopolitan identities. In this article, I talk about two of the most essential instances of remix culture in Britain over the closing decade in order to provide a retrospective take on the uses of Hindi‐language movie through second‐generation Asian young people.

Since I have human beings in my household who speak exclusive languages so I grew up listening to Urdu language, which is a very important section of Indian Sufi songs and the instruments they use in this kind of song is very historic and unique. It reminds me about my subculture and roots. Over the duration of closing a few many years Hindi tunes have made some huge adjustments but nothing used to be capable of exchanging this vogue of music.

The Killers penned this song for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead. The front man Brandon Flowers writes of how shocked he was hearing of the news, then about the Sandy Hook shooting, and Parkland, that mass shootings in the United States were far too common, and becoming a new norm-to the point most aren’t shocked by such news anymore. He kept pushing off writing the song down after each shooting, but he felt enough was enough, and released it in 2017 in response to the government’s weak response to trying to prevent such tragedies from happening again. The song is of the alternative/indie genre, and it isn’t a political genre, no music genre is actually. It’s the lyrics and the meaning that makes a song political in someone’s eyes.

Listeners would also put their own spin on the song, mostly due to the political shift due to the 2016 election and onwards, that created a much more noticeable divide between the American people. The lyrics “We’ve got a problem with guns…who just want the same things we do” showcases the message that both facts that we can all agree, hardly anything has changed in the “land of the free”. Every month, every year, we have mass shootings at schools, anywhere, immigrants are turned away at the border “wall” when all they want is a life we all look forward to, and racism, all are topics that are at least touched upon in the duration of the song. It is markedly a useful song for political protest, mostly due to the riveting lyrics and the piano’s dynamic, that bring harmony together with the background gospel choir.

I had most comfortable feeling with Indian classical concert. Indian classical music can be followed to the centuries driving up to the Natya Shastra original copy which is the most punctual Sanskrit archive that portrays performing expressions. The primary compilation of the Nāṭya Śāstra, composed as a fifth Veda, is dated around 200 BCE, and it portrays move, music and scholarly conventions in India. By the 16th century, the classical music of the Indian subcontinent inevitably had part into two conventions: Hindustani (North Indian classical music) and Carnatic (South Indian classical music). Be that as it may, the two frameworks tended to share more common highlights instead of contrast from one other totally.

I was feeling very uncomfortable with live jazz performance. It was very hard to understand the whole concept of the concert. it was not easy to be connected to this concert. since everyone was playing their instrument loudly it was tough to distinguish the difference between the sounds.

In live concert different people have their own different preferences. I liked Indian Classical concert because those instrument were very familiar to to and their sound as well. The singer was trying to explain and focus on a certain topic which she made even more clear with the sound of the instruments and facial expression. In a concert I want connect myself with the performer to understand the concept in large extent.