M.I.A created the 2012 pop song, “Bad Girls” as a dedication to the “women to drive movement,” which was a movement dedicated to help Saudi women get the right to drive as it was illegal for all Saudi-an women. Most listeners agreed with the message that M.I.A was trying to convey, as they saw this as a pressing issue for women’s rights in the Saudian culture. However, there were many  who did not agree with her point she was trying to make, as they thought only men should be the drivers as it’s not appropriate for women in Sudia to do so. Many critics criticized M.I.A for confronting the women’s rights issues in Saudia, as well as having women wearing hijabs driving cars in the music video, which was strictly forbidden. M.I.A was also accused of portraying Arabic stereotypes in the music video as the video portrays the Arabic culture. 

“Bad girls” is considered to be apart of several genres, including World-beat, Contemporary R&B, Dance/Electronic. Being considered a piece of popular music, I don’t think music in this genre is necessarily political. A lot of pop songs are created as more catchy, “feel-good” songs, that usually don’t carry strong political messages. However, I think more artists nowadays are  using the power of music as a way to create change, and I think more songs in the pop genre are conveying political messages.

Some lyrics are:

Live fast, die young

Bad girls do it well

Hands up, hands tied

Don’t go screaming if I blow you with a bang

I’m coming in the Cherokee

Gasoline

There’s steam on the window screen

Take it, take it

World’s bouncing like a trampoline

When I get to where I’m going, gonna have you trembling

When I get to where I’m going, gonna have you saying it

Lookin’ in the rear view, swaggin’ goin’ swell

Shift gear, automatic, damned if I do

Who’s gonna stop me when I’m coming through?

Don’t go screaming if I blow you with a bang

These strong lyrics show that women have to take charge in the fight for their rights, and that the Sudian culture should allow it. It mentions how Suadi Arabian women are being murdered for driving, as stated “leavin’ boys behind ’cause it’s legal just to kill.” Overall the lyrics are portraying women as empowered beings who need to take charge for what is right. Additionally, in the music video, the people sitting in the drivers’ seats for close-ups are all women, to help convey this message. These women are considered “bad girls” for going against the rules, however they were doing what was needed to be done for their deserved rights.

One musical characteristic that stood out to me right away was the rhythm. The whole song in general has very Middle Eastern and Indian sounds. The song starts out right away with a dupal beat that sets the tone for the rest of the song. More beats are then added into the song, with a medium tempo throughout.  There is also the unique timbre of the instruments throughout the song that gives off the Middle Eastern sounds. This is appropriate due to the fact that it was unique for Middle Eastern women to be speaking out for their rights and demand for what they deserved. M.I.A really encompased Middle Eastern women and their needs in her music, and used it to fight for what was right.

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uYs0gJD-LE

I chose the song “We are the World” by U.S.A for Africa which was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy JOnes and Michael Omartian . This song was created to help raise awareness for the famine going on in Africa. There was a political change needed to stop the people from dying in Africa from the terrible famine in 1983-1985. The song’s purpose was for people to persuade their governments to participate in the relief effort in Ethiopia,Africa. I think listeners of the song definitely were made more aware of the struggles of the famine that Africa was going through.The musical genre that “We are the World” would be part of is rock. But, many people do not accept this song as a piece of rock music. 

The beginning of the song consists of these words:

“There are people dying

Oh, and it’s time to lend a hand to life

The greatest gift of all

We can’t go on

Pretending day-by-day

That someone, somewhere soon make a change

We’re all a part of God’s great big family

And the truth, you know, love is all we need”

These words are raising awareness to the people and to the politicians. We cannot live life and assume Africa will be taken care of. We need to fight for Africa and help collect the funds for relief from the government. 

One musical characteristic of the piece of music is the individuality of the singers in the song. There are about 21 soloists in this song. Each of them sings a solo which shows the individuality of the singers. It is showing that every person, individually, must make this choice and care about this situation in order for a change to be made. It also shows that every individual can be responsible for a change.

A Sema Ceremony symbolizes stages on the passage to God with rules along the way that “ultimately leads to a mystical ascent to God’s Side”. This is a Mevlevi tradition filled with its music and the culture, it is the Mevlevi worship ceremony. They use usul rhythmic patterns in the music that can aid memory and provide a sonic map of rhythmic progress during the cycle. The music is meant to engage the listener and guide them on their path as they are following along, this music helps them connect with God on a spiritual level. 

Amazing Grace is a Christian hymn and Is the “ultimate musical testament to the Christian doctrine of salvation”. This is Christian usually sung at a mass or a funeral for a catholic event. It is sung usually after something has passed and is a sign of overcoming a struggle or hard time. Like most catholic worship music it has a simple melody and one voice singing the lyrics, the lyrics are usually the most effective part of this song that the listeners resonate with. Both the Mevlevi songs and Amazing grace are played for religious purposes and on a path with God. Amazing Grace is a very melodic piece with lyrics and the soundscape consists of  (usually) a piano and a voice singing the melody. Unlike Amazing Grace, the Naat-i-Sherif piece started with a kind of dissonant sound of a flute, soon after comes in more instruments and there are no lyrics in the piece. A major difference usually between western art music and maqam can be told by the distance between pitches: “maqam uses intervals that are both smaller and larger than the half- and whole-steps of the Western system”. Throughout this, I learned that music plays a role in deepening the connection between the person practices their religion and deepen their spiritual connection to their actions. 

“The Mevlevi are a sub-order of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam… The Mevlevi place a strong emphasis on music, which sends the practitioner’s physical body into a slow dance of graceful and ecstatic turning” (Textbook, page 315). Music is a large part of the people’s traditions. It is also said that the Sema ceremony is very symolbi and allows one’s soul to have a passageway to god. This is one effect that the music has on the listeners body. Another effect would be that as they dance to the music they believe that they are receiving a blessing from god. Also, stated in the powerpoint that the music allows union with god which is why the music is a great impact to the people. 

In relation to Gospel music, such as Amazing Grace; music is also very significant. The textbook states that the “melody and message of personal transformation” (page 288) is what the music is trying for the listener to achieve. The similarity between the two music pieces is that they have a strong personal connection to each listener. However, they do have their differences as well. One difference being the way the music is let out to the individuals. The Gospel music was sung by the vocalist while the Sema Ceremony had a lot of instruments and also in the video it showed the people dancing. So, the ceremony had a traditional dance to go along with it while gospel music usually does not.  

The Sema Ceremony is worshipped by Mevlevi, which places “a strong emphasis on music, which sends the practitioner’s physical body into a slow dance of graceful and ecstatic turning” connecting their soul with God. The effect that music has on the audience is bonding the people together. The performance is usually performed in Turkey, first starting with meditation, and then transitioning into dancing. The performers usually follow a recommended fast for several hours and then begin to rotate into short twists, dancing in a pattern they were taught. The instrument that is typically used in this performance is at least one singer, a flute player using neyzen, a kettledrummer, and a cymbal player. 

In relation to this, Gospel music, such as the Amazing Grace, has some similarities to the Sema ceremony. One similarity is that both are in relation to God. A difference between the two would be that Gospel music such as Amazing Grace requires vocals while in the Sema Ceremony, there are no voices in it. Another difference would be how known each music is, where Gospel music may be more well known than the Sema Ceremony. A similarity between Amazing Grace and in the Sema Ceremony, is that they are both at a slower tempo and rhythm but Amazing Grace is acapella.

The role music has on the Sema ceremony is it helps them worship while the performers are dancing. In the video, I saw the music guiding the way the dancers move and the dancers depending on the music. The music may be hard to follow for us, who don’t know about it, but for the people who understand it gives them a sense of peace. The effect music has on the listeners body and mind is it takes them to a place of worship and honoring God. They kind of forget where they are and the song takes them to a different place.  

A song similar could be Amazing Grace sung in many churches all around the world. Amazing Grace is sung to remember how they were before they met God. Both songs serve as worship and to take you to a different place. They both are sound to remember God and to show reverence towards something greater than them. It gives them a form of remembrance and praises to God. The difference is that in the Sema ceremony people were dancing while normally for Amazing Grace people don’t dance to it. This demonstrates that there are two different kinds of worship with singing or dancing.