Joshua

__**Introduction**__

 The purpose of our wiki-space, is to demonstrate the influence of African-American music on the evolution of music in general. I will demonstrate this by finding songs that are a resonant example of the evolution of African-American music, and proving why it is related. I will have three songs, one from another country, used to compare how African-American music affected other countries, as well as two others, one being from before 1974.


 * Song From Another Country**

1. Me Gustas Tu - Manu Chao, World/Reggae, Year: 2001 media type="file" key="Me Gustas Tu.mp3"

[|Lyrics]

This song has many trademarks of African-American music, one being the fact that it itself is a Reggae song. The song has a call and response feel, which it utilizes, there is also a use of repetition. The song is basically about love, saying what he loves, and that he loves her, as the line goes, "What are you, my heart." or "Que eres son, mi corazon." The song itself, being a Reggae song, utilizes both the calm feeling of Caribbean music as well as the beats of classic Hip-hop. Classic hip-hop used slow or fasts beats, which are used to regulate the flow of rap and lyrics, and keep it from going haywire, Manu Chao uses this to keep his song regulated, and relaxed.

Personal Reflection: I believe this song is quite interesting and I like the beat of it, I speak a bit of Spanish and French which helps me understand the song. I think that the lines are both interesting and quite funny, for example I always find myself laughing at the line, "Me gustas marijuanna, me gustas tu. Me gustas Columbiano, me gustas tu." or in english, "I like marijuanna, I love you. I like Columbians, I love you." I think the fact these lines lie so close, that he is making a joke on the famous Columbian drug trade, as a Columbian myself, I think that's pretty funny. I heard this song from my sister, who was living in France for the past three months, she told me about the artist, and I became extremely interested in his music, he sings in not only Spanish, but in French and English as well.


 * Song from before 1974**

2. Starman- David Bowie, Classic Rock, Year: 1972

media type="file" key="Starman.mp3"

[|Lyrics]

I think Jazz is a major component, not only to this song, but to most David Bowie songs, I think his style is very jazz-oriented. This song uses many jazz-based progressions on the guitar, whether it be nylon guitar, or electric, the drums on this song have a very jazzy style beat as well. It uses a wide array of both minor and major chords, as well as many stranger chords, such as diminished chords and a few ninths, which is traditional in Jazz, which uses these chords as a way to break the norm.

Personal Reflection: This song is one of my favorite David Bowie songs, as well as one of my favorite of all time. Altogether I think the song has a good sound, one that David Bowie has perfected, it sounds strange but at the same time, is very interesting. The lyrics to this song are pretty strange, but the meaning is pretty cool, I especially like the line, "He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our mind." which is part of the chorus. I think altogether the song has a cool meaning, an awesome sound, and is altogether well made.


 * Anytime, Anyplace**

1. Leggy Blonde(feat. Rhys Darby)- Flight of the Conchords, Folk Parody, Year: 2008

media type="file" key="Leggy.mp3"

[|Lyrics]

This song has all the parts necessary for a classic blues song, but then it adds in new components and becomes more powerfully reminiscent of it. We can see the Blues aspect of this song, not only in the sad melody, but as well as the lyrics, which obviously regard a lost love. More than that the Blues aspect is the repetition, with only slight change, and the call and response, that being, "Leggy Leggy Leggy Leggy" "Blondy Blondy Blondy Blondy". Another Blues aspect is the numerous instruments and the insertion of a beat, which in this case is not necessarily and instrument but instead a pair of snapping scissors, which keep the song glued to it's 4:4 rhythm.

Personal Reflection: This song is by possibly my favorite band of all time, that being Flight of the Conchords, which, as well as much of my favorite music, was introduced to me by my sister, they, to me, are a resound force in bringing back comedy through music. I like this song, because not only are the lyrics simplistic and easy follow, but I love the percussion solo using office tools. Since I think they're so awesome, I'm posting a video of my favorite songs of theirs.

media type="file" key="XDDD.mp4"

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the music, the video, and the comparisons, have a nice day!