What Today's Music Lacks

Though the Sherman Alexie excerpt that we read this week contains a significant amount of symbolism and social commentary, I feel that all of that has been pretty well covered and possibly even over-analyzed in class.  So instead I'm choosing to look at a much less symbolic section that still manages to be hold some important truths.  When Victor and his father are discussing music, Victor mentions how Hank Williams and Jimi Hendrix have nothing in common.  After disproving this by saying that they both knew about love and broken hearts, Victor's father tells him, "You kids today don't know shit about romance.  Don't know shit about music either."


I found this statement to be very significant all on its own. It seems to echo statements made by adults today who tend to think that quality of music has plummeted over time and that no good music has been made in the past few decades. Personally, I don't believe that today's music is inherently worse than the music of the past. However I do feel that there is something missing from the majority of the music that dominates the mainstream.

The Many Faces of David Bowie

Back when many adults will say that music was in its prime (usually anywhere from the 60s to the 80s), the mainstream was dominated by groundbreaking artists like David Bowie and The Beatles who were always using music as a creative outlet with which they could express their emotions and reinvent themselves. And even pop artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna delivered an unmatched creativity and passion while still stretching the boundaries of pop music. Outside of the mainstream existed genres like Punk, Metal, and Rap that embodied a spirit of rebellion and freedom like nothing else could.


Nowadays, pop is essentially the only genre that receives a great deal of mainstream attention. However, today’s pop music is so manipulated by record companies who pressure artists into writing hits, that there is no room for creativity. Some may argue that Rap is also very popular today.  However Rap today is praised more highly for its beat and its catchiness, not lyrical quality.  Even the once rebellious genres of Rock and Metal are quickly dying out, leaving behind bands made up of depressed teens who whine and scream about their relationships.

What is missing from the majority of mainstream music is the power and the impact that can be felt from artists like Jimi Hendrix. In the excerpt, seeing Hendrix at Woodstock was one of the most important and impactful moments of Victor's father's life.  He tells his son, "I figured Jimi must have known that I was there in the crowd to play something like that. It was exactly how I felt." Even he was surrounded by thousands of strangers, he still felt a very personal connection the music, leaving him with an experience that changed him for the rest of his life. Though you might enjoy a Taylor Swift song here and there, no one can say with certainty that they've truly felt the power of great music after seeing her perform.

The Motherland Calls

During this week, we were all told to read an excerpt from Postcards from the Trenches by Allyson Booth. In this excerpt she describes different kinds of memorials and most importantly shows the difference between a cenotaph and catafalque. She defines a catafalque as a "platform made to hold a coffin," and a cenotaph as "a memorial to someone who's corpse lies elsewhere." Later we were given the assignment to research any monument across the globe and analyze its effectiveness and symbolism.
After googling "cool cenotaphs" I came across a unique memorial outside of Volgograd, Russia entitled, "The Motherland Calls." This 279 foot tall statue depicting a powerful woman holding a sword was built in 1967 in order to commemorate The Soviet Union's victory at the Battle of Stalingrad. Although, this memorial fits Allyson Booth's definition of a cenotaph, there was one distinct difference between it and all of the cenotaphs mentioned in the excerpt.  In the excerpt, all of the cenotaph's either had the names of those killed in battle inscribed on it or some other way to remember those who died.  Instead, "The Motherland Calls" has no inscription of any kind on it, even though it was commemorating one of the bloodiest battles of all time.
The way I interpreted this was that the architects were choosing to look at the battle not as a huge loss of life, but rather as a triumphant victory for the Soviet Army. Unlike most memorials, they were looking to evoke feelings of pride and nationalism rather than sadness and remembrance for those who died. However, the decision to essentially ignore the significant loss of life during this battle seems somewhat heartless and inconsiderate. Especially considering the fact that it is very secluded from the city, which Allyson Booth says is "conducive to a quiet contemplation." The lack of peacefulness and emotions portrayed by this statue negate the fact that it is so far away from society and might as well be located in the city to become "another familiar object of the busy town centre," where it is likely to be forgotten, much like the lives of those who fought in the Battle of Stalingrad.