Rock & Roll

Rock ‘n’ Roll. I hope I’m spelling it correctly with the right punctuation…

Anyway. Hopefully you have been exposed to this music genre and its hard core-ness.

So apparently after doing my research it is read: Rock and Roll. (or Rock & Roll)

It arose around the 1940’s or 1950’s in the United States. We could say with just about any genre that it was originally thought to be scandalous. Your parents didn’t care for it too much and thought it was the cause of most of your naturally rebellious adolescent stages. Well… they were wrong. Rock and Roll was supposed to set you free!

Where did it come from? Well, in my opinion, music builds off of each other. There isn’t a purebred genre out there! And if someone tells you differently, then they are lying. Rock and Roll was said to come from the following genres:

Rhythm and Blues

Gospel

Boogie-Woogie

Country

Jazz

Electric/Jump/Chicago Blues

Swing

Folk

Needless to say, many genres that went into Rock and Roll were stemming from African American culture. So we can say, “Thank you,” to them for their many contributions to the musical industry.

How could your Bob Seger’s rock music be from classy blues music? Well to answer your question, they were virtually the same at the beginning of the 40’s. Blues music features saxophones and pianos, and they later got replaced with guitars and snare drums bringing more of a backbeat to the forefront.

Rock and Roll doesn’t feature your acoustic (country music) guitars… it features electric guitars. In a normal, typical band there is a lead guitar, rhythm guitar, string bass, and electric string guitar, and drum kit.

This type of music created a lot of buzz, especially with teens. With dance moves such as the jitterbug being done in sock hops, gymnasium dances, and basement parties, the wild and freeness were coming out! The music expanded language, fashion, behaviors, and attitudes. It did introduce the first public lyrics about explicit matters such as drugs and s*x.

                Like any musical genre there is a time where it becomes less popular and declines in ratings. Around the start of the 60’s it started. Elvis left for service in the war, the plane crash (death of sensations Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens), retirement of Little Richard, prosecutions of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, and the payola scandal occurred. This was enough to make Rock and Roll lovers distraught. Who would they listen to now? (417)

Contemporary R&B

                I thought I might take a look at some of my R&B (not RnB) musicians out there! Wherever you are… you know I love you! What people might not know is that it is actually called Contemporary R&B. If you didn’t know, R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues, but it doesn’t stop there! Along with Rhythm and Blues, there is a combination of Pop, Soul, Funk, and Hip Hop. Most of it is the African American spin and offshoots of Disco. They sing with power, syllables, and melisma. So please… look some of these funky fresh artists out! Youtube them… like now!

Usher

Tina Turner

Ike Turner

TLC

Justin Timberlake

Robin Thicke

The Cheetah Girls

The Temprees

The Pussycat Dolls

Willow Smith

Sugababes

Spice Girls

Jordin Sparks

Trey Songz

Solange

Jessica Simpson

Shontelle

Nicole Sherzinger

Kelly Rowland

Diana Ross

Rihanna

Lionel Richie

Raven-Symone

Ray J

R. Kelly

Quincy Jones

T-Pain

Sean Paul

P!nk

Prince

Frank Ocean

Billy Ocean

Omarion

‘N Sync

Nelly

New Kids on the Block

New Boyz

Ne-Yo

Monica

Jesse McCartney

Mike Posner

Mario

Bruno Mars

LeToya Luckett

Jennifer Lopez

Leona Lewis

John Legend

Alicia Keys

Danity Kane

Joe Jonas

JoJo

Jessie J

Rick James

Michael Jackson

Randy Jackson

Marlon Jackson

Jackie Jackson

Tito Jackson

Jermaine Jackson

Janet Jackson

J. Holiday

Jennifer Hudson

Whitney Houston

Vanessa Hudgens

Keri Hilson

Cee Lo Green

Selena Gomez

Marvin Gaye

Nelly Furtado

Fugees

Aretha Franklin

Jamie Foxx

Melanie Fiona

Estelle

The-Dream

Destiny’s Child

Jason Derulo

Kat DeLuna

Kristinia DeBarge

Ester Dean

Natalie Cole

Nat King Cole

Keyshia Cole

Cherish

Cher Lloyd

Cassie

Mariah Carey

Bobby Brown

Chris Brown

Toni Braxton

Brandy

Boyz II Men

Mary J. Blige

Justin Bieber

Beyonce

Natasha Bedingfield

Adrienne Bailon

Backstreet Boys

Babyface

Auburn

Ashanti

Ashford & Simpson

Christina Aguilera

Akon

Paula Abdul

Aaliyah

Adele

And many others!

                If you notice… not all of these artists and musicians are African American. Some of them are Caucasian or apart of other ethnic groups. It is all about the music for them! From the early 1980’s (when it emerged) until now (in the year 2013) we still have Contemporary R&B music. It came from all types of cultures, neighborhoods, and backgrounds of the streets of cities such as: Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, and Houston. All of North America! So you see… it is all about the passion within the music.

                I hope that you can recognize some of the above musicians as I tried to pick out the ones that I liked. (Just a few…) So R&B on, girl! (423)

90's Toys

I’ve compiled a little list for all of you soppy, sentimental chaps out there.

Do you remember what it was like to grow up in the 90’s?

Before all of the drama and complication of being young adults.

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane… shall we?

Do you remember these specific toys:

Pretty Pretty Princess- I was a tomboy. Didn’t get into it much.

Furby- Loved them so much, I named my cat after them.

Super Soakers- Got my dogs real good with these!

Bop It- Gave me reflexes.

Legos- For the win! Always had fun with these… whether they were the classical kind (primary colored) or Harry Potter ones.

Britney Spears dolls- Hit me baby one more time! Every girl wanted to be like Britney… except me.

Virtual Pets- Waste. Too boring.

Troll Dolls- Tried to bring them in the bath with me (because they were naked), and their gorgeous hair got ruined! #sadday

Talkboys- Never got one like Home Alone. L Ya filthy animal.

Sky Dancers- Commercials aired for a decade I swear…

Beanie Babies- Had a bajillion of them!

Laughing Elmo- So apparently these were really expensive, and there was a high demand for them? Too bad I never got to have one. L

Water Snakes- Still baffle me. Gel inside of them… or?

Pokemon cards- One kid tried to make $5 off of me for a dud Pokemon.

Skip It- Tripped myself to death with these!

Hit Clips- The iPod before the iPod.

Maybe I will do another list of other things from the 90’s or maybe I will try another decade! (267)

22- T-Swift

I don’t know about you… but Taylor Swift hasn’t always fascinated me like she has with other girls. (Not to mention the sweetheart guys that listen to her.)

Yes, it is true. I am not the typical American girl teenager. My tastes in music can best be described in another blog about EVERYTHING with sound, but for now we will stick with Tay Tay.

Her taste has recently changed. It isn’t so “Tim McGraw” (quite literally) country now, but more of a rocky-poppy-country. She has branched out with her voice, dance, videos, and clothing. She isn’t a little innocent blue eyed, curly blonde girl anymore, but rather a 22 year old that has had numerous dates with numerous amounts of famous or well known boys/men. She is currently showing Harry Styles off, and maybe he is inspiring her to branch off into new cultures with her music and clothing choices.

Sitting in her room singing about make ups, breakups, and the ins and outs of relationships didn’t always appeal to me, and, honestly, still doesn’t. Her guitar and country twang came out in her acoustic guitars, music videos, and small town lyrics such as “back porch,” “mama don’t know,” “truck.”

My absolute favorite song EVER from her is from her newest album, Red (pick it up at Target, holla!). The name is “22.” At first, I was wondering why she was “feeling 22” until I found out that she was in fact 22 years of age. Whaa? T-Swift’s grown up and FAST! She seems a lot younger and it wasn’t too long ago that she was singing about Drew.

I think we assume her to be younger because she has been known as a cougar. Rawr. She has dated lots of guys younger than her. Recently she broke up with Conor Kennedy (tote gorgi, btw) that is still in high school! Maybe her style in her clothing came from the beloved Jackie Kennedy?

Anyway, the song “22” is about living carefree with your best friend/boyfriend. Carefree experiences like eating breakfast at midnight, falling in love with strangers, and dressing up like hipsters. Having fun, I’d say, is her main focus in the song. Of course it might seem fun to be 22 just because you are of legal age to vote, drink, smoke, and other stuff. (Which isn’t fun in my opinion, but detrimental to your health!)

The song has a catchy tune to it, and the lyrics are splendid… if they came from a 16 year old American Idol winner. To me, Taylor Swift must start (and I mean… like… NOW!) growing up and having more substance in her lyrics. Talk about something other than relationship problems that you seem to always be having. And the same goes for Ms. Carly Rae Jepsen. (Who is like 27, btw!) Bet you didn’t know that, huh? (475)

Rant Sesh. #youknow

                Just some ranting going on here. Nothing too special.

I wanted to address some things that were going on and I had taken notice in. Please refrain from the following:

1)      Bragging- Do you really feel the need to brag about your accomplishments? Why must you have to tell people about your feats? People already know, or should know, how great of a (insert occupation here) you are. No need to try to “sell” people like your cheap uncle sells cars. My momma always said, “Let your walking do the talking.” “Lead by example.” “Actions speak louder than words.” And… any other cliché you can think of.

 

2)      Stealing- I had to pay for a t-shirt (for a sporting event or occasion of some sort), and guess what happened? Someone stole my t-shirt? Nah. Worse. Someone stole the $5 I was planning on giving the coordinator of the event for my expected t-shirt. It is pretty lowlife and trashy of someone to steal… let alone $5. I have never stolen and don’t plan on it in my life time, but, if I was going to break my moral boundaries, I would steal A LOT bigger dollar than a Lincoln. A Benjamin maybe? If you have to steal for $5… just ask. You must really be in need of it, so I will be willing to give it to you! Just don’t take what is not yours!

 

 

3)      Cheating- Yes, this can go with stealing to some extent. You are taking what is not yours. Like answers on a test or homework. You didn’t find the time to do it, so now you are cheating someone out of their work, effort, AND time. Why should you have the easy way out of this? They didn’t take it, and you should have either. No one should get a free pass in this life. NO ONE! Tests are designed to analyze your brain and where you are intellectually. No need to have the exact same answers as someone else who is sitting right BESIDE YOU! Not obvious to the teacher or anything. #commonsense

 

4)      Being fake- I’m really surprised this doesn’t have a name for it in the form of a gerund. (How you like that Mizzay? ;) It should be called “tooling” or “two facing!” No! I got it… “tweekin’!” Whatever it is called you should not do it. People have a hard enough time being nice to EVERYONE, trying to get friends, without you turning around and calling them out. It’s not what Jesus would want us to do, is it?

 

 

I’m sure I haven’t even skimmed the top of my list on what bugs me more than these four that I have listed, but I might return to it in the near future. Stay tuned for more of these… COMING YOUR WAY! (472)

Zero Dark Thirty (4/7)

                Zero Dark Thirty (2012) is a movie about an essential time frame in our American History. It centers the decade long hunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization that is most famous for being involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

                The movie starts out with torture scenes committed by the CIA against suspects linked to bin Laden and the al-Qaeda group. From soaking their faces with soaked rags to starving them, they eventually get what they want. Names. They get names and background information on people that eventually lead them to the big guy.

                Someone that is new to the CIA, fresh out of high school, is a woman by the name of Maya. Though I’m not entirely sure if the person who found bin Laden was named Maya, I am positive that it was in fact a female! For a few months short of a decade from the 9/11 attack, she worked hard to find the man behind it all.

                The movie shows her frustration and others’ frustration as no one seemed to believe that she had a reliable lead on the case. Sometimes they failed. For example, she was following up on a name she had found, and the squad leader didn’t send enough men to carry out the exploration. Or the woman working beside her was trying to spark a deal with bin Laden’s supposed doctor, and, through called off security, the base got blown up.

                Maya tried to use all of her resources. She made frequent calls into her mentor that went back to Washington. She eventually had to threaten her boss to let her keep going in her investigation. She also sent her mentor to buy off the Kuwaiti prince with a Lamborghini just to get a bin Laden deliverer’s mother’s telephone number… with CIA funds, mind you.

                Often times the American people have tended to complain about how long it has taken us to seek out hated terrorists like Hussein and bin Laden, but they aren’t aware of the extent that people have had to go and the amount of time it takes to locate such a well-hidden individual.

                It is safe to say that for a year we knew where bin Laden was. Why didn’t we strike immediately, then? This fueled Maya’s frustration, as in the movie she writes on her boss’s window the number of days that they knowingly did not take action to capture bin Laden. Almost a year passes, and they finally get together the best qualified team to carry out the mission: the U.S. Navy SEAL team.

                After reassurance that the mission will have a 100% success rate, Maya flies back to the U.S. to help inform and train the SEALS for the capture. And on May 2, 2011 the raid is executed. It isn’t so smooth, though. A few of the helicopters crashed on the compound, and women and children (supposedly kin to bin Laden himself) were fatally shot accidently.

                Going through every floor of every building on the site, they finally find him and shoot him on the spot. With nearby neighbors and concerned Afghanis coming, they must quickly flee with his body and all the technology (computers and files) and intelligence they can fit into a duffel bag. Once they get back to the military base where Maya is, she then gets the opportunity to identify the body. It was in fact bin Laden.

Maya was truly an inspiration. She was a female, and I think this gives the movie more of an appeal. The film shows how the generations have changed. Women are capable of much more. They are able to help protect the United States of America and its safety. She did it with pride and courage. Coming straight out of high school, she may not have been the most experienced, but she persevered and came out on top. She found the head honcho terrorist in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The team celebrates, and Maya, on her plane ride back to the U.S., weeps into the camera tears of joy, I assume. This was a perfect ending for such a powerful movie on such a riveting component of our history. (706)

Nike Ad Presentation

I'm doing a presentation on this tomorrow!

I'm considering the following:

Nike ad

Inner Drive= play on words for “driving car” vs. “motivation to run/walk from within”

For Sale sign on window of car

Nasty weather in clouds and wet leaves vs. bright colored workout gear

Dirty car vs. clean shoes and bright colored workout gear

Lazy cat vs. motivated woman

Stretching= running/walking NOT driving/riding

Using car TO stretch= blatantly NOT using car

Car faces West vs. woman facing East= drawing eye to differences

Nike’s purpose: Get people to become more active and buy their products to assist the active movement! (101)