Mus 15 Paper 1 (i have been worked on for a little bit)
Paper 1 – 15% = 15 points
Two songs that are covered during the first four lectures will be compared and contrasted. The songs must be chosen from the lists below – one from list one (songs that influenced David Bowie) and one from list 2 (songs by David Bowie). The goal is not so much to make a connection between the two songs and show how one influenced the other but it is to listen intently to both and pick out similarities and differences.
There are many things that you can focus on but think about the nature – the sound – of the music itself, the perspective of the performer, and some of the things that we spoke about in class regarding authenticity and intention.
The paper should be no shorter than 3 pages (excluding bibliography). A bibliography must be included with proper citations for the songs themselves and at least 2 proper references.
It is acceptable, and even encouraged, that you use assigned reading materials as some of your sources.
The paper is due on Thursday February 4that 11:59 pm and will be submitted via Canvas.
Be sure to listen to all of the songs and choose ones that you feel that you may have a lot to say about, and remember, you’re comparing the songs not how you feel about the songs.
Rubric
Starting Points
You do what’s asked –2 songs from the lists, 3 pages long, bibliography, both compare and contrast the songs, offer equal opinion and insight into both songs, offer proper support for info=15 pts before deductions.
Miss major elements –only one song, songs are from the same list or are not on the list, no bibliography, 1.5 pages or less. –7.5 points before deductions.
Deductions at the discretion of the TA, but examples include unsupported/wrong information, incorrect citations, obviously poor effort, didn’t compare songs but wrote about how one feels about the songs, skate.
Cheat = 0 and a report to AI
Song lists for the assignment
List One
Velvet Underground – Venus In Furs
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti
The O’Jays – Backstabbers
The Beach Boys – God Only Knows
Anthony Newley – Who Can I Turn To ?
List Two (all by Bowie)
All The Madmen
Life on Mars
Fame
Station to Station
Jean Genie
Starman
Hey Everyone
Here are some suggestions about where to find sources for your papers.
1 – the course reserves – there are currently 3 complete books of essays on Bowie in the reserves and Mark Spitz’s biography is arriving soon (although for your paper, the subject-focused chapters of the other 3 are easier to digest.)
2 – JSTOR – hopefully you are already familiar with JSTOR bit if you aren’t , you access it via the library and need to sign in like you would for the reserves. There are 2,346 articles about Bowie in one way or another. If you target your search — “David Bowie” plus “keyword” — you will come up with something.
3 – Bowie on Bowie : Interviews and Encounters with David Bowie is available in digital version via the library as is Heroes : David Bowie in Berlin.
4 – there is a lot of journalism about Bowie in either newspapers or magazines like Rolling Stone or Melody Maker.
Good Luck !
Tommy
