Real Housewives

           Human beings are innately curious and inquisitive. That’s the reason toddlers always manage to get into the bathroom drawers and pour an entire bottle of lotion on themselves. Due to advances in technology, communicating, even with those on the other side of the world, is fast and easy. The human race is more interconnected and aware of each other than ever before. Humans like knowing what’s going on with other people and enjoy being able to see others’ lives unfolding right in front of their eyes. I believe that is why reality shows have been such a hit. People don’t want to a watch a scripted show with actors, when they can watch a show featuring “real” people. Think about it, celebrities aren’t just famous for their work anymore, they’re more known for their personal lives. Hence, our fascination with all those trashy gossip magazines and shows like E! News or Access Hollywood. Shoot, even the local news feels the need to report on the lives of reality show stars like those of MTV’s super hit, Teen Mom. We just love “being a fly on the wall”!

            To my chagrin, I cannot say that I too am not a fan of reality television. My favorite would be any of the shows from the Real Housewives franchise. There are currently seven different versions of the series which follow “the lives of relatively affluent, bourgeois housewives and professional women in the suburban or urban areas of several American cities, and the suffix portion of the title takes on the name of that city or suburban region” (“The Real Housewives of…”). There are currently Real Housewives shows in Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills and Miami. The Real Housewives of D.C. aired in 2010 but was discontinued due to low ratings. Although many say that Beverly Hills is the best of the seven because of their obvious wealth and high social status, I definitely like Orange County the best; they’ve got spunk! I think the reason so many people tune in every week is because they like to see how lifestyles change according to location. You can immediately see how they differ from one another, yet are the same in many ways. The similarities they share with one another are also things that real housewives of the United States can relate to. Such as motherhood, their jobs, divorce, etc. And of course, Americans love the drama!

            The Real Housewives shows manage to bring in millions of watchers and have consistently opened or closed seasons with high ratings. There’s even an aftershow which airs after every new episode hosted by the creator of the series, Andy Cohen. It’s called Watch What Happens: Live and they have a new guest every week. The housewives themselves are sometimes the guests or celebrities that watch the series come on to discuss what they thought of the night’s episode. The series has been a huge hit so far, and Bravo is striking while the iron’s hot and is in the process of filming three international installments in Athens, Israel, and Toronto. One of the housewives from New York City, Bethenny Frankel, even got her own spin-off show, Bethenny Ever After. I don’t personally believe that Americans have had quite enough yet of the women and there’s no sign of Bravo slowing down with production.

“The Real Housewives Of…”. Wikipedia. 28 Apr.2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Housewives>. 

I’ve always said that if I could trade lives with a celebrity for the day, I would be Snoop Dogg. Snoop is legendary and in my opinion, a pioneer in gangsta rap. He’s best known for being in the West Coast rap scene of the 90’s, as Dr. Dre’s protégé. You can’t really get much more gangsta than that. It’s exactly how gangsta he is that appeals to me. Twenty years later, he is still making and taking hits. Recently, however, he has taken more of a “music for entertainment” approach to his music but will forever be an icon.
 Snoop Dogg was born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. at Los Altos Hospital in Long Beach, California. “He is a member of the Rollin' 20 Crips gang in the Eastside of Long Beach, although he stated in 1993 that he never joined a gang. Shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Snoop Dogg's conviction caused him to be frequently in and out of prison for the first three years after he graduated from high school. Snoop, along with his cousins Nate Dogg and Lil' ½ Dead and friend Warren G, recorded homemade tapes as a group called 213, named after the Long Beach area code at the time. When he began recording, Broadus took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg” (“Snoop Dogg”). He was heard by big time producer, Dr. Dre, who called to invite him to audition.
 “Dr. Dre began working with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the 1992 film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle was partially because of this intense exposure.To fuel the ascendance of West Coast G-funk hip hop, the singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rap became the center of arguments for censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians. Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others” (“Snoop Dogg”).
 Two decades later, he is still a successful recording artist and one of the most infamously gangsta rappers of them all. His most recent album, Doggumentary, was released in March, 2011. He now focuses on his family and coaches his son’s football team on his down time. Naturally, his life isn’t as gangsta as it once was, but there’s no way he and his songs will ever be forgotten. If you forget just how gangsta Snoop was, just put on “Gangsta Party” to remind yourself.

Snoop Dogg. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoop_Dogg>

The Eminem Show

“Not only is Eminem accepted as a supremely skillfull practitioner of rap, many say he is the salvation of an art form that they say has been corrupted by a focus on Bentleys, yachts, and Cristal Champagne” (144). I think this is one of the reasons that teenagers across the country praised Eminem for “keeping it real”.  Born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Eminem took the beginning of the 21st century by storm and became the number one selling rapper in the country; Quite a feat for a 30 year old white guy from a suburb of Detroit. Mathers doesn’t rap about all the money he has to spend on Ferraris and Patron or walk around with a blinged out grill on his teeth. He raps about his life and his feelings very skillfully and a way that many can relate to.  “You don’t see him wearing thousand-pound gold chains encrusted with ice,” 17 year old, Manuary Reyes, said of Eminem. “He’s always dressed regular in sweats like us. The sweats might cost more, but he ain’t frontin’. He’s not rapping about clothes, cars, and jewelry like all those other rappers. He’s rapping about life-you know, stuff that we go through out here. Some of it’s a goof. But some of it’s real, and it sounds like it comes from the heart, you know. A lot of us can relate to that” (144).

“Eminem is better than the best. In his own way, he is the best lyricist, alliterator and enunciator out there in hip-hop music. In terms of rapping about the pain that other disenfranchised people feel, there is no one better at their game than Eminem” (145).  Eminem is what I would describe as raw. He goes there, he says exactly what is on his mind and it usually has a hard edge to it. He uses his lyrics very skillfully and uses words to alleviate the pain that he and his fans feel.  Mathers divulges a lot of personal information in his songs. His album, The Eminem Show, describes his depressing childhood with a brutal parent and the hatred he has for his mother for not being loving or supportive. He pledges to never do that to his own daughter, Halie. You could say he has angry appeal and the fact that Dr. Dre was his mentor gave him credibility from the get go, but it was his unique touch that made him what he is. “It’s the kind of music that makes you stop and say, ‘Is this dude for real?’; He’s not like everybody else” (147). Lastly, teenagers love that Eminem is controversial. It almost seems that his albums have become even more controversial as time goes on.  Many elected officials and public figures have had bad things to say about the rapper, describing him as “vulgar, degenerate, homophobic, antisocial, misogynistic and ‘noise and mind pollution’” (146). What they need to understand is that that’s what teenagers love about him. Everybody loves a rebel, especially adolescents.

Lady Gaga

David Bowie was able to achieve cult status in the early 70s because he created a sexually ambiguous image for himself and played it up with makeup, dyed hair, and nonconventional futuristic-like clothing. He was successful at “confounding the images” and free of gender in a way and therefore was pushing the limits in ways that had never been pushed before. Another artist that is known for pushing the limits in extremely similar ways is Stefani Germanotta. You may know her as Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga released her first album, The Fame, in 2008 after many years in New York working as a songwriter for Interscope Records. The album included the singles “Just Dance” featuring popular rapper Akon and “Poker Face”. It was a commercial success and the album reached number one on the charts in six countries and she quickly became a world-wide success. She released a follow-up album, The Fame Monster, in 2009 and it also went on to top the charts with songs like “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” featuring Beyonce. “Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release on May 23, 2011 after the arrival of its eponymous lead single "Born This Way" which achieved the number-one spot in countries worldwide and was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history, selling one million copies in five days”.

Lady Gaga has said many times in various interviews that she has been inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie, Elton John, and Queen and also by pop singer Madonna. Her stage name was actually inspired by the song Radio Ga Ga by Queen and she is infamous for having an odd somewhat Avant-garde sense of style which she herself creates with the Haus of Gaga, a group of stylists and designers that work on her projects. She has worn a dress made out of meat which caused lots of controversy and even appeared at the 53^rd Grammy awards earlier this year in an “embryo-shaped incubator”, or what many referred to as an egg. In 2009, Gaga was rumored to be intersex and responded by saying, “At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny”, on a Barbara Walters special that aired on ABC.

Gaga claims that she is trying to incorporate performance art into the mainstream but critical reception of her persona, music, and fashion sense are mixed. In my opinion, she brought something new to the table for the current generation which is why she became such a huge phenomenon so quickly. I also have to say though, that she is not original, or the first one to do what she is doing but she has said who were influences were and I’m glad she did a good job of reinventing what Bowie did in the early 70s as well as recreating the appeal of Madonna in the 80s. She’s different and although I’m sure not everyone is a fan of her outlandish style, there are plenty of people out there who are inspired by her message and in return have helped her break records and win five Grammy awards amongst 12 nominations to date.

Lady Gaga. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga>

2Pac

I wrote about Tupac Shakur in a previous blog post in order to illustrate how generation after generation a new form of music arises and the general public always seems to be outraged by it while younger members of society take to it and interestingly enough are actually responsible for the artist becoming so popular in the first place. I can remember being little and having older cousins in high school who would bump Tupac in their cars everywhere they went. Although I didn’t know who he was or the names of any of his songs at the time, perhaps this is where my current appreciation for him and his music came from. In my opinion, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Dr. Dre and other old school rappers of the 90’s are what could only be described as the original gangsters of the industry.

Although Shakur was very well known and incredibly successful as an artist, there were also many downfalls to his fame. He left behind a legacy in the form of lyrics which were grossly misinterpreted by the media and other members of older generations who just didn’t get it. The media has served to tarnish Tupac's image, masking the true worth of his work. Many classified Tupac as just another angry black male, a thug, who advocated violence. “In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope refused. Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having ‘no place in our society’” (Wikipedia, Tupac Shakur).

What Tupac really wanted though was change. He wanted to stand up and rebel against those who stereotyped him as just another thug. He did a lot more than just entertain through his music; he used it as a vehicle for his message, to be heard and speak to young black Americans about the injustices they are up against. He was actually quite poetic and also had songs like “Dear Mama” in which he describes his love for his single mother who raised him. In fact, Tupac thought very highly of women; he raps, “since we all came from a women, got our name from a women, and our game from a women. I wonder why we take from women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time we killed for our women, be real to our women, try to heal our women, cuz if we don’t, we'll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, who make the babies. And since a man can't make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one” in one of his more popular songs, Keep Ya Head Up.

In September of 1996, Shakur was shot four times and died seven days later in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many dispute that he is dead, insisting that he faked his death in order to escape the music industry and all the negativity fame seemed to have brought him. I highly recommend watching “Tupac: Resurrection”, a documentary on Shakur and his impact on the world.

14 March 2011

Dear Editor:

I found the article in Music and Culture titled “It’s Easy, but Wrong, to Blame the Music” by Hilary Rosen, to be very interesting but I also have some qualms regarding Rosen herself. It seems obvious that she would be in favor of music regardless of content, and even more obvious that she would claim that music isn’t the cause of anger or violence amongst young Americans but merely a reflection of their feelings. I mean, she was the chief executive officer of the Recording Industry of America from 1998 to 2003 and a prominent spokesperson for the music industry founding programs like “Rock the Vote” and “Stop the Violence”. She is the face of the music industry, so of course she would be opposed to admit that maybe explicit language, sexuality, and violence in lyrics could have an effect on children.

However, I do like that she has made an effort to combat the violence, drug use, and other problems young people now face by founding and supporting programs that help encourage positive action in their communities. For example, the Drug-Free America campaign with artists was a very influential movement and really helped bring awareness to the issue in a way that adolescents were open to. Although I do not agree that the music industry is completely without blame for increasing violence and other societal issues, I do like that Rosen mentioned parents and their roles in preventing their children from listening to things that do not approve of. In my opinion, parental locks on televisions and computers are crucial as well as being aware of what your children are listening to and their feelings. Chances are, your child is listening to heavy metal all day and dressing in black because they are in the midst of teenage angst. Know your children and use music as a tool for opening lines of communication with them.

People are indeed influenced by their surroundings. I find it hard to believe that someone could even say that the media doesn’t infiltrate our brains or that it may affect how we feel and think. In fact, “Children, Violence, and the Media: A Report for Parents and Policy Makers”, also in Music and Culture by Anna Tomasino(62), is a government report that provides statistics and other data on media violence and how it has had detrimental effects on society. The media is definitely not completely at fault for the world’s evils but it could do a better job of steering in a more positive direction knowing their influence on children. “Not every child who watches a lot of violence or plays a lot of violent games will grow up to be violent. Other forces must converge, as they did recently in Colorado. But just as every cigarette increases the chance that someday you will get lung cancer, every exposure to violence increases the chances that someday a child will behave more violently than they otherwise would”(67). It is important that the media take some social responsibility but also important to stop playing the blame game.  

Alexis Martinez

Punk rock = abjection?

In the mid-70’s, punk rock bands had become a major cultural phenomenon, especially in the United Kingdom. The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash had made it big with their anti-establishment lyrics and fast edgy music. Punk rock was mainly geared toward those who rejected any association with the mainstream. Punk rockers usually played shows in local or underground venues where a punk subculture then emerged, expressing youthful rebellion with distinct haircuts and style and an anti-authority way of life.

      The general public, however, was not very fond of these so-called punk rockers and their message. According to Paul Cobley, the press took abjection (vomit, snot, spitting, menstrual blood, fetishism, obscenity, perversion, violence, and unreason) and made it synonymous with punk rock. The funny part is that the press featured these bands in their newspaper articles as reprehensible and filthy, but it only brought more attention to the punk rockers and provided more appeal for youngsters in the midst of teenage rebellion.

      Those that were appalled by the “moral depravity” of punk rock were mostly of older generations. Of course parents didn’t want their children listening to punk rock and being a part of the new twisted culture that they not only didn’t understand but were against. Punk-rock was new, something different than had never been on the scene before and the press was magnifying its appeal to adolescents and young adults who wanted nothing more than the opportunity to be rebellious. The rise of punk rock isn’t the only time nor genre that has caused panic amongst parents and the older members of the population.

In the 1990’s, rap music became very popular with the rise of artists like Tupac Shakur(2Pac), Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G. “In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope records refused. Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society”.” (“Tupac Shakur”, Wikipedia).
As you can see, every decade or so there is the rise of something new in music. A new genre makes it big because it’s different; out with the old, in with the new. Young people, who are very impressionable, immediately take to it while parents are outraged. Times change and therefore music changes with it. Parents who listened to music of the 70’s and 80’s are appalled by the suggestive lyrics their children are now listening to just like their parents were of the music they listened to. It’s all a matter of a generation gap and the inability of older people to get out of their ways. Remember, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.