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The Sounds of War Mrs. Birnbaum
In 1964, Bob Dillon captured the feelings of this restless age with his song The Times They Are A-Changing. One year after the death of President Kennedy, and the signing of the Civil Rights Act, Dillon felt the times were changing.His music captured the emotions of a nation.
Expression tends to reflect the social and cultural concerns of the society in which it is produced. Therefore, the emergence, development, and spread of rock music can only be fully understood in its social context. “The cultural appeal of rock depends not only on its intrinsic musical qualities but also on an energy that it derives from rock’s aura of rebellion.” (Robertson, 1987)In the award-winning novel Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers presents the myriad of experiences of a group of young men who “come of age” during their tour in Vietnam. During this turbulent time, many were concerned with the uncertainty of their future.These emotions and fears surfaced in the music written and sung by artists who used music as a vehicle to share their messages. Musicians and musical groups mentioned in Fallen Angels include: Ramsey Lewis, Wilson Pickett, Jimi Hendrix, Mary Wells, the Shirelles, the Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. These artists and others during this era portrayed a social climate that caused many to question the beliefs and direction of a nation.
Your task is to create a sound track lyrics book and cover that will identify the social climate of the 60s and 70s, and then present that book and share what you discovered about the social climate to the class via a multimedia presentation.
Process Analysis: (during the project) Am I achieving my goal? What changes are necessary? How can I improve my project? Reflection: (after the project) Can I formulate a theory about war? Can I propose an alternative plan to avoid war? Can I assess the value or importance of war? What did I learn about the 60s and 702?
Step 1: • Think about what you know about this time period. Then, brainstorm using a semantic map, the effects of war on a country. You can use the prior knowledge gained from reading and discussing Fallen Angels or The Things They Carried as a place to begin.
Step 2: • Research music and evaluate the lyrics for those artists who had a message they wanted to send. Think about what the artists hoped to accomplish by using music as a vehicle to both identify the views on war and how music would heal the emotional trauma caused by war.
Step 3: • Formulate a theory about how music is used during turbulent times as a voice of the people. Does the music provide inspiration and/or just entertainment?
Step 4: • Develop a database to keep your information organized. Compare, contrast, and analyze the themes, tone, and message of the music. Now – you should be gathering a list of artists who reflect the political and emotional concerns of the era.
Step 5: • Compile at least ten songs and make a lyrics book of the songs you selected.
Step 6: • Design a lyrics book cover that is appropriate to the music you selected.
Step 7: • Prepare a multimedia presentation that showcases your work and that you will use to present your discoveries to the class.
Resources • There are many websites on the Vietnam War. If you type in anti-war music” from your search engine, you will see many sites to choose from. • Remember – your focus is to look for music/lyrics that reflects the social climate during this time period.
Conclusion • At the conclusion of this project, you should have a deeper understanding of the 60s and 70s. I hope you will enjoy learning about this revolutionary time in history. • Music serves different functions in different societies, and in our society it allowed the younger generation an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings about the war. • What will future generations say about the time you live in? Will the musicians of today become icons of tomorrow?
