sMiLe sOmE

#1 major connection for Yellowcard is 9/11 and the war in Iraq as well as the public opinion on the Bush administration. In the book From 9/11 to Terror War: the dangers of the Bush legacy the author, Douglas Kellner, expresses feelings of the public as well as those that the band points out in their lyrics and music videos not to mention my own opinions of how the government is handling the war in Iraq. It goes a little something like this: “The Bush Administration’s Iraq policy has created tremendous ongoing controversy. Since the 9/11 attacks, the Bush Administration’s foreign policy has exhibited a marked unilateralism and militarism in which U.S. military power is used to advance U.S. interests and military hegemony. The policy was first evident in the Afganistan intervention following September 11, 2001, terror attacks, and informed the 2003 war against Iraq.” It goes on about how Kellner feels Cheney and Bush were pushing for a war no matter if there was a rightful cause or not. “On September 8, 2002, Cheney and the other top warmongers of the Bush Administration were all over the Sunday talk shows making their case for war against Iraq. Cheney repeated on Meet the Press all of the well known crimes of Saddam Hussein, insinuated long-discredited ties between Iraq and al Qalda, and even tried to pin the anthrax attacks on Iraq, although all evidence pointed to U.S. weapons-grade facilities. Cheney was going to have war against Iraq no matter what the price, and it appeared that George W. Bush was equally gung ho and set on war.” I have a lot to go on here.

Elton John… wow I’m excited about this one. I plan on expaining in some detail the backbone of the Watergate scandal. Like in the Elvis article I am going to assume that my reader doesn’t know all the details about what caused the scandal as well the conspiracy behind it. Here’s a little examlple from The Watergate Crisis by Michael Genovese: “The roots of Watergate extend as far back as the Vietnam War and the divisiveness it cuases at home. Nixon was elected in 1968 in the midst of that long divisive war. He was elected in part, on his promise to end the war. But when he became president, he realized that getting out of Vietnam would be no easy task…” Watergate involved 3 separate, but interconnected conspiracies. The Plumbers conspiracy, the reelection conspiracy, and the cover-up conspiracy. << I’ll go into a little more detail here about what each of these mean. The difficult part here is how to tie in all my pictures, cartoons, articles, reviews, quotes, cover art, lyrics, and so on, into one coherent flowing message.

1.) Yellowcard Ocean Avenue review by Stephen Haag
“But here’s the mildly astonishing part about Yellowcard: They’d be a solid band even without their calling card/gimmick (and let’s be honest; that’s what Mackin’s violin is, even if it is entertaining and well-played). Maybe it’s a product of the band being slightly older than many of their contemporaries on the scene — guitarist Ben Harper is the baby at 22 — but it’s refreshing to hear an album that’s not bogged down with party odes and rants about mean girls.”

2.) Yellow card review by Ashley Rigazio
“Unlike many other singers on the scene lately, Ryan Key’s vocals aren’t whiny and his lyrics aren’t frivolous. Instead, Key writes introspective lyrics relevant to his life and sings clearly in an unoffending voice. Despite the inevitable pop-punk tag, there is nothing irritable about Yellowcard.”

3.) Negative review for Yellowcard by Matt Aucoin
“…is it just me or is Yellowcard’s album Ocean Avenue a perfect summation of how bland and just plain bad that the pop-punk (some may say “emo”) genre has become?
Let’s start with the single that has helped this band break into the top 40 and score a gold certification in the process, the title track. The song’s arrangement finds simple rippling chords being played over a simple drumbeat and a lack of bass that rips the underbelly of the song out from under itself. This is followed by a breezy chorus that is delivered with “passion” and lyrics that are about as deep as President Shrub when he doesn’t have a script in front of him.
But wait, this band is different say the usual defenders of crappy rock music. They have a violin in their songs, that’s so punk rock, because after all, what’s more punk rock than having a violin?”

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8.) Review for Elton John by Jon Landau, Rolling Stone, 7/17/75
“First things first. This is one of Elton John’s best albums. He hasn’t tried to top past successes, only to continue the good work he’s been doing. And he’s succeeded, even taking a few chances in the process. The record is devoid of the gimmicky rock numbers from Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player phase. It isn’t weighted down with the overarranging and overproduction that marred so much of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It sounds freer and more relaxed than Caribou. His voice sounds rough, hoarse, almost weary. But that only helps make him sound more personal and intimate than in the past. ”

9.) Review for Elton by Billboard, 1975
“The pleasant surprise, however, is that, as always, the artist continues to change and progress. Lyrical content here is primarily autobiographical (the music careers of both John and lyricist Bernie Taupin) with stories centering around difficulties with publishers, life on the road, good and bad reviews, writing and so forth. Musical content is more varied than the last few LPs, with countryish flavoring here and there, one cut with soul/disco type strings, more emphasis on solos (particularly some rock items from guitarist Davey Johnstone) from band members, and a strong classical feel on several of the cuts. Majority of the set is self-contained (handled by Elton’s band) and the music itself is of a simpler structural nature than the past few LPs. One grows to expect a lot from an artist the stature of Elton John, and there is no disappointment here.”

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On wednesday in class we discussed some ideas on how to write the paper. Using different techniques to relate your topic of discussion to your specific audience. For example, language and word usage is highly important when it comes to making the connection with the reader. You want to set the tone, use quotes, allusions, personal stories, etc. to draw the reader in and make your writing imteresting. The articles we read over in class gave me insight into how you work your writing to fit the needs of your paper. I’m not sure which techniques I want to utilize in my own paper, but I’m recognizing that these ideas and strategies are important to my own writing, in this proposal and in my future writings.

Over all I was satisfied with my proposal. My life is filled with music, not one day goes by where I’m not listening to music. I wake up to music on my alarm, put it on in my car on the way to school, listen to my cd’s between classes, music during homework, radio on to fall asleep. But up until this class I never sat down and THOUGHT about how music is entertwined in life, reflecting culture, politics, religion… This proposal “opened my eyes” to how I actually feel about the music I listen to and the reasons behind why I relate to the artists I enjoy listening to countless times on repeat.

As far as further research and improvement goes I’m looking forward to expanding on my ideas with the Cover art for Elton John and politics from the time period. As well as including more examples of terrorism and the war in the lyrics for Yellowcard. I think that my main focus for improvement and expansion lies in my personal reflections and antecdotes. I need some aspect in my writing to enclose and wrap up my thoughts and connections into one tight bundle. I want my readers to understand what I’m trying to get at… the big “what and why” statement.

I’m very excited to see my final project come together… I hope that I will be able to sort through all my ideas and combine them into a great paper.