cheapbag214s
Joined: 27 Jun 2013
Posts: 18472
Read: 0 topics
Warns: 0/5
Location: England
|
 Posted: Tue 23:17, 03 Sep 2013 Post subject: org My American Dream Sounds Like Prince |
|
|
org My American Dream Sounds Like Prince
I was born in 1970, sprung from one of the most aspirational generations America has ever produced: The Hip-Hop Nation. With decades of rap music anthems dedicated to our fantastical transition from poverty to prosperity, we rarely celebrate our wealth without looking back on our meager beginnings. The American Dream, for us,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], always represents the possibility of success and affluence on our own terms " with a watchful eye toward our hardscrabble origins. Before Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg wore his hoodie on the Nasdaq floor, my generation started the trend of storming corporate boardrooms in comfortable jeans and sneakers, redefining the visual style of American achievement. We are the Jay Gatsbys who,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], in a twist on Fitzgerald's classic, embrace both high society and our often-darker backgrounds.
But the tune that best represents my version of the American Dream isn't a hip-hop song at all. My pick is "Sign o' the Times," the spartan,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], apocalyptic electro-blues by Prince, certainly the most prolific all-around pop superstar of the 1980s. Prior to the song's début in February 1987, Prince recorded occasional political statements on his mainly sexual, hedonistic albums: "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," "Free," "America," even "1999." And long after his mainstream '80s fans stopped paying as much attention, Prince would continue,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], with songs like "Get On the Boat" (2006) and "Resolution" (2007). Like Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" of the Vietnam era, Prince's "Sign o' the Times" examines a litany of problems then plaguing the country. "In France,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Prince sings, mentioning AIDS " relatively new in the world at the time " in the very first line. "By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same," he continues,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], with a heroin allusion. The first verse ends with references to crack, machine guns and Chicago's Gangster Disciples gang.
In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Sign o' the Times" one of the 500 greatest songs of all time (#304,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], specifically). Number one on the list belongs to Prince's fellow Minnesota-bred brethren Bob Dylan (for "Like a Rolling Stone") and though Prince and Dylan practice distinct styles of songwriting,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], they're both first-rate mouthpieces for their main audiences. The late Nina Simone sang "Sign o' the Times" for her final studio album,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], A Single Woman,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], with the same emotional heft as her famous Beatles and Dylan covers. Taking a page from the plainspoken blues tradition, Prince even seems to channel funk forebear Sly Stone in crafting his dark observation of the American landscape. Still,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], by song's end, he's optimistically falling in love, getting married and having a baby. "We'll call him Nate, if it's a boy,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," he promises.
MILES MARSHALL LEWIS, BYLINE: Born in 1970, I sprang from one of the most aspirational generations America has ever produced,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Hip-Hop Nation. With decades of rap music anthems dedicated to our fantastical transition from poverty to prosperity, the Hip-Hop Nation rarely celebrates its wealth without looking back on its meager beginnings. The American dream, for us, always represents the possibility of success and affluence on our own terms,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], with a watchful eye toward our hardscrabble origins.
相关的主题文章：
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
The post has been approved 0 times
|
|
