In class today we discussed the concepts on copyright and what it means. Your opening example of the question of if there is a way to make a claim on property other than violence the answer is yes. Just because someone doesn’t have a piece of property or a fence on that property it is still theres. It could have been passed down to grandchildren and they are not old enough to build on the land yet. It is simply a fact of what is right vs wrong and respecting what people own. The sad thing is people in today’s society don’t respect that concept and that is why people result straight to violence. In regards to copyright, I never knew that there were different terms to how long copy right lasts. I always just thought you couldn’t copyright anything because that was a law, which is true but there are time limitations behind it. In today’s time we will never be able to reproduce something that is created or that we like, but it was still interesting to learn. The thing that I found the most interesting was our conversation on DJ’s at parties. I had no idea that when I go to a party the DJ is illegally playing all of the music, it really got me thinking about if I am guilty of this too!

Overall I enjoyed today’s lecture and am looking forward to discussing more on copyright next week.

Sarah White

I was excited to see that this was one of the topics I could look up because of my passion and love for country music and how it has changed over the decades. I used google books for my research and came across a book called “Categorizing Sound: Genre and Twentieth-Century Popular Music” written by David Brackett. In chapter 4 of his book he brings in the knowledge of southern music and “hillbilly” music. Brackett explains that hillbilly music came about from a small band located in Virginia who made a recording in January 1925. They were asked for a name for the group and Hopkins who was the leader of the group did not know how to reply. Eventually he replied and said “call the band anything you want. We are nothing but a bunch of hillbillies from North Carolina and Virginia anyway.” The release of the record with their six recordings was credited to “Hill Billies” and that is how hillbilly music was born. The term hillbilly did eventually get its acceptance in the music world but it was very short lived with the occurrence of country music increasing its professional songwriters and new songs coming out that were seen to be apart of folk music. “Hillbilly did eventually gain acceptance, however, as a music industry term, but only after the flurry of attention that occasioned its emergence had subsided.” Hillbilly, folk, and country music have all changed and evolved over the years, but ever since country first began there has always been some form of country music in the world.

Sarah White

https://books.google.com/books?id=3lAlDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA197&dq=when+was+hillbilly+music+originated&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE6aLq6o_aAhVEmVkKHcLRDf0Q6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=when%20was%20hillbilly%20music%20originated&f=false

I think that touching on race in class is an important topic but I know it is also a very sensitive topic for some people. The idea of race and what it means has evolved and developed over the centuries and decades. There is no black and white bathrooms or black and white anything, that is a time of the past. However, there are still people who do not accept the fact that segregation is done with and look down on different races. As mentioned in class today, record labels were run by immigrants and it was odd for the blacks and whites to walk in and record something when it was run by immigrants. We spoke on how music back then had less to do with you are and more to do with what was available. I believe Miller in Segregating sound did a good job of explaining what artists back then went through. “The had to paint the pop tunes they loved with a patina of down-home credibility. Southern black recording artists were encourages to pretend they did not know about modern pop music. White southerners had to make Tin Pan Alley sound like a farm road” (p. 227). One last thing that I want to touch on in regards to today’s lecture was the idea of Romantic Nationalism. I have heard about romantic nationalism before but have never understood just exactly what it was. However, your example of country patriotic music with eagles and flags flying puts into perspective for me what it exactly means and I thank you for using an example I can relate to!

Sarah White 

When you began lecture with the words “today we will be discussing American country music,” I immediately knew it would be a lecture that I would enjoy. I am southern born and raised so country music is all that I listen to. Even though I didn’t grow up listening to Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, I still know who they are and more importantly I know how big of an impact they had on country music. Back during the depression they didn’t have all of this pop and rap music, it was old time blues and folk music. American’s did everything they could to survive and keep their homes. Even though millions were displaced from their homes and lost what they had, country music was there and these people could relate to it. I personally believe that country music is truly the only music that every kind of person can relate to. Wether it be a typical break up, partying, church going, or way of living there is at least one country song that everyone can relate to. I feel as if other music especially in today’s culture is all about the same thing, even the new country music. Don’t get me wrong I listen to new country, but I would much rather listen to the country songs that were released during the 90’s because they all sang about different things. I found it interesting when we spoke about honky tonks and one student asked if they are still a thing or even exist in cities. The first thing that came to my mind was umm hello Nashville?! Like you said though, every city has their honky tonk. Whether it be in the middle of the city like Nashville, or in a bad part of town they still exist. This nation was founded on country music and it amazes me to see how much music and culture changes over the decades.

Sarah White