Savage Realities in Pop Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Dg1Ymji-Q

The year- 1997. The Song- Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden. It was inescapable. Every station, every dorm bathroom, every radio in every window in every courtyard at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN was playing that song. At the time, this song made me feel truly, madly, deeply insane. I considered ripping the am/fm alarm clock out of the wall every time it came on to wake me up. The lead singer with his whiny, tinny voice singing “I want to stand with you on a mountain, I want to bathe with you in the sea?!?” No thanks, I’ll bathe alone thank you. Most people sang along or hummed absent-mindedly to this song and I couldn’t understand it. Ann Powers, in her article “Bread and Butter Songs: Unoriginality in Pop” writes, “The real challenge came in accepting that even music I found offensive or dull really moved people, sometimes stadiums full. The next step, even harder, was figuring out why.” Reading the lyrics of Truly, Madly, Deeply ten years later revealed that however sappy it sounded at the time, it did tackle the basic stuff of life – love, hope, meaning, even God.

“What memorable songs offer, including banal ones, is a way not just to feel but to better grasp the structure of feeling, by re-creating the sense of becoming engaged, turning on, or falling in love” (Powers, p. 241).

Aha! Maybe that’s why, even though musically annoying, the song has stuck with me. It captured feelings that at the time, were hard to face head on. It certainly makes me ponder when we say songs are “good” or “bad” if we are talking about how these songs have meaning for us or if they are “critically acclaimed.”

I have to admit, now when I hear this song I feel instantly nostalgic for those radios in courtyards my sophomore year of college. That song is, for better or worse, part of the soundtrack to an incredible year of my life filled with learning, music, friendships, and relationships. Savage Garden in many ways, in its sappy whimsical-ness represents exactly the sort of…well sappy whimsical-ness of that year of my life and looking back I have more respect for the people who sang along…out loud…

Lesson Plan:

I think there are many fun and interesting angles pop music could be used in education. My initial thought would be to do a 5 part activity over the course of a week.

Day 1
Have students bring in a song on CD or iPod that they enjoy for the class to listen to. After listening to an excerpt have students journal on these questions:
1. Write down the name of the artist & song
2. How did the music make you feel?
3. Why are the lyrics meaningful to you?
Have each student tell the class the answers for the piece of music they chose. Discuss where personal preferences come from in choosing music.
Day 2
Have students think about music they don’t like. Have students write down at least 3 songs, bands, or artists they don’t enjoy. Give time to journal and discuss answers even if it gets heated, let students discuss music they dislike (which will probably lead to students defending music they do like.) Refrain from coming to conclusions.

Day 3
Take some of the songs that were most controversial in the “I hate it” category and deconstruct the lyrics together. Have students think about the history and personal experience of the person or band who wrote the song and put it in a critical framework. Have students, as homework, take one band or artist they don’t like and research the history behind them.

Day 4
Have students share short presentations on their chosen artist/band.

Day 5
Conclude with a fun day of listening and game of “name that tune” using examples from all the “liked” and “disliked” songs chosen by students. Have students take 10 minutes to journal about the week and what they learned and if they will listen to music they liked or disliked previously in a new way.