31 Aug Choose a recent song described as lyrical/inspirational and compare and contrast it with a song from the Boomer List on the American Masters webpage
Bono, the singer-songwriter-activist, said, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” In his essay “Songs of 1963…and Today,” Juan Williams compares the “lyrical music and poetry” of the 1960s, a decade that was defined by the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the youth counter-culture, that he found “inspiring” to what he calls the “self-aggrandizing rap songs” of the present day.
Every generation has created its own music that reflects the social, political and cultural environment of the time. You may want to argue that the today’s songs do not have the same impact that songs did back in the 1960s, or you may argue that today’s music carries a message that is relevant to the current time. Choose a recent popular song that has lyrics that can be described as lyrical/poetic and/or inspirational and in a 1,400-2,000-word essay (4-5 pages), compare and contrast it with a song from the “Boomer List” on the “American Masters” webpage (See Course Documents) that captured your interest. Be sure to quote lyrics from both songs (you can find the lyrics online or on YouTube) as well as refer to Williams’ essay.
