f. Mac Randall, Exit Music: The Radiohead Story
g. Joseph Tate, ed., The Music and Art of Radiohead
SAMPLE ASSIGNMENTS AND/OR EXAM
1. Class Discussions: Bi-weekly in-class discussions will reinforce and clarify theoretical
concepts and terminology introduced in the assigned readings in the textbook. They will
also provide helpful and practical knowledge of how to apply and employ descriptive
and analytical terms in the analysis of popular music. Assigned listening examples of
specific pop artists or groups will be examined in detail. Knowing what specific
elements contribute to the understanding of large questions of style, genre and
historical periods can be challenging. Class participation in the discussion and
acquisition of analytical tools and vocabulary is strongly encouraged. Be prepared to
speak and to take notes. Reading the assigned material in the textbook and listening to
the assigned musical examples before coming to class is required.
2. Midterm/Final Exams: The acquisition of analytical skills, and the correct use of
historical and stylistic knowledge of popular music in general and a specific artist’s/
group’s output will also be achieved and reinforced through two tests: a midterm and
final exam. The midterm for this course will be in a multiple choice format and covering
issues raised in the first half of the course. A midterm review will take place on the class
period before the exam. The Final will follow a similar format covering the readings,
listening and discussion since the midterm. Both exams are designed to help students
master a small set of analytical terms and the specifics of a single genre and set of
musical examples. They will ask students to identify verbally (through the correct
employment of terminology) and aurally specific pieces of music and the elements that
identify them as belonging to a certain composer and/or historical style. These
assessment methods will allow students to demonstrate their ability to identify and
analyze important works by the selected artist or group being studied.
3. Final Projects: These varying depending on the Topic, but could include Team
Presentations in which students present using various audio and visual formats, the
historical, cultural and political understanding and analysis of a specific set of songs.
Projects may also include analytical papers on a topic chosen by the student, or creative
projects such as the generation of alternative set of lyrics for a particular song or set of
songs with that reflect a understanding of the cultural, social and political aspects of the
original lyrics. Such creative projects would also involve the several pages of critical
commentary explaining the student’s work.
4. Listening Journals: As a way to catalogue your listening throughout this course and
practice developing critical listening vocabulary, students will keep a journal. This
journal will consist of student’s thoughts and reactions to the assigned recordings as
well as any connections that a student is able to make to the course readings. The
journal is to be in an informal writing style and should chronicle the student’s
development with the music over the course of the semester.