Catt+9-11

Home 9-11 Group Topics 9-11 Assignment Catt Perry Group Question: How did Americans cope with emotions caused by 9/11? Topic Question: In what way did music help, or not help, Americans work through the anger and confusion that resulted from the 9/11 attacks?

Question 1: How have musicians incorporated anger and confusion regarding 9/11 into their music since the attacks? (And to what extent?) While the public and the media both embraced protest music concerning the Vietnam War, some musicians, especially those in the country music genre, were very conservative, refusing to speak out against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The few country musicians, like the Dixie Chicks and Steve Earl, were shunned by some 74 country music stations nationwide, which simply emboldened them and heightened their popularity. Although one might expect the events of 9/11 to manifest themselves in popular music lyrics, this is not the case due to corporate politicial influence. It was at this time that corporate media stopped allowing musicians to say what they really meant, therefore forcing many to use older music that fit the situation metaphorically. In Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen's song //My City of Ruins//, from his album, //The Rising//, created after 9/11, he applied the text to the situation at hand, even though the lyrics, written prior to the attacks, were originally about his hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey. "//There's a blood red circle,// //On the cold dark ground,// //And the rain is falling down,// //The church doors blown open,// //I can hear the organ's song,// //But the congregations gone ...// //Come on, rise up!// //Come on, rise up!// //Rise up//﻿" (My City of Ruins). Overall, the music industry was still shocked, concerned, and confused about how to deal with the recent event.

RESIST. "Popular and Protest Music Post–9/11." //RESIST//. N.p., July-Aug. 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|www.resistinc.org]>. "Stars Burn Bush Unleash Songs & Anger In $7.5m Kerry-edwards Fest At Radio City." //NY Daily News//. N.p., 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|articles.nydailynews.com]>. "My City of Ruins." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 17 Aug. 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|en.wikipedia.org]>. "Protest Song." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 3 Sept. 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|en.wikipedia.org]>.

Question 2: How has our country become stronger as a result of how musicians incorporated anger and confusion regarding 9/11 into their music? Even though many musicians have incorporated anger and confusion regarding 9/11 into their music, our country still hasn't become stronger because of it. The corporate media has strong political ties, and threatened to ruin the careers of those musicians truly expressing their feelings regarding 9/11 in their music (Ashall). Those just emerging into the music industry voiced no opinion as a result. Only the strongest, such as Springsteen, Woody Guthrie, and John Mellancamp spoke out without repercussion. Others, like the Dixie Chicks, spoke out in spite of the repercussions that were bound to follow. The result has been weak public discourse and little true understanding of 9/11. Our country is still rife with anger, confusion and stress regarding the attacks on 9/11, and could be stronger given the chance for popular music to play a larger role in our healing process.

Ashall, Barry. "Protest Music, Censorship, and the Fall of Free Speech in the Post-9/11 World." //Baz's Blog//. WordPress.com, 21 May 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|bazmccoysays.wordpress.com]>. "Dixie Chicks." //Wikipedia//. N.p., 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 5 Sept. 2011. <[|en.wikipedia.org]>.

RUBRIC for Responses
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly addresses and answers the question
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your articles (put this citation at the end of paragraph one)
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning