Song 1: At the Purchaser’s Option by Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens is a popular contemporary artist, who has written and covered protest songs. “At the Purchaser’s Option” is a part of her album called “Freedom Highway” and tells the story of a young, enslaved woman, whose baby is offered at the option of her buyer. The chorus of the song is a testament to her determination and strength to not allow the indignities of slavery to dehumanize her and as of it is a protest anthem.
“At the Purchaser’s Option” intrigues me due to the relatability the song has for today’s society, this is regarding people who are stuck in menial jobs that are intended to make other people rich and it is sung in one of the verses. I believe the topic will be challenging because personally I am not experiencing this issue but many others are. I would need to educate myself on the topic more so my podcast can be as informative and accurate as possible.
One of my concerns is the artist not being mainstream. I might have problems with more background on the song, but I feel like I have enough information at hand to be able to do a podcast about and be in-depth at the topic at hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vy9xTS0QxM
Song 2: The Rising by Bruce Springsteen
“The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen is a story of a fireman who rushes to the World Trade Center and is killed in the process. He then somehow encourages hope through the chorus. How it connects to today is the chorus promotes unity and optimism going forward. In the wake of 9/11, the country was united (Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives). The call for unity, respect, and strength through support of one another, certainly is needed and relevant in today’s world given the ideological, economic, and racial divides currently evident in the United States.
Listening to the song repeatedly, I believe will not be an issue because I believe this song can be up for many interpretations/messages, along with the information already on the song and Bruce Springsteen’s past of making Protest songs, research will not be a problem. I am already a fan of Bruce Springsteen so I will not get sick of listening to this song on repeat for weeks to come.
My only concern is that “The Rising” was technically made a year before I was born. Therefore does not fit with the Proposal requirement, but feel that the issues brought up in the song are definitely relevant today with the various justice issues going on in our country.
I am really looking forward to starting this project and am intrigued to do a deep-dive podcast on one of these two songs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-fiRgbpr4
September 17, 2023 at 11:15 am
Luke,
Of these two, I think “At the Purchaser’s Option” is by far the better option. Rhiannon Giddens may not be “mainstream” but she is a powerhouse in the folk/Americana/traditional community and respected beyond compare in the industry, especially among Black musicians. The historical nature of all her work connects with the ideas we discussed in the class last week about the presentness of the past in contemporary work by Black women musicians.
“The Rising,” as you write, was written for Springsteen’s post-9/11 album, but doesn’t really address any social justice issues. It has been adopted by Democrats because they’ve figured out that when the presidential candidates use Springsteen songs as their main stump speech songs they win elections (Hillary didn’t).
So, I’d go with your first option.
Looking forward to it!
Bill