This week in class we read about the different career options you have in the music industry. As I was reading the one occupation that caught my eye was a jingle writer. How cool would that be? A jingle writer writes music for radio, TV, and online video commercials. They have to write a short song or composition about a product or service they are assigned. This profession does not seem easy though. A jingle writer has to be skilled in many musical styles and must be good at song arranging. The composition/song that you write has to be able to reach out to others and be memorable. The lyrics you write are important too. They will have to be relatable to the product and the person who is watching it.
My favorite jingle is probably the K9 Advantage Commercial. Its been years since I've seen that commercial and I still have the melody and lyrics stuck in my head. The melody is simple and it repeats its self so its easy to sing along to. The lyrics rhyme so they are easy to remember. The factor that appeals to viewers the most though is how the dog is singing it, which makes it even more cute and memorable.
Having to constantly come of with short catchy songs is no easy task. I've never really thought of what all goes behind making a jingle so reading about this in the book was definitely an eye opener. Although being a jingle writer sounds like a lot of fun, there is a lot of work that goes behind every short song.
This week in Music History we learned about censorship in music. I decided to do some research and learn more about it.
Music censorship dates back to the late 1800s, when Southerners were prohibited from singing Confederate songs after the Civil War ended. In 1940, NBC Radio released a list of 150 songs that radio stations were prohibited from playing because of obscene content. Many use the First Amendment (freedom of speech) to argue against censorship but obscene speech is not protected by it. Artist are allowed to use profanity in their music, radios/tv just cant play it because of the potential exposure to children. A song can be censored by the following: blanking, beeping, resampling, resinging, back masking, repeating, skipping, cutting, disc scratching, distorting, or by not being played at all.
Now, here are some examples of songs that got censored.
"Love Game" - Lady Gaga
This 2009 hit was not allowed to be played on the radio due to the line "I want to take a ride on your disco stick." Lady Gaga wouldn't censor it because the line was not intended to be subtle and felt that they were being too hard on her.
"My Generation" - The Who
In 1965 this song was banned from the radio not for it's lyrical content but because it has stuttering in the chorus. BBC prohibited the song from receiving any airplay because they didn't want to offend anyone with a speech impediment. However, once the song became a huge hit, they allowed in to be played.
"Rolling in the Deep" - Adele
This song was censored because they couldn't decided if she said the word "shit" or "ship" in the line "Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ___ bare." Many online lyric sites have it as "ship" but Adele had it written down as "shit." Another line in the song that goes "reaching the fever pitch" has been replaced as well by some radios because it sounded like "bitch."
