I had thought that Hank Williams was the founder of country music but it was brought to my attention in class today that it was actually Jimmie Rodgers who I didn’t know about. I don’t know much about country music at all so I’m not surprised about my ignorance regarding the genre. I’ve never been fond of it, and I think I’ve only enjoyed about two country songs in my life. I don’t foresee there being a much higher number in the future. Today I feel like country isn’t what it used to be and obviously there’s a classic age for all genres, but country lately has sounded more like pop. I think it’s definitely lost the folky aspect of it and now folk has broken off into its own genre. I think the Cowboys Copas Filipino Baby video was evocative among the class, predominantly the girls, and not in a positive way, of course. It definitely reminds you of the Texas song we discussed but this one seemed to highlight more of the fact that women of color were treated like possessions, being a mere collection of body parts to these men and being ripped from where they belong because it sure isn’t with an oppressive white man. The meaning of the song was more clear during our conversation after viewing it because it seemed like any other entertainment video but so many songs, without realizing it, have dark messages.

Today was another informative class regarding music as I learned that different flavors of music emphasize different beats. The European tradition accents the first and third beat, and Afro-New World tend to accent the second and fourth. I’m not sure what sounds better, but listening to “Havana,” it seemed off, like it was incorrect. I’d like to compare the different accents of beats with more songs because that was the more entertaining part of the class. Also, it wasn’t a surprise that the U.S. doesn’t have a national type of music like Brazil does with samba. The U.S. is multicultural but it’s never really had a defining type because it’s never had its own anything…it’s habitually stolen from other cultures. Lastly, I liked finally learning what the habanero beat was called because I find myself tapping to that beat just about every day. It’s frequently found in music today which is probably part of the reason it’s on repeat in my head! It’s not as bad as it sounds, though.