Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys began their career when they formed in 1961 in California. The group featured Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine. The album Pet Sounds was first debuted in 1966. The album Pet Sounds is different from the classic Beach Boys we all know and love. The album came after The Beatles released Rubber Soul in 1965. When the album was released, singer Brian Wilson noticed that the song's lyrics were original and for that, they decided to make Pet Sounds. The sounds on Pet Sounds do not reflect on events that are happening around them but on relationships. The music on the album display a lot of musical instruments instead of singing. This particular album showed Wilson's true talent in his compositions and especially in the song "Caroline, No" with his solo. 

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" 
The first song, "Wouldn't it be Nice" is your typical young romance song. It sums up the perfect world and relationship between a man and a women with the simple statement, "Wouldn't it be nice if..." The sound includes group back up singers and chiming in at the end with "ba ba ba ba ba" Reference to the Album name? There's a inclination that the couple in this song are young because they want to "live in a world where we belong."

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older  

Then we wouldn't have to wait so long 

And wouldn't it be nice to live together 

In the kind of world where we belong.

"You Still Believe In Me" 
This song is actually a complete 360 from the last song. The song opens up with a Sitar and then the lyrics begin. The man in the relationship is owning up to his mistakes. However he tells the women that she is being patient. Though they break up, she still goes back to him. Other instruments used are a tambourine and a bell.

Every time we break up 

You bring back your love to me 

And after all I've done to you 

How can it be

"That's Not Me"
I like this song because it is about at first changing yourself for someone, and then realizing "that's not me." The first line of the song is actually him telling himself that he had to "prove" that he could be alone. The change is a result of leaving someone and living by yourself. Having a big dream and thinking that everything is going to be good and then coming to the realization that living by yourself is not all that it's cracked up to be.

I had to prove that I could make it alone  

But that's not me 

I wanted to show how independent I'd grown now 

But that's not me

"Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulders"
This song is definitely more slower than the other songs on the album. The calmness of Brian Wilson's voice makes the song very peaceful. The lyrics of the song makes me believe that they are preparing for  sex. I understand that Wilson's true talent comes out in this album, and could be hinted at this song. However, I am not a fan of this one.

Come close, close your eyes and be still 

Don't talk, take my hand and let me hear your heart beat 

Being here with you feels so right 

We could live forever tonight 

Lets not think about tomorrow 

And don't talk put your head on my shoulder

"I'm Waiting For the Day"
The fifth track on the album has a mix of slow and fast beats. The beginning opens with really jumpy music and then it goes slow. And then when "again" is sung, the music begins to be loud again. Even though the lyrics seem to sad, I feel that the music makes the song upbeat. The ending of the song is actually my favorite because it shows that the person is OK without the women.

You didn't think that I could sit around and let him work  

You didn't think that I could sit around and let watch him take you  

You didn't think that I could sit around and let him go  

You didn't think that I could sit back and let you go

"Let's Go Away For Awhile"
The beginning is very peaceful and then it gets to be very hectic. I feel myself to be on the edge of my seat waiting for lyrics to start, when in fact there are no lyrics. This song reminds me of dreams where a new event occurs about every 30 seconds. I'm not a fan of this song, however I admire The Beach Boys for stepping out of their norm and writing an instrumental piece. 

"Sloop John B"
This was actually the second song I knew on the album along with "Wouldn't It Be Nice." I love how the song starts off. I really never paid attention to the lyrics, just the upbeat rhythm. I like how the song tells a story and I'm curious who or what John B was. John B. was a folksong in 1917 The Beach Boys' version of the song was influenced by the Kingston's Trio version. The John B., however was a ship that sank in The Bahamas in 1900.
Though the lyrics and beat are altered, the two songs sound very much alike:
Kingston Trio:

The Beach Boys: 

"God Only Knows"
This is another song that I heard of prior to listening to the album. I like the slow introduction of the song. I also like the smoothness and softness of of Wilson's voice. This song again has more instrumental music and the background "ba ba ba ba ba" comes back in this song. "God only knows what I'd be without you" is repeated a lot at the end. This is a sign of imagining what his life would be like if the person was not in his life.

If you should ever leave me 

Well life would still go on believe me 

The world could show nothing to me 

So what good would living do me

"I Know There's An Answer"
The song begins with a very funky beat with a tambourine. Once the lyrics begin, the tambourine continues to accent the beats. There is melody with background accompaniment, "oooh."With about a less than a minute of the song, there is a closing "DuBeDo" and then the tambourine plays. 

"Here Today"
The tambourine is an other main instrument used in this song as well as an organ. I like the meaning of the song. Basically it's saying, don't get your hopes up on love. It's here today and gone tomorrow. The one line that I really like in the song is when a man is in love with a women who was just with the man from the song.

Well you know I hate to be a downer 

But I'm the guy she left before you found her 

Well I'm not saying you won't have a good love with her 

But I keep on remembering things like they were

"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"
When I first heard of the song, I began to think of "That's Not Me."As the song progressed, I found it very difficult to follow along with the lyrics seeing that there was a little of different voices singing different lyrics. There are a lot of "oohs" in this song as well. This song was wasn't my favorite.

Each time things start to happen again 

I think I got something good goin' for myself 

But what goes wrong

"Pet Sounds"
Finally the song I have been waiting for. The song that is the title of the album that is so well know. The cooky beginning is the first piece of the bizarre song. Again, like this song, I kept anticipating lyrics to start. To be honest, I don't know see anything really super about this song. I do like the instrumental piece, and for some people they might like to interrupt different means and images. However for me, I like lyrics to help with the meaning of the song. 

"Caroline, No"
To rap up the album, Wilson showcases his true talent with his solo. I really like this song with the bongos and the slow, softness of the song. The train at the ending is really abrupt and changes the meaning of the song. I think that it is a really good song to rap up the album with and sums up the true talent.

Could I ever find in you again 

Things that made me love you so much then 

Could we ever bring 'em back once they have gone 

Oh, Caroline no

To be honest, I do not care for this album. I would much rather buy "Good Vibrations." I feel that while there are some classics and well know songs on "Pet Sounds," some of the songs are just not up to The Beach Boys' norm. I feel that the reason to break out of the norm is to compete with other top artists at the time. While I will always be a Beach Boys fan, I recommend not buying this record. If you like songs that make your mind work and interrupt the meaning of the songs, this may be the album for you. But if you like upbeat songs that are catchy, save your money.

Where it All Came From

Last week in my history class, we listened to and discussed The Beatles' career. The Beatles began their career in Liverpool at the Cavern Club. Today, the Cavern Club holds Beatles Festival Liverpool. The event is being held for a week in August of 2012, for anyone wild enough to take part in the festivities.

The Beatles are most popular for songs such as "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields." These popular songs are all landmarks that are found in Liverpool.

The Beatles played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool about 300 times and helped the venue become one of the most popular in the world! They made their debut on February 9th, 1961. "The Cavern was sweaty, damp, dark, loud and exciting," Paul

McCartney recalled, "as usual, we didn't start out with much of an audience, but then people began to hear about us. We could always entertain them." Though there was no information on how their first performance went, the group reportedly made three pounds. For George Harrison, the Cavern was a very casual atmosphere. The Cavern Club helped The Beatles gain public attention from fans and from management opportunities. Two and a half years after their first appearance, they had played 292 shows at the club. In November 1961, Brian Epstein caught The Beatles at the club and weeks later signed them to a management contract, having them be one step closer to stardom.

The Beatles got the idea to write a song about Penny Lane from a street in Liverpool.

Prior to researching Liverpool, I had no idea where The Beatles got the idea of most of their songs. The lyrics of the song, explain the everyday life on Penny Lane in the 1960's.

Strawberry Fields was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home. I think the song is a relaxing song and I think it fits into how the Beatles took drugs. So I think the song can be intended as the group having hallucinations.

Bo Diddley

After hearing "Who Do You Love?" in class this week, I wanted to known more on Bo Diddley. Bo Diddley was born in McComb, Mississippi and was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin. In 1934, the family moved to Chicago where he became an active member of his local Baptist Church. There he was invited to become apart of the orchestra until the age of 18.

He then enrolled at Foster Vocational School, where he built a guitar, violin and upright bass. He dropped out before graduating and began performing in a duo with Roosevelt Jackson, who played the washtub bass. The group became a trio when they added another guitarist, Jody Williams. Then finally, a quartet when they added a harmonica player, Billy Boy Arnold.

Mr. Diddley first heard of the "Bo Diddley beat" in a church in Chicago. Songs such as "Bo Diddley" and "Pretty Thing" have the popular rhythm.

Diddley appeared on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1955. Mr. Diddley was asked to play “Sixteen Tons,” the song popularized by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Without telling Mr. Sullivan, he played “Bo Diddley” instead. After performing "Bo Diddley, Mr. Sullivan told Diddley, off-air, that he would never work in television again. As a result of his performance, Mr. Diddley did not play on a network show for 10 years.

In 1963, he starred in a UK concert tour with the Everly Brothers and Little Richard. The Rolling Stones, still barely known outside London at that time, appeared as a supporting act. On songs like “Who Do You Love,” his guitar style was an extension of his early violin playing, Diddley said.

Starting in the 1970's Diddley audience grew and he began playing with The Grateful Dead and The Crash.

Here is a list of Bo Diddley's achievements found on bodiddley.com

1986 - inducted into the Washington Area Music Association's Hall of Fame.
1987 - inducted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
1990 - Lifetime Achievement Award from Guitar Magazine,
1998 - Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation the National Academy of Recorded Arts and Sciences..
1999 - His 1955 recording of his song "Bo Diddley" inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a recording of lasting qualitative or historical significance.
2000 - inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and into the North Florida Music Association's Hall of Fame.
2002 - Pioneer in Entertainment Award from the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, and an Icon Award from Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI)
2008 - Although confirmed before his death in June, 2008, an honorary degree was conferred upon Bo by the University of Florida in August, 2008.

On May 13th 2007, after performing at a concert in Iowa the day before, Bo Diddley was admitted to intensive care in Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska after experiencing a stroke. In August 2007, Diddley suffered from a heart attack in Florida. Bo Diddley died at his home on June 2, 2008 of heart failure at his home.

I Love Lucy

In my Pop Culture class two weeks ago, we watched and episode of the show, I Love Lucy. I heard about the show, but never really watched an episode. After watching an episode, I can see why the show was so popular. The show depicts the stereotypical married life during the 1950's with lots of laughs. However, while I was watching the show, I could not help but notice how the gender roles were portrayed.

The episode that we watched in class was "Lucy Does a Television Commercial." In this episode, Lucy wants to air in a TV commercial that her husband would not let her star in. But because of him constantly saying no, Lucy decides to find away to star in the commercial.

Obviously Lucy wants to do the commercial after being turned down by her husband. It was shocking to me how dominant the role of the husband is in the show. Desi, who played Lucy's husband off screen, yells at Lucy and talks down to her like she was a child. "Andrea Press studied women's responses to I Love Lucy, finding working-class women tended to find Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo funny, but thought the character was silly, unrealistic, and manipulative."

Lucy played what was probably known as the stereotypical housewife who stayed home all day and cooked and cleaned, being reliant on her husband to make the money in the family. I feel like Lucy's character wanted to break out of the norm of the time and try to leave the house however, she always landed in predicaments. There are times in every episode where Lucy gets herself in situations that are always portrayed as hilarious! This is another stereotype because the role of the women was seen as being "forgetful" and easily making mistakes. Donna Reed of the The Donna Reed Show questions the connotations of the media's use of "housewife" in I Love Lucy and said that Lucille Ball was probably the most "ambitious and dissatisfied woman in all of television history."

Lucy and her friend, Ethel, finally are tired of how the roles are set and decide to make a bet with their husbands to see if they can successfully switch roles:

Though the episode is hilarious, there are gender issues present in the shows. But not only the show, there are gender issues in the commercials starring the married couple as well that display dominance in the male role over the female.

I am happy that the times have changed and that women are allowed to do what the please and do not have to be the stereotypical housewife like Lucy.

Commercials Worth Millions

Men watch the Super Bowl for the nonstop action of the game and the food. Women, on the other hand, rarely watch the game. They may tune in to see the half time show or the commercials. I, myself, tune in every year just to see which company had the best commercial.

Well, like myself, "Close to 50% of [Super Bowl] viewers tune in to actually watch the commercials, more than they watch the game," said Stephen Master, vice president of Nielsen Sports media research.

During the 2012 Super Bowl, a 30 second commercial cost an average of $3.5 million dollars. This number seems shocking, after all why would companies invest so much of its money for a 30 second commercial.

Randle D. Raggio, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Richmond, conducted some calculations in 2011 that showed just how much of a product the company would have to sell to make up for the money spent on a commercial.

According to his calculations, Snickers would have to sell 6,329,406 candy bars to pay for its ad. Bridgestone would have to sell 298,656 tires and Skechers would have to sell 205,339 pairs of shoes. Being able to sell a large amount of a product would not be difficult for the company because it all comes down to how impressive the commercial is and if it grabbed the viewers attention.

Take GoDaddy.com for instance; though the website has nothing to do with women wearing nearly nothing, it grabs the viewers attention and would spark conversation and interest in the product.

In the beginning of it's career, GoDaddy struggled. The company needed to find a way to boost their company. "Back in 2004 [when the company launched its first Super Bowl ad], we had the very best program of everyone we were competing with, but market share just wasn't growing enough," says Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. "A marketing firm said, 'Nobody knows that you exist and you should consider stepping into the mainstream media.' And the Super Bowl was right around the corner."

In just the first year alone, market share rose from 16 percent to 20 percent! As the Super Bowl ads continued market share continued to jumped to 32 percent in 2006 to 42 percent in 2007.

We have all seen those commercials where we try to guess what the company is that is showing the commercial. Sometimes it becomes difficult when the subject matter of the commercial and the actual company is completely different. Take a commercial where a dog finds himself too fat to fit through the door flap. The dog begins to work and becomes skinny enough to fit through the flap. It is hard to believe that the company behind the commercial is Volkswagen, a car company.

There is such a high amount of car commercials that are aired during the Super Bowl because the target audience watching the Super Bowl is men, and men typically like cars. For the 2012 Super Bowl, the Chevy Sonic, Hyundai Veloster, and the Fiat 500 were the top cars that made the viewers want to know more about the specific cars seen in the commercials. Not only do the car commercials benefit the auto company but also car search engines. Edmunds.com and Autotrader.com showed that after the commercials aired, viewers searched the cars to learn more about the cars. "At Edmunds.com, page views leapt 3,354 percent in the moments after the ad." The reason behind the thousands of page views is most likely because of the content of the commercial. The majority of the commercial is a nerdy man being turned on by an attractive Italian model.

Some of the commercials that are seen during the Super Bowl are very clever and really grab my attention. However, there are some commercials that I find myself confused at what point and product the company was trying to sell. I takes a large group of people to brainstorm and come up with ideas to make sure that their commercial is a big success and that the money that is spent into airing their commercial will then cause the company to increase their sales.

Racist or Just Plain Wrong?

This past Monday, January 16th American honored Martin Luther King and remembered the true greatness of his dream. Today that dream is not a dream, but a reality. Or is it?

Last year, ESPN held a panel to discuss the black athlete. The Panel included athletes

and coaches. As I was watching a taping of the show on youtube, a topic was brought up that really made me think.

Michael Vick played for the Atlanta Falcons but was suspended when he pled guilty for partaking in dog fighting. Along with being suspended he was sentenced to serve 23 months in prison. He now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. There is still controversy of his sentence and if it was because of the color of his skin.

Ben Roethlisberger is a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2009, a civil suit was filed for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room in 2008. Roethlisberger was not sentenced any jail time. In 2010, Roethlisberger was again accused of sexually assaulting a 20 year old women. Though he was not sentenced to jail, he was suspended in 2010.

Would there have been a difference if Micheal Vick was white? Would there have been a different outcome if Ben Roethlisberger was Black?

The topic and question of the show was is race a factor?

Before this accusations and suspensions, Roethlisberger was not a popular teammate. "Najeh Davenport also discussed a time when Joey Porter called out Roethlisberger in a team meeting for being the last one in to practice and the first one to leave. Porter also accused Roethlisberger of not being dedicated to the team and criticized him for not fraternizing with his teammates." An interesting survey was realized last year by ESPN that notes that 30 percent of African-Americans admire Roethlisberger and 22 percent of whites admire the quarter back.

ESPN wrote an article that most likely everyone would like to know, what if Vick was white? Race is something that is very important to Vick. Another question was asked in the article. It is interesting because this topic of African Americans and single parent households became a topic of discussion in the ESPN show. The question: "If Vick grew up with the paternal support that white kids are more likely to have would he have been involved in dogfighting?" It becomes a valid question because,72 percent percent of black children are born to unwed mothers compared with 29 percent of white children. Vick's father was noted as not have such a supportive father. His father was an strong cocaine user and was frequently drunk around young Vick.

So this becomes a question of was it really a race issue or was it his upbringing?

Should Childhood Obesity be an issue?

Obesity in America is an issue that is sometimes neglected. There needs to be somewhere that can stop the risk of obesity from growing. After reading "Too Fat to Fight,"it is evident that children have to be taught to eat right and make exercise a regular activity. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese. This is becoming a problem not only because of the risk of disease and death, but because, according to "Too Fat to Fight,"nine million of teenagers 17-24 year-olds are too fat to fight in the military. Which is 27 percent of all young adults.

The issue becomes crucial when adolescents are too overweight to defend their country. Childhood Obesity should be an issue discussed by running presidential candidates.

Former running mate, Sarah Palin disagreed with Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign stating that,

"Instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician's wife's priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back, and allow us as individuals to exercise our own God-given rights to make our own decisions and then our country gets back on the right track."

Former Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, gave a speech in 2004 about his reactions to the Conference on Child's Obesity in Texas. Throughout his speech, Perry calls obesity an "epidemic." He says that this "epidemic can be prevented with physical activity and dietary changes." He also states that he "want[s] Texans of all ages to form the fitness habits that will allow them to live longer, healthier lives while saving taxpayers billions of dollars in healthcare costs associated with obesity."

When Barack Obama was running for President, he discussed Childhood Obesity with nurses at the Ohio State Medical Center.

I found it difficult to find the Republican nominees opinions' on childhood obesity. While it is early in the election, I think it should be an issue if childhood obesity leads to American's not being allowed to fight in the army.

President Obama raises the issue of childhood obesity with a campaign endorsed by his wife, Michelle Obama. The campaign is called, "Let's Move." Michelle Obama is also featured in "Disney Channel's Magic of Healthy Living." Children are more likely to listen and realize the message of the program because it is being said by their favorite Disney Channel Stars and Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama hold meetings and discusses obesity and fighting in the army. The First Lady visited the Army's largest training post at Fort Jackson. The training facility is making changes that include more rigorous workouts and better food choices. "Kids are spending too much time in front of TV and computer screens, not getting enough exercise and drinking too many sugary soft drinks", Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said. He said that makes their bones too fragile for military lifestyles.

Starting with child and helping them understand the risks with obesity can help them grow to be strong and healthy to one day fight for our country.