Week 6- Popular Music

Kristen Moore

Professor Odom

ENG 247 - Popular Culture

19 February 2012

Drake

     Drake is best known for his catchy rhymes and if you are between the ages of 21-25, you probably know him from the show Degrassi.  Drake has emerged from the acting scene and moved to music, focusing mainly on the hip hop and R&B genera.  Some of his more recent popular songs are "The Motto," "Make Me Proud," "Marvin's Room," "Take Care," and "HYFR."  As I mentioned, Drake played a main character on Degrassi for a number of years, but he's been on the radio since about 2009.  He put out his first mix tape in 2006.

     Drake's appearance isn't really unique, in my opinion.  It may be because most males I know dress like him, but they could be imitating his style.  He always seems to be wearing some sort of shirt with designs on it (stripes, a logo, etc.) with a hoodie or an unbuttoned over shirt (a lot of the times, a flannel shirt), sunglasses and perfectly matching shoes.  He's always wearing a watch and usually a chain or two, but he's never really decked out in jewelry, like most rappers.

     My favorite Drake song is "Shot for Me."  This song is obviously directed towards someone who was important to him in his rise to stardom.  Although it's directed at someone, I feel it's a song that everyone can easily relate to.  This song is for every person who has ever been hurt in some sort of relationship and realized, after everything they did for the other person, that they were better off.  it's kind of like an "in your face, look where i am now and I did it without you" kind of song.  He makes that blatantly clear in the first verse:

"Can't you see that I made it? Yeah I made it

First I made you who you are, then I made it

And you're wasted, with your ladies

Yeah I'm the reason that you always getting faded

Take a shot for me..."

     I also really like this song because there is one part that sticks out and rings very true to me.  I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone and their business.  He says, 

"I think the city that we're from just kinda ruined things

It's such a small place, not much to do but talk and listen

The men are jealous and the women all in competition

And now your friends telling you stories that you often misinterpret..."

     He's talking about all the things that ruined the relationship and it made me realize how much your surroundings influence your decisions, from little things like what you wear, to the bigger things, such as your selection of friends and who you may be spending the rest of your life with.  The outro for this song is definitely inspiring.  He says,

"May your neighbors respect you

Trouble neglect you, angels protect you

And heaven accept you.."

     It makes you think that overcoming hardships in your life, whatever they may is always the best revenge.  

     The video I chose is "Marvin's Room."  The video perfectly reflects the lyrics.  Drake is saying that there's a girl that he wants to be with, but she has a boyfriend, but Drake thinks he's better.  It's about the that one person you can't ever forget about, the one who's always in the back of your mind.  The video opens with a girl on the phone (presumably with Drake).  Then, it shows Drake at a bar, drinking, then he goes to a party, where there is more drinking and smoking.  As the video progresses, the look on his face gets more and more depressed.  He's trying to talk to girls and they just keep leaving him there, shut down.  It seems like the longer he thinks about it, the more drunk he gets, the more sad he gets.  

     I believe that Drake's popularity will continue to increase because unlike so many other rappers, he doesn't just rap about the women he's sleeping with, the drugs, the cars, the parties or the money.  He does rap about those things, but not in every single song like a lot of others out there.  On his new album, especially, there is more substance to his lyrics and while there are a few songs that are cliche, he makes you think about life and your experiences and compare them to his.  

     

Blog Post 2 - Television

Kristen Moore

Professor Odom

English 247 - Survey of Popular Culture

February 5, 2012

Blog Post 2 

House - "Wilson"

     The television show House is a medical drama that airs Monday nights at 8 P.M. on FOX.  This medical drama goes through the ins and outs of the diagnostics department of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.  Every episode a patient comes in, the team of diagnosticians convince the head of the department, Gregory House, to take a case no one else can solve.  Throughout each episode, the list of possible diseases, infections and cancers gets dwindled down, ending in some crazy diagnosis.  It's one of those shows that keeps you guessing.

     This program consists of a few main characters, the primary one being Gregory House, a Vicodin-crazed, cane-ridden cripple, whose inventive ideas often cause him to break rules and get in trouble by the hospital administrator.  Lisa Cuddy, administrator and Dean of Medicine, is the victim of House's partially unknown undying love.  Cuddy's kryptonite?  House.  She can never tell him no; she can never stay man, no matter how ludicrous his ideas are.  Then there is House's best friend, James Wilson.  Wilson is the quirky, caring, slightly sarcastic head of Oncology.  He seems to be the only person that can handle House's antics, due to the fact that he can usually see the good intent behind the mind games that House plays.  On the diagnostics team there is Chase, Thirteen, Taub and Foreman.  Chase is a handsome Australian who basically agrees with everything House says.  He's a good doctor alone, but being on House's team causes him to push himself, even if it is just to prove that House's crazy theory is right.  Thirteen, a name that originated when she was first introduced to the show (also known as Dr. Hadley), is the only woman on the team, but she doesn't let that get in her way.  House needs her to balance everyone out in a way that no one else can.  He may also want to keep her around because she's a very mysterious person, not to mention bisexual.  Taub is an ex-plastic surgeon who has struggled with his position on the team since he was awarded the spot.  He's the stereotypical middle-aged man, who has cheated on his wife and worried about money too much.  Foreman is House's equal, almost.  He, in House's brief absences, has been head of the department.  Although he has tried everything not to become like House, he's almost exactly like him.  He becomes almost as irrational when he's positive he's right about a diagnosis, but he's more ethically sound at the first mention on an idea. 

     In this episode, rightly titled, "Wilson," the show opens with Wilson and friend, Tucker in the woods with hunting rifles. They are in the woods, and just looking at the scene, one would assume hunting is what they are doing.  After firing a few shots, aiming for turkeys, but really hitting trees, Wilson pulls out a bag.  It says "Chemotherapy" on it, as it unfolds, it turns out that Wilson helped treat Tucker five years back.  Tucker then shoots the bag, they both smile and then all of a sudden a shot goes off near Wilson's head.  He turns back to see Tucker lying on the ground, unable to move his right arm.  The scene then cuts to the hospital, where House eventually intervenes to say that Tucker, again, has cancer. Wilson refuses to believe it and misdiagnoses.  House bets Wilson $100 that it is cancer and Wilson, like always, takes the bet.  Cuddy, House's almost one-sided love interest, tells Wilson that she is moving in with her boyfriend Lucas (who used to be a private investigator for House).  House finds out and finally tells Wilson that he's not okay with it, but he "guesses" he'll have to move on.  As the episode goes on, House keeps insisting that Tucker has cancer and Wilson keeps denying it, until House runs the tests behind Wilson's back and finds it.  

     Wilson treats the cancer, but it kills his liver, so now Tucker has to get onto the transplant list.  All of a sudden house busts in the room saying there was an accident with a motorcycle and a semi-truck and the man on the motorcycle was a match for the liver.  House and Wilson visit the dead man's sister and she keeps refusing until it's too late.  The liver wasn't fresh enough to be transplanted.  Tucker then realizes that when he had cancer before, Wilson gave blood for a transfusion, so he tries to guilt Wilson into giving part of his liver.  House tries to convince Wilson not to give Tucker part of his liver because he is a "self-serving ass."  Wilson finally decides he is going to do it and gets hesitant approval from Cuddy.  As Wilson is telling House that he is going to give some of his liver, House is trying to talk him out of it.  Wilson asks House if he'll be in the surgery with him and House replies, "No... because if you die, I'm alone."  Wilson is prepped for surgery and House shows up anyways.  Both Tucker and Wilson pull through.  The very end of the episode is a shot of Wilson and House in an empty house.  It turns out to be the house that Cuddy and Lucas are trying to buy.  Wilson puts in a counter-offer and buys the house, just to get back at her for hurting House's feelings.

     Unlike most episodes, this one focused more on Wilson's character.  Although he does play a large part in every episode, this one showcased more of his caring nature and his actual patients versus House's patients and House's codependency on Wilson.  This episode actually shows House being more of a friend than he normally is because usually it's about what everyone else can do for him.

     I believe this show is popular, not only because medical drama are trending, but House's particular character sucks you in.  If you have seen the show then you know that yes, he is a jerk, yes, he is self-centered, yes he is a pill popping junkie, but at the end of the day he thinks outside the box and saves lives.  I also believe that this show is popular because of the supporting cast, including Cuddy, Wilson and all the members of the diagnostic team.  The personalities of all the characters were formulated so well.  They all have individual attributes that make is mesh, which I believe, is a very hard this to find in a television show now days.