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A Cowboy and an Accordion Walk Into a Bar: Mexican Ranchera Music

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We open with a worn and weathered cowboy, sitting by the fire after a long day’s work. As he watches the light fade from the sky with the setting sun, he reaches for his guitar, singing and playing of the only things he knows: his life, his love, his home, and his history.  Sounds like the beginning of an insanely cheesy yet absolutely gut-wrenching movie, right? Well, with emotion and the story-telling of the working class, it also just happens to be what Mexico’s Ranchera (aka Norteño) music is all about!  Ranchera, as you may have guessed by now, originated on the ranches of Mexico. What you probably didn't  guess is that it pre-dates the Mexican Revolution, which started in 1910. However, it was after the revolution ended in 1917 that Ranchera music really began to take flight. This was due to the new “sense of national identity” found after the Mexican Revolution because of, well, revolution--  but it was also a byproduct of the movement of many rural Mexicans into more urba
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Music & Family With Granna & Tompaw

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MB: I'm here with Kay Miller, AKA Granna.  Granna: Martha Kay Miller.  MB: It's true - you gave me my Martha. [laughing]  Granna: We're the Marthas.  MB: Okay. So, to start, do you have an earliest memory of music?  Granna: Well... I guess my earliest memory is just banging on the piano, you know, and just thinking that I could just make music come out of it without any training... And then Sunday school after that. That's where I learned how to hold a note.  MB: About how old were you during that time-- from banging on the piano and into Sunday school? Granna: Probably two or three, and then my first, earliest memory of Sunday school was probably about three or four. I loved to sing. Wasn't great at it but I loved it. [laughing]  (…)  MB: What was your favorite type of music growing up?  Granna: Just silly children's songs, if you want the very beginning… But, believe it or not, at about the age of ten, I fell in love with musicals. I didn't go to a musica
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Bob Dylan is Dr. Frankenstein (**NOT CLICKBAIT**)

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 It was on July, 25th, 1965 that music changed - forever.  As the iconic folk singer Bob Dylan walked out onto the stage of the Rhode Island Newport Folk Festival, he carried with him not the familiar sight of an acoustic guitar, but an electric.  The crowd, full of *folk purists and nonconformists alike, shifted in every way imaginable - booing, cheering, dancing,  completely still.  It's often said of the crowd that, on that night, Dylan, "electrified one half, and electrocuted the other."  While a man on stage with an electric guitar might not sound very revolutionary to us, it was to the people of the 1960s, as this is the moment many credit with solidifying the new genre of folk rock.  Let's talk background info -  During the 60s, folk music, which had taken a beating during the Second Red Scare for its more "liberal" views, made a big comeback in America. This comeback, aptly named the American folk music revival, led to all the folk music and musicia
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Music and Gender: What Does the 'M' in Music Stand For?

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When discussing the topic of gender discrimination and where we see it, the music industry, even music as a whole, certainly cannot be excluded. While there have been some important steps towards gender equality in music within the last few years (whether it be simply allowing Native American girls to play the drums, or Taylor Swift being the second most streamed artist on Spotify), it cannot  be denied that there are still major  problems involving gender inequality in both the music industry and in the way society views female artists, as well as the music they make and the people who consume it.  The facts are facts, and the facts in this case are that, on average, women make up around 12.7% of songwriters, 28.1% of artists, and only 2.8%  of producers (with not one woman being nominated for producer of the year in 2021 or the 8 years before it.) This is already an insane gap between the amount of women and men in the industry, but it's even crazier when you take into account th
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Birthday Songs Throughout the World

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Throughout my life, my all-time favorite musical tradition to take part in has always been the singing of the "Happy Birthday" song to whoever was being celebrated. While, like just about everyone else, I've never liked being on the receiving end of this, there is something so joyous about gathering together with family and friends to sing in celebration of someone you love! So, when I read the prompt for this assignment, I knew this was the ritual I wanted to focus on. I think we can all agree that each family or group's rendition of this song is quite unique, some sung perfectly in tune with four-part harmonies, and other that sound just about like a catfight with a dash of the pre-concert tuning of an orchestra. But even with these differences - the addition or lack of "cha-cha-cha's", mentions of zoos and smelling like monkeys, or "hip-hip hooray's" - the "Happy Birthday" song, as known in English-speaking countries has remain
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Music & Me!

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Hi! I'm Martha-Bryan! I am a Freshman here at Converse, and, while I am majoring in Interior Design, I had originally planned to major in Contemporary Music and Media Applications. Even though I decided that wasn't the best fit for me, music has always played a huge role in my life, whether through listening or making it, and I'm really excited to be taking this class!  A little bit about me: I was actually born in Spartanburg, but my family ended up moving to Atlanta when I was about four. Since then, I've moved a few more times around Georgia and South Carolina, but we just recently moved back to Spartanburg within the last two years:) I have two older siblings (one brother and one sister), and lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles who I LOVE to make music with. Like I said earlier, music is a huge part of my life and how I express myself, and that mostly stems from being surrounded by such a musical family! Someone is always singing or playing an instrument when we get
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