For Today:
- Read: the course Syllabus. Please take time today to really read & understand it. Also, take a look around the entire course website (you’re on it!) and our Canvas website.
- Optional: Read a short interview with your professor. About a decade ago, I did an interview following the publication of my book, Punkademics, in which I offered my candid perspective on writing, punk rock, and teaching about punk in a university setting. It’s from a DIY “zine” (you’ll learn about these soon) called One Way Ticket to Cubesville, which is published by a friend of a friend in the UK. I figured that giving you this interview is a good way to introduce myself, and to give you all some initial insight about where I’m coming from as both a teacher and a longtime punk musician – which, of course, will become much more apparent through my lecture notes, videos, taste in music, links, commentary, etc.
- Notes: Early Rock and Roll history. This material is useful for anyone, but especially for folks who aren’t familiar with rock history or the origins of rock & roll.
- Watch: Gimme Danger (2016). This documentary is about The Stooges, who are considered by most people to be the godfathers of punk rock. Make sure to login to the Kalutura website after you click on the link, before you try to watch the film. And if for some reason that link doesn’t work, try this one instead.
- Listen: Proto-Punk playlist on Spotify (embedded below). All of the songs in today’s playlist are from proto-punk bands, which is to say, rock bands that set the stage for punk in terms of their sound, style, performances, or attitude. For each song, take some brief notes about what the band sounds like and how the songs make you feel – it’s something I’ll be asking you to do a lot throughout the next few weeks. The main goal is to get you in the practice of careful listening, but you will also do some writing about your listening assignments throughout the course.
Short Assignments due tomorrow, by noon:
- Upload a selfie. Go to your account settings on Canvas and please upload a picture of yourself in your profile – it’s nice to for everyone to see each other when we’re using the discussions!
- Post in the discussion. Go to Discussion #1 – Introductions on Canvas and post to the class. You’ll see instructions when you follow the link.
For further reading & research:
- Was Punk Rock Born in Peru? – Los Saicos, via Noisey.
- Judy Berman, “How Iggy and the Stooges Invented Punk,” Pitchfork, 4 Oct 2016.
- History of Rock n Roll (video – part 1 of 5), YouTube.
- Jack Hamilton, “How Rock and Roll Became White,” Slate, Oct 2016.
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