Question
https://open.spotify.com/album/7tEIA1YsNtFg7I5InBEDpq?si=9-2fFCLBQ_WYgDk3piLeRw
please listen these music（total 10 music）
All the tracks from the album A Grain of Sand are posted under Course Materials > A Grain of Sand. Read the liner notes (in the same folder). Listen to all the songs. Do the assigned readings for the class.
Click on “Discussion Board” and post a response (minimum 200 words) addressing the following points:
Did you like the music? Why or why not?
Did these songs remind you of any other music? How?
In his article “Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Music,” Oliver Wang writes, “the band distilled down all the major tenets of the movement into a record: odes penned to panethnic identity, cross-racial coalition building, a class analysis of racial oppression, a treatise against American imperialism in South East Asia, and calls for Asian Americans to take pride in their heritage” (450). Cite an example of one of these (a different example than Wang’s!).
Answer
Music Response
I am impressed by this music, especially how the singers articulated their views to listeners. The music is mainly interesting due to the messages it conveys to the world. These songs have excellently used ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade and convince audiences. For instance, I am personally convinced that the African Americans and Latin Americans had many struggles in America. The musical instruments employed by the singers, as well make the music interesting. The singers recorded their messages using guitars and accompanied them with bass and bongo, which made their music outstanding.
The songs remind me of another music by Lucky Dube, known as ‘Different Colours, one people’. Dube was an iconic musician from South Africa, whose songs continuously impact people all over the world. Apart from it being entertaining and pleasant to the ears, Lucky Dube conveys similar messages to the world. He urges individuals from all social classes to refrain from separating people based on their color. Just like the other musicians, Lucky Dube criticizes racial discrimination and urges everyone to stop separating people.
The songs portray the struggles faced by immigrants in a foreign land. Social inequalities and racial segregation were the norms in America, hence the musicians called for unity against their oppressors. The band was concerned with peoples’ sufferings making them resort to activism through music. People lost their families and hope in life. In other cases, the people of colour were discriminated and turned into slaves. Additonally, Latin Americans had no access to resources that could support them. The music, however, gave hope to the people, making them see the need for fighting for their rights. Oliver Wang’s article and the music, both have crucial messages to the world.