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The Rise of the Smooth Jazz Format: An Exploratory Study of Kenny G and his Gang of Smooth Operators
Title
The Rise of the Smooth Jazz Format: An Exploratory Study of Kenny G and his Gang of Smooth Operators.
Creator
Mader, William, Grauerholz, Elizabeth, Lynxwiler, John, Gay, David, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The purpose of this study is to explore the development and rise of the smooth jazz radio format. It is an exploratory study which aims to illustrate the confluence of forces that contributed to the immense success of the smooth jazz genre through the 1980s and well into the 1990s. Artists, such as the saxophonist Kenny G, popularized this style of music that is often described as instrumental-pop music, happy-jazz, or easy listening. Others might draw comparisons to the music we often hear...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to explore the development and rise of the smooth jazz radio format. It is an exploratory study which aims to illustrate the confluence of forces that contributed to the immense success of the smooth jazz genre through the 1980s and well into the 1990s. Artists, such as the saxophonist Kenny G, popularized this style of music that is often described as instrumental-pop music, happy-jazz, or easy listening. Others might draw comparisons to the music we often hear inside of elevators and shopping centers. This is a process that is not unique to the genre of jazz nor to the time period I will be focusing on but is a niche in the music world in which I am intimately involved. This study delves into how the smooth jazz genre developed, the key player(s) involved with its proliferation, and most importantly, this study demonstrates that in spite of the meteoric rise and immense commercial success of smooth jazz, it was not a trend that could withstand the continuously changing tastes of the public.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004314, ucf:49483
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004314
We Live This Shit: Rap as a Reflection of Reality for Inner City Youth
Title
We Live This Shit: Rap as a Reflection of Reality for Inner City Youth.
Creator
Patel, Parag, Wright, James, Carter, Shannon, Carter, James, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Rap is an extremely popular form of modern music that is notorious for incorporating themes of guns and violence into the lyrics. Early rap was mainly party or dance music until the mid-80s when structural shifts in social conditions brought feelings of hopelessness and frustration into black inner city communities and youth culture. These feelings now find expression in rap lyrics. This thesis uses rap lyrics as qualitative data to understand the plight of urban black youth. Rap music can be...
Show moreRap is an extremely popular form of modern music that is notorious for incorporating themes of guns and violence into the lyrics. Early rap was mainly party or dance music until the mid-80s when structural shifts in social conditions brought feelings of hopelessness and frustration into black inner city communities and youth culture. These feelings now find expression in rap lyrics. This thesis uses rap lyrics as qualitative data to understand the plight of urban black youth. Rap music can be seen as a form of resistance for young African Americans who have historically never had such a medium to express their lived experiences and frustrations with society. The rap performance becomes a stage where the powerless become powerful by using the microphone as a symbolic AK-47 and words as weapons in the form of symbolic hollow point cartridges. This Thesis examines the contemporary African American experience, its reflection in the lyrics of rap music, and its fascination with guns, violence and death. A key theme is while rap lyrics sometimes seem radical and frightening to the mainstream, they often express lines of analysis and understanding that have been widely discussed in conventional sociological literature.
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Date Issued
2011
Identifier
CFE0004151, ucf:49047
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004151
PUBS, PUNTERS, AND PINTS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON PUB LIFE IN IRELAND
Title
PUBS, PUNTERS, AND PINTS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON PUB LIFE IN IRELAND.
Creator
Cucchiara, Jason, Matejowsky, Ty, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Ireland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they...
Show moreIreland is a country with a rich and unique cultural heritage. It is difficult to imagine that certain facets of Irish culture (e.g. Saint Patrick's Day, the Blarney Stone, or the Ring of Kerry) can ever be taken for granted since they are so widely recognized internationally. One common feature of Irish life that possibly warrants more scholarly attention is the public house or pub. Much has been written about pubs as quaint institutions in popular literature and fiction. Curiously, they remain largely overlooked as vital aspects of Irish culture by anthropologists and others in the social sciences. In many ways, socio-cultural research on pub life in Ireland is woefully under examined. In an effort to better evaluate the significance of traditional pub life to Irish culture, my thesis seeks to integrate and critically assess the existing socio-cultural literature on Irish pub life. Such work will not only help highlight both the commonalities and discrepancies within this area of study, it will more significantly identify those areas of Irish pub life that can benefit from further academic investigation. Two recent trips to Ireland in September 2004 and May 2006, allowed me to observe important aspects of pub life first hand. It became apparent from these encounters that, like the history of Ireland itself, local pubs have a rich historical foundation. Many of the pubs that I visited have been in existence or operational since the Middle Ages. Based on this longevity, one can reasonably argue that pubs in Ireland function largely as locales of social significance and cultural reproduction, not just centers of recreational drinking. Using my travel experience as a starting point for the critical analysis phase of this thesis project, I have developed three general research questions that I will explore to varying degrees in the context of this work. These are: (1) what are the origins of pubs in Ireland?; (2) what explicit and implicit functions do pubs serve in Irish communities?; and (3) what possible developments are likely to affect Irish pubs in the near and distant future?
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Date Issued
2009
Identifier
CFE0002578, ucf:48255
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002578