History of Rock

For the General Education Goal 4, I chose to take History of Rock.  I was not exactly interested in the class when I chose it, but it seemed better than the other options, and I liked 80s rock bands, so it seemed like an okay fit.  I was completely unaware of how amazing this class was going to be as it was truly my favorite class I took my first semester, and will probably be one of the most memorable classes I will take.  The professor, Dr. Karnatz, was tough, but he really made the me think about the different parts of the music and the actual meaning behind things that I previously had no idea had any meaning at all. This class opened me up to a whole new world of music, and after taking this class, I feel that I have grown even more interested in different genres of music and all the work that goes into making the music that we hear daily. I also feel that I have a much larger appreciation for music than I did when I went into the class, and it has led to me including many different rock songs into my playlists.

The artifact I have decided to add to this page is one of the songs discussed in the class, Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles. Not only did this song spark a new interest in The Beatles for me, but it is one of the many interesting and groundbreaking songs that The Beatles released. In a time where music strayed away from darker topics, The Beatles faced them head on in this song. Eleanor Rigby describes death, loneliness, and isolation in clarity, breaking the social norm of the time. The orchestral sound in the song also supports the dark meanings in the song, as well as replaces the bass in the song. This song was a musical game changer, one of so many of The Beatles songs to be so, and it helped shape the entire era of music to come.