Music Video Research

 Video Research Paper: Students are required to write a short research paper, due on the last day of classes, in which they view and discuss three video performances (three different songs) by one artist or group of their choosing. Students will analyze and discuss the three videos based on the historical and critical scholarship of rock music as presented in class and in the textbook. The paper will include discussion regarding the lyrics of each song, including any social, cultural, political, or diversity messages. It will also include a description of the basic musical characteristics and entertainment qualities exhibited in the videos, and biographical information about the artist or band. For complete details, see “Guidelines for Video Research Paper” below.  

 Guidelines for Video Research Paper Paper due Friday April 27 by 5:00 p.m., submitted via Blackboard. Late papers only accepted with prior approval from the instructor. Being too busy to turn in the paper by the deadline, or forgetting the deadline will not be accepted as an excuse for turning it in late. Papers submitted early are greatly appreciated! Students are required to write a short research paper in which they view and discuss three videos (three different songs) by one artist or group of their choosing. Students will analyze and discuss the three videos based on the historical and critical scholarship of rock music as presented in class and in the textbook. Your paper must be at least two full pages long (not including title/name header or bibliography), double-spaced, in a 12-point font. The paper should include the following content elements: (Questions provided are for guidance only.) • A brief biography of your artist or band – minimum of half a page • Discussion regarding the lyrics of each song, including any social, cultural, political, or diversity messages. If none of these subjects are featured within the lyrics, discuss the general meaning of the words and how they are important to the song, historical era, or artist. o What do the words say? What do they mean? Do they have importance beyond the obvious? Are there implied meanings? • A description of the basic musical characteristics of each song. o What do you hear? How does the music sound? Does it remind you of anyone we discussed in class? If so, how? • A description the entertainment qualities exhibited in each of the videos. o What do you see? How does your artist perform? How (if applicable) do they connect with the audience? Are there other elements that make the performance or video visually appealing? How (if at all) does the video help enhance or connect with the meaning of the lyrics? Hint: Be sure your discussion of each of these elements is clear and easy to recognize. 12 Video Research Paper – Important Notes: • In addition to the video sources, students are required to consult a minimum of three outside sources. o At least two of these sources must be published and/or peer reviewed scholarly sources accessed through the WSU library. o Note: All sources accessed via the library must be labeled “WSU Library” in your bibliography. • Do not write your paper about three different artists or groups – choose only one. • Videos may be official artist videos, live performances, or both. • If suggestions for a subject artist or group are needed, see your instructor. • Even though Wikipedia articles may be accessed through the WSU Library, it and similar non-scholarly, non-published, or non-peer-reviewed “Wiki” sites are NOT acceptable sources for this or any other college paper. If unsure about a source, see your instructor. Use of Wiki or similar sites will cost you many valuable points! • Your textbook or class lecture notes may not be used as a source. Possible sources for locating these videos include: • YouTube • Official and unofficial artist and band websites • Recording label websites • DVDs – See the 3rd floor School of Music Library for info. Possible outside sources include, but are not limited to, the following: • Books or eBooks about specific artists or bands • Books about rock music history or similar musical genres • Articles, including those in published magazines and journals such as Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, Downbeat, or general newspapers and magazines. May include online sites for these publications or full-text articles accessed through the WSU library. • Oxford Music Online – an excellent scholarly source – may be accessed via the WSU library • Liner notes from recordings • Official and unofficial artist and band websites • Recording label websites 13 Citations: Students are required to formally cite all sources used in their papers, including the videos being viewed, in a bibliography list of sources at the end of the paper. Your bibliography citations, including citations for the videos themselves, should be formatted using the Turabian Style Guide (or similar formal style of your choosing such as Chicago, MLA, or APA). Guidelines for Turabian may be found at the following website:  http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html • Within the text of your paper, you should also provide parenthetical citations, as needed, to support the information you provide. Citations should be based on the last name of the author or name of your website/source. Ex. (Carter, pg.) or (Rolling Stone, pg.). If a page number is not available, enter only the name. o Note: When discussing your videos, it is not necessary to cite the video itself internally using a parenthetical citation. Naming each song in your discussion serves to reference a bibliography citation. • Do not use footnotes or endnotes. • In most cases, there will be a separate bibliography citation for each video/song. However, if more than one of your songs comes from the same video, such as in a live performance video, please add a note to the bibliography citation indicating which songs were represented in that citation.