Death of an Artist

According to the articles artists albums sales improve after their death.  The article “Tupac: Life Goes on” by Michael Eric Dyson it shows us that Tupac’s music was not only about the things rap artists sings about today. Tupac was very influential. He used real life problems that people faced during his time. He rapped about the poverty and the violence that was happening. He expressed his love for his family especially for his mother. Many of his songs were dedicated to her. Tupac music touched a variety of people. That’s why his music even after he has died still lives on.

When Michael Jackson died I found myself listening to his music. Before, when he was alive I never listened to his music, I never really known much about him or his music other then he did sing and he wanted really bad to be white. I think that all the hype about him being the king of pop that got me to listen to his music. Seeing everyone so sad about his death made me think about why MJ was so great. That’s why I started to listen and really enjoy his music. 

Emilia Rybinska

Tupac: Life Goes On

In the article, "Tupac: Life Goes On," Michael Eric Dyson talks about how Tupac's music was so influential and how scholars now-a-days a still looking at his music. He talks about Tupac's background and his influences. His influences were people like Maya Angelou and Niccolo Machiavelli. In his music, Tupac spoke about politics, the struggle of a young black man, and how the world around him was rapidly changing. He got these points across using allusion and historical references that provoked many of his fans the look into where he was getting these points from. By doing so he made kids want to read. Dyson said, "Tupac no only got young folk to read; he got them to read classics." He had a grip on his fans that was hard to shake and still has scholars reading over his lyrics as if it were something written by Shakespeare.

According to the article an artists record sales go up after their death when it comes to Tupac. The grip that Tupac had on his fans did not end when he died because eight more records were released after his death. His fans were so taken aback by what he was saying that they could not get enough of him and his music so they went out and bought all the new records that were released posthumous. It took people a while to understand what exactly he was saying, but once they did they wanted to analyze every bit of music that he came out with.

I myself did hop on the Tupac bandwagon. I can completely agree with Dyson on the things that he says in the article. Tupac is a very influential individual and his music is unlike that of anyone now-a-days. If you take the time to look at his lyrics and read about him it strikes you that this man was no ordinary rapper.

Ante Kovacevic

Legendary Artists - Anooj Shah

The article "Tupac: Life Goes On" by Michael Eric Dyson intricately explores why the careers of legendary artists prosper even after their deaths. Dyson strives to find out why even after his death, Tupac is still known as one of the most influential artist of all time? Until this day, Tupac is still known as one of the greatest rappers/emcees of all time. Dyson claims that Tupac is so popular because of his "thug revolutionary artiste persona, his diligent martyrdom, and the way he made it easy for other artists to interpret the poetry he left behind" (Dyson, 18).

Tupac's music was not like many mainstream artist today who speak only about money, sex, and drugs. He used his lyrical power to address many of the problems that faced the nation such as poverty, absentee fathers, teenage pregnancy, racial segregation, and corruption in politics. Tupac also expresses his profound love for his mother in many of his songs, he dedicated the song "Dear Mama" to her. He makes a reference to his mother and many of the issues listed above in the song "Keep Ya Head Up". Tupac's ability to create a wide fan base across the globe could be one reason why his career still lives on. Tupac was a great artist that spoke straight from the heart and expressed the truth in many of his albums.

Dyson wanted to know why Tupac was so legendary, why his music still lives on with his spirit? It is because Tupac was a rare rapper that not many come across today in hip hop. He influenced rappers such as Eminem and Kanye who envisioned the same thing Tupac did. They saw the flaws with our government and spoke the truth about them, no matter how destructive they were.

Death Post

By: Samantha Prusac, Cynthia Aynilian, Diane Wielgos

The Art of Dying by Graeme Thomson, was about death and how our society perceive it. Listening to songs about death all the time might cause a person to become extremely depressed. Equally just as important if you do not listen to these songs about death its like not wanting to listen to songs about life. This argument is very interesting and completely makes sense because a person should be exposed to all types of music about a variety of types.

In the article Dead, Ahead by James Sullivan talked about how an artist dies, their music lives on. Suddenly they have songs coming out after their death. A great example of this would be Elvis. These artists have released songs about or albums after their death. They have been turned into remixes or "dance mixes". This article doe snot have a counter argument. Sullivan stated a point and went with it.

The Show Goes On by Melina Newman is about death surrounding many popular bands, and how they move on with it. With the band Sublime, after Brad Nowell died they continued with the release of their album on the expected date. It seemed like this death was used as publicity on the album. We thought it was smart of them to do this and also they were respectful to ask the family what they wanted to do with releasing the CD.

Death Play List

Helena- My Chemical Romance

Bring Me to Life- Evanescence

Never Too Late- Three Days Grace

Fix You- Cold Play

Pain- Three Days Grace

Civil Twilight- Quiet In My Town

Death Post

By: Raheel Kapadia, Nicholas Tsichlis, Sofi Zharkalli, and Jane Ahn

The Art of Dying by Graeme Thomson, is about the talk of death. Not many artists like talking about death. If artist do talk about it in their music, they usually talk about death with a combination of humor and humility. Other artists will just talk about death over and over in every song. This could lead a person in the wrong direction. However, most artists talk about their youth even though they might be 70 years old. We agree with the author. We feel that must artist do not talk about death and if they do the best way to talk about is with a combination of humor and humility.

The Show Goes On by Melinda Newman, is about the death of a group member and how the group becomes even more popular. For instance, no one had heard of the group Sublime, but when the lead singer died the band became noticed. The problem was when the album would be released after the death of the singer. The company decided to release the album on the date they were planning to do so even before the lead singer’s death. We agree with the author in the fact that companies have a hard time to decide to release an album after the death of a band member.

In the article Dead, Ahead by James Sullivan he talks about how artists continued their careers after their death. For example, Tupac released a lot of songs even after his death. A better example is Elvis. Elvis is the most successful deceased artist. Elvis has been dead for the last 34 years but still makes money. We also agreed to this article too. We believe that artist still continue their careers even though they are dead.

“Death Playlist”

Lie In Our Grave- Dave Matthews Band

Drops of Jupiter-Train

Wake Me Up When September Ends-Green Day

I feel like dying - Lil Wayne

When You're Gone- Avril Lavigne

When Do I Keep Counting- The Killers

Death Post

Emma Jeffries, Brittany Weinreis, Sorina Bilea, Afshan Aqueel

Melinda Newman in her article "The show goes on: New sets due from Sublime, Nirvana; Pumpkins tour continues" argues that after a artist dies his music becomes more popular and meaningful. After Brad Nowell's death his band Sublime payed a tribute to him by using his tattoo as their album cover. A vast majority of music listeners had not heard his name until they learned that he had died. Most bands would pay tribute to lost members but sometimes it's too painful. Such as Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was not given a tribute because the other members thought it was a too painful to go back to his old work. We were convinced by the article because the majority band members like to honor their lost band members.

In "The Art of Dying" by Graeme Thomson we learn that the author feels that death songs should not only be about death because it becomes suffocating and grim listening experience. He feels that artists who specialize in metal genres feel stuck, and can only offer the darker side of music. He mentions how there have been great pop songs that have faced up to death with a combination of humor, humility, fear, or beauty. He addresses the fact that anyone can create music about death. There are songs about death that are not as grim such as the infamous Michael Jackson "Thriller" which embraces death. He does add that as the time of death approaches artists begin to tie death into their music which he thinks that this takes there writing to interesting places such as with Richard Thompson and David Bowie. We agree and have noticed that songs about death have a dark feeling to them. We believe that there could be more songs like "Thriller" which address death without being too dark.

James Sullivan in "Dead, Ahead" discusses how technology helps artists keep a self-preservation. Jeff Buckley released only one album when he was alive, but since his death fans have been able to enjoy everything he has worked on from live performances to late demo collections because of technology. However, artists are unable to live on if the person in control of their music does not release it. An example of this is after Kurt Cobain's death his widow Courtney Love fought for the rights of the song leaving the band with only a minor cut. We are convinced by this because we have seen many times that the work of an artist can become more popular after they die.

"Death" Playlist:

Remembering Sunday by All Time Low

Circles by All Time Low

Adam's Song by Blink 182

One Step at a Time by Four Years Strong

Lie In Our Grave by Dave Matthews Band

Cemetery Weather by Isles and Glaciers

Death post

William Le Vicky Pham Richard Baba Taylor humphry Melvin Abraham Melind Newman wrote "The Show Goes On: New sets due from Subllime, Nirvana; Pumpkin four continues," to illustrate bands continuing even though a member of the band is gone. The article portrays 3 incidents of this. Brad Nowell of sublime, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, and Jimmy Chamberlin of the Smashing Pumpkin all died in a sense that they are not a physically a part of the band anymore. In Jimmy Chamberlins case, even though he was kicked out and replaced, but because of his court hearing, the band had to postpone their tour for a month. I think thatnewmans argument is agreeable, there may be even though Smash Pumpkin lost a member they were able to continue even though they were delayed for a month. In the article, "The Art of Dying" by Thomson and Graeme from Chronicle of Higher Education, the word death is used in a much more deeper sense. For a while now, the author has collected many music for his Death Playlist for his iTunes. The author talks about how many people believe music about death isn't that noticeable because death is a subject that nobody wants to talk about. A songwriter named Dylan is brought up in this article and he plays a significant role with the history of death songs. Dylan, at the age of 67, is still writing some good songs that involve death and mortality. He has been writing these types of songs since at a young age. One of his songs, for example, is called "Let Me Die in my Footsteps." One person who commented about this was named Mick Jagger. Jagger talks about how he sometimes disagrees with Dylan's points of view with death but how the songs greatly relate to it. He believes that it alright to be in the mood for a bit but going in for too far would not be able to go back. One would agree to that statement because as one listens to more and more of it, they start to dig into the lyrics along with the somber melody would surely bring the listener into the realm. Thomson states that as artist progresses through life they start to think more about mortality. Thus, they bring those thoughts into music. As each of us in society realize that they are aging, we would have a way to avoid it. For example by taking supplements for the body or moving somewhere that is better to live in. James Sullivan titled his article "Dead, ahead". The article deals with artists whose career continued and in some situations got better because of their deaths. Sullivan uses examples from many different genres from rap to country. Sullivan mentions Tupac as an artist whose career continued way past his death. Sullivan speaks about artists like Nirvana, BIG, the Beatles, and finally Elvis. Sullivan claims that Elvis is the most successful deceased artist stating "he still goes on tour three decades after his death" (Sullivan). Sullivan argues that artists have the ability to maintain a career even.after death due to things like the internet and the release of songs that were never heard before. He calls it an "act of self preservation" (Sullivan). Sullivan mentions a counter argument briefly when speaking about Tupac saying "in fact, conspiracy theorists argue he can't possibly be dead " (Sullivan). I personally feel that Sullivan makes a great point throughout the whole article. He makes claims that he back up with evidence that is undeniable. I think that Sullivan is right in the sense that deceased artists have the ability to maintain music careers even though they physically have no control. Death playlist: Immortal Technique-Dance With the Devil Eminem-StanBone Thuggs-CrossroadsDiddy-Missing youDr.Dre-Message Evanescence- Bring me Back to Life Yoko Kanno -Maligno ton negro lo matar Avril Lavigne- when your gone

Death Post

Mariska Riollano
Jackie Mazur
Daryna Zhadovich
Ricky Li

The Art of Dying by Graeme Thomson, is an article explaining moods in death songs and why Thomson believes musicians write, or sing, about death. By not singing about death we get the impression older artists are fearful of it just like everyone else. Artists that do sing about death typically add a touch of humor to it and somehow lighten the idea. "If mere death is all a death song has to offer, then it is likely to become a suffocating and grim listening experience; it devalues currency." On the other hand, songs do not need to be about death because their soul mean is for entertainment. We believe that if the artist wants to sing about death they can, thus we are not convinced by Thomson's argument.

Dead Ahead by James Sullivan, is more or less about how singers save music for after their deaths. Because of this strategy some artists become more popular after death than they were when they were alive. For example, Elvis Presley, Tupac, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, and so on. By saving songs for after their deaths, or for the future in general, the artists are acknowledging that death is inevitable. We agree with the author's argument because we have witnessed some artists we love become more popular after death.

The last article, The Show Goes On by Melinda Newman, is about the agencies of a deceased musician and the conflict they encounter after the artist has passed. The agency does not want to seem as if they are releasing a song to make money off the publicity of the artist's death. An example of this conflict would be when Sublime's lead singer, Brad Nowell, died in the same year in which the band's album was to be released. After consulting other bandmates, the agency believed it was okay to keep the same release date. Overall we agree with the point the author is trying to make. Agencies have to take many things into consideration when something unfortunate, like death, happens to one of their artists.

Death Playlist:
Seven Nation Army-The White Stripes
Drops of Jupiter-Train
Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden
42, Death & All His Friends-Coldplay
Wake Me Up When September Ends-Green Day
I'll Be Missing You-P. Diddy
Helena, Welcome To The Black Parade-My Chemical Romance
Timshel-Mumford & Sons
Atlantic-Keane
Possibility-Lykke Li
Soil-System Of A Down

Death Post

Ashleigh Sala
Jay Patel
David Jolly
Matt Kolema

The main idea of the article The Show Goes On by Newman is that after an artist dies their music still lives on and is heard by many people. An example of this would be in the article when it says that Nowell was an artist whose name majority of music listeners had never heard of until after he had died. The counter argument would be that record companies wait to release the artists music for some time after they have passed away because they don't want to capitalize on some ones death to make money. We agree with the author because after the death of Michael Jackson he had music released and it was really popular and also rappers like Tupac had popular music released after his death.


The second article was The Art of Dying by Thomson and the gist of that article was that artists should talk more about other things other than death. Songs are made and the whole idea is based around death and many people feel that they should make music about other aspects of life. An example would be when Jagger said, "There's no harm in going there, but you don't want to be there all the time". An counter argument for the main idea would be that a lot of artists are popular even though all they talk about is death. Jagger himself has been a fan of Dylan but he has always been a very dark writer and focuses on death in his music. We agree that music should be about more than just death but then again music styles like heavy rock and emo music is about death but it is still very popular.


The third article Dead Ahead by Sullivan is that developed and does not have a obvious main idea. The main point of the article is how record companies put together Cd's and albums after the artist dies and they become popular. The article gives examples of Elvis Presley and Jhon Lennon and their music still gets released that the audience has not heard of yet. An counter argument would be some people do not want their music released like Courtney Love did not want Kurt Cobain's music to be released after his death. The article goes on to give a list of songs that were released after the artists death.


Death songs

I feel like dying by Lil Wayne
Yellow Butterfly by Meg Andeia
Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash
Carry Me Down by Demon Hunter

Death Post

Binit Patel

Rushik Patel

Vanassa Patthana

Syed Rizvi

The three articles Dead, Ahead by James Sullivan, The Art of Dying by Graeme Thomson and The Show Goes On by Melinda Newman explains the connection between music and death. Graeme Thomson, from The Art of Dying, describes his own music playlist that include songs about death. Thomson later on goes to explain how not all death songs are suppose to be depressing. In his explanation, Thomson states "the songs have proved capable of tackling the subject in a way that enriches and entertains rather than deflates" (1). Some songs are suppose to have a much deeper meaning than just a song about someone's death. One musician, Richard Thompson, agrees with the author and says, "The obvious thing to say is that a song about death is a song about life" (1). In other words, Thomson explains how a song about death would be an oxymoron, talking about a death when one is really describing a real-life situation.

Melinda Newman, from the article The Show Goes On, includes similar ideas relevant to that of Thomson's. Newman states how music producers decide on when and how to release an artist's music based on the situation of the artist's or artists' condition. She clarifies that some producers have to take in careful consideration when making this vital decision. Paul Orescan, MCA marketing directior, goes into detail about the production side of the argument and says, "We want the music to stand up on its own, and we want to promote the music. If we were going to exploit someone's death, we would have put it out a month and a half ago" (Newman 1). Producers do not want to send out the wrong message when dealing with troubled artists'. They want the situation to be controlled for both sides. Relating to Thomson's view of music that involves death, Newman also states that people become more interested when they find out the artist is going through hardship or has passed away.

James Sullivan, from Dead Ahead, also contributes to Newman and Thomson's thoughts. More relevant to Newman, Sullivan states how an artist gains popularity for their creation once they have passed away. One example he uses are the stories of Tupac and N.O.T.O.R.I.O.U.S B.I.G and how they and their music rose to stardom after their deaths. Sullivan says, "Tupac and B.I.G have also released considerable music since their mysterious murders in the mid-1990s" (Sullivan 1). Sullivan claims that even after the artists' deaths, their music was even being released after their deaths. This prompted a vast majority of the society to gain interest in the lives of the rappers before their deaths.

Death Music Playlist:
I'll Be Missing You - P. Diddy feat. Faith Evans

Live In The Sky - T.I. feat. Jamie Foxx

When You're Gone - Avril Lavigne

I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie

Death Post

Morgan Stanley

Raman Allawirdi

Mohammed Khadeer

The articles Dead, Ahead by Sullivan, The Art of Dying by Thomson, and The Show Goes On by Newman they have similar messages about death. They all portray death as an open subject to write lyrics on. Most of the artists are not afraid to go in depth about deaths morbid qualities. Also, the articles reveal that not all songs about death have to gruesome or have a disheartening manner.

In the article Dead, Ahead by Sullivan it shows that artists make songs about death and can be popular in mainstream music. Many known artists from Buddy Holly to Nirvana have come out with popular music about death. Within the lyrics they talk about family member that have past away or friends stories that the artists want to show in a positive or memorable way. Also, rappers like Tupac has rapped about famous murders that have happened in poor neighborhoods. he wants the world to see what problem lie within these neighborhoods. The article is showing that music about death can be in many different genres and types of artists.

The article The show goes on: new sets due from sublime, Nirvana, by Melinda Newman discusses the album released by sublime. The album’s release is controversial because it was before the death of the lead singer Brad Nowell. The band argued that “[they] wanted to promote the music” (Newman 1). The band also thought of the album cover as an “artwork which serves as a tribute to Nowell” (1). The criticizers of the album believed the band released the album before the death so the album receives more recognition and the band gains more profit. We believe the band did not take advantage of Nowell’s death because it was unexpected for them and the band said “. If [they] want to exploit someone’s death, [they] would have done it a month ago” (Newman). We believe criticizers are disrespecting the music that should receive recognition because it represents “symbols” of the lead singer.

"The Art of Dying" by Graeme Thomson of the Chronicle of Higher Education talks primarily about death and how music revolves around death these days and in the past generations of music. Thomson's interviews with musicians like Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan helps him get more detail on how death plays a role in their music and their fellow musician's music. Jagger quotes " I'm a huge fan of Dylab, but he has always been a very dark writer, fixated on mortality". Thomson goes on to say that even if a song contains lyrics about death it also contains beauty, humor, and reverence. This makes the song lose the touch of death it portrays in the whole song. Thomson states "Although the worst culprits are often teen-fixated genres, which use death in a purely isolated way, with little grasp of all that came before or what may be waiting...". I agree with Thomson about the idea that emo and hard metal genres contain lyrics about death. Personally I think these types of lyrics and genres are unnecessary because it makes a person more depressed.

When Do I Keep Counting - The Killers

Ain't No Grave - Johnny Cash

Airbag - Radiohead

All Nightmare Long- Metallica

And When I Die - Blood, Sweat & Tears

Them Bones - Alice and Chains

Apocalypse Please - Muse

Death Post

Rehan Tariq

Diem My Le

Emilia Rybinska

Joe Chung

The three articles, Dead Ahead, The Show Goes On, and The Art of Dying all have one main concept. That no matter how morbid the idea of death is, many artists are not afraid of writing and singing about them. They take the idea of death to a whole new level in their artistic way to show the meaning beneath the actual word death.

In the article Dead, Ahead by James Sullivan, the main concept is that just because the artist has passed on, his legacy does not stop with him. Sullivan uses the examples such as Tupac and Elvis Presley. Many would say that Elvis Presley is dead, that era has now come to an end. James discusses that just because a legend has passed on, his work and still be appreciated, such as when he says “After all, he [Elvis] still goes on tour nearly three decades after his death.” He helps us see that due to all the technology such as virtual shows and such, that in which an artist work doesn’t not stop when they pass away.

In the second article, The Show Goes On, by Melinda Newman, who speaks that just because a part of the band has died, that it has to stop there. This article also goes along with Dead, Ahead in terms that it shows how the show must really go on. In this article, the lead singer/songwriter of Sublime, Brad Nowell, died of a drug overdose many had grieved. Yes, the album was going be put out no matter what, but it was the principle. Their first album was a huge hit, and a video was going to made about it. But how would that happen without the lead singer? Many collages and older tapes were going to be put together to show that Brad Nowell was a huge contribution to the band. Again, as in the first article, this article states that although a huge part of an artistic group has passed on, nothing stands in the way of letting the show go on.

The third article, The Art of Dying, by Graeme Thomson, is about Thomson who really likes to listen to death music; he has a Death Playlist on his iTunes. Thomson likes to listen to this genre of music due to the fact that the musicians have found a way to not show death in such a horrid way. He speaks of the artists such as Bob Dylan who is beginning to write a lot about death and mortality because of his old age. He also speaks of Johnny Cash. These artists did not care about what the audience thought, but just went with the flow showing that death can still keep you interested. As Thomson describes, “There comes a time when the act of not facing up to the facts becomes in itself a meaningful artistic statement on mortality.” He explains that yes we will age, but this thought should not keep us from living, which is also what the songwriters and musicians are trying to explain.

Death Music Playlist:

Evanescence- Bring me Back to Life

Lil Wayne- I Feel Like Dying

Nickleback- If Today Was Your Last Day

Three Days Grace- Pain

Bone Thugs N Harmony- Crossroads

Death Post

Alyssa DuPont, Apeksha Patel, Marissa Herrera, Nhi Le

The articles Dead, Ahead by Sullivan, The Art of Dying by Thomson, and The Show Goes On by Newman all deal with the death of musicians. One interesting aspect of all three articles is that the subject of death is not always looked at as a negative thing. In The Show Goes On the lead singer of Sublime, Brad Nowell, died of a drug overdose. This was not long after they had recorded a new album. The band was sad for their loss, but they knew what the right thing to do was honor Brad and his death, rather than exploit it. The band waited to release the album July 30th so that people would still appreciate the music. The death of a band member was not completely negative, and they still honored him by releasing the album and making a tribute to him on the front cover with a Sublime tattoo Nowell had.

The Art of Dying has the same positive tone to music involing death. The quote "the obvious thing to say is that a song about death is a song about life" gives light to the fact that people aren't necessarily suicidal or depressed if they write or listen to music that talks about death. The truth is, death is a part of everyone's life and human nature is to ponder the fact of mortality.

Dead, Ahead is a clearly positive article discussing specific deceased musicians that are still 'living' today. As Sullivan "sometimes even the shortest music careers are not stunted by and artist's early checkout." This perfectly describes legends such as Elvis and Tupac Shakur, whom have both passed away but are still putting out remastered albums and even have shows. There is so much new music from Tupac that people argue he can't possibly be dead. In this generation , music is easily accesible to listeners so death of a musician has some positive outcomes.


Death Play List:
My Chemical Romance- Black Bird, Cancer
Bob Dillan- Knockin' on Heavens Door
Lil Wayne- I Feel like Dying
Good Charlotte- Day That I Die
Nirvana- Dumb
Immortal Technique- Dance With the Devil
P Diddy- Every Step I Take

Death Post

Zack Kibbons, Luis Varagas, Fahad Tahir, Ante K. (Absent)

The three articles, The Show Goes On, The Art of Dying, and Dead Ahead, talk about how death is untouchable in the music industry. Regardless of what death is in reality and its underlying meaning really is, artist don't fear to sing its mortality meaning lyrics and aren't provoked on audiences reactions.

The first article, The Show Goes On, by Newton, deals with the death of the lead singer of Sublime, Brad Nowell, from a drug overdose. This death brought attention to the band and the record company was just about to release the band's new album and they did not want to take advantage of the attention they were receiving. The lead singer was replaced and everything went back to normal as the band believed that the show must go on.

The second article, The Art of Dying, by Thomson, deals with the author talking about death music he has and listens to. He enjoys listening to death music because musicians found a way to enrich and entertain the idea of death rather than deflate. He believes that "Death music instead provokes the entertainment of others rather than deflating it and actual realizing the reality of death an its meaning. Thomson talks about a musician, Dylan, who unfortunately is aging and reaching the age when most people die. He states that Dylan continues his shows by singing "death" and "mortality" songs he had written at the beginning of his musical career. Dylan doesnt worry about his audiences reactions when he sings these tunes, and instead finds a way to lighten up the audience and perform a great show.

In Death Ahead, Sullivan explains the popularity of deceased musicians work in contemporary time. Music still continues to be popular due to the particular artists renovated their hit singles into an ultimate volume unsurprisingly right better their deaths. For example, Elvis still goes on tour 3 decades after his death. Many people still listen to Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. Other ways how these talented artists continue to be popular in mainstream music is beacuse of their former record companies revealing "rare" unpublished recordings.

Death music playlist:
1) P. Diddy-I'll Be Missing You
2) Fort Minor-Where'd You Go?
3) Immortal Technique-Dance With the Devil
4) Don't Fear the Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult

5) Shadow of the Day-Linkin Park

Death Post

Steve Herbst

Michael Wong

Christina Scarsella

Chloe Bernard

In "The Show Goes On" by Newman, the various ways a musical group handles the death of a band member is discussed. In Sublime, the members didn't want to exploit Brad Nowell's death. They wanted the music to stand out, but not because of his death. Prior to his death, the were planning on releasing an album. They could have released it earlier than scheduled, but they didn't want others to see his death as a profit. The band Nirvana handled Kurt Cobain's death differently. Listening to the music they had created was painful and a reminder of Cobain's existence. Record labels wanted to release their music, but Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, fought against them trying to release this music. Kurt Cobain didn't want his band to become another profit for a label, so it is fitting that his widow didn't allow this to happen after he passed. The Smashing Pumpkins did not let a member's death or arrest phase them. They simply got a new member and kept on going. All these bands handled death differently. There is no right to say a band should move on after a death of a group member. It depends on the facts of the death and the band as a whole.

Sullivan in "Dead Ahead" discusses how the careers of recording artists are only temporarily derailed by the unfortunate predicament of death. Artists that have passed on yet continue to profit after death include Jeff Buckley, Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, Elvis, and many more. Some critics may believe that sharing or producing more music after death would merely be for profit, and would not reflect the artistic or creative side of music. However, we believe that music should be kept alive even if the artist is dead.

In Thomson's "The Art of Dying", artists who grasp the idea of death and can sing about death but focus on it have an upper hand against pop stars who dwell on their younger years and entertaining. Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger sing about death, while artists like Madonna are stuck in pop music. However, being able to sing about death should not give an artist the upper hand. Music is an escape for some and listening to death songs should not be the only place to run. Where music about death stands now is where it should be. No more, no less.

Death Playlist

Death and All His Friends- Coldplay

Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel

Time of Dying- Three Days Grace

Adam's Song - Blink 182

Anthem of the Angels - Breaking Benjamin

Inside the Fire - Disturbed

I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab For Cutie

The Queen is Dead - The Smiths

If I Die Young- The Band Perry

Death Of an Angel - The Kingsmen

Afterlife - Avenged Sevenfold

Never Too Late - Three Days Grace

What Sarah Said - Death Cab For Cutie

So Far Away - Avenged Sevenfold

Yesterday - The Beatles

A little Piece of Heaven - Avenged Sevenfold

Forever Young - Bob Dylan

The Last Night - Skillet

Not Good Enough for Truth in Cliche - Escape the Fate

Timshel - Mumford & Sons

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Go To Sleep - Eminem

Death Post Dhruv, Martyne, Melissa, Anjali

The articles that we read were Death by James Sullivan, The Show Goes on by Melinda Newman, and The Art of Dying by Graeme Thomson. In Thomson's article he discuses the topic of how more mature artist can address the topic of death in their music. In Sullivan's article he states that death doesn't stop the career of the artist and it still lives on after their death. In Newman's article she illistrates that the death of the artist can postpone the release of their music, but can't completely stop release of thier music. The word death and the music world can come together because death can symbolize many things in artists' work.

The though of death comes to everyone at some point in people lives; for musicians, as they grow older, they can choose to address it in their music or not. In Thomsan's article's he states, "Listening to these death songs, one is reminded that separating the strands of life and death is like trying to divine precisely where a river ends and the sea begins." In this quote he is trying to say that there is no fine line between life and death. This is also illustrated in the other two articles because even after the artist is dead their legacy is still alive. Jame Sullivan then states, "From Elvis to Elliot, departed artists can rest easy. Their careers have only just begun." This quote is reinforcing the statement that there is no fine line between life and death.

In Newman's article she gives examples of artists' that have died before some of their work got published. Just like Sullivan's article, she explains that even after the death of the artist the music still goes on and the album is released. The album being released after the death of the artist seems like a tribute to the artist. It also sends out a statement to the world that the artist will be remembered for the rest of time. All three articles talk about life and death, and they also make the connection between the two.

Death Playlist

1.Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks
2. Adam's song - Blink 182
3. Stole - Kelly Rowland

Death Post

Jessica Kapovich, Kelly Kosiek, Anooj Shah, Peter Dinh

The articles "Art of Dying" by Graeme Thompson, "Dead Ahead" by James Sullivan, and "The Show Goes On" by Melinda Newman have all connected the link between music and death. In Thompson's article he talked about how a lot of mainstream sing and write their songs based on the idea of death approaching them. While in Sullivan's article, he writes about how dead artist's careers still go on while new songs or albums that were previously recorded are released. He infers that these artists are becoming more famous even after dying. In the article by Newman, she explains how bands who lose members still go on.

Sullivan and Newman have theories relating to the actual death of an artist, meanwhile Thompson's point of view is geared towards the thought of it. Sullivan gives the examples of Jeff Buckley, Tupac and Elvis to support his claim that artist become more popular when they die. The musical groups, Sublime and Nirvana, are used as examples for Newman's argument that bands can still go on even when a member passes away. These two are related because they show that even when an artist dies, their music and fame does not. While Thompson's article portrays the living singing of death and tragedy, to a certain point in each artists life. He interviews Mick Jagger who claims that singing about death is okay, once in a while.

To every argument there is a counter-argument. Against Sullivan's claim, artist could have died without actually being dead. Meaning that their musical career has come to a standstill or a complete end due to several different reasons, which include: popularity, personal, financial, etc. Common examples of "dead" artists are people from American Idol, only popular for a short amount of time and then never heard of again. Next, the counter to Thompson's argument is that there are artist who sing about death all the time, like My Chemical Romance. Also, that when artists get older their music ceases with the death talk. Examples would be artists Richard Thompson and David Bowie. Lastly, to argue against Newman, there is an example of a band who has lost members and died with them. This band would be Smashing Pumpkins.

First Entry Blog

In the book It Still Moves, the author, Amanda Petrusich talks a lot about music and the styles of it. Petrusich is obviously interested in the different types of music and she shows it through her expressions and details of her life. In chapter one, for example, Amanda Petrusich talks about her life in Brooklyn, New York. She uses a lot of detail about the appearance of Brooklyn, as well as the smell, and the people that live there. She then talks about her interests in music, like the Delta Blues. In the ending of the chapter, she mentions the time where she chooses to leave New York in search of more music and learn more of their origin.

Amanda Petrusich mentions and asks a lot of music and about their origin. According to inquiry, Petrusich asks "where does the music come from?" and "why does it sound the way it is?" All of these questions have Petrusich even more interested in music. In chapter 4, Petrusich visits Graceland and learns a lot about the icon, Elvis Presley. In It Still Moves, Elvis Presley is described as an man that had controversies in his career, but in the end, even after his death, he is still remembered as an icon and a legend in rock 'n roll. Petrusich connects things that she sees in the Presley house with things in her house. For instance, she states that the kitchen in that house reminds her of her kitchen.

Another event that the book describes that has really turned things around involving music was the introduction of the radio. Before the invention of the radio, people from the rural area listened to music that was very unfamiliar to people in the urban areas. The radio has really changed things for the nation. After the 1930s, nearly every household in America had a radio to listen to music. Petrusich does a good job explaining the connection between the invention of the radio and the musical styles of certain areas before and after the radio was introduced. So far, I think Amanda Petrusich does a good job expressing the Americana music and how it revolutionized the nation.

MA

5,10,15,21

5-10-15-21

5-keith green

My parents only listened to tapes of Keith green and that’s what we listened to. We also listened to the sound of music tracks because we watched the movie a lot, we knew all the words.

10-savage garden-truly madly deeply

My brothers had just started listening to the radio and we recorded it off the radio and listened to it over and over again. It was a love song. Savage garden is a boy band who recorded very romantic love song.

15-the used

The used was one of my favorite bands because the lyrics were so emotional and poetic. At this point of my life I was very emotional and sad so I could relate to the music. There was also a lot of screaming or loud rock music that I enjoyed because I thought I was cool.

21-Fly leaf- All around me

I like a lot of different music but I can really enjoy listening to fly leaf Fly leaf is a Christian rock band. The singer is a female who used to be very depressed but then was freed from her pain by having faith in God. I feel I can relate to her lyrics because she is struggling to love her God who loves her so much.