Reflection 3: Dressed to Kill—Songs About Fashion (Assign 8/12)

 

If you’ve ever worn the perfect dress or shoes or jeans, it’s not hard to understand why artists have been so inspired by fashion. Whether its a woman in a beautiful dress or a man in an exquisite suit, songs are a natural way to express the power of clothing. For this reflection, explore three fashion-themed songs.

Choose three of the songs from your birthday month to write about:

January – February 

• Bobby Vinton, "Blue Velvet"
• Meghan Trainor, "Made You Look"
• Paolo Nutini, "New Shoes"
• Brian Hyland, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini”
• Marilyn Monroe, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend”
• Run-DMC, “My Adidas”

March – April 

• Shirley Bassey, “Diamonds are Forever”
• Fred Astaire, "Puttin' on the Ritz"
• Hank William Jr., “My Girl Don’t Like My Cowboy Hat”
• Right Said Fred, "I'm Too Sexy"
• Lizzo, "Good as Hell"
• Beyoncé, "Freakum Dress"

May – June 

• Roxette, "The Look"
• The Hollies, "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"
• Dolly Parton, "Coat of Many Colors"
• Peggy Lee, “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads”
• Chris Deburgh, "Lady in Red"
• RuPaul, "Supermodel (You Better Work)"

July – August 

• Prince & The Revolution, "Raspberry Beret"
• Bruno Mars, "Versace on the Floor"
• “Wing in a Box” from Hedwig and The Angry Inch
• Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots are Made for Walkin'"
• Taylor Swift, "Style” (Taylor's Version)
• Elvis Presley, "Blue Suede Shoes"

September – October

• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Ft. Wanz), "Thrift Shop"
• Nelly Furtado, "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)"
• The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
• Weezer, "Undone (The Sweater Song)"
• Madness, “Baggy Trousers”
• Neil Diamond, "Forever in Blue Jeans"

November – December

• Justin Timberlake, “Suit & Tie”
• Madonna, "Vogue"
• Cake, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket"
• ZZ Top, "Sharp Dressed Man"
• Lana Del Rey, “Black Bathing Suit”
• David Bowie, “Fashion”

Notes:

• Refer to the "protagonist" of a song as the "speaker."
• When citing a song in-text, cite the artist—example: The brash, young singer reminded 1980s listeners that "You know that we are living in a material world" (Madonna).
• Use a "/" to separate lines in a song's lyrics—example: In the song, Mellencamp extols American individualism: "Ah, but ain't that America for you and me? / Ain't that America? Somethin' to see, baby / Ain't that America? Home of the free, yeah / Little pink houses for you and me."
• You are encouraged to look up your song's lyrics. However, Internet lyrics are notoriously unreliable, so it would be wise to check multiple sources.
• The groupings or divisions of lyrics in a song is refereed to as a "verse"--as opposed to a "stanza" in poetry
• For the purposes of this specific reflection, do not worry about a works cited
  

Requirements: 

• Approx. 500 words
• One question and two responses in Discussions 

Due: Fri 4.12 (via Packback)