Reflection 5: Dressed to Kill—Songs About Fashion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 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
  

Required:

• MLA Style, including works cited
• 500 words (≈2 pages)

Due: Fri 5.1 (via Canvas)