Abe Road: Kuwata Keisuke’s Beatles Parody

In May 2009, when the Japanese LDP government was in a weakened position, Kuwata Keisuke, lead singer of popular rock band Southern All Stars, performed a parody of the Beatles’ Abbey Road on his weekly television show. Backed by a band performing an uncanny cover of the album, he rewrote the lyrics into commentary on corruption in Japanese politics, fiscal problems, the death penalty, and other political issues. This performance was highly unusual: Japanese recording artists rarely engage in politics. The recording and broadcast industries disallow lyrics on controversial topics, and management discourages artists from engaging in politics. Kuwata staged his rebellious gesture as a “mishearing” of a well-known album. Kuwata transformed Abbey Road into political parody through linguistic sleight of hand. Kuwata chose Japanese lyrics with similar vowels and consonants (as demonstrated by their proximities on the International Phonetic Alphabet) to make them sound like the original English lyrics. By presenting his acrid commentary as a parody of this much-loved album and thus framing it as humorous entertainment, Kuwata was able to publicly criticize Japanese politicians.

HIGH WOMEN'S UNOFFICIAL NAMES AND THEIR REFLECTION IN THE DIALECT PICTURE OF THE WORLD

Постановка задачи. В исследовании рассмотрению подвергаются антропонимы, репрезентирующие женщин по внешности, неполноценности, особенности речи и голоса, чертам характера, темпераменту, кулинарным предпочтениям, роду занятий, должности, отношению к работе, и их отражение в диалектной картине мира жителей небольшого посёлка Высокого Таловского района Воронежской области. В процессе работы определены своеобразные черты и характеристики образа представительниц слабого пола, которые одобряются и не одобряются в деревенском социуме. Обращение к живой народной речи, функционирующей в устах коренных селян, с целью изучения с последующим сохранением языковых материалов является актуальным, так как в ней содержится современная информация о целом поколении людей и их взаимоотношениях в коллективе. Результаты. В ходе изыскания описано 43 неофициальных имени, представленных 7 тематическими группами. Определена самая продуктивная группа - антропонимы, данные по внешности человека, и самая малочисленная - уличные именования по неполноценности. Выявлено, что 5 человек имеют по 2 прозвища, 1 женщина считается обладательницей 4 прозвищ, которые получила за особенности внешности и поведения. Установлены имена-метафоры, маркирующих их носительниц. Они репрезентируются множеством возникающих ассоциаций: со стрекозой, планетой Солнечной системы, установкой для обработки мяса или рыбы, предметом для глажения, рекой, оружием, птицей, ядовитым растением, надзорным учреждением, рок-группой и др. Функционирующие антропонимы выражены существительными и прилагательными, образованы двумя способами: суффиксальным и сложением основ. С помощью рассмотренных лексических единиц представлен идеальный женский образ с присущими ему чертами. Продемонстрированы качества его антипода. Выводы. Осуществлённое исследование определило использование в народном языке своеобразных уличных именований женщин, являющихся частью диалектной картины мира высочан. Она подчинена определённым условным нормам и правилам, известным только местным жителям, разработанным ими самими для удобства в межличностном общении. Отражение картины мира через прозвища свидетельствует о богатом лексическом запасе, воображении и фантазии диалектоносителей. Она раскрывает и состояние местного говора в наше время - живого, активно развивающегося, самобытного. Мир всех и каждого в отдельности, естественность и простота - таково содержание картины мира деревенского человека. Представленное изыскание дополняет имеющиеся немногочисленные работы воронежских лингвистов-диалектологов и ономастов и вносит вклад в изучение местной антропонимики. Statement of the problem. The study examines the anthroponyms that represent women in appearance, inferiority, speech and voice, character traits, temperament, culinary preferences, occupation, position, attitude to work, and their reflection in the dialectal picture of the world of the inhabitants of the small village of Vysoky Talovsky district of the Voronezh region In the process of work, the peculiar features and characteristics of the image of the fairer sex were determined, which are approved and disapproved in the village society. The appeal to the living folk speech, functioning in the mouths of the indigenous villagers, with the aim of studying with the subsequent preservation of linguistic materials, is relevant, since it contains modern information about a whole generation of people and their relationships in the team. Results. During the survey, 43 unofficial names were described, represented by 7 thematic groups. The most productive group has been identified - anthroponyms, data on a person's appearance, and the smallest - street naming for inferiority. It was revealed that 5 people have 2 nicknames, 1 woman is considered the owner of 4 nicknames, which she received for features of appearance and behavior. The names-metaphors, marking their carriers, have been established. They are represented by a multitude of emerging associations: with a dragonfly, a planet of the solar system, an installation for processing meat or fish, an ironing object, a river, a weapon, a bird, a poisonous plant, a supervisory institution, a rock band, etc. Functioning anthroponyms are expressed by nouns and adjectives, formed in two ways: suffix and base addition. With the help of the considered lexical units, an ideal female image with its inherent features is presented. The qualities of its antipode are demonstrated. Conclusion. The carried out research has determined the use in the folk language of the peculiar street names of women, which are part of the dialectal picture of the world of Vysochan. It is subject to certain conventional norms and rules, known only to local residents, developed by themselves for convenience in interpersonal communication. The reflection of the picture of the world through nicknames testifies to the rich vocabulary, imagination and fantasy of dialect carriers. It also reveals the state of the local dialect in our time - living, actively developing, original. The world of each and every one individually, naturalness and simplicity - such is the content of the picture of the world of a village man. The presented research supplements the few available works of Voronezh linguists-dialectologists and onomasts and contributes to the study of local anthroponymy.

Rock and Rhapsodies

Rock and Rhapsodies is the first book-length musicological study of British rock band Queen. It primarily addresses the material written, recorded, and released between 1973 and 1991. The text provides readers with a nuanced analytical account of the group’s songs and illuminates the varied stylistic and historical contexts in which Queen’s music was created. The key conceptual basis for the analysis is an idiolect, which refers to the distinct musical style of a single artist. Having documented the key features of Queen’s idiolect, the book further explores the nature of specific musical characteristic and uses them to respond to a range of wider analytical and discursive issues as pertaining to style, genre, form, time, voice, and historiography. Rock and Rhapsodies comprises twelve chapters. The introduction documents Queen’s place in scholarly literature and unfolds the principal analytical methodology. The following three chapters address the structural details of Queen’s idiolect and songs, before analysing the voices of Queen’s singers. The vocal techniques are related to discourses of authenticity and, in the case of Freddie Mercury, the queer voice. The five subsequent chapters identify the changing and myriad stylistic influences on Queen, as well as relate the band to the major rock movements of the 1970s: hard, glam, and progressive. The final chapter explores the replacement singers, Queen in wider popular media, and the influence of the band, since Mercury’s death in 1991.

Fragments of a Queer Feminist Rock and Pop History in Vienna

The historical development of Viennese rock and pop music started with rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s, continued with beat music and the “dialect wave” in the late 1960s, punk in the 1980s, the popular Viennese electronic music scene in the 1990s, and is currently enjoying a renaissance of the “dialect wave.” Artists like the Rosée Sisters, Austria’s first all-female rock band founded in 1962, Topsy Girl, A-Gen 53, or SV Damenkraft were active in local music scenes. In retrospect, they are considered as exceptions in the historiography of Austrian popular music. This chapter discusses several feminist and queer artists and collectives in Austria, their position in popular culture, and in historical and geographical contexts. The author concentrates primarily on all-female bands, LGBTIQ+ artists, and queerpop projects to illustrate diverse approaches to music, feminism, and their position within the pop and rock music scenes in Vienna.

Discussing the Relationships between Consumer Experiential Value, Celebrity Endorsement and Brand Resonance – Case Study of the STAYREAL Brand

Based on the perspective of concert experience marketing, this research explores whether consumers resonate with the brand STAYREAL through celebrity endorsements while using the P-O-X theory as the research’s structure. Research subjects are audiences who have participated in the Mayday concerts. Mall-intercepts method with intentional sampling is used and questionnaires were distributed at the “Super Slippa– part 9” and “The Great Nobody” of 831 rock band in 2018 at the Taipei Arena. 422 valid questionnaires were returned from the 469 distributed. Data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS19.0 and it was found that: 1. Experience value has a significant positive impact on celebrity endorsements; 2. Experience value has a significant positive impact on brand resonance. 3. Celebrity endorsements have a significant positive impact on brand resonance; 4. Celebrity endorsements have a partial intermediary effect between experience value and brand resonance, which proves that P-O-X is in a balanced state. In order to reach a stage of consumers’ resonance with the brand, future research can examine the utility factors such as brand attributes in price, design, fabric, comfort, color, etc. at the same time.

Heavy Metal Thunder: the making of the film

(From the Introduction) Metal music means everything to me. It has been the main focus of my life since the age of thirteen. What first drew me to Metal still excites me about it today; guitar riffs. The sheer power of Marshall amplifiers gives me the same thrill it did when I first experienced Metal. My best friend gave me a CD by the band Megadeth called “Rust in Peace”. The opening riff of this album still gives me chills. From that moment on I knew I wanted to know more about Metal; everything from seminal albums, to its history. I am still learning more about the music, which presently involves piecing together Canada’s Metal music history. Why Canadian Metal? I’ve never felt attached to other aspects of Canadian culture, and so Metal music is my opportunity to do so. When I began my undergraduate degree at Queens university, I started a radio show called “Metal on Metal”. “Metal on Metal” is dedicated to all sub-genres of Metal. I noticed that the more I did the show, the more Canadian Metal I was playing. For me, working in community radio gave me a voice, and a confidence that made me feel comfortable expressing my view point on a variety of issues, and being comfortable with public speaking. I felt a need to document as much Canadian Metal history as I could. As such, one of my biggest motivations for this project has been the desire to capture and tell the stories of some of my favorite Canadian bands. So far, during the course of this project, two Toronto bands have disbanded; Dead Mouth and Teethmarks. It was important to visually document the music. These bands are important to me, and an integral part of Canada’s musical identity because they represent a whole cultural movement. The most important thing for me, however, is to showcase the music’s importance on a larger cultural scale; how it contributes and enhances Canadian culture. Before analysing the the film itself, I feel the title should be explained. Heavy Metal Thunder was the first time the phrase “Heavy Metal” was first said by the group Steppenwolf, a Canadian rock band. The song “Born to be Wild”, a biker anthem from the 1960’s about counterculture, has been argued to be the first Metal song ever. I felt this was important because it ties Canada’s roots back to the origins of Metal itself. In it reference to the process of purifying and perfecting physical objects, the title also incorporates the alchemical aspects in my film. By defining the technical terms necessary when critiquing music, this paper will give the reader insider knowledge of Metal music. I will then examine the areas of research, by conducting a literature review of scholarly texts, and assessing the documentary relevance intandem with a Metal documentary review. I will then discuss the central themes of my film Heavy Metal Thunder, and break down the methodology in making this film. Finally, I will situate each Metal sub-genre as it stands in Canada.

Heavy Metal Thunder: the making of the film

(From the Introduction) Metal music means everything to me. It has been the main focus of my life since the age of thirteen. What first drew me to Metal still excites me about it today; guitar riffs. The sheer power of Marshall amplifiers gives me the same thrill it did when I first experienced Metal. My best friend gave me a CD by the band Megadeth called “Rust in Peace”. The opening riff of this album still gives me chills. From that moment on I knew I wanted to know more about Metal; everything from seminal albums, to its history. I am still learning more about the music, which presently involves piecing together Canada’s Metal music history. Why Canadian Metal? I’ve never felt attached to other aspects of Canadian culture, and so Metal music is my opportunity to do so. When I began my undergraduate degree at Queens university, I started a radio show called “Metal on Metal”. “Metal on Metal” is dedicated to all sub-genres of Metal. I noticed that the more I did the show, the more Canadian Metal I was playing. For me, working in community radio gave me a voice, and a confidence that made me feel comfortable expressing my view point on a variety of issues, and being comfortable with public speaking. I felt a need to document as much Canadian Metal history as I could. As such, one of my biggest motivations for this project has been the desire to capture and tell the stories of some of my favorite Canadian bands. So far, during the course of this project, two Toronto bands have disbanded; Dead Mouth and Teethmarks. It was important to visually document the music. These bands are important to me, and an integral part of Canada’s musical identity because they represent a whole cultural movement. The most important thing for me, however, is to showcase the music’s importance on a larger cultural scale; how it contributes and enhances Canadian culture. Before analysing the the film itself, I feel the title should be explained. Heavy Metal Thunder was the first time the phrase “Heavy Metal” was first said by the group Steppenwolf, a Canadian rock band. The song “Born to be Wild”, a biker anthem from the 1960’s about counterculture, has been argued to be the first Metal song ever. I felt this was important because it ties Canada’s roots back to the origins of Metal itself. In it reference to the process of purifying and perfecting physical objects, the title also incorporates the alchemical aspects in my film. By defining the technical terms necessary when critiquing music, this paper will give the reader insider knowledge of Metal music. I will then examine the areas of research, by conducting a literature review of scholarly texts, and assessing the documentary relevance intandem with a Metal documentary review. I will then discuss the central themes of my film Heavy Metal Thunder, and break down the methodology in making this film. Finally, I will situate each Metal sub-genre as it stands in Canada.

Acoustics of a Music Venue/Bar—A Case Study

A vacant unit, once used by a Portuguese Deli, was converted to a bar/music room in Toronto. The unit was divided into two spaces along its north-south axis. The western portion was designed as a music room that would provide a performance space from a solo artist to a Jazz combo to a small rock band. The eastern part was designed as a regular bar/dining area. The plan also called for a microbrewery unit at the back of the unit. The bar music can be loud, while the music room can be pianissimo to forte depending on the type of performance. The acoustical design aspects are critical for the music room. In addition, the acoustical separation between the two spaces is equally important. The music room/bar is currently in use. The design results are compared to actual field measurements. The results showed that the music venue performed satisfactorily. The acoustical separation between the music venue and the bar/restaurant was better than expected other than an installation deficiency of the south side sound lock doors. The background sound along the northern portion was NC-35 or less. However, the southern portion’s background sound exceeded NC-35 due to the hissing of the return air grille. The acoustical design and the performance results of the music venue-bar/restaurant are presented in this paper.

Acoustics of a Music Venue/Bar—A Case Study

A vacant unit, once used by a Portuguese Deli, was converted to a bar/music room in Toronto. The unit was divided into two spaces along its north-south axis. The western portion was designed as a music room that would provide a performance space from a solo artist to a Jazz combo to a small rock band. The eastern part was designed as a regular bar/dining area. The plan also called for a microbrewery unit at the back of the unit. The bar music can be loud, while the music room can be pianissimo to forte depending on the type of performance. The acoustical design aspects are critical for the music room. In addition, the acoustical separation between the two spaces is equally important. The music room/bar is currently in use. The design results are compared to actual field measurements. The results showed that the music venue performed satisfactorily. The acoustical separation between the music venue and the bar/restaurant was better than expected other than an installation deficiency of the south side sound lock doors. The background sound along the northern portion was NC-35 or less. However, the southern portion’s background sound exceeded NC-35 due to the hissing of the return air grille. The acoustical design and the performance results of the music venue-bar/restaurant are presented in this paper.

When I'm Sixty-Four: Beatles Rock Band and the Commodification of Nostalgia

In 2009, only a few months after the game’s release, the popular trade magazine Advertising Age declared Beatles Rock Band one of America’s hottest brands ("America's hottest brands", 2009). This is quite a feat for a lowly video game, and begs that we consider the reasons for the game’s success as well a the potential social consequences for similar popular games. There are two major elements at work in the creation of Beatles Rock Band as a successful brand, and this paper conducts an analysis of the game in order to identify both of them. First of all, it explores the Beatles as a brand that continues to provide emotional and spiritual value for consumers, and how the feelings associated with this brand have developed intertextually since the band first gained international popularity in 1962. Secondly, this paper will show how Beatles Rock Band works almost like a documentary game, and in doing so rewrites history in order to capitalize on a white-washed and romanticized ideal of 1960s culture. As such, it will show the ways that the Beatles Rock Band draws on previous commercial texts associated with the Beatles brand to create an hyperreal fiction based on historic people and events. This paper is divided up into four sections. The first section will provide a theoretical overview of convergence, remediation, and the business of culture, and then will conduct a brief review of the methodology of digital game studies. The second section will look at the specifics of the game, and some of ways that the game has been marketed to the public at large. The third section will provide a description and overview of the Beatles as a brand, and the ways the brand continues to adapt and change over time in order to appeal to a broad and changing audience. Finally, the fourth section will discuss the commoditfication of nostalgia generally, and the specific ways that this game rewrites history to reproduce it as a commodity.