Music of Poland

I mentioned in the very first blog I posted that I'm Polish. My family has a bunch of Polish traditions we incorporate into our holidays, and sometimes our daily lives. We only really listen to Polish music during the holidays, so I wanted to do a little more research on the music from my heritage.

And speaking of the holidays, one of the things I wanted to discuss was their Christmas music. Poland is similar to the US where neither country has an official religion, but the majority of people Christian. In Poland, they're mainly Catholic Christians. The Roman-Catholic church is the biggest, most involved church in the country. Because of this, the majority of their Christmas songs are religious.

That's where Poland differs from the US. While a lot of songs in the US and other English-speaking, Christian-predominant countries have religious Christmas songs, there are plenty out there for non-Christians, such as songs about winter or Santa. Most (though not all) Polish Christmas carols are religious in one way or the other. The singing of Christmas carols in Poland is such a big deal that it has its own term: kolędy.

One of the most popular Polish Christmas carols is called "Bóg się rodzi," which means God is Born, written by Franciszek Karpiński in 1792. 

Fun fact: Wigilia is the term for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Generally, it is meatless. In some religious stories, it's the one night a year when the animals can talk. Kolędy is so special in Poland that they often sing Christmas carols during the dinner. My family and I participate in Wigilia, but we -- sadly -- do not sing Christmas carols.

Another aspect of music in Poland are traditional dances. There are 5 national dances, all from different regions: the Mazurka (or Mazur, or Mazurek, not to be confused with the Polish dessert), the Polonaise, the Kujawiak, the Oberek, and the Krakowiak.

Both of my great aunts actually participated in the Mazur and the Krakowiak when they were younger (though I won't get into it, because this occurred in Detroit. However, here is a link to an article from The Detroit Free Press in 1940 where they featured my Great Aunt Helen when they did a segment on the dances being performed in Detroit).

I'm going to focus on the Krakowiak (pronounced crack-ohv-eye-ack), because it's pretty much the most popular dance in Poland. It's from the Karakow/Małopolska region. The Krakowiak is a fast couples' dance with a duple meter and syncopated pattern (polishmusic.usc.edu). There are three primary "steps": the galop, the hołubiec (clicking heels and stomping), and the krzesany (sliding and stamping feet).

The strój krakowski is the costume they wear when performing, and has come to be a trademark symbol for traditional Polish outfits and costumes across the world.

The Krakowiak starts at 2:05. (From 1:21 to 2:04 is a dance called the Krakowiaczek. It's not a national dance, but it is a popular one, and it's super fun, if you would like to watch it.)

Just as any other country, Poland has many genres of music, not just folk songs or traditional music. There's a wide range of genres -- all the way from rock to death metal.

Yes, you read that right. Polish death metal.

Of these genres, of course, includes pop. There's a large number of Polish pop artists, but of them all, I love Ewa Farna. (I linked her singing a Christmas song in my first ever blog post). She's a Polish-Czech singer from the Czech Republic, and is considered to be one of the most successful musicians in the Czech Republic. She starting singing when she was in her early teens and quickly rose to stardom. She's even covered famous songs like "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne, and sung the lyrics in Polish.

Lately, she's been producing more music in the Czech language, but this May she came out with a single in Polish called "Ciało," (meaning "body") about growing up and being strong. I've linked it below. I've also put my personal favorite song of hers right underneath it.

The last thing I wanted to discuss is Polish "sung poetry." It's exactly what it sounds like: poetry that is put into song form. Poland isn't the only country to have sung poetry -- places like the Baltic States, and other various European countries. Generally, these songs are types of ballads that are romantic, emotional, and/or sentimental in some way. The singer-songwriters and composers of the pieces can be anyone, even those without any kind of music background or education.

One of the more popular songs in this genre is "Mury" by Jacek Kaczmarski (Mury means "Walls" in Polish), written in 1978. It discusses the physical and metaphorical breaking down of walls. While it wasn't meant to become a song of protest, that's what a lot of Poles turned it into as they clashed with their government, and also used to oppose communism, even though the song has a bit of a sad, pessimistic ending.

Here are the lyrics.

Works Cited

“Krakowiak (Cracovienne).” Polish Music Center, 24 Feb. 2018, https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/dances/krakowiak/.

“Mury (Song).” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/3868510.

“Population: Demographic Situation, Languages and Religions.” Eurydice - European Commission, 30 Nov. 2021, https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/population-demographic-situation-languages-and-religions-56_en.

“The Power of Polish Christmas Carols.” Culture.pl, https://culture.pl/en/article/the-power-of-polish-christmas-carols.

Arab and Asian Music

1. I have a crazy obsession with Ancient Egypt, so I thought this would be a fun time to do some research to see if any modern Arabic instruments came from Ancient Egypt. And not just ancient instruments that evolved into modern ones, but instruments that are basically the exact same as they were back then. Obviously, that seems impossible, since Ancient Egypt was 5,000 years ago, but wouldn't you know it, there is one: the ney. 

These bad boys have been playing music in the streets since around 3000 BC (give or take a few hundred years). There are some things that have changed overtime -- for instance, nowadays they are often plastic or metal -- but all in all, the basic concept, method of playing, and shape are all the same as they were back then. 

Below are pictures to compare. The top picture is the one from Ancient Egypt, and the bottom one is the modern one.

2. When I took my Mythologies and World Religions class in high school, we briefly touched on an Ancient Egyptian holiday called Sham el-Nessim, which marked the start of spring. People would salt fish (called Feseekh) and make offerings of food to the gods. It was a festival, and music was played all the time. A lot of events that occurred during Sham el-Nessim are still seen in todays modern holiday called Sham Ennessem. But obviously that's not the focus of this. The focus is the music.

Out of all the songs played, there are 2 specific ones that are favorites among Egypt that get played all across the country during the holiday: El Donya Rabea and Al Rabea (Rabea means "spring-y"). El Donya Rabea talks about being happy and carefree, because spring has arrived and the world is beautiful. Al Rabea uses spring and the changing seasons to metaphorize the singer's relationship with the woman he loves. 

Music isn't the most important thing during the festivals, but it's a big part of it. The songs played repeatedly across the country for everyone to hear promotes unity and nationwide celebration. The entire holiday is a way to connect with their ancestors and culture -- as music was a way to celebrate the gods in Ancient Egypt -- but the songs add a little something extra to it.

Here are the lyric translations for El Donya Rabea and Al Rabea. 

3. Steering away from Egypt (because I didn't want to make the majority of my post about the country, but Egypt is just so darn interesting), apparently there is a thing such as Mongolian rock. As an avid, die-hard rock fan, I thought it was my duty to dip my toes into it.

And oh boy. Did I ever.

The first thing that came up when I typed "Mongolian rock" into Google was a band by the name of The HU. And they are quite the heavy-metal/rock band. Mongolian rock (or at least, The HU) use a lot of different traditional Mongolian instruments, such as horse fiddles and the guitars called tovshuurs. Their singing is deep and "guttural," and they sing in their native tongue. 

The basic gist of the roots of the genre is that Mongolians wanted a way to keep their culture, but also find a way to branch out and experiment with music from other cultures and influences. Thus, Mongolian rock was born.

I was totally vibing with the music and honestly, I added it to my general Spotify playlist. Probably shouldn't add it to my driving playlist, though. I'd headbang to the song and go careening into a ditch. But man -- what a way to go.

http://www.mideastweb.org/culture/ney.htm

http://www.shira.net/culture/sham-el-nessim.htm 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/05/680528912/how-a-mongolian-heavy-metal-band-got-millions-of-youtube-views 

The Music of Motown

Motown was, and still is, one of the most popular types of music in Detroit. But, surprisingly, it isn’t actually a type of music. It’s a record company. All of the artists that signed and recorded for the company were considered to “be” Motown.

Motown is short for Motown Record Corporation, and came from Detroit’s nickname “the motor city.” It was a music recording company based in Detroit, Michigan that was immensely popular from 1960 to 1972 (and though the era came to an end, America is still listening to its music decades after). 

It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959. Gordy bought a large house on 2648 West Grand Boulevard, and turned it into a recording studio. He bought six more houses as the company took off, but the house -- fondly nicknamed “Hitsville USA” -- was still the primary house that artists would record in.

There are a few key reasons why Motown got so big. Rhythm and Blues were rising exponentially in popularity, so Motown sampled some of those sounds and turned them into their own kind of music. Also, in 1954, the famous court case Brown v. Board of Education had made segregation in public schools illegal, so there was a rise in civil rights activists and gave African American artists hope for success in the music industry (Britannica.com). The music that came out of Motown was predominantly created by African American artists.

Because of this, Motown played a massive role in overcoming racism, which was raging during the 50s and 60s, and helped create a strong, equal front in the music industry, and that sparked unity across the nation.

Motown took off in the 60s. The first artist signed and recorded was William “Smokey” Robinson and his group, The Miracles. Their first ever hit was “Tears of a Clown”, but their “trademark hit,” according to motownmuseum.org, was “Ooh Baby Baby.” They were eventually inducted into the Grammy and Doo Wop Halls of Fame.

Motown music was subtly complex. Bass, guitar, and tambourines were the primary instruments common in all of the songs. The sound was a mix of call and response, gospel, and jazz. Most of the music was syncopated, and many had a unique reverb to them due to being recorded in the “Echo Chamber,” located in the attic of Hitsville USA. You can hear it pretty well in “Where Did Our Love Go” by the Supremes:

Note: The Supremes are considered to be one of, if not, the most successful recording artists from Motown Records. They have a ton of popular songs, including “Stop in the Name of Love,” and “You Can’t Hurry Love."

Gordy was strict in what got produced and pushed out into the public. If it wasn’t to his standards, he would decline the song and the artists would have to start from scratch on a completely new song. Thus, artists and songwriters were ridiculously competitive. They weren’t allowed to have a good song. It needed to be perfect. And perfect they were, considering how nothing but hits ever came out of Motown.

Funnily enough, a good few of Motown’s later released songs, however, are considered today to be hits, such as “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye was also the artist who wrote and sung the famous "Let's Get it On" and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with Tammi Terrell.

Of course, you can’t talk about Tammi Terrell and the Supremes without talking about other Motown women. A lot of popular songs that everyone knows come from Motown, and a good chunk of them are women. Martha and the Vandellas released the famous song “Dancing in the Street,” Gloria Jones released the original “Tainted Love,” and, of course, the Marvelettes, who recorded “Please Mr. Postman.” (It was so popular, The Beatles covered it two years later!)

Note: Okay fine. Here’s the Vine.

The Temptations were signed in 1961. They took a lot of interest in “soul” music and R&B. They were also known for their dancing and how they were primarily seen wearing suits or other fancy clothing. Smokey Robinson and Ronnie Wright (from The Miracles) helped The Temptations write their first number one hit, “My Girl.”

Note: I also recommend listening to their song “Papa was a Rolling Stone.” The intro is super long though, like 2 minutes. The original song is like 11 minutes.

 

Motown lost key performers in the 70s and was no longer the powerhouse it was before, but the record label still produced hits and signed stars, such as the Jackson 5 and Diana Ross after she split from The Supremes to take on a solo career.

Despite this, and despite the era coming to an end around the early to mid 70s, that didn’t mean Motown wasn’t still making music. Stevie Wonder was 11 when he signed to Motown Records in 1961, and he has been releasing music ever since. If you happen to live under a rock and don’t recognize his name, you might recognize a few of his songs, like "Superstition."

This was towards the end of the Motown predominance and started bleeding into 70s style music, but it was written and produced when Wonder was still signed with Motown Records, and still inside of the Motown era.

In 1985, Hitsville USA was turned into a public museum, and in 1988 Gordy sold Motown to MCA. After then being sold to Polygram, Motown joined the Universal Music Group, a music corporation that spans across multiple countries. (To understand how incredible that is, some other labels currently a part of UMG are Capitol Records, Virgin Music, Decca Records, and Abbey Road Studios, to name a few).

While the company is no longer functioning, and no one is considered to be a current Motown artist, plenty of present-day musicians sample off of famous Motown songs and styles. You can also find similar Motown sounds in modern R&B artists, which was a massive influence for original Motown musicians, hip-hip, and pop songs.

Works Cited:

“Birthplace of the Motown Sound.” Motown Museum, https://www.motownmuseum.org/legacy/. Accessed 28 October 2021.

Early, Gerald. "Motown". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Motown. Accessed 28 October 2021.

“Our Labels & Brands.” UMG, 15 Aug. 2020, https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/. Accessed 28 October 2021.

“The Miracles.” Motown Museum, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.motownmuseum.org/artist/the-miracles/. Accessed 28 October 2021.

It Runs in the Family

My dad has always been my hero. He's been a firefighter longer than I've been alive (41 years, can you believe it?) as well as a mechanic. When I was younger, my mom and I would joke that he had "Mechanic Magic" because I swore he could fix anything just by touching it. No joke. I still don't know how he did it.

He was born in 1958 in Beach Haven, New Jersey. Growing up, he listened to rock music (what is now considered "classic rock"), primarily bands and artists from the '70s, and some from the '80s. Disco was also a major genre of music that was going on back then, but he stayed away from it for the most part. (I guess I'll never see him with a crazy afro and bell-bottom pants while he boogies in the club. Sigh.)

I asked him what specific bands he listened to, which were his favorites. He gave a snort and said, "I can give you specific, but there's too many to mention." In no specific order, he listed: The Doobie Brothers, Deep Purple, Elton John, Pat Benatar, and Boston. His favorite though, is The Beatles. Even after they broke up, he was still listening to them on 8-track tapes.

I have been to exactly one concert in my life, and that was an Imagination Movers concert when I was 8. My dad, however, has been to at least 36 concerts (he counted the ticket stubs he had saved), but has been to many more. "Sometimes they got lost after the show, or left in pants that went through the washing machine," he said, laughing.

My favorite story he told me was when he and his friend decided on a whim to stand outside in the rain to try to find last-minute tickets to an AC/DC concert in November of 1983. I could try to do the story justice by writing it out, but I'll let you listen to my dad tell it instead:

Also note: when we went back to check, the face-value of the ticket was $13.50 for a floor-level seat.

It wasn't his favorite concert he ever went to, though. That title belongs to when he saw the original Doobie Brothers reunited, or Bruce Springsteen. (The Springsteen concert went on for 3 hours straight. I'm so jealous.)

When I was a kid, my mom had to go into work earlier than normal on every third Monday. On those days, my dad would take me to school. He had a CD he would play full of burned music. I can list the first 10 songs in my sleep. One of them was Livin' on a Prayer by the rock band Bon Jovi.

The song would start, and we would sing along together, or my dad would mumble the words while I said nothing because it was seven a.m. and I had no energy to move. But there's a lyric in the song that says "Take my hand; we'll make it, I swear," and when Jon Bon Jovi would sing it, my dad would reach over across the console and hold my hand. 

It wasn't a big thing. Just a really small moment that we got together on our Third Mondays, listening to rock music and a little bit of country, but those memories still mean so much to me. A few months ago, he gave me the CD. It's still the best gift I've ever gotten, and I doubt there is anything that will be able to top it.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Every American knows that saying that slaves had it horribly is criminally understated. Horrendously. White people basically banned their culture. I was curious about the musical aspect of that, because I remember learning in one of my high school history classes that slaves used to sing at night. And sing they did.

Singing became a way to express their emotions, lift each other up/console each other, and communicate with one another. Many of the songs were spiritual, but they also had codes -- hidden meanings. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the song "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" was actually a song from the Underground Railroad, sang by African slaves who were getting ready to attempt their escape. There are many other songs of the Underground Railroad, all coded, and you can find a bunch of them online. It's amazing which details get glossed over in history classes.

On a lighter note, I'm obsessed with drums of any kind, so I wanted to do a little bit of research on the history of drums in Africa, since Africa's history is so long. Similarly to Native American culture, drums were considered the heartbeat of tribes and communities. There's a small country in East Africa called Burundi, and one of the things the people there are best known for is the drums; more specifically, a group called the (Royal) Drummers of Burundi. Playing the drums is passed through generations, but they don't just play -- they dance and jump around and sing, as well. They have been touring for quite a while, and are considered one of the greatest percussion groups of all time.

Alright, so I admit it: I was one of the people who heard the country Madagascar and, unsurprisingly, immediately thought of King Julien. I mean, come on, how could you not? He moved-it moved-it right into your heart, just like mine. Don't lie.

Of course, real lemurs (from Madagascar and elsewhere), can't talk, dance, or sing in English -- but actually, there is a species of lemurs native to Madagascar who are considered to be able to "sing." They're called Indri Lemurs, and they sing in groups (usually their families) to scare away other lemurs that might try to encroach their territory, communicate, to prove their strength to other lemurs, and occasionally even used as a mating call (though that isn't the primary reason). When one lemur starts to sing, the rest join in and will sometimes fall into unison in regards to rhythm and pitch.

It's not technically music or singing, but I still thought it was super cool anyhow.

Fair warning: their song sounds like if an airhorn and a toddler yelling were combined.

Bibliography:

http://www.pbs.org/mercy-street/blogs/mercy-street-revealed/songs-of-survival-and-songs-of-freedom-during-slavery/

https://www.worldmusic.co.uk/drummers_of_burundi

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/indri-lemurs-in-madagascar

Native American Music and Culture

1. After watching the video of the Native American hip hop artist Supaman, one of the first questions that popped into my head was: are there any Native American recording artists that fall under the rock genre?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is me screaming for fifteen minutes about not knowing that “Come and Get Your Love” was written by a rock band called Redbone who were all Native Americans, and who got on stage dressed in Native American regalia, performed traditional dances (sometimes in fancy dance clothes), hollered vocables, shook shakers and tambourines, and then burst into a sick drum beat and a guitar riff that any classic rock fan could recognize in their sleep. When you watch their live performances (which I never did until now) you can clearly see the ties to their Native American culture. Seriously. I’m almost upset with myself that I didn’t know any of this. 

Scratch that. I’m very upset with myself.

Here. Please bless your eyes and ears the way I did:

2. In the video American Roots Music, Episode 4, one thing that continuously popped up is the use and significance of drums. According to Floyd Westerman, the steady beat of the drum represents the heartbeat. In all of the pictures and videos shown in class, we saw primarily modern-day drums and instruments that they use, and it got me thinking: what instruments did they have in the past, and how did they make them? I have the slightest suspicion that they didn’t have the stereotypical modern-day five-piece drum set.

So I got to looking around, and found a few lists of what kinds of instruments they used pre-modern era and how they were made! Rattles were made from turtle shells (which we’ve briefly seen) but also from gourds and bones; flutes were made from wood or bones; drums were made from wood or hollowed-out logs and skinheads; and the Apache violin was made from a single string and stalks of a plant called the agave, just to name a few. Here’s a video I found of the process of making a Native American drum:

 

3. Another question that piqued my curiosity was Indiginous peoples’ reactions to the music in the Disney movie Pocahontas, and how accurate they thought it was. That google search sent me down a rabbit hole of reactions to the movie in general, as well as reactions to other Native American portrayals in movies, TV, and pop culture. After sifting through lots of tweets, YouTube clips, and opinion articles, I came to the (very unsurprising) conclusion that they were primarily thoroughly unimpressed. In what I saw and read, they didn’t touch much on music portrayals, but they did discuss clothing, slurs, and racist representation. I found a short video where a few Native Americans reacted to well-known movies and television shows that portray Indiginous people, because it’s always important to remember that, while the United States (and in general, the world) has greatly improved on its problem of racism from where we were sixty years ago, we still have a long way to go and a lot of places to improve.

 

Bibliography:

“Native American Instruments.” TeacherVision, 17 Oct. 2001, www.teachervision.com/native-americans/native-american-instruments. 

“Reservations about Films: Disney's Pocahontas.” Lakota Children's Enrichment, 11 Sept. 2015, www.lakotachildren.org/2015/09/reservations-about-films-disneys-pocahontas.

Claire's Music Culture

Hi, I'm Claire Mormando. I'm really into literature. And Waffle House. I love Waffle House. I am also not actually a red-head, much to my dismay. I am, in fact, a blonde. Blonde-ish. Dirty blonde. I just dyed it recently and am already making plans about what color to dye it again. I might have a problem. (Probably no one was wondering, but now you have a piece of useless information about my hair-dying habits, from me to you.)

My favorite music genre is rock of any kind -- classic rock, pop rock, 80s rock, punk rock, the works. If it has drums and a beat I can headbang to, you can bet it will be in one of my 70+ Spotify playlists. My favorite band, and my current (and forever) go-to is All Time Low. It's basically agony to try to go through all of their songs and choose my favorite, because they're all so good, so I settled on the one that's been stuck in my head as of late, "Getaway Green." It's been the first song I play when I start my morning drive to class every day. 

There's no heart-wrenching reason why I like them or this song so much. ATL makes my ears happy. I think that's reason enough.

Note: Many, if not most, of All Time Low's songs are explicit. If you're not fond of expletives, I don't recommend listening to their other songs. The song I embedded below is clean, so you can give it a listen if you'd like :)

Unlike the previous category, this next song has quite a bit of meaning to me. My dad introduced me to "More Than a Feeling" by Boston (1976) when I was about fourteen or fifteen. He played it on our family computer loud enough that you could feel the bass pumping through the floor, and he, my mom, and I danced around the room together to the song. It's one of the best memories I have. 

My dad's mother's name was Maryann -- my Nana -- and she died in 1999 from breast cancer. One line in the song is "Till I see my Maryann walk away," and it always makes me think of her. It's bittersweet to listen to, and it makes me grin and cry and dance around my bedroom like a lunatic. (It's also a great song to air-guitar to.) It starts out a little slow, but it picks up quickly.

Note: I put in an audio video instead of the live performance because of sound quality; but if you would like to watch it live, you can watch it here.

Onto a type of music that I've never really connected with: screamo/heavy metal. Now, as someone who listens to a little bit of everything and a lot of hard rock, I can certainly see the appeal. But personally, I've never been fond of songs with people screaming the lyrics. I can hardly hear what they're saying, and it honestly kind of hurts my ears to listen to.

But hey, everyone vibes with something different, and if screamo is your thing, I'm happy you've found something that you enjoy!

Here's a song from Black Veil Brides. The specific "screamo" moment starts around 1:03. 

Bonus round! I'm Polish. Granted, I have more Italian in me genetically than I do anything else, but culturally, we have more Polish traditions and events that we celebrate. For instance, every Christmas Eve we host a big dinner for our family called Wigilia (pronounced vih-geel-yah). I won't bore you with the details, but sometimes I'll take a break from traditional English Christmas music and play a few Polish songs off of YouTube (not necessarily Christmas songs, but Polish-style music to get hyped).

Here's one of my go-to songs. No idea what they're saying (something about going to a stable, I think), but it's pretty either way.

Polish Catholics take Christmas very seriously, as you can see tell.

This kind of got away from me. My bad. But I hope you enjoyed the song choices!