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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who says "Instead of throwing a knapsack over your back and getting out on the highway, to learn about life, we were able to do it together. We were protected by one another"?
(a) Bobby Bland.
(b) Robbie Robertson.
(c) Robert Manuel.
(d) Greil Marcus.

2. In "The Band," what problem does Marcus reveal about The Band's sense of community?
(a) They are isolationists.
(b) They had a false sense of community.
(c) They struggle to live in it.
(d) They lose themselves in each other.

3. According to Marcus, what do popular artists do for people?
(a) Speak for them.
(b) Create a community.
(c) Isolate them from people who dislike their music.
(d) Take away fear and pain.

4. According to Marcus in "Robert Johnson -1938," what gives music "mythical authority"?
(a) When the songs attract fans.
(b) When the singer uses a deeper tenor.
(c) When the music tells a story.
(d) When the music reflects life.

5. What is the name of the television show that Greil Marcus uses as an example in the Prologue?
(a) The Late Show.
(b) Donny Carson's Show.
(c) The Dick Cavett Show.
(d) The Dick Clark Show.

6. Who wrote Why Are We in Vietnam?
(a) Harmonica Frank.
(b) Lyndon Johnson.
(c) Erich Segal.
(d) Norman Mailer.

7. "Me and the Devil Blues" uses imagery that provokes what emotion?
(a) Desolation.
(b) Hubris.
(c) Love.
(d) Lust.

8. What type of music did Harmonica Frank sing?
(a) Country.
(b) Blues.
(c) Rap.
(d) Rock 'n roll.

9. Who said "I played rock and roll before I ever heard of Elvis Presley. I saw him in Memphis before he ever made a record"?
(a) Bob Dylan.
(b) Harmonica Frank.
(c) Sam Phillips.
(d) Little Richard.

10. Who does Marcus compare Phillips to in the beginning of "Harmonica Frank - 1951"?
(a) Starbuck.
(b) Elvis Presley.
(c) Huck Finn.
(d) Harmonica Frank.

11. With whom is Carmen walking in the song "To Kingdom Come"?
(a) The devil.
(b) Robert Johnson.
(c) The worried man.
(d) Robbie Robertson.

12. What religious group does Marcus compare blues singers to in "Robert Johnson -1938"?
(a) Puritans.
(b) Satanists.
(c) Voodoo.
(d) Catholics.

13. According to Marcus in "Harmonica Frank -1951," what do both Ahab and Huck have in common?
(a) They have aunts who try to civilize them.
(b) They are after a dream that is not real.
(c) They go on adventures for the sake of adventure.
(d) They try to escape restraints and authority.

14. In "Harmonica Frank -1951," Marcus claims that Phillips was looking for music to do what?
(a) Start a revolution.
(b) Anger people.
(c) Confuse things.
(d) Affirm traditional roles.

15. What is ironic about rock 'n' roll and democracy?
(a) They demand work and play.
(b) Neither works in a specific way.
(c) Each asks people to be something better than they are.
(d) They are both individual and a community.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who said "I learned the words to Little Richard's songs the best I could and what I couldn't figure out didn't matter"?

2. From what song does Marcus quote to introduce the chapter "Robert Johnson -1938"?

3. In "Robert Johnson - 1938," why do some of Robert Johnson's contemporaries say that Johnson sold his soul to the devil?

4. Who wrote "Whispering Pines"?

5. In "The Band," to what does Marcus compare the song "We Can Talk About It Now"?

(see the answer keys)

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