View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Marcus discuss many movies in "Sly Stone"?
(a) They all include the Staggerlee myth.
(b) They are about black people.
(c) They are biographies for Sly Stone.
(d) Sly Stone made the soundtracks for them.

2. To which historical figure does Marcus compare Elvis?
(a) Ralph Waldo Emerson.
(b) Richard Nixon.
(c) Abraham Lincoln.
(d) Stevie Wonder.

3. Who said "This is the mystery of democracy . . . that its richest fruits spring up out of souls which no man has prepared and in circumstances where they are least expected"?
(a) Woodrow Wilson.
(b) Abraham Lincoln.
(c) Greil Marcus.
(d) Elvis Presley.

4. According to Marcus in "Elvis," what was the public unsure about when Elvis' music first came out?
(a) If he was country or rock 'n' roll.
(b) How to listen to him.
(c) If he was black or white.
(d) What the music was about.

5. What two lines from an Elvis song does Marcus claim are the most perfect lines in blues?
(a) "I'm gonna quit my crying / I'm gonna leave you alone" (152).
(b) "I tried and I failed / And I feel like going home" (154).
(c) "If you don't believe I'm leavin' / You can count the days I'm gone" (152).
(d) "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me" (155).

6. In the introduction to "Elvis," Marcus claims that Elvis epitomizes what?
(a) The worst of our culture.
(b) The best of our culture.
(c) The chaos of Harmonica Frank.
(d) The anger of Robert Johnson.

7. Who wrote "obviously, it is easier to kill than to create" (95)?
(a) Nietszche.
(b) Josef von Sternberg.
(c) Greil Marcus.
(d) Sly Stone.

8. What is Sly Stone's given name?
(a) Sylvester Stewart.
(b) Stanley Stewart.
(c) Sylvester Stone.
(d) Sly Stone.

9. According to Marcus, what did Staggerlee represent to the black community?
(a) Freedom.
(b) Hope.
(c) Death.
(d) Corruption.

10. In "Elvis," what song does Marcus use to illustrate the work Elvis puts into his music?
(a) "Hound Dog."
(b) "Boy Who Stole the Blues."
(c) "Milkcow Blues Boogie."
(d) "Good Rockin."

11. In what voice does Newman sing his songs?
(a) The audience.
(b) His own.
(c) The storyteller's.
(d) The character's.

12. What controversial topics are addressed in Randy Newman's song "Sail Away"?
(a) Money and race.
(b) Power and politics.
(c) Art and realism.
(d) Slavery and the American dream.

13. Who claims that "every great artist must create for a great audience"?
(a) The Beatles.
(b) Bob Christgau.
(c) Randy Newman.
(d) Greil Marcus.

14. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," what is pop culture by definition?
(a) Determined.
(b) Optimistic.
(c) Angry.
(d) Rebellious.

15. Who wrote "Papa Was a Rolling Stone?'
(a) The Temptations.
(b) Sly Stone.
(c) Bob Dylan.
(d) Jimmy Hendrix.

Short Answer Questions

1. What political group does Marcus compare to Sly Stone's music in "Sly Stone"?

2. What was the original name of the style that Elvis sang?

3. What is the name of Elvis' mother?

4. What does Leslie Fielder call the Beatles in "Randy Newman"?

5. What was on the cover of Riot?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 478 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample