View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why was Newman's choice of voice "dangerous"?
(a) Audiences are too literal.
(b) Audiences are too critical.
(c) It was confusing.
(d) It alienated people.

2. What did Sly Stone call his band?
(a) The Stones.
(b) The Family.
(c) The Band.
(d) Sly's Guys.

3. 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.

4. What church did Elvis attend as a boy?
(a) Assembly of God.
(b) Christ the King.
(c) He did not go to church.
(d) Seven Day Adventist.

5. What archetype does Newman represent?
(a) Journeyman.
(b) Keeper of American imagination.
(c) The American philosopher.
(d) Doomed lover.

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

7. What did some bullies call Elvis before he was a star and had grown side burns?
(a) Dog.
(b) Squirrel.
(c) Loser.
(d) Hippie.

8. Who said "when I was a boy . . . I was the hero in comic books and movies. I grew up believing in a dream"?
(a) Elvis Presley.
(b) Hank Williams.
(c) Johnny Cash.
(d) Greil Marcus.

9. In "Elvis," what song does Elvis make his own by changing the story from hopelessness to hope?
(a) "Baby Let's Play House."
(b) "Pink Cadillac."
(c) "Hound Dog. "
(d) "Mystery Train."

10. Who wrote "There's a mickie in the tastin' of disaster" (90)?
(a) Greil Marcus.
(b) Frank Kermode.
(c) Leslie Fiedler.
(d) Sly Stone.

11. What did Seale attempt to use as a political threat?
(a) Criminal violence.
(b) The judicial system.
(c) Peaceful marches.
(d) Petitions.

12. Why did political activist, Eldridge Cleaver, not want to go to jail?
(a) He was innocent.
(b) He was afraid to be the next Billy Lyons.
(c) He loved freedom too much.
(d) He did not want to lose his friends.

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

14. Who, according to Marcus, gave Staggerlee the cruelest epitaph?
(a) Sly Stone.
(b) Eldridge Cleaver.
(c) Elvis Presley.
(d) John Hurt.

15. At the time Riot was made, who was making the decisions about what kind of records would be created?
(a) Producers.
(b) Managers.
(c) Artists.
(d) Musicians.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," what is the spirit behind Riot?

2. Marcus believes that "There's a Riot Goin' On" is an example of what?

3. According to Marcus, what does Elvis symbolize?

4. Who said "if I couldn't perform I'd give up . . . It's not a question of the money side of it. . . not having that ninety minutes up there anymore. Phew. I don't like to think about it"?

5. What is Sly Stone's given name?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 455 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample