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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What literary term does Marcus identify with the line "When he died, all he left us was alone"?
(a) Moral.
(b) Enigma.
(c) Theme.
(d) Epitaph.

2. What is the mood in the Riot album?
(a) Joy.
(b) Anger.
(c) Hope.
(d) Oppression.

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

4. What motto of Hank Williams' made him similar to Robert Johnson according to Marcus?
(a) The end is near.
(b) Life goes on.
(c) What life doesn't give me, I'll take.
(d) Nothing really matters.

5. When referencing the South, who said "it's the only place in the country I've ever been where you can actually drive down the highway at night, and if you listen, you hear music"?
(a) Elvis Presley.
(b) Randy Newman.
(c) Greil Marcus.
(d) Robbie Robertson.

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. Who sang "I tried and I failed / And I feel like going home" (154)?

4. Where does the line "They're animals anyway . . . let them lose their souls" come from?

5. In "Elvis," what song does Elvis make his own by changing the story from hopelessness to hope?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Marcus entitle a section "Mystery Train" in "Elvis"? Why is this also the title of the book?

2. According to Marcus in "Elvis," what was ironic about Elvis' natural, spontaneous appearance and sound in his music?

3. What is the basic plot for the Myth of Staggerlee?

4. What type of risk does Randy Newman make in his music? What risk does he avoid?

5. According to Marcus in "Elvis," in what ways can Elvis be considered a myth?

6. What is the epitaph written by John Hurt? Why does Marcus include the Stag-o-lee epitaph at the end of "Sly Stone: The Myth of Staggerlee"?

7. According to Marcus in "Randy Newman," what is important about the Beach Boys? (101)

8. Describe Randy Newman's style; what does he sound like? What influences are in the music?

9. In "Randy Newman," does Randy Newman care if he is popular or not?

10. In "Sly Stone," how are the first two albums produced by Sly and the Family Stone similar and different?

(see the answer keys)

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