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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. The Riot album reveals what image that Sly had for himself?
(a) Artist.
(b) Success.
(c) Failure.
(d) Cop out.

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

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) Elvis Presley.
(b) Greil Marcus.
(c) Johnny Cash.
(d) Hank Williams.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

2. According to the myth, who did Staggerlee shoot?

3. At the time Riot was made, who was making the decisions about what kind of records would be created?

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

5. What is the mood in the Riot album?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Elvis," Marcus compares Elvis Presley to Abraham Lincoln, why?

2. 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"?

3. Why was "Short People" so controversial? What did this mean for Newman?

4. Compare and contrast Sly and Staggerlee as presented in "Sly Stone: The Myth of Staggerlee in the sections: Introduction and "Sly Stone." How are they similar? How are they different?

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

6. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," why did Sly Stone create the album Riot ?

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

8. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," how does the music produced by Sly and the Family Stone resemble freedom?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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