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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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"?

2. Who wrote "We needed . . . to be violently stirred into life . . . intolerable social constraints grew daily upon us"?

3. What is Sly Stone's given name?

4. Curtis Mayfield's songs in Superfly were meant to be what according to Marcus?

5. What controversial topics are addressed in Randy Newman's song "Sail Away"?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Marcus in "Elvis," what are Elvis Presley's roots?

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

3. Why does Marcus compare the Fresh album by Sly to "Nietzsche's belief that he who gazes into the abyss will find the abyss looking back; that he who looks too long at monsters may well become one" (90)?

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

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

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

7. How does Marcus define pop culture optimism and pessimism in "Sly Stone"?

8. In "Elvis," what is Elvis' "Rockabilly Moment" (141)?

9. According to Marcus in "Sly Stone," how did Newton and Cleaver use the myth of Staggerlee?

10. In "Elvis," Marcus discusses the Pink Cadillac as being the downfall of Elvis. What does the Pink Cadillac symbolize and how is it Elvis' downfall?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In an essay explore the reasons that Greil Marcus would discuss, in the same section, the dark and funny music of Randy Newman, the light music of the Beach Boys, and the stark imagery of Raymond Chandler. What do they have in common? What makes them different? How does Randy Newman fit into the world of the Beach Boys and of Raymond Chandler?

Essay Topic 2

Greil Marcus uses Huck Finn and Captain Ahab as literary allusions throughout Mystery Train. In an essay identify which artists most closely resemble Huck and/or which resemble Captain Ahab. Give details to support your assertions.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast Randy Newman and Robert Johnson. How are their styles similar and different? How is their subject matter similar? Different? Imagery?

(see the answer keys)

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