This week we focused on music mapping. In particular, we focused on the prevalence of disco in low income urban areas as well as the origins of the genera. I feel that music mapping is a great way to cap off this course. We have spent the whole semester looking into they way that american music has been politicized in our society. Additionally, we have looked at the different racial makeups that specific music genera’s were born from, so being able to see a map of many of the musicians we learned about as well as the artists they coordinated with and the prevalence of those artists was very informative as well as entertaining. One thing that struck me as interesting was the shape of the web and more importantly the sheer number of collaboration’s between the artists.

In respect to the material covered during class, I was rather surprised with the origins of disco and also with the association of disco with “Gay” culture. I has always seen disco as a product of expanding music technology and strongly influenced by the use of drugs that was prolific during the 1970’S. Personally, I am somewhat a fan of disco music, and being able to take a more in-depth look at the founding beats was very informative.

All in all, I would like to say that this class has given me a new way to look at music. I’ve found myself calling out beats in pop songs, counting which beats have an emphasis placed on them, and more strongly considering the racial implications of the modern music scene with respect to their relationship with the minstrel show. Overall, i thoroughly enjoyed this class.