Chapter 3 Questions

1. Who was your first favorite singer or group? How old were you at the time? What was important to you about the music?

- My first favorite singer was Tim Mcgraw. My mom use to play a lot of country music in the car when I was growing up. Tim Mcgraw was always my favorite. My dad listened to more oldies music like Elvis, Beatles, and others. My mom was a big Boston fan as well, so I grew up listening to them to. I was probablly about 8 when I realized Tim Mcgraw was my favorite singer. I have been to six of his concerts. My favorite song he sang was, "Maybe We Should Just Sleep on in Tonight." It was my first girlfriend and I's song. He never sang about anything bad. All he talked about was having a good time, or about a loved one. Some of his songs are sad, but I love all of them. He will probably be my favorite singer of all time.

3. Think about the role of the 1960s drug culture in rock's history. How are drugs and alcohol treated in contemporary forms of rock and hip-hop today?

- Back in the 60's, almost everyone was taking some kind of drug. Most drugs were legal, so artists would do some drugs and make music. Take Woodstock for instance. Hundreds of thousands of people would go to Woodstock and just do drugs, and listen to music. I am glad I did not grow up back then, because I definitely would have been a hippie. Today all the drugs that were legal back then are illegal. Artists are scared of doing drugs because fear of getting caught. However, many artists today continue to use drugs. Hip-Hop rappers are constantly being caught with illegal drugs and being put in jail. I guess things were just more laid back, back then.

5. Do you think the Internet as a technology has helped or hurt musical artists? Why do so many contemporary musical performers differ their op ions about the Internet?

- The Internet can both hurt musicians and help musicians. The way it hurts them is that people can go online and download their music for free. If I can go online and download Tim Mcgraws new CD and burn it to a disc, I am not going to buy his CD. Just like how Napster went out of business. Artists such as Metallica, got mad and demanded them not to be able to do it anymore. It hurts artists record sales. Now people use I-tunes and have to pay $1 for the songs. It also in a way helps unknown artists. Artist that are just beginning can use the Internet to get their music out. Artist can post music videos on YouTube and create web pages telling people about their band. If people would not download music for free, the Internet would be a great source for artists.