Abstract
This paper explains that bluegrass songs are played with each melody instrument switching off playing the melody each time through, while the others revert to backing; in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together at the same time rather than solo. The author points out that, since the people lived in rural areas, the songs were written about life on the farm or in the hills; this type of music was known as "mountain music" or "country music". The paper relates that the rigid characteristic of the bluegrass genre is usually limited to the traditional, five, acoustic, rather than electric, instruments: banjo (5-string); guitar (flat-top); fiddle; mandolin; and bass.

From the Paper
"Bill Monroe learned much about melody and timing from his uncle, and from the singing school classes he attended at church each summer. A middle-aged black man named Arnold Schultz who worked for a local coal company in Bill's neighborhood also helped his musical education. In Schultz's country blues, Bill found a new way to approach music - to allow his emotions to influence his playing and singing. Schultz impressed Bill with stories of music contests he had won throughout Kentucky, and one Saturday night when he was hired to play fiddle for a dance, he took Bill along to play guitar behind him. They were still going strong at dawn."

Tags:rural, mountain, melody, acoustic, banjo

Abstract
This paper describes the band Linkin Park, which started out as an edgy alternative rebel band successfully blending rap, traditional classic rock, and electronica. The writer provides a biography and an overview of their rise to fame and their albums prior to "Minutes to Midnight." The success of this latest album is due to their pursuit of a deeper level of musicality, collaboration, and mass appeal, which included using more instruments, such as acoustic guitars and banjos. The paper concludes that this new departure shows the artistic development of the band and that Linkin Park fans can look forward to a wide range of albums in the years to come.

Outline:
Linkin Park Biography
Why This CD Was So Successful
Reflection on the CD and the Group as a Whole

From the Paper
"Like many LA bands, they began their rise through the positive response and crowds that they brought to their shows at the Whiskey on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Their status as local favorite did not immediately translate into a contract, because their sound was too new and different--a rock band with a DJ and a rapping lead singer. Zomba Music's Jeff Blue signed Linkin Park to Warner Bros. after the band had been turned down for contracts three times in late 1999. Their first album was called Hybrid Theory, released in fall 2000, when they found their niche by opening for fellow alternative acts such as the Deftones, the Roots, Aphex Twin, and Nine Inch Nails."

Tags:genre, song, talent, melodic, musician, innovative, fan, artist, classical

Abstract
In this essay, the writer points out that there is a clear lesson in 'Deliverance' about the difference between city and rural people. The writer notes that director, John Boorman, goes to great lengths to show that the two groups of people portrayed in the film have completely different values and, in a sense, different definitions of survival. The writer maintains that the main characters define survival, at least at the beginning of the movie, in terms of financial wealth and material comfort, whereas the rural characters have a more basic sense of survival. The main characters come to rural Georgia looking for a taste of something simple, but instead find a world much more complex. The writer concludes that there are two separate worlds and, in the end, when the men promise the local sheriff never to return, it is a fitting symbol that these worlds should not - and can not - be integrated.

From the Paper
"In the dueling banjo scene early in the movie, which is one of the movie's most famous scenes, Drew's remark that he is having trouble keeping up is a powerful harbinger for the struggles in the backwoods society that will plague the main characters for the rest of the movie. At the end of the dueling banjo scene, as Bobby tries to approach the boy, who appears to be inbred, the boy turns away in disgust. The message here seems to be that they may speak the same language and enjoy the same music, but that there is a wall of distrust and animosity that stands between city people and their rural counterparts. Not surprisingly, shortly after they begin their trip the men become lost, both physically and metaphorically - they have entered a world they do not understand and where their values and sense of judgment are now out of place."

Tags:dueling, banjo, scene, rural, moral

Abstract
This paper describes the graphics and contents of an advertisement for Microsoft's X-Box game, "Grabbed by the Ghoulies". It discusses the advertisement's target audience and its positioning. The paper also analyzes the message strategy and graphics strategy used in the advertisement and the brand identification strategy. The overall assessment of the advertisement's success in reaching its intended audience is positive.

From the Paper
"This is the catch-phrase header that appears at the top of the 2-page ad. The ad is targeted at the primary MAD audience " teenagers " and through "comic-book" styled layout of graphics and minimal text, the ad entices their market into either wanting to play the game, or investigating the game at either their local retail store or online. The ad also utilizes a single picture of teenagers playing the game. This is interlaid within the comic-book layout of scenes from the game as well as "comic" blurbs, like "Thwack!!!"."

Tags:mad, magazine, comic, book, images, donkey, kong, country, banjo, kazooie