Fearless

Fearless

By Taylor Swift

Big Machine Records, 2008. Country music.

Reading/Interest Level: Ages 10+

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalk Ideas: N/A

 Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

A Grammy winning album that’s a little bit country, a little bit pop, by one of today’s hottest artists.

Album Summary:

This is a pop/country album written mostly by the artist, Taylor Swift. Swift has become a household name with some of her most popular tracks such as Love Story and You Belong with Me. Both of which have been frequently played on the radio, especially when they first came out. Almost all of her songs deal with love, whether it be requited love (Love Story), unrequited love (You Belong with Me), or a broken heart (You’re Not Sorry). Also, she often sings about growing up and dealing with all the new situations that life brings (Fifteen; Change).

The music in general has a very light, pop feel but Swift often considers herself a country singer. That being said, she doesn’t really have the iconic twang in her voice, and the instrumentation is much more suited to pop in general, though there is often a guitar or fiddle playing that might hint at country..

The album art doesn’t have Swift posing with tractors or anything else that suggests country life. Rather she is often in cute dresses, expertly styled, and just having fun.

Critical Evaluation:

There’s not a lot of variety in this album, but at the same time it’s like candy for teen girls because the songs are ones that very relatable and fun to sing. The melodies aren’t complex, and Swifts voice comes through naturally without post production effects. In an age where musician voices can be easily manipulated by Auto-Tune and effects added to make them fit the music, Swifts simple and beautiful voice is a breath of fresh air.

It’s regularly reported in the media that Swift has problems keeping a boyfriend for long and her relationship problems are laid bare in her music. The dream of a successful romance is clear in Love Story where she references Romeo and Juliet, minus the tragic ending, and the frustration of loving a guy when he doesn’t seem to notice you, which every girl has experienced at some point is plain in You Belong With Me. Because the songs are so relatable, simple and catchy even though there might not be a lot of variety in the album, it’s still quite enjoyable.

About the Author:

Taylor Swift is a seven-time GRAMMY winner, and the youngest recipient in history of the music industry’s highest honor, the GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year. She is the best-selling digital music artist of all time, and the only female artist in music history (and just the fourth artist ever) to twice have an album hit the 1 million first-week sales figure (2010’s Speak Now and 2012’s RED). She’s a household name whose insanely catchy yet deeply personal self-penned songs transcend music genres, and a savvy businesswoman who has built a childhood dream into an empire.

But the numbers don’t tell Taylor's story half as well as she could. After all, it’s the intangibles that elevate Swift into the stratosphere of our pop culture planet, allowing the 24-year old singer-songwriter to orbit in a more rarified air. Her large-scale charitable contributions are one thing, but it’s in the small gestures – the notes of compassion she posts on the Instagram photos of lovelorn fans, the genuine hugs she distributes without discretion – where Swift proves time and time again that platinum-selling, record-setting success has not changed her inherent nature. She is awkwardly honest and powerfully empathetic; a brazen superfan, loyal friend, fierce protector of hearts; and one of the world’s greatest ambassadors for the power of just being yourself.

Granted, for Taylor, “being herself” tends towards shimmering, gossamer perfection – but that’s an image regularly blown whenever she dons fake braces and a tri-pony to clown around on late night TV. She’s the first artist since the Beatles (and the only female artist in history) to log six or more weeks at #1 with three consecutive studio albums, and while she’s been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, she’s probably the only person on that list who uses social media to post notes to her best friends and videos of her cats.

As Billboard’s youngest-ever Woman of the Year prepares to release her fifth album, 1989, she finds herself, as always, in the glare of a blinding spotlight of expectation – but if you think that scares her, you haven’t been paying attention. She calls 1989 her most sonically cohesive collection, and armed with first single, “Shake It Off,” she’s ready to blaze into the next phase of her still-young career, where she’ll continue to dance like no one’s watching, write like she stole our collective diary, and inevitably soar to ever-greater heights. All that’s left to wonder is how many more lives she’ll lift in the process.

-Biography from Amazon.com artist page-

Justification of Selection:

Not only is Taylor Swift a household name, this album won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and many of the song lyrics are easily relatable for teens because they were written by Swift, while she was in her teen years.

K-Pop: Korea’s Musical Explosion

K-Pop: Korea’s Musical Explosion

By Stuart A. Kallen

Twenty-First Century Books, 2014. 64 pages. Nonfiction.

ISBN: 9781467720427

Reading/Interest Level: Ages 10+

Curriculum ties: Music, culture

Booktalk Ideas: Hallyu back: Refer to Gangnam Style, and if possible show the first part of one of TheFineBros YouTubers React to K-pop videos. Then introduce the book and explain how it documents the evolution of K-pop and the culture it created.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

If Gangnam Style caught your attention, discover an entire industry that has been developing since the 1950s. The flow of Korean culture into the rest of the world, often referred to as the Hallyu Wave, is driven in large part by the phenomenon surrounding Korean pop music.

Book Summary:

Starting with the origins of K-pop, readers are taken through a time line of major events, artists, and companies that has made k-pop what it is today. K-pop actually had its origins in the 1950s when American troops assisting with the Korean War brought their music with them, such as Elvis. Later, future entertainment company founders such as Lee Soo-man (S.M. Entertainment) were drawn to the music coming out of America and decided to produce their own music with the same catchy beats that would later create the Hallyu wave.

This book then touches on how entertainment companies such as S.M., YG, and JYP (often referred to as the “big three”) focused on creating and training potential idols, and then debuting idol groups that flood the market. The book then goes on to describe how and why K-pop has taken off around the world and the unique culture it has spawned.

Critical Evaluation:

This is a fun, short book that concisely covers the major events and players in the K-pop industry that is ideal for readers just discovering the genre, but less so for the avid K-popper who will probably already know the vast majority of the material covered in this book. The organization of the book is very clear and makes sense, from starting with the origins and development of K-pop to then discussing current trends and effects and happenings of the music industry. There are many colored pictures which really adds to the enjoyment of the book. Image is a huge part of the K-pop industry, and this book works just as hard to look good as it does to provide quality content.

One of the major downsides of this book, and probably the hardest part for any book that takes on this topic, is how quickly things change in the industry. Idol groups come and go fairly quickly and it’s nearly impossible to tell which debuting groups will make it big and become worthy of attention. After just a year since its publication, this book is already due for an updated edition because of the developments in the K-pop industry in 2014. For anyone who has followed K-pop news recently it’s clear that 2014 was unique in that many idols left their groups, filed lawsuits against their companies, and preventable accidents lead to idol deaths. 2014 was one of the most devastating years in K-pop scene for a long time, for a lot of reasons and a new edition would need to at least mention the controversies that surround K-pop.

About the Author:

Kallen is the author of more than 150 nonfiction books for children and young adults. He has written extensively about Native Americans and American history. In addition, he has written award-winning children's videos and television scripts. In his spare time, Kallen is a singer/songwriter/guitarist.

-from Scholastic.com author page-

Stuart A. Kallen has written more than two hundred fifty nonfiction books for children and young adults over the past twenty years. His books have covered countless aspects of human history, culture, and science from the building of the pyramids to the music of the twenty-first century. Kallen is also an accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist in San Diego, California.

As much as he loves music, Kallen realized at 30 that he would never become a rock star and decided to focus on writing instead.

-from Lerner.com author page-

Justification of Selection:

I love K-pop music and all things Korean. I think the Korean trend is growing and the library should be prepared with materials to meet the increasing demand for information about the Korean entertainment industry, particularly K-pop music.