On Hip/Hop, Heavy Metal and Madonna

Paul Swartzel's first concert was in 1987, David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour. Paul was just 5 or so; he fell asleep in his mom's lap.

And yet, something stuck. Now 29, Swartzel is a graduate student in Duke's music department, and he's teaching a class called "I Love the 80s," a walk through a decade of music that brought us the emergence of hip-hop, the rapid rise and fall of hair metal, and a music video channel that, back then, played music and lots of it.

Swartzel, a native of Raleigh, majored in music at UNC-Chapel Hill before enrolling in Duke's music graduate program, where he's studying composition. He had a chat with Duke Today about his class and the music it espouses.

Here are excerpts:

Why put the 80s under the microscope?

It seems to me the '80s are often skimmed over in American history courses, yet decisions and events during the decade shape our current society in many ways. As far as music, there's so much to discuss: The birth of MTV and all its politics, censorship issues, hair bands, post-minimalism, the rise of hip/hop. I love looking at the evolution of hip/hop -- from Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" in 1979 to 1989, Public Enemy's "Fight the Power". How do you get from there to there? It's amazing to discuss that with students born in the 90s.

Yet isn't 80s music perceived by many as lightweight or somewhat inconsequential?

Yes, but it's also the decade that brought us "Raging Bull", Louis Andriessen's "De Materie", and Ligeti's "Piano Etudes". It's a strange, fascinating period often misunderstood. One of my favorite lines in "The Wrestler" is when the two main characters say the 80s were the best decade ever. "And then that [Kurt] Cobain guy had to come around and ruin it. Is there anything wrong with just having a good time?" I've never been a big Nirvana fan either, but it's worth looking at the beginnings of grunge in the 80s if you want to better understand its popularity in the 90s. 

There was actually a lot socially relevant stuff to emerge in the 80s. Live Aid, The birth of U2, and then Michael Jackson/Prince/Madonna trifecta. 

In the 80s, the biggest superstars were not white, male heterosexuals. It's Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Whenever I think of Michael Jackson, I first think of the greatness of Quincy Jones. Also, MJ's best songs are not just about love. Think of "Billie Jean." His songs are paranoid. He talks about insecurities. That's just one thing that makes him fascinating. He was able to sell paranoia to the masses. 

How do you teach the 80s?

As much as I like so many types of the music, I didn't want the class to simply become a celebration. I try to teach ways to write critically about music and culture. The assigned readings generally do not express the most popular point of view. For example, the articles assigned on heavy metal deal with gender issues. The articles on Madonna were by African-American women critical of her appropriations of black culture. 

You said the first album you ever bought was Beethoven. The second was Dr. Dre's "The Chronic."

I loved gangster rap. Popular opinion would be because it appeals to a lot of white, suburban kids' fantasies about urban lives they don't understand. I don't know how much that has to do with it. I think that overlooks one crucial aspect -- gangster rap was the most rebellious music you had at the time in popular culture. I saw it as that, at least. It was like punk 15 years earlier. I was more interested in the rebellion and definitely its humor. 

You were influenced by your older sister and her music?

Yes, from Fugazi to New Kids on the Block. I'd often get home from school early while she had cheerleading practice. I'd always run into her room and get her Snoop Dogg tape before she got home. I'd close and lock my door to listen to it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. And then one day I went home and couldn't find it. Then my sister gets home and demands the tape. We couldn't find it. Later on we found it in my mom's car, in the tape player. She had been listening to it. And she actually knew some of the words. She'd say "I like Snoop. He's a pretty funny guy."