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TITLE
More Than a Good Sound: Charttopping Mainstream Music shown as a Coping Mechanism
THESIS STATEMENT
Because politics is prevalent in societies with free media like the United States of America, these
societies’ charttopping mainstream music, such as those found in Billboard, reflect how people
use their choice in music as a coping mechanism for societal stress.
I. Charttopping Mainstream Music
A. Definition
B. How they come about
1. Audience impact
a. Results found in music charts
i. Billboard.com (Hot 100 archives)
b. Radio airtime
c. Record/track sales
C. Mainstream music as a coping mechanism for political issues in the United States of
America
1. Coping mechanisms
a. Definition
b. Application in everyday life
2. Audience’s reaction to political views in relation to results in music charts
a. Audience impact on political views and music charts
i. Focus of articles in news periodicals
ii. Results found in music charts
b. Antithesis relationship
II. Historical Moment #1 (2005)
A. Hurricane Katrina
B. Depressed, hopeless, devastated frame of mind
C. Happy, hopeful, lively music
III. Historical Moment #2 (2006)
A. Saddam Hussein gets executed
B. Redemptive and at peace frame of mind
C. Music about being vulgar, mean and spiteful
IV. Historical Moment #3 (2007)
A. Virginia Tech Massacre
B. In disbelief, nervous, scared frame of mind
C. Music that brings messages about being confident and carefree of reality
V. Historical Moment #4 (2008)
A. Barack Obama gets elected president
B. Optimistic frame of mind
C. Content, cheerful music about being open to change
1. Coping mechanisms do not always equate to antithesis relationships
VI. Historical Moment #4 (2009)
A. Great Recession
B. Careful, conserving, frugal frame of mind
C. Music that speaks of disregard, frivolity and disunity
SENTENCE OUTLINE
I. Charttopping mainstream music is a quantifiable element suitable for observing music
choice as a coping mechanism for political issues on a societal scale.
A. Charttopping mainstream music refers to the pieces of music that are most
accessible to and collectively chosen by the general public at a given period in time.
B. Charttopping mainstream music is not a clearly defined nor assigned label, it is
created based on several aspects.]
1. Charttopping mainstream music depends heavily on the impact it brings
to its audience.
a. Charttopping mainstream music can be easily observed through
the results that come up in music charts, as the term suggests.
i. A good example of a reliable, and widely acknowledged
music chart is that of Billboard.com’s Hot 100 list.
b. Charttopping mainstream music can also be observed, though
not as clearly and as quantifiably, through how often they are heard over
the radio at a certain period in time.
c. Another way to observe charttopping mainstream music is to
look at the track and record sales that tend to hike up during a song’s
time of popularity.
C. The choices that define mainstream music can be observed as a coping
mechanism for the political issues that affect the citizens of the United States of
America.
1. Mainstream music choice can be observed to be a coping mechanism.
a. Coping mechanisms are things that people do to come to terms
with and better adapt to their present circumstances.
b. Coping mechanisms can be observed even in the smallest of
things, like the splurging that comes after a bad day, or as big as the
relocating that comes with wanting to make a new start.
2. One of the ways audiences react to political views is through their choice
in music.
a. Audiences greatly affect how political issues are viewed and what
comes up in music charts.
i. News periodicals often have a major issues that are made
prevalent through the articles that predominate them based on
how affected their audience is on the said issues.
ii. Audiences are the main reasons as to why the results in
music charts come out the way that they do.
b. It can be observed that in numerous occasions, messages in chart
topping mainstream music ends up antithesis to those being expressed by
political issues and views.
II. In 2005, the United States of America dealt with a blow that affected majority of the
nation.
A. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster that devastated portions of the country
but managed to affect practically all of the country’s citizens.
B. The natural disaster left the country in a state of disarray that left its citizens in a
depressed, hopeless and devastated frame of mind.
C. The top three songs that were prevalent throughout this period in time were
entirely happy, hopeful and lively.
III. By the end of 2006, the United States of America got to receive some closure on a threat
that has been bothering them for a while.
A. Saddam Hussein, a terrorist that has committed so many devastating offenses,
was executed.
B. At this period in time, the citizens of the United States of America felt a sort of
redemption in what has transpired and their minds have been seemingly put at ease.
C. The songs that were prevalent during this period in American history were those
that sang vulgarly and of being vengeful and acting out of spite.
IV. In 2007, the United States of America was jolted back into reality by an event that
devastated and shocked countless citizens.
A. The deaths of dozens of students as well as the other accompanying casualties
during the Virginia Tech Massacre shocked a lot of people.
B. The shooting that had occurred left the people of America nervous, scared and
insecure about their safety in their surroundings.
C. The top three songs that were prevalent during this time all revolved around the
ideas of being very selfconfident, secure in one’s position and being carefree about
life and the circumstances it brings.
V. In the year 2008, the United States of America experienced a change of historical
proportions that would redefine how the country’s circumstances are.
A. After over 200 years of American history, change was attained when Barack
Obama got elected as president of the United States of America.
B. Because President Obama is the first black president to have ever been elected in
the United States, the country had a very optimistic view of their future and thus
carried that frame of mind prevalently throughout this period of time.
C. The music that was chosen to be part of the top three of the charts at this time
were those that carried the messages of being content, cheerful and being open to
change.
1. Although the prevalent pattern amongst charttopping mainstream music
and political issues is being antithesis to each other, it is not always the case; it is
mainly dependent on how the coping mechanism works given the circumstance.
VI. In 2009, the United of States of America dealt with an economical mess that affected the
entire country.
A. The great recession that fell upon the citizens of the United States of America put
majority of them in deep financial crises.
B. Because of the financial mess that the country had to deal with at the time, the
people’s frame of mind mostly made up of them being careful, conserving of
their resources, and frugal in many matters.
C. The music that topped the charts during this time of financial crisis were very
much about frivolity, disregard for current circumstances and resources, as well
as disunity amongst peers.