MUSIC & MUSIC THEATRE (Years 5 – 12) Keeping it fresh – popular music through the ages Cole Porter was one of the most popular songwriters of his day – a bit like Lennon / McCartney, Prince, or even Pharrell Williams! Having students look at his music through this prism helps to understand the context of the music in Anything Goes. Baz Luhrmann showed a similar way of thinking when he directed The Great Gatsby – the jazz tunes in the party scenes were juxtaposed with modern nightclub recordings. Lesson ideas Teachers may wish to show excerpts from Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby as a preliminary activity. Students should understand the nature of “popular” music as opposed to classical or “art” music (even though well-written music by composers such as Porter or Lennon / McCartney have lasted and are now regarded as “standards” by serious musicians!). Some lesson ideas are: • Re-wording the lyrics: Changing or updating lyrics to older songs is a tradition in many genres of music. Some songs, in particular Porter’s “Let’s Do It”, are written so that they lend themselves to being updated with modern references. Noël Coward performed his own updated versions of this song (with Porter’s permission) on a regular basis to include figures that were popular or well-known at the time. These songs are often referred to as list songs, as they include lists of objects or proper nouns that illustrate the theme of the song. Students can come up with their own verses for two of the list songs in Anything Goes: “You’re the top” and the title song “Anything Goes”. An excellent example of the latter can be found at http://www.studio360.org/story/313746americaniconsanythinggoes/ • “Pop” songs: Many of the songs from the show were in fact the “pop” songs of their day. Some of the productions, including the 1934 film version, actually changed the songlist to include other popular songs, in some cases especially written for it, by composers such as Hoagy Carmichael. After seeing the production, students can discuss which modern songs that they know could be substituted and fit into the show. • Students may be interested to see that artists such as Lady Gaga are still re-interpreting Porter songs! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheek_to_Cheek_%28album%29 http://www.mtv.com/news/2071934/lady-gaga-tony-bennett-second-album/