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Each of these songs has something to say about Texas, but they do so in different ways, in different venues, with different characters, to different audiences, etc.. For this activity, in groups of three, you will choose two songs and unpack not only WHAT they have to say about Texas, but HOW they are saying it, and what these songs might have to say to each other. Try to pick at least one song that your group is unfamiliar with. You might want to listen through a few before you settle.

Spend about 30 minutes going through each song together, looking at lyrics, listening to the audio, and looking up context about the song's creation and reception, when relevant to understand how each musical artist is approaching the topic of Texas, where they situate their persona in relation to Texas. Also consider; how do these artists' perspectives and experiences on this topic differ from those in your group?

After 30 minutes, we will come back together as a class and each group will share which songs they picked and informally present their findings, and how the group's perspectives and experiences shaped these findings. 

Questions you might address:

What genres do these songs embody? What genres do they reference? To what end?

Is the song from the perspective of someone who is from or claims Texas, or from an outside perspective? What ideas about TX are they communicating? How do you recieve these ideas from your particular position?

Who lives in the Texas this artist describes? At what scale does the song address Texas (i.e. state, city, neighborhood, interpersonal, cultural, etc.)?

What does the artist value about Texas? What does the artist critique about Texas?

Who do artists cite/sample/feature/or overtly imitate? What do these references invoke (explicitly summon) or evoke (implicitly summon)? E.g. a heavy synth might evoke the 80s, even if a song doesn't reference anything from the 80s. Or how the indie song deathmetal by Panchiko sounds nothing like death metal but invokes it in the title. 

How is personal experience discussed? Is there clear narration/ a story structure (beginning/middle/end)? Is it first person, second person, third person, or collective perspective?

How much distance do you percieve between the artist and the persona in the song? 

inspo for this lesson taken from the work and pedagogies of Dashiva Francois, Alexis Davis, and Carmen Kynard <3