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Joe OBrien ENG 200: Glam Rock and Pop Culture Ms. Olding 3 April, 2014 Rhetorical Analysis In every song there are three aspects that someone can analyze: ethos, pathos and logos. Those three things when examined can help reveal the intent of why the musician made the song. The first aspect, ethos, looks at the musician themselves; how they present themselves, whether or not they can be considered an authority on the subject. Pathos is the way the musician states their opinion; what kind of tone is it in, what values are being argued, do they assume the listener agrees with them. The last aspect, logos, examines how the musician backs up their claim and the songs organization. These three different aspects differ between musicians and even between listeners as everyone can interpret something different. The Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil and The Velvet Undergrounds Rock & Roll provide good examples on two different approaches to making some sort of claim in music. The Rolling Stones have called themselves Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band and that claim has a lot to back it up. They were formed in London in 1962 and have continued to make music and perform ever since (The Rolling Stones Biography). Unlike their initial contemporary, The Beatles, they had a more blues-based style of rock that was very popular in the United States and England. Sympathy for the Devil was released in 1968 on their Beggars Banquet album.

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The Velvet Underground was formed in New York City and disbanded in 1973. They are most notably known for their involvement with the glam rock movement and their association with Andy Warhol (The Velvet Underground Biography). The most famous member of the group, Lou Reed, continued on to a pretty successful music career as a solo artist after the band broke up. On The Velvet Undergrounds 1970 album Loaded, Rock & Roll was released. Mick Jagger, in Sympathy for the Devil, sings the lyrics as he himself is the Devil although he never actually explicitly he only addresses himself as Lucifer once in the song. In beginning of the song he says he pleased to meet you and introduces himself by describing to the listener all the things he has been alongside throughout history (The Rolling Stones). Of course, if Jagger is singing as if he is the Devil, it would make him an expert on the subject. He could also be considered an authority of evil doings since rock and roll at the time did not necessarily have the best reputation, especially for The Rolling Stones who were considered to be a little rougher alternative to the clean cut Beatles. All of these identities that are taken on during the song are what make the ethos of this song. The claim that this song makes is the pathos, is that the Devil has and always will be around. He supports that fact by again providing examples in history where he was present, such as when he was there when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain and he shouted out Who killed the Kennedys (The Rolling Stones). Jagger understands that the listener may be a little confused about the nature of the Devil and what his purpose is. To help clarify his purpose, more examples are provided about the fact nature is full opposites and things can be contradictory. He says just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners, saints. As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer, cause Im in need of some restraint (The Rolling Stones). The point

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he makes there is that there is good and evil in everyone and in certain situations each side comes out. There are plenty of examples that Jagger uses to suggest that he is actually the devil addressing the listener. These examples are supposed to help the listener guess who is singing them the song. Historical and biblical references are used to support the claim, like referring to Pontius Pilate and German Blitzkrieg. After those references are stated, Jagger then assumes that the listener has a good idea of who he is and then sets out to explain what his purpose his. However, this comes after a guitar solo which is almost like the band wanted to allow the listener to sit and ponder who was addressing them. The organization of the song is put together very well and helps prove the point the song is trying to make. In some ways, it is set up so that the listener will have to interpret some of the song after it is over, whether or not they want to acknowledge and not necessarily admire but respect the Devils presence. The Velvet Underground takes a little different approach to making claims in their song Rock & Roll than The Rolling Stones did in Sympathy for the Devil. In their song, The Velvet Underground takes to make a connection with the listener on the subject of rock and roll. They want to reassure the listener the rock and roll makes everything alright. They would probably know best, since rock and roll was their life at the time and they seemed to be doing pretty well. Although, they may have had some bias on the topic since they may have been a little better at experiencing it because they performed it. To try and hide that bias, the song addresses a girl named Jenny who found everything to be alright in rock and roll too. The tone that is used to describe Jennys experience with rock and roll is almost one of persuasion. It almost sounds like Lou Reed is saying See, Jenny is doing fine ever since she

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found rock and roll, so you can be fine too. In the lyrics it says that Jenny was bored until one fine mornin' she puts on a New York station. You know, she don't believe what she heard at all She started shakin' to that fine, fine music. You know her life was saved by rock 'n' roll (The Velvet Underground). Those lyrics are presented in way that they are testifying to the power of rock and roll and its saving powers from boredom and all the computations of life. The song is very repetitive; the first verse and third verse are virtually the same with little variation between the two. The second verse, however, begins a little differently than the other two. Rather than five year old Jenny saying There was nothin' happenin' at all. Every time she puts on a radio There was nothin' goin' down at all, she says You know my parents are gonna be the death of us all. Two TV sets and two Cadillac cars. Well you know it ain't gonna help me at all Not just a little tiny bit.(The Velvet Underground) The lack of lyrical variation may be due to the songs message of reassurance that everything will be alright. These two artists definitely display two different styles of song presentation. In this case, The Rolling Stones provided information and then left it up to the listener to determine how they would take and interpret that information. That information was also conveyed in a first person point of view, as if the singer was dictating an autobiography to the listener. This was very different from the Velvet Undergrounds approach. They seemed to be trying reassure the listener that by just dancing to rock and roll would make everything alright. They repeat that belief three times, so it is apparent that it is a firm belief of theirs that they are trying to impose on the listener. Both of the songs discussed both make a claim about something that is able to be interpreted by the listener. To help influence how the listener interprets that claim, the artists use

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ethos, pathos, and logos. But even with those elements, a song can be interpreted in so many different ways, and even those elements can be interpreted differently as well. References The Rolling Stones. Sympathy for the Devil. Beggars Banquet. 1968. "The Rolling Stones Biography." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-rolling-stones-mn0000894465/biography>. The Velvet Underground. Rock & Roll. Loaded. 1970. "The Velvet Underground Biography." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-mn0000840402/biography>.