Pitch Perfect Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Bibliographic Information: Various Artists. (2012). Pitch perfect: Original motion picture soundtrack [CD]. Universal Music.

Plot Summary: The soundtrack for the hilarious a capella-centered film, Pitch Perfect, contains the tunes belted by The Barden Bellas and The Treblemakers- dueling a capella groups competing for the winning title at Nationals.  The soundtrack has A capella versions of hits like “Don’t Stop the Music,” SInce U Been Gone,” and “Party in the U.S.A.”

Critical Evaluation: N/A

Reader’s Annotation: Come listen to The Barden Bellas battle The Treblemakers on their journey to the National Collegiate A Capella Championship

Information about the artists: The soundtrack was recorded with the voices of the actors in the movie Pitch Perfect, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, and many others (IMDb, n.d.).

Genre: Soundtrack, A capella

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Sample of mashups.

Reading level/Interest age: 12+

Challenge Issues: The soundtrack contains a track with lyrics about sex.

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I included this CD: Pitch Perfect is a movie that appeals to the young adult audience because of its humour, crudeness, and singing.  Providing the soundtrack for the movie will please the fans of the hit movie.

References:

IMBd. (n.d.). Pitch perfect. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981677/

Red

Bibliographic Information: Swift, T. (2012). Red [CD]. Big Machine Records.

Plot Summary: In her fourth album titled Red, Taylor Swift yet again captures the pain, joy, and celebration of her favorite topic: love. Tracks like “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “The Last Time,” sing of love gone wrong, while “22” celebrates the freedom of youth.  

Critical Evaluation: The Red album by Taylor Swift has taken on a more pop-country feel.  Her songs are able to cross genres, thus appeal to a wider audience.  The album has earned 11 Billboard Music Awards Nominations including Top Artist and Top Country Album.  Some reviewers have mixed feelings about Swift’s new album claiming it is too much “pop” and not enough “country” (Amazon, n.d.).

Reader’s Annotation: Enjoy Taylor’s new album, Red, including chart-toppers like “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, “ and “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

Information about the author: Taylor Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania when she was fourteen-years old to pursue a country music singing career.  In 2006 she released her first album Taylor Swift, and in 2008 she received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist (Wikipedia, n.d.).

    Since then, Swift has released three more albums, won “seven Grammy Awards, eleven American Music Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, six Academy of Country Music Awards, and four Billboard Music awards” (Wikipedia, 2013). She is wildly popular among not only young adults, much music fans of all ages.  

Genre: Country

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Preview a few songs.

Reading level/Interest age: 12+

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why I included this CD: Taylor Swift is a very successful singer/songwriter.  Taylor writes about issues many young adults can relate to, especially that of love and heartbreak.  

References:

Amazon. (n.d.). Red- customer reviews. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Red-Taylor-Swift/dp/B008XNZMOU

Wikipedia. (2013, May 13). Taylor Swift. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift#Awards_and_nominations

Save Rock and Roll

Bibliographic Information: Fall Out Boy. (2013). Save rock and roll. The Island Def Jam Music Group.

Plot Summary: Save Rock and Roll  marks the end of Fall Out Boy’s hiatus from the music scene.  Their fifth studio album features songs like “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up),” “The Phoenix,” and “Young Volcanoes.”  The album also features artists like Foxes, Big Sean, Courtney Love, and the legendary Elton John.  Save Rock and Roll showcases many genres, like punk, rap, acoustic, electronic, and pop.  

Critical Evaluation: After just twelve weeks, Save Rock and Roll’s first single “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up)” sold over 1 million digital copies (Grein, 2013).  Many reviewers on iTunes appear to love the album, as 4,108 out of 5,426 reviewers rated it with 5 stars.  

Reader’s Annotation: The much anticipated fifth studio album of Fall Out Boy is here.  Will they save rock and roll?

Information about the band: Fall Out Boy was created in 2001 by members Patrick Stump (vocalist/guitarist), Pete Wentz (bassist/lyricist), Andrew Hurley (drummer), and Joe Trohman (guitarist).  Their previous albums are Take This to Your Grave (2003), From Under the Cork Tree (2005), Infinity on High (2007), and Folie a Deux (2008).  During their recording sessions for Folie the atmosphere was a tense, so the band took a hiatus with the promise of reuniting in the future.  The band had many secret reunions to record music before the release of Save Rock and Roll (Fall Out Boy, n.d.).  

Genre: Punk, Alternative Rock, Emo

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Sample of  “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up)”

Reading level/Interest age: 14+

Challenge Issues: Should any issues arise with this album I will:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I included this CD: The anticipation behind Save Rock and Roll makes it appropriate for my collection.  The album will be appreciated by Fall Out Boy fans who have waited more than four years for their new music.  

References:

Grein, P. (2013, May 1). Week ending April 28, 2013. Songs: Rihanna ties Mariah. Yahoo Music. Retrieved from http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-april-28-2013

-songs-rihanna-ties-210616026.html

MTV. (n.d.). About Fall Out Boy. Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com/artists/fall-out-boy

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