Analysis of a music article

12E Md Music Article Exercise:

Aim: to identify the style and content of music reviews in preparation for producing your double page spread.

1.       What do you think is the relevance of the term ‘Talking Top Shop Blues’?

-‘blues’ suggests that the genre of music she plays is ‘bluesy, indie’

-‘top shop’, where she used to work.

-use of alliteration

2.       How many columns are there?

-3

3.       How many images?

-1

4.       What connotations does the image give of the artist and the content of the article?

The image is quite an unusual, creative image which could suggest the style of her music; there is quite a gothic look with the long black hair either side of her face which suggests her music is quite serious. The serious look on her face also connotes this.

5.       What are your initial impressions of this music feature?

-my initial impressions are that her music is quite deep and not very light hearted. That a lot of her life has been put into the songs.

6.       What techniques does the writer use in the first sentence to engage the reader?

-He compares her to other artists who have been really successful in the music industry really quickly the past few years which highlights how talented she must be. This makes the reader think that maybe the article will be worth reading.

-the fact he compares her to people we already know about makes it relevant to us.

-we also know what to expect

7.       What does ‘ubiquity’ mean?

-ubiquity means that she is everywhere; everybody is starting to here about her.

8.       What is the focus of paragraph one?

-Her new album

-songs and singing ability

9.       What technique features in Maguire’s quote in paragraph two?

-repetition

10.   In paragraph two, how is Maguire made to sound like an average person?

-‘Suffering from a cold and nursing a fruit tea in a café in Brixton’ – makes her seem ‘human’ and down to earth.

11.   What is the focus of paragraph three?

-          Her family life and how she grew up

12.   What do you think is exaggerated in paragraph three?

-          The bluesy genre of her music

13.   In paragraph five, what point is made about Maguire’s relationship with music?

-it’s a form of therapy for her