My topic for my research project is the comparison between James Taylor and Lil' Wayne's music styles. Throughout the years music has indeed stayed the same. In the 70's, when James Taylor was popular, music revolved around sex and drugs. In today's world music still revolves around the same types of things. Even though the music from these different eras are extremely alike, there are still people from older generations that do not agree with the music that is popular today.
In the book Mirror on America, I found a few essays that insinuated the same types of ideas. In the essay "Same Old Song" by Lorraine Ali, she explains how in every generation music has been upsetting to the elders in that generation. This is not a new development. This has been going on for many decades and will continue. The music that I listen to today is exactly what my mom listened to when she was my age; however, my mother does not like the fact that I listen to music with vulgarity. The people of older generations do not seem to understand that when they were young they were attracted to the songs that focused mainly on sex and violence also. In the essay "Rock of Ages," written by Richard Lacayo, he compares the types of music that teenagers listen to versus what their parents listen to. I believe that my research topic is important for many reasons. In today's society there are limited things that connect the new generations with the old. One thing that all generations can relate to is music. Music has not changed. The only thing that has changed over the years is the artists that sing those particular songs that one loves. It is very important for the different generations to have one thing that can bond them together. I want to make a point that all music has its roots and most songs are connected in some way.
I plan to research my project by comparing certain songs from both artists, James Taylor and Lil' Wayne. I want to compare different songs that they have recorded and try to make a connection between their music. These two artists are not similar, so therefore I think that it will be very interesting to find things to relate them to each other.
I am interested in this subject because I love music. My mother and I are both music fans. I chose James Taylor because my mother is a huge fan; however, my mother does not like to listen to music today that talks about the same things James Taylor did. I want to show that there is a connections between the music of yesterday and the music of today.



Research Questions

1. How many albums did both artist have?


2. When did both artists get started, and their backgrounds?


3. Specific songs that have similar topics or similar content?


4. Struggles that both artists dealt with?


5. Audiences of both artists?

Search Terms

1. Lil' Wayne
2. James Taylor
3. Comparisons of James Taylor and Lil' Wayne

I chose to research a topic related to music. In the book "Mirror on America," I found many interesting essays written on how music has affected many people in different ways. One research idea that I have considered is the effect that sex and violence have on attracting people to music; however are there other factors that attract people and make certain music popular and successful. Another topic that I found interesting is what are the major differences and comparisons on the music of yesterday and the music that is popular now. Another research topic would be are people of different generations attracted to the same types of music. In the world today many people are now buying iPods and downloading music from their computers. How is this changing the music industry. These are just a few topics that I was interested in dealing with the influences of music.

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