Program 7: Can You Dance to That?

Time of program

1-2 hours

Program Description

Teenagers love music. It's part of their everyday existence. Through their choice of music and clothes, they are slowly carving out their identities. This program will bring teens together to explore various types of music. Ask the teens to bring a recording of their favorite song to be played at this program. Each teen who brings a song will fill out a form stating why this is their favorite song. Hang up the forms around the department.

Everyone attending may not like all of the music that is played, but the program will provide a wider view and appreciation of people's musical preferences. Tolerance of others people's musical tastes will be one of the lessons learned in the program.

Find out about popular music teens are listening to in other countries. Add some "world" music from your library's collection to expand the teens' musical experience.

Invite a teen volunteer to be the "DJ" and create a "party" atmosphere. If there are too many songs to play during the program, hold a drawing to see which ones will be played. Teens can dance or just hang out and talk to their friends. At the end of the program, the DJ will let the teens will vote for their favorite song.

Preparation

Gather CDs and books about music and musicians from your library collection to display during the program. Bring a CD player and decorate your programming room like a party. Hey, it is one!

Decorations

Display CD covers of teen's favorite music. Ask local record stores if they have any music posters to lend. Print out pictures of popular bands from the Internet. Hang them in the department.

Additional Activity

Prepare additional activities for the teens such as bead making and henna tattoos. Information about henna tattoos is at Manju's Mehndi at www.henna-art.com. Display related books along with these activities.

Variation

Ask a company to donate a Karaoke machine for your program. Have fun!

Books to Booktalk

Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books by Francesca Lia Block
Dogbreath Victorious by Chad Henry.

Books to Display

Books on music become quickly outdated since popular music changes from day to day. Ask your teen volunteers to help you select some to display.

DK Encyclopedia of Rock Stars by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton.
All Music Guide To Rock: The Experts' Guide To The Best Recordings In Rock, Pop, Soul, R&B, And Rap edited by Michael Erlewine.
This Is the Sound: The Best of Alternative Rock by Reisfeld, Randi.

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Magazines

Rolling Stone.: Straight Arrow, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104-0298; www.rollingstone.com/; The definitive source of music information and popular culture trends.
Spin.: Camouflage Association, 6 West 18th Street, NY, NY. 10011; www.spin.com/; Spin gives you the edge on music and youth cultures. Covers film, politics and music- ska, pop, rhythm and blues, rock, hip hop, rap, and more.
Vibe.: Miller Publishing Company; www.vibe.com/; Vibe covers the trends, the events, and culture of the urban scene. From film, fashion and art to politics and music-pop, jazz, rhythm and blues, dance, hip hop, rap, house and more.

Musical Recordings

All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2.
Black & Blue by the Backstreet Boys.
Kid A by Radiohead.
Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty.
Madonna Music by Madonna.
Unplugged by Maná.
Welcome to the Freak Show: Live in Concert by DC Talk.

Videos

The History of Rock 'n' Roll. (60 minutes)

Web Sites

Christian Music Online: www.cmo.com/; This web site is dedicated to providing current information about the Christian music world.
America's #1 Country Music Channel: www.country.com/; Great for country music fans.
The International Lyrics Server: www.music-e.net/international_lyrics_server.htm; Search by artist, album or song for lyrics to over 40,000 songs.
MTV Online: www.mtv.com/; Popular music world with MTV Online.
Roots World: www.rootsworld.com/rw/; This site offers reviews and feature articles as well as links to sites from different regions of the world.
Ultimate Band List: http://ubl.artistdirect.com/; This directory is a superb tool for locating an artist in a particular genre.

Table of Contents | Program Eight

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