Who let the dogs out?

‘Who Let the Dogs Out, by the Baha Men is a pretty nostalgic song with a feminist theme (Nicol 392). The song depicts a lively party where people dance and have a good time until the men start aggressively hitting women. However, these women look out for each other, shouting in response and referring to the disrespectful men as dogs. I believe the song is a piece that will last decades/centuries as it tackles a serious social issue, in addition to its catchy, upbeat sound. The song is not for entertainment, as it calls out bad-behaved men, illustrating its intellectual value.

Under my definition of the “real music” genre, I consider this piece “real music.” This is because of the elements of music applied; for instance, in terms of Chords’ complexity, Baha Men’s ‘Who Let the Dogs Out is more intricate than the traditional songs of the same genre. Who Let the Dogs Out has above-average scores in the chord, complexity, bass melody, progression novelty, and melody tension; the song is written in the C major key and with a significant mode (Lambert 278). Furthermore, Who Let the Dogs Out is a high-energy song that is somewhat danceable due to a time signature of 4 beats per bar; thus, the song is a happy song with a 129 BPM tempo.

As the song’s lyrics suggest, ‘And tell the fellas stop the name calling’//yepee ah Yo/ them girls respond to the call/I hear a woman shout/Who let the dogs out?‘ I believe the composer wrote the song to address men catcalling women and calling them names while being disrespectful. While the music seemed just like a song meant for entertainment at a glance, knowing the meaning of the lyrics made me appreciate it even more, altering my perception.

Works Cited

Lambert, Philip. “Half‐Diminished Seventh Chords And Their Contexts.” Music Analysis 39.3 (2020): 277-313. Web.

Nicol, Jennifer J. “Gary Ansdell, How Music Helps In Music Therapy And Everyday Life.” Feminism & Psychology 26.3 (2016): 391-393. Web.

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Question

I would like you to watch the four videos below and then comment on them. Please note that I want you to create your thread and comment on another colleague’s to receive full credit. Please write at least 50 words (I think there is enough material to warrant a longer response)

Who let the dogs out?

Here is the topic:
All of us, I think, have some opinion on what music is, or to be clearer, what music can be defined as. While I do not believe that we can have a clear-cut definition for this art form, partly because of its ever-changing characteristics and partly because, as they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” it is a fact that music contains elements (tempo, melody, harmony, etc.) you would consider indispensable when writing a piece. With this in mind, please look at the four videos I have posted. Which examples are “real music” under your genre definition? Please try to look for the elements discussed above (melody, harmony, color, etc.) when making your choices; I am less interested in whether you like the piece or not, but rather if you can listen to a piece of music and make a cerebral choice on its quality and value. Also, think about the use of the piece for the overall society: is it a piece that you believe will last throughout decades/centuries, does it have any intellectual value, or is it purely entertainment? Very IMPORTANT here – try to research each piece and find some background information about it ( the purpose of the musical piece, why the composer wrote it, might affect your perception of it).

Please justify your choices; I am very interested in your thought process. Please remember there is no “right” or “wrong” answer, so have as much fun with the topic as you would like. PLEASE USE AT LEAST 50 WORDS IN YOUR ORIGINAL THREAD, and you must also respond to at least one classmate’s thread to receive full credit.

Another thing: when responding to a classmate, please do so in a friendly, respectful manner, and try to debate the facts rather than one’s musical tastes, etc. As a rule, when posting, I encourage everyone to treat this like a normal discussion; please do not post anything you would not say to a person in a face-to-face conversation. (Believe it or not, these discussions tend to get heated at times)

Here are the videos

Reduce the volume before listening to the last piece (The Mezbrow example).

Video No. 4 – alternate site (in case the original link did not play)