AFAS 305 - The Birth of The Cool

The concept of "cool" in regards to music, fashion, and social status grew popular fifties and sixties. Evidence of hipster slang is documented in Cab Calloways's "Hepster's Dictionary" in 1938. It is, according to linguistic anthropologist Robert L. Moore, the most popular slang term of approval in English. "Cool" more than a word. This course investigates the idea of "cool" in America and its musical relationship to urban culture through various genres of African--American music. The rise to prominence of "cool" will be analyzed through and investigation of the music of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, West Coast jazz, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, Sugar Hill Gang, and Grandmaster Flash along with their music's effect on social mores, fashion, film, and literature.