Samantha Urbina

English 101

Professor Granillo

27 November, 2019

Reading Log #3

TG = 10 minutes

TS = 11:30

ET = 11:43

Title​: ‘Carly Rae Jepsen Loves You Back’

Subject​: Summer 2012 was one of the best summers of my childhood as far as I can remember. I

was just a little 11 year old getting ready to enter middle school, one terrifying and nasty place. It

was a very nervous time and then her song ‘Call Me Maybe’ came out and it introduced me to

the world of youtube. That song was one of the biggest hits of the summer and I remember it

being s great distraction from the fact that I was going to a brand new school, with new people

and unfamiliar faces. I never took the time to listen to other music she released. I saw a year or

two after her hit single was released she was doing covers on Disney Channel. And then not too

recently she was doing covers on Disney Channel. And then not too recently she released an

album that gained a lot of attention and was even nominated for some awards. I remember

thinking to myself, “Why?” I had just never heard any songs of hers on the radio or trending

page of Apple Music.

Predictions​: I am actually very curious as to what he (Abdurraqib) is going to discuss in this

chapter regarding the music of Carly Rae Jepsen. Based on my guesses he might go back to
when she was the most popular and the current events that were going on as he seemed to be

doing that in previous chapters. Because I was so young at the time, I never really knew what

was going on in current events as I do now. Now I look at the news and stay updated with what

is going on especially with mass shootings and out current president. I am very curious as well

because of the past artists, in which I have been somewhat already educated on their careers prior

to reading his chapters. Despite liking one of her songs, I don’t really know much about her

impact or what her music is about.

External Distractions​: my parents watching TV, dogs walking around me

Internal Distractions​: runny nose, moody, sad, stressed

1. Finding the motivation for this chapter took me sometime to figure out as in this chapter I

had to go back and reread what he was trying to express to the audience. After going back

and skimming, Hanif took a break from all the shootings and being a black man in

America and focused on a completely different topic, from what he has been originally

sticking to. We often hear music that sings of hate or sadness/ going through difficult

times. Human beings enjoy sharing that pain as we all feel not alone in what we are going

through. Here Carly Rae Jepsen is more of the opposite and sings of love and joy as that

is her brand and personality. Hanif defends her title ig being a one hit wonder as she

makes others songs that are happy and filled with emotions of someone who is doing

good in life. Part of the motivation in choosing her for this chapter is Hanif demonstrating

the strangeness of humankind. Love wasn’t the only motivation but how humankind is
 more interested in what we cannot reach. Hanif points out how the songs of Jepsen were

actually good, but made the point that others may find it too relatable as she is the girl

next door or a bestfriend you hang out with all the time who is almost obnoxious with

how happy she is. We often idolize these pop stars that sing of relatable feelings while

also being someone who has a glamorous life and fame attracts us even more.

2. One of my favorite things about Hanif is his ability to use descriptiveness as a rhetorical

device. In my opinion being able to display to your reader what you were feeling and

seeing in a specific moment, is powerful in the sense that you can relate to what the

author is trying to get across. In this chapter, the beginning Hanif sets the scene of him

smoking weed at a Carly Rae Jepsen concert and you are able to feel the tension when the

event staff confronts him when the concert was just beginning. Not only does he use it fit

setting scenes but uses it was motivation to show the rawness to the audience. An

example being during a song, Jepsen was singing and Hanif writes “... as she bounces

along the stage, smiling while putting off her two dance moves to every note…” (Hanif

26). When he adds these descriptive elements, it sets up for what claim he is about to

make. In this case he was preparing to discuss that she puts effort into her music which is

especially helpful to someone who doesn’t know a whole lot about her. Another

rhetorical device that is executed well is his metaphors in between sentences making the

audience think about how a sentence that appears random is somehow tied into what he is

trying to get across to the reader.

3. In this chapter Hanif uses Jepsen as an example of our society and its pick and choose

mindset. Hanif describes this artist who is truly happy in what she does and what she
 writes. However society almost finds her too relatable as Hanif states “it occurs to me

that maybe no one actually wants to a pop star who could be their friend” (Abdurraqib

25). Hanif makes the honest claim of how fame works within our society. He gets this

point across even more when he mentions her hit ‘Call Me Maybe’ which towards the

end of the concert she performs. It seems as Jepsen includes the hit more for the sake of

the audience than for herself and what she would want to sing. I enjoy how honest Hanif

is about music, not blaming the artists for their “boring” music but the society that

doesn’t give it the attention it deserves because it isn’t catered to what they may like. I

didn’t know what to expect from this chapter but I did enjoy what was discussed.

4. Although Hanif makes a great point how sometimes we need to put everything aside and

focus on joy, it shouldn’t always happen. I think that Jepsen may almost sound ignorant

at times not because she means to but these are different times from 2010 to 2019. We are

in an interesting time in ethics and politics where there needs to be activism. Yes, Jepsen

may be a good songwriter and good at what she does but she doesn’t go #1 on Billboards

for a reason. Artists that are exceptionally famous take on some sort of activist roles and

speak or shed light on things that actually matter and aren’t just love and happiness. I’m

not saying every song she sings has to be about social issues and current events, however

she will not attract that big audience if all she sings about is her boyfriend and how life is

so great.