Music

Data Collection Project: Songs that Mention Being a Specific Age

by

This complicated and strange project began innocently enough when I decided to make a mix CD for my friend’s birthday and went searching for relevant songs. But ‘songs about turning xx years old’ turns out not to be a very straightforward thing to search for. So after burning the CD I was left with a burning question: why had I found so few songs? In this blog post, I look at which ages get sung about and which don’t, and I present a comprehensive list of 189 songs that mention being a specific age. You can download the list here, and below, I go into more detail on three points:

1) How a surprisingly thorny measurement problem was resolved.

2) Some (younger) ages get mentioned in dozens of songs, other (older) ages are barely    referenced. I examine these trends quantitatively and compare them to other trends, like  how political stances change with age.

3) Quite frankly, it’s impossible to assemble a list like this and not notice that a lot of the  lyrics involve older men talking about younger women in a – what seems to me at least –  creepy way.

Read more

Political Science advice for Queen Elsa of Disney’s ‘Frozen’

by

*spoiler alert*

What does Queen Elsa have planned for Arendelle?

Read more

Political Words & Phrases in Hip Hop

by

Recently, my wife discovered the Rap Stats tool at Rap Genius, which plots the relative frequency of words and phrases in rap songs from 1988 to the present.  Of course, when she showed it to me, my immediate thought was to start plotting political words and phrases and see if we could pick up any … Read more

War/Politics Songs (2)

by

Clearly inspired by Phil and Mike, I’d like to offer my own list of songs… although mine is more ‘political science’ than war-themed. I should acknowledge, as other have, that my statement about whether a chorus is great or not shouldn’t be taken as a statement that I endorse a particular interpretation of the politics … Read more

The International Relations Implications of Chinese Parenting Practices

by

By now I'm sure most people have come across Amy Chua's recent Wall Street Journal article.  After reading David Brooks' response to Chau's article, I've begun to think of some of some of the international relations implications of Chua's Chinese parenting style.  Specifically, I'm curious to see what her revelations imply for China's ascendency in … Read more

Realist and Liberal takes on Diplomacy and Honor

by

For the better part of the past half-century the two most prominent theoretical approaches to the study of international relations have been realism and liberalism.  Realism, viewing the state as a unitary and rational actor, argues that states pursue their own interests in an anarchic international environment.  The ability to accomplish their goals, however, is curbed by the fact that other states are similarly engaged in the pursuit of their own interests.  Ultimately realists view the potential struggles generated over conflicting interests to be determined by the distribution of power in the international system.  Generally speaking, "stronger" states will prevail while weaker states do not (Morgenthau 1948, Waltz 1979). 

Alternatively, liberal scholars tend to disagree with the realist assumptions that the state is a unitary and rational actor, instead proposing that we can improve our understanding of state behavior by examining the interests of domestic political actors, looking at the incentives and constraints established by the domestic political institutions within the state, focusing on legal and moral aspects of international behavior, etc.  Whereas realist arguments view the state as having one national interest, liberal views may interpret the so-called "national interest" as simply the reflection of the dominant political coalition in the state, or as the end result of values and norms associated with domestic political institutions and structures (Trubowitz 1998, Russett and Oneal 2001).

While the debate has cooled somewhat in recent years, Ferrell and Robinson (2009) have offered a rather unique take on the issue.

Keep reading for more…

Read more

Vote For Me… I Love Oxygen, My Family, Apple Pie, And The Beatles

by

Do political leaders follow a set of rules when publicly listing their favourite music?

Read more