Music Tracks Response

When it came to the music we listened to, the thing that struck me most was the lack of sonic signifiers. As a music minor, I've been taught to listen to music and to deconstruct it not based as much on its lyrics, but its sonic qualities. Before listening to the tracks, I had expectations to hear more sounds that were identifiable with Native Americans. Some of the songs, like "Vision Quest" by Litefoot, had a few sonic signifiers in it, but the main way that the songs could be identified as "native" was the content, which is something that I was taught to consider last. I also though that compared to modern music of the same genre, Litefoot had many similar characteristics to rap heard on popular radio. Litefoot did not use his background all the time in his songs, like The Raiders did. The one song we heard from them was basically all about the history and resilience of the Cherokees. This is not a bad song subject, but Litefoot manages to make more songs that do not constantly call to his identity as a Cherokee Indian.
The song Home on the Range by Tori Amos, when considered with the podcast of Sarah and Amy Vowell seems very appropriate. The Vowell sisters were in a sense going home, where "seldom is heard/ a discouraging word," but it took them quite some time to see that they were in fact so connected to their lives. It took them a while to realize what they were really returning home, but once they did, they gained a much deeper connection to their past, rather than just driving on the trail of tears just to remember it. Now, not only were they remembering it, but they were becoming more apart of it than they ever had.