Just took it last semester. It was definitely my favourite class at the time, and possibly my favourite since being at Mac. Usually its a night lecture 7-10, and no tutorials.
Dr. Fast's teaching style was good, she didn't move too fast or slow. She was really knowledgeable and passionate, too - she actually wrote an entire book about Led Zeppelin. She answered pretty much every question and when she couldn't the class would discuss it.
She didn't post her slides online, and the slides themselves were only really an outline of what she goes more into when she talks. This was one of those classes where it was good to bring a laptop, since you'll probably want to write down pretty much everything she says (but don't be intimidated, she's talking about music so its not complex ideas that you really need to chew on, you just roll with it). She plays the songs we discuss in class from her iPod and shows videos of live performances as well.
The subject matter was really interesting, since the course is basically about the history of rock and roll music. If your a music buff you'll most likely do really well, as the stuff you learn will supplement alot of stuff you already knew and artists/songs you've probably encountered. If you don't have a lot of prior music knowledge, don't worry (even though you probably know more than you think!). As long as your interested in music, you'll be golden. The two main things discussed in the class are A) the actual elements of the songs we listen to: rhythm, melody, instrumentation, etc. then B) the social and historical contexts which shaped the music during its time (and vice versa).
The tests are EASY if you read over your notes at least a few times beforehand. For the 2 midterms, she begins the tests by playing 4 songs and you answer a few questions about each song on the midterm as you go along. Then the rest of the time is just simple multiple choice. I'd say the listening portion of the middy is the harder part, but definitely manageable if you listen to the songs on her class playlist (provided online) - focusing on the ones she actually played in lecture. No listening test for the exam though, just 100 MC questions. It helps to study in groups to quiz each other on names of artists and other important people in the recording industry.
All in all, I would recommend this class to anyone and everyone considering it. I loved it. One thing though: good luck getting into it. Music 2II3 is really popular, so you'll either have to beat everyone else to it on course registration night or keep trying a few times a day, every day until you get it.
