Should Music Be Analyzed?

            I think that analyzing music can be either a good or bad thing. Sometimes to completely understand a song you need to really listen and hear all the words. Try to figure out what the artist is trying to say in the song by going through the lyrics and see if they use any metaphors or anything in the song. Other times if you analyze a song to much it could start to lose any meaning. If a song has a simple meaning and you try to analyze it you can over think it and be looking for a greater meaning which there may not be in the song.

            A song that I think is better understood when you really listen and break down the lyrics is” The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert. In the song she talks about going to the house she grew up in to look around. She said she is not there to take anything to just get a memory. She says that she is trying to fix the brokenness inside her. What she means in the song is that she has lost who she is and thinks that maybe if she went back to this house it will remind her of who she is. The first time you listen to this song you may not really understand what she is talking about but once you really listen I think most people can relate to the way she feels.

            An example of a song that I think the listener can over analyze is “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry. With many reviews of the song people say that they don’t understand what the artist is trying to say. A review from the9531.com said “By the second half of the first verse, Kimberly employs such strong language that it’s hard to tell whether or not the song is meant to ponder the hypothetical or to speak prophetically”. This is what most people think, but the artist actually based this song on a poem called “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. So while some people think that the meaning of this song is that the artist is thinking about dying young, really it is just a tribute to a classic poem.

            There are many songs that can go either way. They may have a simple meaning or really no meaning to them so when someone tries to analyze the song they may end up more confused than before. Some songs can even just be for comedy purposes and really have no meaning to them at all. Other songs have a deeper meaning that it may take you a while to understand. I think to decide whether or not you should analyze a song you need to listen to it a few times and see if you can get a simple meaning from what the song says. If you can not figure out the meaning then maybe you should read the lyrics and really try to decipher what the artists is trying to say.

           

What Music Means To Me

Scrolling though my music library on my computer I can not pick out just one style of music. Classic rock, country, pop, rap, punk, alternative rock, oldies, metal, instrumentals, children’s music, movie soundtracks, and local unsigned talent; I have some of everything and I enjoy it all. I do not listen to music to fit in to a certain crowd or to make myself out to be someone I am not. I listen to music for the love of music. You can find great qualities in every style of music that can spark your imagination and make you experience different emotions.

            Over the course of my life I have went through different events and circumstances that affected what music I listened to at the time. On an average day I will go through a few different genres, the songs I choose usually go along with how I am feeling. Every song in my library has a feeling that it triggers inside of me. I often find myself within my music, the story of my life could be told with a sequence of songs.

            As a kid I grew up listening to classic rock with my mom and country with my dad. It was something we could always bond over. In middle school I got deep into boy bands which I am sure most girls that age did, I still have all of my N SYNC albums and still listen to them when I am feeling nostalgic. It brings back the feeling of being that young and carefree again. When I was 12 and my dad passed away I found comfort in music. He was a country fan so country music has always held a special place in my heart. On days when I really miss him I play some old country songs and go back. Anytime I hear the song “Wink” by Neal McCoy I am instantly transported back into the kitchen of my childhood home and I see my dad standing in front of me singing the song with me. For those brief minutes we are together again.

Freshman year of high school I had a boy friend who introduced me to more rock and punk music. I never felt more fearless and alive then I did when I would go to punk shows and be right in the middle of mosh pits. Throughout high school I met new people with all kinds of musical tastes and I soaked it all in. You can learn so much about a person when you ask them about music and it is interesting to see how some people are so loyal to one type of music that they rarely listen to anything else.

            Learning how different genres make people feel, and seeing the contrast in what two people would say about the same song made me really appreciate music. It can mean so many things to different people. Music can make you feel happy or sad and it can remind you of good and bad times. You can trace the world’s history through music. Music is and forever will be a very important part of human lives. I think the band Big & Rich were right when they said “Brothers and sisters we are here for one reason and one reason alone, to share our love of music.”

The Role Music Plays in Life

Music has played an important role in my life. I always have music playing around me and the times when I cant play music I am always running through songs in my head. No matter the mood you are in you can always find a song that goes along perfectly. When I am sad I listen to sad songs, such as The Dance by Garth Brooks. Or when I am happy I listen to songs that make me happier, that usually ends up with a lot of N*SYNC or Taylor Swift. Music is a great motivator as well; when I work out I put on a lot of fast paced music that keeps me going. I also listen to a lot of hip hop when I am just in the mood to dance. I don’t stick to just one genre of music; I listen to everything and find artists and certain songs that I like from all genres. I have a huge music library on my computer and love to just hit shuffle and see what songs will play next.

Music has always been important to me, and I don’t sing or play and instrument, but listening to music has always meant so much. I look back through my life and can remember important dates to me by thinking of what music I listened to at that time.  Eight years ago my dad passed away, and a lot of the memories I have of him revolve around music. When I am feeling sad and miss him there are songs that I play that make me think of him and make it feel like for the moment he is with me again. A lot of these songs are country songs; country music is very big in my family. I am proud to say that I am a fan of country music because there is so much emotion portrayed in the songs.

Where ever you go in the world you will encounter music. Music is important to people from all different cultures. Everyone may have their preferences but its still all music. Events in some communities are built around types of music. Here in the Antelope Valley we have the annual Antelope Valley Fair where all sorts of people come from all over the valley. They are different concerts throughout the fair that are always sold out; it just goes to show how diverse it is in our own community. Next time you meet someone new, and think that they are so different from you what could you possibly talk about, ask them about music. While one may not agree with others tastes in music we can all share our opinions and learn from one another.

Using the theme of music for this class will help us all relate with one another. We could all listen to the same song and all get something different from it so we can share that and learn a lot about ourselves and each other. I hope to learn from everyone and start to appreciate things in music that I might have otherwise missed. I want to understand how music makes people feel, how it inspires their lives, and how it how it can bring us all together,