Throughout the 2000s most mainstream music that was heard on the radio was pop, rap, and/or R&B with the subject of the songs being of common thoughts nothing to make a stir about. One artist that developed during this time was Pink counteracting some notions about war, gay rights, and the general state of America with her song “Dear Mr. President”. I believe that “Dear Mr. President” should be included in MUSC2019 because this song brings together pop and folk influences while using different techniques such as repetition, metaphors and dynamics to enhance the effect of the song has on the audience.
The verse starts with an acoustic guitar using a walking tempo and melancholy tone. “Dear Mr. President, Come take a walk with me.” The guitar stops as “Come take a walk with me” is repeated. For the rest of the verse the guitar wavers in and out emphasizing key vocals such as “you’re not better than me”. The acoustic guitar creates a reflective atmosphere and does not distract from the lyrics highlighting those lyrics portraying the significance of them. Increasing the impact they have on the audience.
In the second verse Pink’s voice gets slightly higher and stronger. The chords that the guitar is playing have changed to go along with the change in lyrics, from statements to questions, these lines of questions continue throughout the remainder of the song. At the end of the verse pairing the accusatory tone of “Are you proud?” with the strumming of the guitar contrast each other in way that works with the tone.
As the chorus comes in the tempo picks up with this the guitar gets louder as does Pink’s voice. The depressing tone that was there to begin way has now turned to anger but not as passionate as you would expect for the cli...
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...erything together. Another influence to this song is from Billy Mann. After graduating from college Mann became a street musician honing his skills as a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Signing with A&M Records there after creating country rock and pop albums although not prevalent in “Dear Mr. President” I feel his influence shows through Pink’s other songs that have rock and pop tones to them. The song also features the Indigo Girls coming “into prominence as part of the late-‘80s folky singer/songwriter revival” (reference) actively supporting women’s rights, LGBT rights (being lesbians themselves), and many other causes. I feel the Indigo Girls lend their experience producing folk music to create the feel of a modern folk to this song with its simplistic nature and guitar playing although it lacks the raw and untouched sound that early folk incorporated.
There are a lot of songs to choose form when there is songs that break down norms and one that reinforce some. There are songs that mean nothing. Great songs always have a hidden mean behind them even if when listen to them we do not know what they are.
We have the chance to give the future generation a gift. We can give them the answers before they encounter the questions. We can give the help theyíll need before they need it. No oneís perfect when dealing with life. Weíre only here for a short time, why not make it the best time you can? Life throws things at people and one has to be able to cope and learn to solve them as best as they can. As Rolling Stone eloquently put it, ìthe lyrics address the need to cope (Wiederhorn).î In life, people are going to encounter problems no matter how hard they try to get around them. This song recognizes that fact and addresses it. The truth seems hard to come by these days. In my life, it is something I strive to give and receive. Thereís no telling how many times one person has been lied to. Letís just not mention that whole Lewinsky thing. ìBittersweet Symphonyî donates the truth to the future. No sugarcoating or hiding of facts takes place. The lyrics say, ìtry to make ends meet youíre a slave to money then you die . . .î As life is, the song is inclusive of the good and the bad. Without the bad, how would we know of the good and vice versa? This common thread of truth connects us and the future.
Women had to fight for their rights to vote and hold public office. In many countries women are looked at as objects and still don’t have equal rights and this song brings light to this topic.
STUDY GUIDE ----- The Anthem Chapter 1 1.a. What is the difference between a and a? The society that is represented in the novel is futuristic in terms of the actual date, yet incredibly underdeveloped to what we experience today. The political structure obviously works, because there doesn't seem to be much discontent among the citizens.
In the beginning of the song, If You Don’t Know, the singer is coming to realization that their partner is going to leave them. In the first stanza the lyrics say, “tonight we’re fading fast, I just want to make this last.”. The singer is saying that they want their relationship to continue and that they believe that it is coming to an end quickly.Later, in that same stanza the singer says, “I’d find a way to make you stay. I’d never let you get away.”. Here, the singer is realizing that the person whom they love is leaving. As
Country music singer, Reba McIntire, recorded a song called "The Greatest Man I Never Knew." In the song, she speaks of how she never really knew her father. It exemplifies the way I feel about my own father. Everyone has a person who has made a deep impact on his or her life. For me, it was my father Donald Alexander. He was a great man with a wonderful sense of humor. He was the reason I wanted to become an attorney. He said I never lost an argument. I feel tormented that I was unable to know what a great person he really was.
Political issues such as the war on terrorism is evoked as an issue throughout the song. American was divided “All across the alien nation” when troops were sent to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction. Metaphorical language was used to explore the issue. Audience positioning from techniques indorse concerns with a country divided and positions them to feel the need to cooperate and sort things out other than civil unrest and debate.
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music has progressed since that time and has slowly become what it is today. Though music has been around for such a long time, protest music just started to develop in the Vietnam Era, the year 1954. The war started the era of protest which, in turn, created a new form of music which incorporated a specific type of lyric that was a way of expressing protest through the song. Since music in this era was already a big thing, artists thought it would be a good idea to get their political viewpoints out there. They did it through something that affected everybody in that time and space. The artists view spread quickly through the country because of the catchy tune and the viewpoints that are listed. In the United States of America, it is a very common thing to conform to others in a group (Conformity…). Since conformity is such a common occurrence in a large group, all the artist has to do is find a couple of people in the group, group being an audience, who agree with the artist and the rest will unfold on its own. The artist will keep on performing while the word of him and his music will spread from person to person. Conformity will ultimately bring people together on the same viewpoint until eventually, there are thousands of people there with the artist to protest. These artists have grown over time along with the style of music that they bring along with them. Protest music still exists today and is one of the most effective forms of protest that we have.
All around the country people love to listen to music and the presidential candidates have taken it upon themselves to make music playlist based on what there perceived as in this presidential election. Clinton’s predicament is a particularly painful one. She’s spent years filing the burrs off her personality, only to find that rough edges are in. Back in June, her campaign issued an Official Hillary 2016 Playlist on Spotify. It was packed with upbeat, on-message tunes such as
In Barack Obama’s Dreams from my Father, many aspects of race, gender, class, education, etc. are involved in the life of the current president. This novel introduces and brings out discussion for further analysis into these categories of privilege and discrimination. Though certain categories have caused great adversity for Barack Obama, he is still able to overcome his minority group due to the other privileged groups that he is in.
The song’s intangible spirit changes how they both felt each time. He can see her, but he is speechless, and does not know how to expr...
So even though we have come a long way since the 1920’s with womens rights the music and media industry is still holding women back. All of these songs used as examples have been produced within the last ten years. Blurred lines was from last year alone.
Getting to know the background of a song initially might help you understand and depict more from the song. Russ wrote this song for his very first girlfriend at the age of 18. He was a very neglectful boyfriend who cheated on her and kept trying to push her away. She was in love with him, but because of how he treated her, she can’t trust and love another man. Russ is truly sorry about this stating, “I’m tryna to
In the third stanza, he is telling her that there is no worth in hiding her beauty; "Small is the worth Of beauty from the light retired." He wants her to step out into the light and allow herself to be desired without feeling embarrassed; "Bid her come forth, Suffer herself to be desired, And not blush so to be admired." He wants her to feel proud that she is admired and "not blush."
By the end of the 60’s, The Beatles had acquired a worldwide fan base and legendary iconic status among the youth of the world. John Lennon, the most prolific and famous of the Beatles, wasn’t averse to making political statements through his music. He knew that he had the power t...