The Five I's of of Transcendentalism in the Modern Day

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According to the New York Times, teenagers listen to an average of 2.5 hours of music in a singular day. The messages coming through in each song may vary between drug/alcohol reference or transcendentalism. No matter where there is music, there is a lesson to be learned through ideas that Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau created. Though transcendentalism is a relatively foreign word to most, it can be defined by using five i's: individualism, inspiration, intuition, idealism and imagination which are displayed on all platforms of music today. The different music genres may vary between music from the late 1990's and children's movies today.

The constantly growing and changing world is trying its best to sway and alter the minds of the common people by using as many influential platforms possible from ads on television, entertainment in the theaters, politics in the government, to music on the radio. The Dave Matthews Band sings about either issues in life or in love. To find a song that correlates to individualism is not a surprise. When singer Dave Matthews performs the song "Drunken Soldier" live, he puts an emphasis on the lyrics "Don't waste time trying to be something you're not/ Fill up your head/ Fill up your heart/ And take your shot/ Don't waste

time tryin' to be something you're not.” The meaning rings through that he had been through identity issues and when finding himself, he found that he shouldn't pretend to be someone that he should not have been. Identity is a substantial issue in the novel Into the Wild. The author Jon Krakauer admitted

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security...

... middle of paper ...

.... Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Research." The Impact of Idealism. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.

""Drunken Soldier" Lyrics." DAVE MATTHEWS BAND LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Owl City." - Gold Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

""The Stone" Lyrics." DAVE MATTHEWS BAND LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Under the Influence Of...Music?" Well Under the Influence OfMusic Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

"World Academy of Art & Science." Individuality & Social Conformity – Thoreau's View. World Academy of Art and Science, 09 Jan. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .

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