“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, was released in 2008 and became the best-selling album of that year within days of its release. Coldplay dissatisfied with their sales from previous songs decided to do something different: out of the ordinary. The group traveled to Spain to record in several Spanish churches where the song “Viva La Vida” came into existence (Coldplay). This album has helped them become a well renowned group. Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” was an insta-hit and was number one in the US and UK. The title of the song makes reference to artwork by Frida Kahlo. The song has many biblical and historical references that allude to themes of pain and strength (Viva). “Viva La Vida” comprises of several allusions to certain people or historical events that are essential in showing how the song depicts a loss of power and the helplessness of life. Allusion is defined as an implied, indirect, or passing reference to a person or thing; (in later use more widely) any reference to someone or something (“allusion”).
Coldplay’s hit song title “Viva La Vida” alludes to the artwork Viva La Vida created by Frida Kahlo. The reason behind the title “Viva La Vida” is because of singer Martin. He saw a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo with Viva La Vida being the name of it. He chose this title after being aware of the fact that Frida Kahlo endured polio, a broken spine, and chronic pain. Martin said: “He loved the boldness of it” (Rolling). “Viva La Vida” symbolizes courageousness and strength in Martin’s eyes because of the consciousness of knowing what a helpless person can go through. The pain endured is beyond words, but also the strength needed to push through the desperate times of helplessness.
Frida Kahlo suffered many setbacks and i...
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... of power and authority. Louis XVI was a rich and powerful king until he let matter slip out of his hands. The key symbol is the storming of the Bastille Prison. This prison was a symbol of authority and power. When it was taken from Louis XVI it was the key turning point in his downfall and loss of supremacy. This historical reference proves how “Viva La Vida” portrays a loss of power and helplessness of life in multiple ways.
“Viva La Vida” is an inspiring and remarkable song, which will be known for a while. The way Coldplay was able to tell a story with music throughout the entire song is remarkable. This song has been interpreted in many different ways that one can only have their own unique feeling towards it. The background behind the song is truly inspiring and can touch many people’s lives. This song will be around for a long time for many to hear and love.
The whole music video is in remembrance of the little girl Aiyana Jones and to show its audience the injustice it served in America (Alexis 5). The music video does not focus on the lyrics, but focuses on a whole different story. Although the music video is about the war between the government and drugs, the lyrics and the music video share a mutual message and that is to seek peace not only in the community, but also in our minds. Today, there have been issues on police brutality and unlawful arrests. This music video really illustrated different point of views of different people such as the victim and the policemen. Although the music video displayed a different message, the lyrics also provided a great message to people especially young women. Both music video and lyrics
Known as the “Queen of Tejano” and the “Mexican Madonna”, Selena Quintanilla-Perez was the adored Latin singer who sadly did not get to live to see all of the success of her career. One of her most famous quotes is, “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever but to create something that will (PhilosIblog, 2014).” That is just what Selena did and she made sure that her legacy would live on for years. Selena surely left a her mark in this world with the help of her family, in her short lived 23 years. Selena was an amazing singer, she even made it very far in a genre of music that was dominated by men. Selena Quintanilla-Perez is an influential person because of her loving personality, her music career, her determination to succeed in a genre that was only men, and her success with her music that will never stop playing even if she is not here.
More than eight million copies sold is a great figure for any music album. However, for a CD labeled with World Music genre, that number means an unprecedented success. The album, named Buena Vista Social Club, has changed the attitude of the world to Cuban music forever. Nonetheless, Buena Vista has been criticized for being a commercial product, and for causing negative effects to Cuban society. Let us discover the story behind this phenomenon from Cuba, and more importantly, explore the music inside this brilliant CD.
It could be argued that ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ served exemplary as testament to the changing attitudes towards rock music and psychedelic acid rock of the time. The prevalence of the genre was tangible, even the AFVN (American Forces Vietnam Network) added a special channel in 1968 for those soldiers serving overseas who had reported an interest in the musical style (Kramer, 2006). Perhaps this song was indeed the natural progression of music in a time of so much uncertainty for an entire generation fraught with equal parts revolutionary ideals and Cold War paranoia. The track’s tone, ambiance were defined by an eerily dark otherworldliness unheard of up until that point in rock music and arguably not replicated again until Black Sabbath’s NIB
Music is regarded as a method of passing a message. Though some songs do not intend to do that, the message in them is still perceived. The song, “Get up, ...
Song lyrics have set off a great generation of our leisure time than reading poetic devices, therefore song lyrics are better than poetic devices. Song lyrics have dropped numerous lines that attach to us now a days and make us listen to the line over and over unlike poetic devices. Song Lyrics have so much meaning by word choice and by relations.”Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi, is about people fed up with society and plan on taking a journey. “Dreams” by Edgar Allen Poe, is about a man who dreams of a greater life. Mr. Rager, the song by Scott Cudi, has a better meaning than Dreaming, the poem by Edgar Allen Poe, by personification, allusion, and symbolism.
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
This iconic song has many different styles of rhetoric in it, including the style of Pathos. The beginning of this song starts
When comparing and contrasting “Ozymandias”, written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, there is a strong contrast between the two. Ozymandias is a poem about a long-forgotten king who once had mighty power over his people, where as “Viva La Vida” is about a king who was overthrown. However, the similarities between the song and poem are astonishing. “Ozymandias” is similar to “Viva La Vida”because both texts mention a rockpile built upon sand for a king; because both texts show that the citizens are enemies of the king; and because they are both about a king who has lost his power.
‘Analysing popular music: theory, method and practise’ (Tagg, 1982) is an article that illustrates brilliantly the issues and nuances of analysing and discussing popular music. It lays out a scientific method for achieving analytical goals, using some of Tagg’s previous work to help explain his methodology and process. In the first part of this essay, I will discuss the analysis of ‘Kojak Theme’ (Goldenberg, 1973) and ABBA’s ‘Fernando’ (ABBA, 1976) that Tagg writes about in his work.
of reality. The song looks at the downfalls in our society and how things went
Imagine having all the power in the world, then realizing you took it too far and the power was torn away from you. Viva La Vida explains the power of King Louis XIV and the fall of his rule because of the unstable structure. The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventurous story of one man’s wrong imprisonment and his excessive revenge on those who wronged him.
In Coldplay’s song, “Paradise”, the songwriters use exaggerative language, personification, and rhetorical techniques to tell the story of a little girl’s escape from the harshness and disappointment of reality. The listeners of this song are treated to a beautifully written story about a girl’s maturity through the struggles and disappointment that life has offered to her. Some of the most effective ways that the songwriters explain the plight of the girl are when they attach the listener emotionally with her plight through their use of exaggerated language and personification. Ultimately, the girl copes with her situation and shows signs of maturity; which, enforces the emotional connection that the audience feels with her.
Our songs are for all the misfits in society. We deliver our music to all the souls that are searching for refuge. We wanted to give hope to all of those in struggle. ‘Killing me softly’ is about hearing the song that tell you exactly how hard it is to hear what you are going through. We use a lot of euphemism and metaphor in our songs to inadvertently provide a sense of security to everyone. I couldn’t be happier to hear that our songs are helping and sending the people a message. I wanted to spread our culture while doing this. I wanted people to identify themselves with our music and create this intercultural connection with each of us in order to help us break down all our language
DeNora introduced the concept of “aesthetic reflexivity” which explains why a person values the comfort as well as love (DeNora, 1999). The song I chose, according to my own opinion brings peace and harmony and on the basis of DeNora’s concept, music is simply a referentialist tool. People constantly utilize music as one of the major means of self-expression for representing who they actually are. According to DeNora, “One of the first things music does is to help actors to shift mood or energy level…‘care of self”. Here music simply becomes self-regula...