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Music and self identity essay
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Money chains down people from living life. This appears to be the belief of singer Jessie J. She points out in her song, “Price Tag” that the world needs to stop worrying about the price tags, and instead enjoy life. The song was released on January 25, 2011, and debuted at number one on the U.K. Singles Chart. The song also topped the charts in Ireland and New Zealand, becoming Jessie J’s first number one single in her native U.K. In the United States, “Price Tag” apexed at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even though the song did better in the U.K., its theme is meant for everyone in every nation. The song “Price Tag” by Jessie J (Jessica Cornish) reveals that people around the world, yes even Americans, are too focused on money and capitalism, and they are not enjoying life. Jessie J opens her song with the lyrics, “Seems like everybody’s got a price,” which she is declaring that money is a motivator and shows that people only care for money. She then ends the verse by singing, “Just stop for a minute, and smile.” The main point of the line and stanza is for Jessie J to tell people that they need …show more content…
Jessie J goes on to sing how “money can’t buy us happiness,” meaning that money can only give us materialistic items and not happiness. In terms of money Jessie J sings that she’ll “Pay em with love tonight”, then kicks into the chorus, “It’s not about the money, money, money, we don’t need the money money money, we just wanna make the world dance, forget about the price tag.” She sings “Pay em with love” because she is offering a substitute for money, a feeling, a feeling that usually fills a happiness hole in person’s heart. The chorus is referring to her belief that living life is not about money, but instead it is about dancing and having
Economics take part in many daily lives can be seen in the music people listen to. Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” song is no exception. The song describes a young father trying to live up to capitalistic America’s economy and needs. Sometimes in life choices must be made. People respond to incentives put in place by Homo Economicus. For many, just as it is in the song, that incentive is money. The song states, “My child arrived just the other day. He came to the world in the usual way. But there were planes to catch and bills to pay. He learned to walk while I was away.” These lines relate to opportunity cost. The father had to give up one thing in order to achieve another. The opportunity cost is the time that the father lost watching his son grow up. He felt there was a higher demand for his job than for his time with his son. He chose to be on that plane and to be at a job that would keep him from his family. In his mind, the father used marginal analysis to make this decision. He simultaneously, even though he might not have realized he
In the second verse, Michael Jackson restates how he, like most of the audience, has fallen victim to taking our privileges for granted “I’ve been a victim of a selfish kinda love/ it’s time that I realize/ there are some with no home/ not a nickel to loan/ could it be really me pretending that they’re not alone”. He has been privileged with a family who has loved him, and has always had enough money to live, and there are others who are not so
Tony Hoagland involves the value system in the poem, money is put ahead of everything and yet happiness is just not where it should be. “I am asleep in America too.” We as humans believe that the more we have the happier we become which is not true at all. Material things fill the world and when they are achieved them happiness that we think will come never does. “Each day you watch rivers of bright merchandise run past you.” The choice is yours is it a want, or is it a need? Does it have a every day use or do you just like the way it looks? Marketing departments of companies know this and market along with creating protects that appeal to the
Throughout poetry, there are many works that reflect society; however, few reflect it as it truly is. Among those few is “Wings” by Macklemore. Not only does this song express the emphasis that society puts on materialistic things, it explains that they are truly just materialistic items and nothing more. It does this through many lines of admirable imagery. Included is the line, “That air bubble that mesh… The box, the smell, the stuffing', the tread, in school… I was so cool… I knew that I couldn't crease 'em… My friends couldn't afford 'em… Four stripes on their Adidas.” Not only does it display imagery, but this line introduces the emphasis on materialistic items in our society, and implies that the shoes are what make a person great, and not raw talent. This is a key line in understanding the rest of the song, as it also exemplifies the fact that expensive items are what makes a person cool, as they are falsely related to enhanced
Money is sweeter than honey but can be destructive. It simplifies a man’s life while a lack of it confines him in the streets of poverty. It raises his social status while an absence of it leaves him unnoticed. It gives him a feeling of superiority and importance among others, while a shortage of it makes him worthless
Money, money, money, money, money. People just care about the Benjamins, the moolah, the cash, the dough— but is it really essential to the human existence, or does society just accept the systematic oppression that comes with the dog-eat-dog nature of our economic system since it benefits the people on top? Monetary gains are all well and good; however, when does it commence to overtake our lives and when does it become our end goal? Instead of relying on money for food, shelter and our overall well-being, society views it as a tool that gives them power over other people, thus putting one’s economic status on a pedestal and making life a difficult competition. So yes, it is a dog-eat-dog world, but that’s not exactly a healthy perspective
The song says, “you know/ I wish I had Jessie’s girl/ I wish I had Jessie’s girl/ Where can I find a woman like that” (Springfield 1). The repetition of the line “I wish I had Jessie’s girl” is catchy, is stuck in the head, and engrosses the audience. This also establishes the greed the narrator has for the girl and establishes that the tone is extreme jealousy.
Is happiness for sale? It is true that with enough money one can enjoy everything luxurious, and live a life of comfort and security. A little more money make us a little happier. However, happiness involves more than financial fitness; it encompasses emotional fulfillment as well, thus there are various ways to pursue happiness. In “Immune to Reality”, Daniel Gilbert examines the operation of the “psychological immune system,” which protects us when we suffer wrenching setbacks but not when we try to cope with minor ones, imparting a surprising complacency in the face of significant blows but often leaving us quite helpless when we deal with trivial irritations. In the course of a detailed investigation of the food industry,
I work at a part-time job that pays me relatively well, and I perform for free; however, I’m much happier dedicating my time to doing something I love for free than working for pay. Money can’t give me what doing what I love does. Sonny’s brother has an experience watching Sonny perform where he finally understands why Sonny needs to do what he wants to do, “… I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did” (332). This quotation shows how important doing what you love is. If everyone could understand what Sonny’s brother comes to understand, I believe people would encourage others to live their
Erika’s sweet sixteen is today, and her parents bought her a brand new car. She pulls into the school’s parking lot and flaunts about how her parents not only got her a car, but also a trip to Italy. People start to walk away, even some of her best friends. As the day goes on, her friends have not talked to her since morning. Fed up, Erika asks them what is wrong. Kristie, one of her friends, tells her how they cannot stand listening to her talk about her ostentatious gifts anymore. When Erika gets home from school, her mom asks her what is wrong. It is then she realizes what her friends were trying to say and tells her mother she does not want the car anymore. Her mother, astounded, asks why not and gets a reply of money cannot buy friends, nor can it buy happiness. According to “Does Money Buy Happiness,” by Don Peck and Ross Douthat, they disagree with the connection between money and happiness.
He further shows us that the people of today are richer than their grandparents but are not happier in their lives (from National Statistics of social pathology). Even with these facts, people in the United States still believe if they had more money all of their problems would be solved, but once they reach that next income bracket they are not satisfied and try to reach the next one. Myers et al tells us, "even if being rich and famous is rewarding, no one ever claimed material success alone makes us happy. Other conditions like - family- friends- free time - have been shown to increase happiness" (Csikszentmihaly 145). therefore we must find balance in our own lives, and not just focus on making money. Instead we need friends, family and even free time, as aforementioned doing an activity you enjoy such as listening to music or
First, there are many relevant economic concepts throughout the song “Money”. The first verse of the song says, “Get a good job with more pay and you’re ok, money, it’s a gas, grab that cash with both hands and make a stash, new car, caviar, four star daydream, think I’ll buy me a football team.” This first verse focuses on the excesses of money, consumerism and peoples desire to grab and horde as much cash or wealth as possible. Consumerism is an economic concept that has to do with the belief that it is good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services. The majority of people do seem to spend beyond their limits in an attempt to look higher on the socioeconomic scale. Also, the above lyrics mention buying a football team. A football team is a unique and exclusive good that has a relatively inelastic demand and comes at a very high price. A relatively inelastic demand means that relatively large changes in one variable (usually price) cause relatively small changes in another variable (usually quantity). In other words, quantity is not very responsive to price. These goods mentioned in the
The message to value more important things in order to have a wisely spent life is demonstrated very well through literary devices in “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant. Madame undergoes an ironic moment in life as she learns what is worth valuing. She is a very greedy woman who only cares about herself. The reader would never think of her as the person to do work, but that thought changes as she misplaces what she thinks of as a valuable item. If Madame just learned how to live life in a way that will not make her upset and to value things that are valuable towards life instead of expenses, she will be better off. But this is how Madame views her life, while others take notice of the significance in their lives. Values are different towards people across the world, and Guy de Maupassant defines that in his short story, “The Necklace”.
Conclusion Time: The “glorious” life ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Because when a person wakes up from the fantasy of having everything they want, they are able to realize that money is nothing more than paper with a dead man’s face on it. The youth should know that there is more to life than wealth. Look hard, and they will be able to find what I’m talking about.
..., a person who earns $25,000 is happier than a person who makes $125,000 and an employee who makes $500,000 is only slightly happier than someone who makes $55,000. Lastly, there are more important things in life that and make you happy, for example, friends. They don’t come with a price tag, and if they do, you definitely need new friends. Money won’t make you happy since good times can’t be bought. You don’t need a fancy vacation to have a good time; it’s just a matter of who you spend it with. Over the years, humans have blown the value of money way out of proportion. People make it seem like if you’re not filthy rich, then you won’t live a good life but it’s not true. You can lack money and yet still live a perfect, happy life.