Lorde, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, hailing from Auckland, New Zealand is only 17 years old, and already making a name for herself (Lipshutz). She has done this through the sound of her style of music and poetically written lyrics, a skill that may have been passed down by her mother, who is an acclaimed poet (SaveMeOprahW). Her genre is featured as alternative, but I get a feeling of “Hip-Pop” from the intricate production of her beats. “Pure Heroine,” is the title of her debut album, of which I have chosen three songs to analyze and dissect.
“Royals,” which is a song that breaks down “Pop-Culture,” features Lorde explaining the repetitive themes present in today’s popular music, by singing, “Every song’s like Gold teeth, Grey Goose, tripping in the bathroom, bloodstains, ball gowns, trashing the hotel room,” (Yelich-O'Connor, Royals) and how she has no interest in the lavish lifestyle that a number of famous people possess. A fun mockery of the sorts, apparent in her lyrics is backed by a catchy beat, made evident by the sound of fingers snapping in the background. Moreover, the beat is what completely lures me into the song. What I most enjoy is the vocal harmonization that is introduced in the chorus, giving it the chance to stand out from the rest of the song. Overall, I gathered a fun and happy vibe from this tune. From analyzing this song, it has given me a chance to get inside her mind and understand how she feels about “Pop-Culture,” and being a part of it, as well.
“400 Lux,” paints an image of a young couple that generally has nothing really better to do, than drive the streets in each other’s company and enjoying just that. The song begins with Lorde singing; “We’re never done with killing time can I kill it with you ‘ti...
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...e around. The three songs I chose, I felt, best expressed the music style of the album. It was through similar beat patterns, that I was able to deduce this. After considerable analysis of Lorde’s music, I have discovered more of myself through relating daily situations with her lyrics, and the thrills I experienced from the beats placed on the tracks.
Works Cited
Lipshutz, Jason. Lorde: The Billboard Cover Story. 6 September 2013. 28 November 2013 .
SaveMeOprahW. Lorde - Today Show Australia interview. 23 October 2013. 28 November 2013 .
Yelich-O'Connor, Ella. "400 Lux." Pure Heroine. By Joel Little. 2013.
Yelich-O'Connor, Ella. "Royals." Pure Heroine. By Joel Little. 2013.
Yelich-O'Connor, Ella. "Team." Pure Heroine. By Joel Little. 2013.
In the music video, Royals Lorde opens with a rolling shot through the suburbs, which immediately strikes a strong use of ethos. It continues on with a portrait view of Lorde and she begins to sing in a house alone. A teenage boy then appears who is believed to live in the house which Lorde is now singing in. He seems to be bored or depressed as it cuts back and forth between the boy, Lorde singing and, the house itself to separate that there is time between the two people in the same house. It continues with Lorde singing “We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams” and shows the boy slowing getting out of boredom and becoming more interested in boxing. Royals proceeds to show the millenniums
When listening to the song both reflectively and analytically did put a dapper on the initial meaning behind listening to the song, however, the song’s influence and history with my Child Hood prevented this assignment from completely taking my enjoyment and engagement of the song. Through this assignment I have found a new respect for the song and its simplicity and overall appeal with the vocaloid culture that I am involved in both as a listener and an artist. Through this assignment I have also been given a deeper insight into Deco*27 as an artist and how he effectively conveys his music as an art through both the vocaloid system and, in this case, through his own talents as a singer.
Lorde allures to the rebellious nature of the human mind that is oppressed by saying, “I left childhood was white, and the white heat and the white pavement and the white stone monuments.” as well as saying, “I viewed Julys through an agonizing corolla of dazzling whiteness and I always hated the Fourth of july.” Lorde describes the situation with so much details in order for people to visualize the struggle of people oppressed in a free government. The very descriptive nature of her words paint a vivid picture for those unaware of the issues in America and inspire them to make a change. Imagery is very useful to prove her point, as well as her sentence
Diana Ross was born in 1944. Emerging from the housing projects in Detroit to become an international superstar, she gained prominence first as a member of the supremes, then as a solo artist. The mention of her name evokes the indelible image of the broadly smiling diva, the long hair, sequined gowns, etc.
Throughout History, there have been many different varieties of music performed. There have also been several American Artists who have made important contributions towards the development of American Music. Many artists out there have made a huge impact not only towards the development of American music but to people as well. Those of which have been a big inspiration to America’s youth throughout this paper, I will focus solely on the life of Etta James.
In other words, through music, men are retaining the line that separates them from women by fortifying male supremacy. The inferior roles that were given to women have been internalized by adolescents, which studies have found to be affecting their interaction styles as well as their beliefs of gender limitations. According to the study conducted by Ter Bogt et al. (2010), women were more inclined to listen to R&B/Hip-Hop music which reinforces the idea that female adolescents are more often exposed to the normalized stereotypical gender roles in music lyrics. Although many of the modern R&B/Hip-Hop music by male artist stigmatize women, there were some that actually put forth the effort to uplift them. Wale, a well-known Nigerian-American rapper, used his lyrical creativity in “PYT” to change the standard course of hip-hop music. In the lines, “I just wanna see you shine/ nothing makes a man feel better than a woman/ Queen with the crown…” Wale talks about a woman who he labels as a Queen with her own spotlight. In this particular line, Wale goes against the norm of male-dominance and male-hierarchy as a step towards building gender equality. Within in R&B/Hip-Hop community, there seems to be an ongoing lyrical battle between actions towards retaining the norms and actions towards
You know she's a Jackson. And you know she's a singer. Of course, you know the girl can dance. You know she's a leading lady in Hollywood. And maybe you still think of her as a cute little girl with a famous last name and big , bright eyes. Do you think she's what she was yesterday? Better think again. As many of her other fans and followers already know, the only label that fits her is… Janet.
Janet Jackson was born in Gary Indiana on May 16, 1966. She is a member of the
Audre Lorde In our class discussions and reading, I learned that women were once in charge of the human race, women were a part of a community, no race was inferior or superior, there was peace and harmony in the world until the patriarchal era came, planning to embed itself in the ground for a long time. Women were raped for their identity, their race and their status in society. Men ruled the biblical stories, leaving Mary out. Hence, the war started between the races, women fought to gain their identity back and to do so, they started writing.
In today’s world, celebrities are often misunderstood, especially singer/songwriter Robin Rihanna Fenty, referred to as Rihanna. Rihanna’s sexual behaviors in her videos have been talked about in negative ways for some time now, but what [eople do not understand is that it is all for fame. Celebrities will do anything to keep their career going strong. If one really took the time out to take a deep look at Rihanna, they will notice how humble she really is. After going through the abusive relationship with Chris Brown, Rihanna has struggled with gaining that strong confidence with who she is. Her critics believe that she is still trying to discover herself and figure out who she really is as a person. Rihanna is often given two choices, to do what she is being asked to do, or throw her career out the window. She either gives the crowd the sexual acts they want or let her career die down. In the song “S&M,” Rihanna was really exposing herself to the crowd, as well as “Good Girl, Gone Bad.” She is basically telling the crowd that this is the person she is, but is it really? For my original piece I will be creating a journal, expressing the feelings Rihanna felt as she overcomes her struggles. Rihanna’s sexual behaviors in her videos are really all for fame and therefore, are easily misunderstood.
Taylor Swift’s influence over young girls ultimately leaves her in a position of power and responsibility. Swift is a role model, and as such, she is expected to empower her listeners with messages of independence, strength, and equality. Until Swift is able to utilize these tactics in her music, it is imperative that people do not buy her music, listen to her music, tweet about her, go to her concerts, write about her, or watch videos of/about her. As an alternative we highly recommend listening to Beyoncé’s works in order to incite discussion and eventually bring forth positive change in regards to feminism.
Therefore, it shows that Lorde has to stand up for herself in order to go to the dining car. The essay reflects on when Lorde and her family visit a store, they were told to leave the store which made them feel excluded from the crowd. The author writes, “My mother and father believed that they could best protect their children from the realities of race in America and the fact of the American racism by never giving them name, much less discussing their nature. We were told we must never trust white people, but why was never explained, nor the nature of their ill will” (Lorde, 240). The quote explains that Lorde’s parents thought they can protect their child in United States from the racism, however, they had to go through it and face racism in their daily life. This shows that her parents were aware of racism, which they might have to stand up for their rights, but they did not take the stand for themselves as well as their child. Therefore, her parents guided them to stay away from white people. This tells readers that Lorde has to fight for the independence that she deserves along with going against her
Modern society has made a sub-culture that lives in a reality that is not real. It is so far from the truth that the inhabitants of this sub-culture so often cannot live in both realities and have become a spectacle for others to marvel at. This sub-culture is made up of entertainers, millionaires, and athletes. The people in this group can range from newborns to death and some live on well after. The specimens that I find an interest in are the young ones that enter into this society not knowing well that their lives will never be the same. Britney Spears was just another victim of the society that brings into their prison.
Into “Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy, the producer of the video used a wedding scenario to match with the lyric. During the ceremony, they show old people, young, and even children who are doing some activities. These activities really match with the lyric. For instance, when Randy said, “As long as old men sit and talk about the weather” (Randy), they show old man sat on one side and are taking between them. Furthermore, when he said, “But honey, I don’t care, I ain’t in love with your hair [, ] if it all fell out, well, I’d love you anyway”(Randy), video shows an old woman kissing her husband’s bald. This scene and others really go in parallel with the lyrics. On the contrary, the video of Drake’s song has almost nothing to do with the lyric of song. By listing to the song or reading the lyric, it is frankly clear that he is talking about a girl whom he loves very much, but in the music video he is playing a role as a team of women’s basketball coach. For example, when he said, “You know that I’m working I be there soon as I make it home” (Drake), it implies that is talking to one person. Further then, he adds, “You the fuckin’ best You the best I ever had” (Drake); however, in the video he is complementing his team which is really poor. Truly, the video of these two music present the diversity held by these two singer to relies their message
Although music provides an aesthetic value according to DeNora, it still makes us feel in a specific way i.e. in terms of emotions. “Our response to music is in any case not always congruent with what we would objectively characterize as its emotional content” (Ball, 2010). This song for me acts as a gateway that leads me to a very special emotion by the time the song ends. In conclusion, I can say that I have made a very self-conscious choice of deep engagement and in addition, it is almost as if the music is trying to reach to me and to speak with me.