Music+Project

Post one of your songs and your explanation.

Song Title Artist ||< Tone(s) ||< Lyrics ||< Tone Paragraph Explanation || "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO ||< Sanguine Optimistic Hopeful ||< "Party rock is in the house tonight Everybody just have a good time And we gonna make you lose your mind Everybody just have a good time" ||< “Party Rock Anthem,” a song that shuffled onto dance floors in the early part of 2011 because of its catchy electronic beat and anthem-like chorus, creates an optimistic portrait of a life set free by dance. The whimsical and sanguine tone of “Party Rock is in the House tonight/ everybody have a good time. Party Rock is in the house tonight/everybody going to lose your mind” democratically calls for all people to participate in the euphoric, life-giving force of dancing. We forget the haranguing and cumbersome responsibilities of everyday life and just “Party Rock.” The breaks in the song build participation as the first break before “Everyday I’m shuffling” focuses listeners on a series of beats that correspond to the a particular choreography comprised of the joyful Charleston and playful Running Man. When engaging in such jubilant dancing, how can one dwell on anything negative? This song is truly an anthem for our stressed-out lives and world today. || Somber ||< “R eally too late to call, so we wait for morning to wake you; it's all we got…” ||< “The Funeral” by Band of Horses was released in 2006, expressing an indie-rock, Neil Young-like style. The song primarily provides the simplicity of a man and his guitar with a woeful voice infused with whimsical ‘ooohs and ohhhs’. As the song progresses however, “R eally too late to call, so we wait for morning to wake you; it's all we got…” explodes into a symphony of sounds reaching a climactic vibrancy. These lyrics entail the hope that when morning comes, loved ones will always be there waiting, because it may be all that’s left for some people. “But at every occasion I’ll be ready for the funeral” encompasses the preparation for the age when loved ones begin to pass. The listeners are focused on his shifts in tone as he expresses his grave fear in a melancholy expression, but the strength to speak loudly and clearly, almost as if he is shouting at those he never wants to lose. This song connotes a lament, somber mood, and the idea of death is put into perspective. The inevitability of death may hold fear, but giving a call to loved ones, and appreciating them while they are still here, may give tranquility to the loss of something that cannot be replaced. || I want you to know When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done, help me leave behind some, reasons to be missed And don't resent me,when your feeling empty, keep me in your memory..." ||< "Leave out all the Rest" by Linkin Park is a song from the motion picture Twilight, to express the extremes of Edward and Bella's relationship together. The band's notes throughout the piece lead to sorrow and concern, for the singer sings that when he dies he wants the woman that he loves never to forget everything they did together and only wishing that he is there with her. The band's notes throughout the song seem major and minor mixed, minor showing sadness and fear and major showing hope and joy... Chester Bennington describes the longing of being missed once he dies, he wants the love of his life to know that he loves her and is begging her to help him to be remembered and missed. When Bennington sings "...Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed" he is begging for someone to rescue him and keep him good and loved throughout the rest of his life. Throughout the piece he describes relationships and the need to not hurt the person that they love when they die, and wanted them to make them the better person that they know that they can be while having everything good that they have done make someone out there miss them. The listeners of Linkin Park to this song can relate and focus on the slow balancing music to reiterate the longing and tragic tone to the piece, they listen closely to the drumming that allows the listener to 'bob' their head along with the music and understand the point he is alluding to. The point of wanted to have someone who will miss them once they have passed and to have good things remembered about them. || "The Trapeze Swinger" Iron and Wine ||< Reminiscent, Eerie, Funereal, Heartbreak ||< "On the wall behind St. Peter So bright, on cinder gray, in spray paint "Who the hell can see forever?" And please, remember me seldomly In the car behind the carnival My hand between your knees, you turned from me And said, 'The trapeze act was wonderful But never meant to last'" ||< Iron and Wine as a musical group are an acquired taste, generally because their instrumental choices are so quiet and their lyrics are relatively obscure, making their songs kind of eerie; “The Trapeze Swinger” being of no exception. It takes careful analysis to depict the lyrics of this nine and a half minute song, but ultimately it compares death to a break-up, as well as a trapeze performance at a circus. The events are not presented in any particular order, and the break-up portion is implied toward the end of the song. The singer describes the time when he is sitting in the car with a passed significant other, whose body language suggests unhappiness, as she comments that "The trapeze act was wonderful, but never meant to last.” Though she speaks of the trapeze swinger, she compares the performance to their relationship, implying it isn’t meant to last. Throughout the song, the singer references Heaven, by mentioning the pearly gates, St. Peter, and angels, making the listener assume the singer is deceased, and considering his entrance into Heaven, if he ends up there. This melancholy experience gives the song a funereal tone, as the audience is forced to think upon death. Death is then mirrored to the break-up, as the singer pleads his audience to remember him, whether it be the ex-love post-breakup, or everyone he leaves behind postmortem. At any rate, the singer is calm and content, as he reminisces about all the time spent within his relationship, blending multiple emotions into one bitter-sweet anecdotal song. || Tenderness, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Jubilant ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> “ "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing, I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu. And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying. An' he said: Some day, I hope you get the chance,To live like you were dyin'. ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//“Live Like You Were Dying,”// a song that hit the charts in August of 2004 because of its inspirational lyrics and its instrumental crescendo, creates an hopeful and jubilant portrait of life as it should be if you were dying. A tenderness and buoyancy tone of “ "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing, I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu. And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying. An' he said: Some day, I hope you get the chance, To live like you were dyin'." This delightful call for people to participate in this abundant world encourages society (sick or not) to forget the everyday expectancies of life and just let go and //“Live Like You Were Dying.”// The instruments that play during the verses focuses listeners on a mellow approach to how it would be portrayed to look at life if you were dying but once the instrumental background hits the chorus it ascends and offers listeners a exuberant way to live life. When making one with the lyrical meaning, how can one not become inspired? This song demonstrates the way we should come across our lives in a positive way even if the outcome may be negative. || "Breathe"-Telepopmusik ||< Blissful, Calm, Tranquil ||< "Just breathe. Just believe. Another day, just believe. I'm used to it by now." ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: medium;">//Breathe//, as the debut single of the French house music group, Telepopmusik, delivers an ubiquitous, tranquil sense to listeners. Although the beat is not slow, it has a strange quality of quickly placed beats that intertwine together to create a constant flow that soothes. The repetitive chorus, “Just breathe. Just believe. Another day, just believe. I'm used to it by now,” calms the audience throughout the duration of the song. The repetitive nature of these words add to the calming sense as if it was a type of techno meditation. These words are breezily spoken, barely heard over the melody, as if they were trying to sway them away from the words to focus on the soft, ambient beats. The lyrics remind the listener to literally just breathe and take things slow from the world's constant chaos. || "The Giant of Illinois" ||< Reminiscent Somber ||< "The Giant of Illinois Died of a blister on his toe After walking all day Through the first winters' snow Throwing bits of stale bread to the last speckled doves He never even felt, his shoes fill with blood" ||< Entering with plucked violin and blossoming in to a orchestral quartet of strings the instruments immediately present a somber tone to the song, "The Giant of Illinois. Modernizing, a guitar line appears with the lyrics. Tenderly sung the choral presence of words recounts the death of the Giant of Illinois. Almost resembling a fable, the piece metaphorically uses the Giant of Illinois to represent a larger demise. Obvious in melancholy the story presents irony in the death of the beast. Struck dead by something minuscule like a blister this fanciful l tale turns disheartening. It’s soothing characteristics coax the listener to mourn his death. Delirious with pain, his bedroom walls began to glow/and he felt himself soaring up through falling snow/ and the sky was a woman's arms. The giant is apprehensive. He is embraced with the tragedy of death and no amount of welcoming grace can afford him a sense of comfort. This severe despairing thought infiltrates the audience causing a mirror of emotion. The intent is to feel as if you are the Giant. Appealing to the temporary status of our being it soothes, but does not comfort us. || "Peer Gynt Suite 2 Ases Tod". By Edvard Grieg ||< Agony Lamenting Mournful At the end Hopefull ||< None ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The lamenting, despairing sounds of Edvard Grieg’s //Ases Tod// give solace to the listener dispelling at first all sense of hope but ending in a humble acceptance of tragedy allowing the listener to reflect upon his/her own tragedies and also support the grave events occurring within the play (the mother of our hero, Ases, dies). Grieg uses slow and steady chord progression often repeating itself several times allowing the melancholy notes to swell with grief, crying out in torment in order to express the feeling of absolute lost and mourning to the audience, allowing the resolution at the end not to be abrupt; instead it’s a resolution of acceptance rather than an answer. Grieg builds off of a single motif/motive using real or tonal sequence; he does this to emphasize the continuing, growing pain of loss and the expression of the hero within the story. After the song reaches a dismal, despairing climax, overflowing with loss and woe, it offers a resolution to a major key that slowly descends ending in an Imperfect Authentic Cadence suggesting to the listener that loss isn’t forgotten or completely resolved instead it is humbly accepted because of its inevitability. ||
 * < Your Name, Class Period,
 * < Ms. Vahle, P2,3,4,5, &6
 * < Emily G, p4, "The Funeral" by Band of Horses ||< Woeful
 * < Angela W Pd 3, "Leave out all the Rest" by Linkin Park ||< Concern Longing Tragic ||< "...
 * < Alex F Period 5
 * < <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Kaila S Period 2 "Live Like You Were Dying" ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Hopeful,
 * < Lilly T Period 3
 * < Gena Mc Period 2
 * < Garrett R Per 3