There is nothing quite as beautiful to the human ear as music. The talented people that bring such joy to all of us are the amazing musicians and songwriters in the world. There are upwards of five million musicians in the world and yet few write their own music. Even fewer have lyrics that are well known by millions and recognized by multiple nations and in different languages. A talent such as this is a rare and astonishing ability and not that Neil Diamond has seemed to have conquered. Mr. Diamond has been creating music that has charmed audiences for decades. His lyrics, catchy and sweet, have captivated listeners and made a name for themselves all over the world. His music came back into the limelight when he announced the inspiration behind perhaps the most popular of his songs- “Sweet Caroline.” American songwriter Neil Diamond went through many struggles throughout his life. From an insecure child to a struggling teenager; these experiences led to his personal, contemporary, soft rock lyrics and songs which catapulted him into the spotlight and shaped him into the incredible musician he is today.
To understand his music and inspiration, one needs to first understand his upbringing. Growing up, Diamond was extremely shy and had trouble meeting friends; in Contemporary Musicians he is described as “... an insecure Jewish boy who grew up in Brooklyn, New York” where he “changed schools nine times as a child.” (LaBlanc 73). These severe changes during such a young age, was paired with a fluctuating home life without much structure. Diamond had extremely rough early years where he “...tasted life on the fringes of Brooklyn’s desperate gangland world until he survived being shot twice in the head at the age of 12.” (Jackson 2)...
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... Touring Awards.” Billboard. N.p., 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 1 May 2014.
G.M., and Howard. "Sweet Caroline." By Neil Diamond Songfacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2014. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=6420
Jackson, Laura. Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion. Toronto: ECW, 2005. Print.
LaBlanc, Michael L., ed. Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1990. Print.
Fox News. ”Neil Diamond: Caroline Kennedy Inspired 'Sweet Caroline'" Fox News. FOX News Network, 20 Nov. 2007. Web. 03 May 2014. http://www.foxnews.com
""Sweet Caroline" Still Going Strong at Fenway." Interview by Dr. Charles Steinberg. The Boston Globe. Youtube. 22 Oct. 2013. Television. http://youtu.be/ ey284Ja1Jlw
Wild, David. He Is-- I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2008. Print.
Turning Point by Jimmy Carter provides a look into his first experience with politics as he runs for the Georgia state senate in 1962. He believed it was possible to change the direction his home state was headed, specifically focusing on education. Instead of having a run-of-the-mill experience in democracy, he faced election corruption by those in power and legal challenges up until the moment he was finally sworn in as state senator.
Each person brings a special quality and gift to life that creates an individualistic style to the world that we live in. The poem Perfection Wasted was written by John Updike in the year 1990; this poem accentuates the flair that can never be replaced when a loved one dies. One way to better understand a poem is to paraphrase it into your own words. Paraphrase of Perfection Wasted:
Neil Young, who grew up in Ontario, Canada, was drawn into music at a very early age, and throughout his teens he played in several bands and was a mainstay at local folk clubs (Macnie, 2001). He started to build a respectable enough reputation, but didn’t hit upon any commercial recognition until he joined Buffalo Springfield, a band that also featured Stephen Stills, who would become a well-known singer-songwriter in his own right. While perhaps not attaining the success they deserved in term...
STUDY GUIDE ----- The Anthem Chapter 1 1.a. What is the difference between a and a? The society that is represented in the novel is futuristic in terms of the actual date, yet incredibly underdeveloped to what we experience today. The political structure obviously works, because there doesn't seem to be much discontent among the citizens.
Worldviews differ from person to person. Disagreements often arise over controversial issues such as race, gender, politics, and sovereignty. In “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman and in the liner notes to the 1990 Jane's Addiction album Ritual de lo Habitual, vocalist and songwriter Perry Farrell address such divisive issues. Despite having been written more than one hundred years apart, both men share considerably similar opinions in their works regarding the treatment of social structure and personal freedoms. Whitman and Farrell address their passionate desire for equality among men, women, and people of all distinct backgrounds, as well as people’s entitlement to individual rights and truths. Conflicts as these hold significant weight in the hearts of people, therefore change is progressive and does not come quickly or easily. Thus, such issues continue to persist as popular subjects of discussion in society and writing as evident in these two works. Both authors seem to set forth the issues they find in the world and suggest the necessary means for change. The overall tone of both pieces suggests that natural worlds have transcended the need for order, law, and religion which human society is built upon and indicates that because American society has moved farther away from nature, progress toward a better world has been slow.
Some people are born to become legends, Bruce Springsteen is one of them. From the second he was born and through his younger years everyone knew he was destined for something bigger than a regular nine to five life, they just didn’t realize the magnitude of what was to come. Born into a all around food middle-class family, no on in that house hold even Bruce, didn’t realize that within fifty years he would reach living legend status. Also have a title of one of the best musicians to every live. After working hard at what he loves, Bruce has become known as a musical hero and inspiration to his fans and fellow musicians. With his deep lyrics, amazing stage presence, incredible guitar skills, and his passion, he is an untouchable force in the music industry. Using his lyrics to vent his emotions and past, but to also add awareness to social issues around the world. Bruce and his love for music affected him his whole life, and has shaped into what he is today. His music now affects the world. His music has truly changed the world (musically and socially) forever.
Love has many definitions and can be interpreted in many different ways. William Maxwell demonstrates this in his story “Love”. Maxwell opens up his story with a positive outlook on “Love” by saying, “Miss Vera Brown, she wrote on the blackboard, letter by letter in flawlessly oval palmer method. Our teacher for fifth grade. The name might as well have been graven in stone” (1). By the end of the story, the students “love” for their teachers no longer has a positive meaning, because of a turn in events that leads to a tragic ending. One could claim that throughout the story, Maxwell uses short descriptive sentences with added details that foreshadow the tragic ending.
An Uncommitted Child The novel, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, describes the life of a man who lives through his music and his childish ways. Rob Fleming is a man who struggles with commitment when it comes to what he needs, yet commits to what he wants. This lack of commitment leaves Rob struggling with the relationships with the people in his daily life. Living his life in a careless and childish manner, Rob Fleming burns the bridges with those who are close to him, and as a result realizes how much he truly cares for them when it’s too late. There were many jobs that Rob had taken over over the years; with each job he has there is a lack of passion and drive which results in his lack of commitment.
The first thing I noticed about Kate Chopin’s “The Storm,” is that it is utterly dripping with sexual imagery and symbolism. Our heroine, if you will, seems to be a woman with normally restrained passions and a well-defined sense of propriety, who finds herself in a situation that tears down her restraint and reveals the vixen within. I wonder if it was intentional that the name Calixta makes me think of Calypso – the nymph from Greek mythology. If half of the sexual symbolism I found in this story was intentional, Chopin was a genius. I was quite taken with the sexual imagery of the colors mentioned: white, and red. There is also mention a place called Assumption, while there’s nothing written on it in the bible, I believe it’s the popular opinion of those of Christian faiths, that Mary (Jesus’ mother) going to heaven was called “The Assumption.” Again, I cannot accept that as merely a happy coincidence, I believe its mention in the story was intentional. Finally, we have the storm, so central to the theme of the story that it was named for it. In this work, as well as others by Chopin, there is a recurring theme of infidelity, or women behaving in ways that society generally doesn’t accept, women behaving badly, if you will, I cannot help but wonder if Kate Chopin used her writing to express desires that she would not otherwise have expressed.
Hillary R. Clinton once said that “There cannot be true democracy unless Women’s voices are heard” (conference in Vienna, Austria 1997). That very brilliant quote relates to a very strong woman by the name of Maya Angelou. Angelou is “America’s most visible black female autobiographer and speakers” (scholar Joanne M. Braxton). She is known for her speeches, poems, and books, but what stood out to me the most was her 1993 inauguration speech when Bill Clinton was sworn into the White House. Ironically, in her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” Maya Angelou uses clear rhetoric, prehistoric metaphoric images, and inspirational concepts to alert her audience to treat the world differently.
Lyrical Ballads were written in a time of great change. They were dominated by the French Revolution and both Wordsworth and Coleridge felt great impact from this. There was disruption all over with the American War of Independence and other wars worldwide. Britain itself was changing rapidly due to colonial expansion, which brought new wealth, ideas and fashion, and there was much disturbance to both the people and the land with the act of enclosure, which may have meant more effective farming but less work. The introduction of the Poor Laws meant that landowners paid their remaining staff very little knowing that they would be supplemented by poor relief. However the conditions stated by the Laws before aid would be given were very similar to ?The Last Of The Flock? with people having to give up every means of self support and therefore reduce the chance of them ever living independently again. The Industrial Revolution introduced the new ?middle? class for which many of these poems were written for. They use simple language to allow them to understand and self educate, which many of them were very interested in doing and bettering themselves, much like Wordsworth himself and his sister as shown in ?Tintern Abbey?. Here he talks of her being at the stage of education that he was five years before when he last visited.
The character, Alice, in Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll was created as a foil, a contrasting figure, to the residents of wonderland. She is kind, imaginative, and polite. Her traits differ from those of whom she meets in Wonderland. Those of this imagined world are often ill-mannered, but with good intentions. The Red Queen, for example, is the first human-like creature Alice meets and the Queen has all sorts of nitpicky comments for her. The Red Queen goes on about things in an arbitrary sense and is not very logical. “I don’t know what you mean by your way,’ said the Queen: ‘all the ways about here belong to me… Curtsey while you’re thinking what to say, it saves time,” (Carroll). Where at first the young girl can’t help but try
Great African American musicians of the40’s, 50’s, especially 60’s and 70’s, like Jimi Hendrix for example, where not have always been in the headlines for the right reasons. They, Hendrix especially, were not always forefront leaders in movement like the Civil Rights era like Malcolm X or Martin Luther where.. That may be true, but by simply being a successful African American musician in times like these would speak volume, and have profound influence. Jimi Hendrix explained it bests, when he summed up the power behind, not just his music, but all music, when he told us...
A Love Affair in The Storm by Kate Chopin Kate Chopin's "The Storm" is a short story about a brief love affair that takes place during a storm that has separated Calixta from her husband and son. The title "The Storm" is an obvious reference to the storm outside, but more importantly to the love affair that takes place. The title refers to nature, which is symbolically used again and again in the story. Chopin uses words like "somber clouds", "threatening roar", and "sinister intentions" to describe the approaching storm. Later in the story those same words in reference to the storm outside, will also be represented symbolically to the storm brewing inside with the love affair.
For many of us, one of the most accurate and effective ways to express the feelings that really matter to us is through music. We don’t only grow to attached to songs that are catchy, but also those with lyrics that we can relate to. It is not uncommon to feel like sometimes, artists can convey the way we feel better than we could ourselves. The storybook-like lines you read at the start of this page are a collection of lyrics