Music- A Language We All Understand
Pop music is defined as a type of music, mostly played on electronic instruments, which can be appealing to individual of large age range due to the short, catchy phrases with beats and simple tunes (Macmillan). One of the notable pop singers is Katy Perry. She grew up around gospel music since her parents are both pastors and she used to sing in their church. Katy Perry started her music career during her first year of high school. In 2007, she changed her style from religious music to pop music. In 2008, she released her second single "I Kissed a Girl", and later on "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", and "Firework”. Katy Perry is the first female artist in history that recorded five No. 1 hits in an album. Her music consists of different elements including disco, electronic music, pop and rock. Her latest album, Prism (2013), includes her number-one singles "Roar" and "Dark Horse", which the main focus of the music is about self-empowerment (Perry). The song "Firework" is known to be an important single from her third album, Teenage Dream and is written by herself, Ester Dean, Stargate, and Sandy Vee. “Firework” was released on October 18, 2010 and it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 9th. The song also lasted for 4 non-consecutive weeks at the triumph position on Hot 100 (Aceshowbiz). The song “Firework” makes a positive impact as it encourages listeners to express their individual worth, instills hope within listeners, and motivates individuals to achieve their goals without restriction.
The lyrics of “Firework” make a positive impact by encouraging individuals to express their individual worth. The lyrics talk about revealing ones’ true self to the world. A quote from t...
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...In a nut shell, the overall message in Katy Perry’s song creates a positive impact towards listeners. Repetition in her lyric clearly shows that a person has potential which has yet to be discovered. “Boom, boom, boom/Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon”(37). The lyric tells that when the potential is revealed, it will definitely bring an individual towards unimaginable success in life. Also, for successful people, they are mostly equipped with high self esteem and persistence, Katy Perry once said that “everyone has the spark to be a firework” (Vena) where in her song “Firework,” she reminds her audience to derive strength from their inner self and build their own stone steps towards success. Also, Katy Perry tells her audience that failure will not last forever. Ultimately, people can build a better future of their own if they possess true faith in themselves.
Composers effectively reflect and communicate how universal human experiences can explicitly modify an individual’s understanding and acceptance of one’s sense of identity and maturation. Goldsworthy’s novel Maestro, Don McLean’s song ‘Vincent’ and Baz Luhrmann’s film Australia all inter-relate within the deeper realisation of the impact the appreciation of art, and the development of understanding the concept of love acting as a compelling emotion can create towards one’s self-image.
Bill Gates, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, states, “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Instead of only looking at the advancements that his business, Microsoft, has made, Gates evaluates and learns from the mistakes or failures he’s also made, and finds ways to prevent them from happening again. Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is about all the people or events that made a large impact on the world from 1950 to 1989 and how the United States was not the main cause of all the problems going on. A majority, if not all of the topics of this song are things that had negative impacts on the world. Mary Cornish’s poem “Numbers” is about the use and power of numbers. The main idea of the poem is how even though something may be subtracted from one thing, whatever is subtracted is usually added to another thing. The lyrics of the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel incorporates
The video promotes a realistic portrayal of women while undermining negative societal expectations put to those women. Furthermore, the message behind it, one calling people to accept themselves and to not feel the need to strive towards unreachable goals set by the media, can be applied to the lives of not only women but men as well. While the song was obviously meant for women, it is still holds the important message for people of any gender, age, or race to understand that being true to and learning to accept one’s self can only lead to positive
As audiences watch “Fire Away,” even for just a moment, those words become an issue, those words are going through their mind and make them aware of what they can cause. The kairos of this video is very important to Stapleton, not only was this video a huge success in the music industry, but it was Stapleton’s very first music video ever released. Having such a hard pressed subject as his first video, brings kairos into a new light, as the video had great success. Kairos, meaning timing, could not be more appropriate for this song, as the timing of the song and video was able to blast Stapleton into the country music history books, as being not only an amazing singer, but being someone who is unafraid to take risks and bring country music back to its roots. Many things in this video make an audience feel cheerful, the happiness of the couple in the beginning and seeing their life begin to unfold. Many things in the video make the audience sorrowful, the many attempts of suicide and the heartbreak when the battle is lost. Many scenes in the video can make the audience feel a sense of fight, the light at the end of every bad scene and the unwavering faith of the man, through every situation that was thrown his way. Through the use of pathos, this video was able to make its audience of all different people, relate and connect with the
Lamar’s Grammy Award winning best rap album To Pimp a Butterfly has a deep meaning starting with the theory of the album relating to Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The novel which is based on an innocent Black male, Tom Robinson, who is being indicted for committing a crime he never did. In the novel, the mockingbird is an allusion for Tom, a man who has never hurt anyone, yet is on trial and facing a death sentence. In Lamar’s politically fueled album, with response to racism, feminism, violence, and police brutality he created a pro-black record and sings it like a mockingbird would, a harmless album referring to the growth of a “butterfly”. However, he is the “butterfly” and the series of songs refer to his growth and transformation from the inner-city kid of Compton to the world renown artist he is today. While writing the album To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar pledged his dedication to bring positivity to his listeners. Through his own assessment of systematic problems facing the black community, he takes his music’s impact seriously. Since music is a truly powerful force, and “one of the most arresting facts Kendrick proved with the album is that music can be conscious and positive while still critically and commercially successful — something many rap fans have long insisted conscious rap could never achieve”
"Burn, burn, burn," says Kerouac, and that is what the Beats were all about. From the all-night, smoke-filled jazz clubs of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to the trendy bars of San Francisco, the artists known as the ‘Beats’ were interested in one thing, and only one thing: living. To them, life was a series of adventures to be lived. Going from one high to the next, in search of that thing that will, in the end, transform them into that "blue centerlight" about which everyone says "Awww!" But a few questions must be addressed regarding the Beats. Was theirs the correct choice? Was the fun they had worth the pain that they caused, and the pain that they had to endure? And ultimately, what impact did the Beats have on society as a whole, and was that impact, is that impact, positive or negative? Jack Kerouac, the most prominent of all Beat poets, and the gang hanging out at the famous 115th Street apartment helped to mold two generations of young Americans, and have made a permanent impression on the landscape of American culture through their literature, and most of all, through their lives, and their desire to live. This is the contribution of the Beats: a legacy of s...
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
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
“The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when they ought to have arrived at maturity” (Wollstonecraft 7). This is a view in which several feminists abide with and can relate to; the idea that women have the wrong intentions and goals for their lives, that they are treated like children and are predestined to act like children, instead of adults. Although the Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft was written in 1972, this perception of woman still exists all around the world and is a major topic of debate among feminists. Several aspects of life in modern western society degrade and belittle woman, and although equality is the law in countries such as Canada and the United States of America, TV shows, movies and music tell different. Lana Del Rey is a popular female artist in North America and Europe, she recently released a new album called Born to Die. This album is very controversial among Radical feminists because many aspects of it, such as the lyrics contribute to the belittlement of women.
All around the word there have been many cases of bullying, some that were prevented and some that ended in a tragedy such as death. The song “Mean,” by Taylor Swift is effective in using metaphor, similes, and symbolism to promote the prevention of bullying by letting everyone know to never let anyone push you around and to always stand up for your self. This song was written because, Taylor swift herself was bullied by Bob Lefsetz, a critic who heard her song, "did Taylor Swift kill her career overnight?…Taylor 's too young and dumb to understand the mistake she made.” This are the types of comments that can cause a person to feel worthless and untalented. We can see that no matter what age you are there’s always the possibility of getting
Hazen Perry also hit the top music charts when she began her full time singing career back in 2030. She has had many number one hits, some of them being Meow, Light Pony, Tied to the Tune, Warm n Cool, and Climb. Her most recent album, Dream of a Teenager, went platinum. She credits her success to her management crew, Melanie Martin and Lauren Pickett, and her body guards, Drelynn Dixon and Trey Bridges.
...encouraging impact towards her listeners. “Skyscraper” is filled with emotions by revealing a few important qualities like persistence, courage to face failure, strong, think positive, and be positive. Those qualities are mandatory as they are known to be the key elements for one’s future success. Her song is related to the reality, in which the lyrics enable listeners to realize the cruelty of the real world, and to take the first step towards success. Lovato has shown that music can have a profound impact on people and can help them get through obstacles in their life. Demi Lovato teaches her listeners about struggles and hardships in society. Her lyrics implant hope, in which, in the future will positively transform a person’s life. Last but not least, Lovato’s music also urges people to be strong in countering their fears and achieve success through persistence.
Common expectations seem to indicate gender roles on every individual. The males will play their part in being masculine while the females act an as object. There are several ways one can see how gender roles are played. A way is through hip-hop and rap music in the black community. Joan Morgan, an African American feminist and hip-hop and rap music fan, shows us how gender roles are being played in her community through music. Since Morgan is a feminist, she voices her opinion on the way black men treat black women in her article, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos.” Morgan states her argument that black men write lyrics ranting about black women to give a self-reflection. The males feel oppressed and express it through music. There are many reasons a male can feel oppressed, whereas one reason is becoming masculine. Michael Kimmel, a sociologist professor at Stony Brook University and the author of “‘Bros Before Hos’: The Guy Code” states that guys tries their best to show that they are manly. To clarify on how the men portray their oppression is to sing of misogyny and self-hatred in disguised hatred toward women. Men expressing their oppression through music tie the guy code of acting masculine and Morgan’s view of men feeling oppressed. Morgan describes black men express their oppression by objectifying black women sexually in music. Jean Kilbourne, the author of “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence” and an activist on advertisement based on public health problems and violence against women agrees with Morgan on women being sexually identified. Kilbourne and Morgan connect to Kimmel by showing how males are seen to be masculine and females are soft and emotional. Morgan’s claims, in “From Fly-Girls to Bi...
This music video is told from the perspective of the queen. She has no king and is searching for an equal. A group of men come to her bearing gifts to show they are worthy of such an honor. If the gift is not sufficient Perry uses her dark magic upon the man and transforms the man into an object. Katy Perry is the center of attention and is always in the front of the camera. The
This articles brings lyrics from a song that was previously considered offensive, which is now clean by today’s standards, and effectively argues for freedom of speech.