post twenty-three; pink floyd, and early rock 'n roll deaths.

We listened to Pink Floyd in class today, and the response was apathetic. Lots of kids didn't like them, and I think I can see why. Syd Barrett's lyrics are ridiculous nonsense, the sound is trippy, and overall the music just doesn't make sense. I could make the argument and say "maybe his lyrics DID mean something deeper" but honestly I just believe he was really messed up. Misunderstood, maybe, but also insane and schizophrenic. Which isn't something that can be helped, but it showed in his songwriting. But, to be honest, I like Pink Floyd a lot. The Dark Side of the Moon is a fantastic album, most of the songs were written by Roger Waters and you could tell they had some sort of meaning, whereas Syd Barrett's lyrics were hopeless when it came to finding meaning. There was even a song on that album that was ABOUT Syd Barrett's mental struggles, along with the pressures from the rising elevation of fame. (Brain Damage) Don't fall asleep listening to that song, by the way. Listening to a song with lyrics like "the lunatic is on the grass, the lunatic is in the hall" at night isn't exactly the best way to sleep well. In fact, the album was mostly about Syd's leaving the band because he was so insane.
Syd Barrett is a prime example of someone who cracked under pressure, and eventually drove himself crazy, his schizophrenia being a contributing factor. Brian Wilson is also another example, but at least he pulled himself together. Syd Barrett was tragically institutionalized for the rest of his life.
----
As rock 'n roll progressed, so did drug use. As artists got more into the pressures of fame, some found themselves needing an escape from it all. And they found that in drugs; artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, and Jim Morrison are known for their drug use because they're part of what is known as the "27 Club". All of these artists died at age 27 with deaths that had something to do with drugs. Janis overdosed on heroin, Jimi choked on his own vomit as a result of being overly intoxicated, Jim Morrison's death was ruled as heart failure but drugs were a contributing factor, and Brian Jones' death was RULED "death by misadventure" but drugs had to have been a contributing factor as well.
As fame grows, so does the pressure.

post twenty-two; current favourites BESIDES the beatles and one direction.

I'm thinking that I complain too much about what kind of music I don't like, so in this post, I'm going to write down songs and artists that I DO like, and I think should be checked out.

Kate Nash is fairly popular, but I'm not sure how many people actually listen to her. Her music puts a smile on my face, and while the lyrics aren't too great, it's nice to listen to. One song in particular is Merry Happy; her accent is very distinct and there's a lot of repetition, but it's a nice, simple song that happens to last five or so minutes, but it's worth it.

Ed Sheeran is also FANTASTIC. I really recommend you check him out; lots of people say that he's too "mainstream" or he's overrated, but he's really not. He is literally the epitome of perfect lyricist, and he sings like an angel. I didn't think I would like his music at first, but when I actually took a listen to it, I really liked it. Here's one of his best songs, you may have heard it before, check it out! I chose a video with lyrics across the screen because I want to emphasize how great of a writer he is.



There's a song by the Script that EVERYONE knows, well, a lot of people do anyway. It's called Breakeven, and it's fairly popular, but I figured I'd put it up anyway. The vocal performance is outstanding and the lyrics, again, are amazing. Maybe I'm just especially drawn to songs with better lyrics, but here's Breakeven, take a listen if you haven't before.

The last song I'm going to put up that I feel needs to be mentioned is another Ed Sheeran song called "Drunk", and the lyrics are, once again, fantastic. It's very meaningful, and I can't believe it's not more popular than it is. I sound really redundant in this blog, but I'll be writing more about different things after this one. Anyway, here's Drunk.

I hope you enjoy these, comment and let me know what you think.

post twenty-one.

I just really don't like Taylor Swift.

She writes about the same thing over and over. It's always all about breakups or relationships. They even all sound the same, and she's been writing songs like that since I was in sixth grade, so... five years ago? Six years ago? All I hear from her is her whining about how a boy broke her heart, if she's gone through THAT MANY GUYS to put out multiple albums about breakups, it's gotta be her fault. No guy can break her heart that many times, it's gotta be her fault at some point.

I guess I'm just sick of artists that write the same stuff all the time and don't come out with any variety. The Beatles wrote about everything; girls, sex, drugs, family, even submarines; they had a ton of different things to write about and they milked that for all it was worth.

Like, you're a famous celebrity, Taylor. You have more things to write about than just boys. Because at this point in your life, you're out of your teens, you should have more important things to worry about.

post twenty.

I think lyrics are the most important thing in a song to me. I've mentioned it before in old posts, but lyrics really do make or break a song for me. The lyrics are like an ice cream sundae while the melody is just the sprinkles on top. If a song is "catchy", it's because people are hearing the melody. One of the catchiest songs out there is Call Me Maybe, in my opinion, because the melody is bouncy. But the lyrics are this: "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe." Those aren't very deep lyrics, so while this is called a good song by people, it really isn't. Just because a song is catchy doesn't mean it's good, in my opinion. The plague was catchy, but that didn't exactly make it a good thing.
Songs are written, most of the time, from the heart of the author, they want you to feel what they're feeling, they want their songs to connect to you emotionally. (Usually). I mean, I'd rather listen to Within You Without You by the Beatles than listen to Love Me Do, purely because Love Me Do literally has 17 different words, while Within You Without You probably has some of the most meaningful lyrics I've ever heard.
I think that's why Little Things by One Direction, a song that I mentioned in an earlier post, spoke to me so much. It's like the writer (Ed Sheeran) looked into my brain and picked out what I was thinking and made it into a song, and that's why it connected to me so much. Songs are about relatability and content, and I think a good melody is only an extra added bonus.

post nineteen.

In class, we listened to Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band all the way through. Fantastic album in my opinion, but also saddening. You can hear how Paul is starting to take over the group, because he has many songs on the album. Ringo has one song that he didn't even fully write, and George has one that is pushed aside because it's different. Personally, I love that song, because the lyrics are so deep, something I'll write about in the next post. "We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion." Probably one of the best lyrics I've ever heard.
Also, you can hear John's decline slowly happening through the album. He has four songs on the entire thing, while two of them are absolutely GENIUS (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and A Day in the Life), it seems like he just didn't really have time for the album, like other things were more important, and they were. Heroin was more important to him, other drugs too, at this point.
But, Sgt Pepper's is a great album, and I applaud the Beatles on that for making yet another album that will go down in history.

post eighteen.

There are certain songs that you can tap into that just hit home. People don't understand why sometimes, but they do. There are few songs that make me cry, but some, when I hear them, just get under my skin and I feel it. That's what you're supposed to do with music, right? Feel what the artist is feeling? Well, I do.
This is going to sound stupid, but One Direction's new single came out today, and it's called Little Things. I thought it was going to be pop-sounding and catchy, like most of their other songs, but it wasn't. It was a ballad, a beautiful ballad, with no autotune, no editing, just the raw sound of the guitar playing and their voices. It was perfect. It addresses someone who's insecure about who they are, and they're singing to them. The song basically says "don't worry about your weight, don't worry about the things you don't like about yourself, because you're perfect to me." An example of a lyric is this: "I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile, you've never loved your stomach or your thighs, the dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine, but I'll love them endlessly."
It honestly hit home so hard, it felt like Ed Sheeran (who wrote the song, also a very good artist, go check him out) wrote the song straight to me, addressing my insecurities. And people write One Direction off as a stupid, untalented band, but if everyone could please take a listen to this song, you'll realize how it could easily hit home. Don't laugh and turn your head because it's One Direction. Give it a chance. The lyrics are perfect, I'll type them below.
"Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me, but bear this in mind, it was meant to be. And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks, and it all makes sense to me.
I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile, you've never loved your stomach or your thighs, the dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine, but I'll love them endlessly.
I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth, but if I do, it's you, oh it's you they add up to. I'm in love with you, and all these little things.
You can't go to bed without a cup of tea, and maybe that's the reason that you talk in your sleep, and all those conversations are the secrets that I keep, though it makes no sense to me.
I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape, you never want to know how much you weigh, you still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you're perfect to me.
I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth, but if it's true, it's you, it's you they add up to. I'm in love with you and all these little things.
You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you, you'll never treat yourself right darlin', but I want you to. If I let you know I'm here for you, maybe you'll love yourself like I love you.
I'll just let these little things slip out of my mouth, because it's you, oh it's you, it's you they add up to, and I'm in love with you, and all these little things."
If that's not fantastic writing by Ed Sheeran, and the boys sing it so well, I don't know what is. Because it hit home really hard for me, and it made me cry. So please, look it up on Youtube and give it a chance. You never know.
Anyway, songs can hit close to home, I know my best friend cries every time she hears "Breakeven" by The Script. I won't understand it, it sounds like a fairly happy song to me, but for some reason she taps into it emotionally, and has a different emotional reaction to it than I do. It's different for everyone, and that's what I find so beautiful about music.

post seventeen.

In class, we talked about misogyny in music and culture. We listened to the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" and "Stupid Girl", which blatantly degraded females (and in the case of the former, African-American girls) and somehow received little to no censorship, while songs like Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles, not at all about drugs, were banned from the radio. Mr. A said it's because the Stones were "the bad boys" of rock 'n roll, so it was somehow acceptable for them to sing these degrading lyrics about women. Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with that, I think it's just the fact that women weren't respected in the sixties, so no one really cared about the subject matter.
Women are degraded in many ways even now, for example, I brought up the restaurant Hooters, where the uniform is a tanktop that is very tight and low cut, and shorts that go maybe a few inches down the wearer's thighs. People don't go there for the food, let's be honest, they go there to ogle the women that are there in desperate hopes of making money, selling their bodies out to be stared out by middle aged men. Personally, I think that's degrading towards women, but it doesn't really matter what I think, because it's still out there and people think that's acceptable.