Posts

"Jump" by Van Halen

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 The funny thing about this song, is when we learned about it in class, Van Halen was the last group I thought would be the artist. In my mind Van Halen had only hard core rock songs, and Jump is not a very hardcore rock song, at least to me. The song has more of a pop and upbeat feel and the places I've seen it used (like in movies during the scenes where they're getting ready for a party or something like that). The music video, however, shows a lot more of the hard core rock side of the band in their outfits (especially all the animal print) and in their dancing and actions.  I love the synth in the back and I love the drums in this song. It's so lively and the whole vibe just goes well together. MY favorite line is the first one: "I get up, and nothing gets me down." I just feel like that being the first line of this song sets a happy and positive mood. I would definitely listen to this song while having a bad day and wanting to be cheered up. I think the audi...

"Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry

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The music we have been focusing on class has been vastly different from one another. The psychedelic rock is vastly different from disco and the audiences are very different too. I know some people don't like disco, but I do! Which is one reason I love this song. It is honestly such a bop. I could find myself dancing to this even on the saddest of days. I definitely think that the audience of this song is dance clubs and for the youth/young adults, and possibly even to those who don't like disco/funk in order to convince them to like it. I definitely love the little random shouts from the main singer and the vibe of the entire song. I love the bass line and main focus being on that and the kick drum. I think that's a huge characteristic of funk music. My favorite lyric from the song is "Got to stop to feelin' so low, and I decided quickly (yes, I did) to disco down and check out the show". I just love disco already and this song is talking about someone who le...

"Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton

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 This week was super difficult to choose a song because I love them all! I love Joni Mitchell and Carole King and Elton John and Marvin Gaye, John Denver, Chicago, Stevie Wonder and well, you get the gist. But I absolutely love this song by Dolly Parton and wanted to talk about it this week! This song is so nice to listen to. Her voice and the melody is so pretty and upbeat, but not too upbeat. It's definitely country, but also gives some pop vibes. I love the soft background vocals throughout the chorus and the small guitar solos throughout it.  My favorite line is "Here you come again, lookin' better than a body has a right to and shakin' me up so that all I really know is here you come again and here I go." I really just love that line and I think it's funny, but also gives me an idea of what the guy she's singing about is like. I fell like the audience of the song is mainly for women 16 and up, but honestly I feel that anyone would listen to it, as lon...

"Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane

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 Okay so as soon as I played this song my mind was taken to TikTok, that may sounds funny (and to be honest it is), but it just goes to show how a song can get big in a different time and place. Just like how Claire de Lune by Debussy and the Swan (Saint-Saëns) are both very big on Tik Tok even though they were originally published a long time ago. This also has happened with lots of other songs like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” by Paul Anka, which is definitely a 50s crooners kind of song. The song that’s used on TikTok is definitely a remix of the original, as the original doesn’t have as hard of a bass drum kick at the chorus.  This song is super fun though! I love the upbeat rhythm and the chord progressions. Also the simplicity of the chorus really helps people to recognize the song pretty easy and sing along to it without having to listen to the song all that much. My favorite line from the song would have to be: “your eyes, I say, your eyes may look like his, yeah, bu...

You Can’t Hurry Love by the Supremes

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 Okay, I wont lie. It was really hard to choose a song for this because I love them all and could talk about them for forever!! But I went with “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes because I love their sound and I love their song! When I first heard this song, it was actually Phil Collins version. They’re pretty much the same, but they differ a little. First is in the Supremes’ version, there’s several voices and different background shouts going on (like during the chorus).  I love the tambourine in the back during the entire thing and at one point it even gets a solo! The drum is also really good in this because it’s different than most drums in a song. Instead of being played the entire time, the main percussion instrument holding the tempo is the tambourine. At one point the drum cuts out and comes back in to emphasize the singer coming in! My fav line is “how long must I wait, how much more can I take, before loneliness will cause my heart, heart to break?” because it w...

Maybellene by Chuck Berry

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 This song is definitely what I think of when I think of good, classic 50s rock and roll. I think that the sound of rock n' roll is mostly attributed to the electric guitar and drums and the beat they make. The beat is a hard swing and super easy to groove and jive to. I would definitely listen to this song while driving on a road trip or while at a small diner. I also just really love Chuck Berry's voice. He has really good tone and even though he is mainly speak-singing, he still sounds super good and on pitch. It reminds me a little of Johnny Cash with the speak-singing. As for the lyrics, the chorus itself is pretty repetitious and easy to sing along with. It also is clear when the chorus comes, versus some of the other songs and blues we have previously listened to. I love that lots of the song talks about something completely of topic, Cadillacs and traveling, but then the chorus brings it back to the girl and the name of the song, Maybellene. I think that this song is de...

Choo Choo Ch'Boogie by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five

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This song is so fun and upbeat! I loved the trumpets in the song and their little call and response to the singer (aka Louis Jordan). I think it also helps that this group performed a lot together, so the timing of the trumpets, and other instruments, and singing were perfectly lined up. I think this song definitely evokes good and positive feelings. I think that is also makes you want to dance. This is mainly because of the uptempo beat and the mainly major chords. The target audience would be young people who like to dance, in my mind, but I could also see if being geared to adults fo dinner parties. This would also be a song I would imagine that would come on the radio a lot during its time period (the 40s and postwar era). I like that this song is easy to dance to and I would listen to it with some of the other songs I listen to. My favorite part is right at the end when they al sing "take me right back to the track!" I like that they all join in together and the rhyming ...