Legend and Myth in Music

MYTHS:

1.       Robert Johnson suddenly disappeared for a time span and when he returned he was suddenly very good at playing the guitar.  Some believe that it was a years’ worth of practice that made him so good.  Others believe that when at a crossroads, the meeting point of two dirt roads before paved roads were made, he met the devil who was often thought to be at crossroads.  It is thought that he made a deal with devil that consisted of the devil giving him five years of musical genius and in return Johnson would give him his soul when he died.

2.       Ozzy Osbourne is well known for doing drugs and excessively drinking alcohol and has been criticized by many for this lifestyle.  These factors may have led to his bizarre behavior.  It is thought that while Osbourne was at his record signing he bit off the head of a dove inside of the studio and then another one outside the studio.  It is also noted that at one of his concerts he bit off the head of a bat.  He claims that he thought the bat was fake and that is why he did it, but no one can be too sure, however he did get a series of rabies shots shortly following this incident.

3.       Paul McCartney may never have left the band The Beatles, because he supposedly died in 1966 in a car accident.  It is thought that after McCartney left Abbey Road studios after getting into an argument with the other Beatles; he got into a horrible accident that killed him.  The accident was thought to happen at 5 a.m. on November 9, 1966 and was caused by a hitchhiker named Rita that he picked up along the way.  At this point in time the Beatles were at the peak of their fame and the death of one of their members would have been the end to the fame of the band, so it is thought that they covered up the death and found an imposter to take his place.

4.       On July 25, 1965 Bob Dylan performed at the Newport Folk Festival.  This was the first time ever that he performed a rock-and-roll set publicly. During the performance the crowd was booing the entire time.  The booing was because of his then new song “Like a Rolling Stone” and was so loud that it overpowered Dylans’ singing and even the next song.  This booing came from his upset audience who felt as though he betrayed them going from folk to rock and roll.

5.       One music myth that stands out to me is that Elvis Presley didn’t die in 1977.  Some believe that Elvis Presley did not die in 1977 and that it was just a cover up to so that he could hide away and get out of the spot light.  There are actually people who still claim to spot Elvis in convenience stores and restaurants.

6.       First I recognized the four men of the Beatles who stand front and center in bright costumes, I also recognize Marilyn Monroe whose head is right behind the Beatles, and the third thing I noticed was the wax figures of the Beatles when they were young which are all similar looking and standing directly next to the actual Beatles.  One person that I did not recognize that I probably should is the actress Diana Dors who is one the right of the Beatles in the picture all dressed up, another person is Oliver Hardy who is wearing a bright yellow hat and his face looks like a clown, Marlene Dietrich is another person that I did not know of, she is wearing a bright yellow suit and is standing in the front row right next to the Beatles.

Works Cited

"A Myth That Rocks: The Premature Death of Paul McCartney | LiveScience." Current News on Space, Animals, Technology, Health, Environment, Culture and History | LiveScience. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.livescience.com/4000-myth-rocks-premature-death-paul-mccartney.html>.

"Dylan Goes Electric at the Newport Folk Festival — History.com This Day in History — 7/25/1965." History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dylan-goes-electric-at-the-newport-folk-festival>.

"Robert Johnson." The Mudcat Discussion Forum. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mudcat.org/rj-dave.cfm>.

"Talk:Ozzy Osbourne/Archive 1." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ozzy_Osbourne/Archive_1#biting_the_head_off_of_a_bat>.

White, Dave. "Top 10 Rock Music Myths." Classic Rock - Bands Songs Artists CDs DVDs MP3s Lyrics and History of Classic Rock. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://classicrock.about.com/od/history/a/rock_myths.htm>.

Song Analysis 1

Justin Bieber was born on March 2, 1994 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.  His mother was only 18 years old when she had him and raised him as a single mother.  He grew up with a normal childhood playing on sports teams and going to school.  He knew from a young age that he enjoyed playing music in various forms; he would even play his guitar and sing on street corners at the age of 12.  His family wanted to see him singing so he posted videos to YouTube and then a former marketing executive saw the videos and helped him get signed with a label.  His perseverance and hard work has made him the artist and sensation that he is today.  In the song Never Say Never, Justin Bieber uses clever similes and allusions to communicate his message of perseverance.

               Allusive similes are used throughout the song to give real life examples of people never giving up.  He uses the allusive simile “Like Luke with the force if push comes to shove” to give an example of the main message.  He is saying that if you don’t give up like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars then you will be successful is.  In the next line he uses the allusive simile “Like Kobe in the fourth, ice water with blood”.  This shows the reader that to become great you have to push through tough times, by giving the example of Kobe Bryant playing through a tiring, tough basketball game.  Also that if you keeping trying through the tough games then you can become amazing, just like Kobe Bryant is at basketball.  The third allusive simile he uses is “Like David and Goliath/ I conquered the giant”.  This is a biblical reference referring to the fight between David and Goliath.  David was young and small but was fighting for god, Goliath was a nine foot giant.  With Davids hard work he was able to defeat the giant and scare the citizens of the town and became successful in his mission.   Bieber uses these allusive similes throughout the song to show how real successful people have gone through some tough times but came out to be very successful.

                Bieber also uses hyperbole throughout the song. One example of hyperbole is “And I’m fast enough to run across the sea” he exaggerates his speed and being able to run on water to show that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.  Another example of hyperbole is “I will fight till forever” shows that the struggle and fight may feel as though it’s lasting forever, but it really isn’t and will be over sooner than you may think.   One of the most exaggerated hyperbole is “So now I got the world in my hand” to show how you may feel after you have conquered your dreams.  Bieber uses hyperbole though out the song Never Say Never to add emphasis to how great the outcome can be if you always try your hardest and never give up.  Throughout the song, simplistic hyperbole and allusive imagery are used to describe a very powerful message.