My Song

The clear blue water of the inner sanctums of the quarries
Chilled our nerves but left us with no worries
The fear of the fall was nothing at all
When the wind was swirling beneath us it made us feel so small
But the intensity of it all took us above and beyond the need of the thrill
Until we decided to embrace it all again to test our will

The fun was in the enjoyment of the sights
We all got along and there were no fights
It felt like we were in paradise
Where everyone there was so nice

Swimming in the chilling waters
Mothers there with their daughters
Everyone relaxing out in the sun
All the way until the weekend was done

"The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars Short Story

John was just having one of those days when he woke up and did not feel like doing anything.  It was gloomy day and raining outside.  So he decided to shut off his phone for the day and have everyone leave a message if they needed him.  He went back to bed and slept in until 10 o'clock.  Once he got out of bed, he decided to grab a snuggie and lay on the couch and watch television.  He click on MTV and even learned how to dougie.  With plans of getting a college degree soon, his dad will be so proud of him, but he will just have to wait one more day.  John just kicked back and relaxed and no one could stop him, he could do what ever he wanted for the entire day.  He played some video games on xbox and ate lots of junk food.  He took a nap in the middle of the afternoon in his cozy bed and felt nice and refreshed when he awoke.  He said it felt so great to just relax all day and not have to worry about anything.  Some times people just need that day to relax and get a break from everything!  The next day he felt so great and was ready to get back to his real life, his day off really helped.

The Fame Monster Album Review

Lady Gaga has recently released her new concept album The Fame Monster.  The concept of this album is based on the horrors and fears that surround love, loneliness and death.  This album includes the songs from her debut album along with eight new tracks; however you can purchase just the eight new tracks alone.   Gaga shows off her talent by being the creative producer, song writer, performer, and music video choreographer.  The album includes pop songs such as “Bad Romance” and “MOnster”, and it also includes ballads such as “Speechless” and “Teeth” to show off all the ranges of her voice.  Beyonce also appears on the album, helping sing “Telephone” with Gaga.  While this album is very short, it sends out some very powerful messages.   The release of this album made Gaga a real star. 

Short Story

                He goes to work every day from nine to five, earning an honest salary while she sits in her big, fancy office and orders people around.  When they go out she avoids talking about her husband’s career at all costs.  One night they are at a party thrown by some of her colleagues and he finally snaps when she starts to avoid to question and tells everyone he is just a factory worker not making a lot of money.  She is too embarrassed to even be seen with him at that moment so she quietly leaves the party in shame.  Later that evening, when they get home, she announces that they must get a divorce, and that she can no longer be married to a man that cannot support her needs. He is so torn up because he truly loved her; the money never mattered to him.  She quickly moves out and into her own house.  They go through with the divorce and decide to go their separate ways.  Throughout that next she moved on quickly and felt very liberated while he was still depressed because of their break up.  One day when she was on her way to work and he was in town visiting relatives and they bumped into each other on the street.   They casually talked over coffee for a little bit and she informed him that she is now married to a CEO of a fortune 500 company and they live together in an expensive, extravagant mansion, and kept going on and on about her wonderful life.  He becomes extremely jealous because he hasn’t found anyone to love yet and she moved on so swiftly.  They run into each other again another year later, this time they are both at the same restaurant for dinner with their spouses.  He goes over to their table to say hello and be polite.  After only a minute or two of talking with them he realizes that they do not have any real love connection and that she is just with him for the money.  As he slowly walks back to his table he begins to realize that he should not be jealous of their relationship and that he should have realized that earlier; they should be jealous of him because he and his new wife are have true love, money doesn’t matter to either of them.  He finally realizes that he is better than his ex-wife’s new husband because he may not be able to afford all of the expensive, lavish items that the other guy can but he can give his new wife everything she needs along with true ever-lasting love.    

Song Analysis 2

Just Can't Get Enough

Black Eyed Peas

Boy I think about it every night and day
I'm addicted wanna jump inside your love
I wouldn't wanna have it any other way
I'm addicted and I just can't get enough

I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough

Honey got a sexy all steamin
She givin hotness a new meanin
Perfection mama you gleamin
Inception you got a brother dreamin dreamin

Damn baby I'm feignin
I'm trynna holler at you, I'm screamin
Let me love you down this evenin
Love you love you ya you know you are my demon

Girl we could form a team and
I could be the king you could be the queen and
My mind's dirty and it don't need cleanin
I love you long time so you know the meanin

Oh baby I can't come down so please come help me out
You got me feelin high and I can't step off the cloud
And I just can't get enough

Boy I think about it every night and day
I'm addicted wanna jump inside your love
I wouldn't wanna have it any other way
I'm addicted and I just can't get enough

I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough
I just can't get enough

Honey got me runnin like I'm flow joe
Signs her name on my heart with an X-O
Love's so sweet got me vexed oh
I wanna wish it right back like presto, yes

Meantime I wait for the next time
She come around 'fore I toast to the best time
We all the while back and forth on the text line
She got me fishin for her love I confess I'm

Somethin bout her smile and that combo
Got me high and I ain't comin down yo
My heart's pumpin out louder than electro
She got me feelin like Mr. Roboto

Oh baby I can't come down so please come help me out
You got me feelin high and I can't step off the cloud
And I just can't get enough

Boy I think about it every night and day
I'm addicted wanna jump inside your love
I wouldn't wanna have it any other way
I'm addicted and I just can't get enough

*This is mega switch up*
I just can't
Not
Sunk in your bed rock
Caught
Up in your love shock
Knocked
Out by your cold shot
I'm stuck in your head li-

Can't get out won't when
Makin me feign, give it to me
I want it all, know what I mean
Your love is a dose of ecstasy

Addicted
I can't get
Away from
You
Afflicted
I need it
I'm missin
I want your lovin right next to me
And I can't
Erase ya out of my memory

Song Analysis

People have been going out at night dancing to have a good time since the dawn of time.  Many of the upbeat songs played while everyone’s dancing are very optimistic and happy, usually to set a good atmosphere to the people there who are trying to have fun.   There have been many songs about good relationships and people out having fun because that is what people want to hear while they are trying to have a good time.  There are songs such as “I’ll make love to you” by Boyz II Men in 1994 and “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce in 2003.  “Just Can’t Get Enough” by The Black Eyed Peas is a modern version of the everlasting concept of optimistic love.  In the song “Just Can’t Get Enough”, The Black Eyed Peas use repetitive assonance and clever allusions to tell the story of an optimistic couple madly in love. 


    The repetitive assonance used throughout the song does not add to the deeper meaning of the song, rather it helps make the song as catchy and upbeat as it is.  At the beginning of the song the assonance “Honey got a sexy all steamin/ She givin hotness a new meanin/ Perfection mama you gleamin/ Inception you got a brother dreamin dreamin” starts off the use of assonance and also starts the upbeat rhythm of the song.  Another example of assonance is “I’m trynna holler at you, I’m screamin/ Let me love you down this evenin”.  Assonance is also used during the chorus, “Boy I think about it every night and day/ I wouldn’t want it any other way”.  The assonance used allows the audience to sing along and dance, which is one of the main goals The Black Eyed Peas have.  


    Unlike the assonance used, the clever allusions throughout add to the deeper meaning of the song.  One example is “Inception you got a brother dreamin dreamin”.  This is an allusion to the famous academy award winning movie Inception in which they go into people’s dreams and change their thoughts.  The allusion “I wanna wish it right back like presto, yes” uses the term presto the same way that magicians would use it in one of their magic shows.  The third allusion used is “My heart’s pumpin out louder than electro/ She got me feelin like Mr.Roboto”, which is alluding to the famous electric song Mr.Roboto.  Electro songs are often very loud and contain a lot of drumming and loud instruments, so for his heart to be beating louder than that is a lot.  While the repetitive assonance adds to the rhythm and beat of the song, the clever allusions add to the deeper meaning of the song and when put together they are wonderful.  This is a perfect example of the modern optimistic love song at which everyone wants to sing and dance when they hear it.

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.