1. You will spin the Wheel of Fortune. You will be assigned to, and provided with an album containing a significant amount of poetic content, courtesy of Mr. Kefor. You're welcome.
2. We will have the C.O.W.s. Use the web to research the background information of the band/artist and album. Provide a paragraph, in your own language, which discusses the context of the album. Cite your sources.
3. Find the lyrics to one song from the album. Post them here and offer initial observations on any apparent poetic devices.
4. Paragraph Response: What is, in your opinion, the best album of all time? Why? What themes are addressed? What makes the album timeless?
Post your responses to tasks/questions 2-3 as a comment here. Due at 9:10.
33 comments:
Jack Johnson: Sleep Through The Static
Jack Johnson was born on May 18, 1975 in Hawaii and still resides there. Johnson is the son of a famous Hawain surfer and himself started surfing at the age of five. When he was seventeen, Johnson competed in the Banzai Pipeline, a professional surfing tournament. Aside from surfing and writing music, Johnson also worked on film production. His surfer film Ticker Than Water was acclaimed best movie of the year by Surfer magazine in 2000. For his musical talent, he is well known for his soft rock and acoustic melodies and released the album Sleep Through The Static on February 5, 2008. This album quickly reached number one on the Billboard 200 charts and held the record for most iTunes downloads in single day until Cold Play's Viva La Vida set a new record with their album.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Through_the_Static
http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Johnson,_Jack/Biography/
Harvest is an album made by Neil Young and a country genre band he recruited after leaving the Super group with Crosby, Stills and Nash. The switch in my own opinion is probably due to the fact that he was born in a rural area in Canada. In such songs on the album there is a clear blend of the themes of classic rock but the music and sonic traits of country.
One Such Song is Heart Of Gold
I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
I've been to Hollywood
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean
for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind,
it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keep me searching
for a heart of gold
You keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
Of The Poetic devices found in the song there is clear cliche in the title "Heart Of Gold". There is figurative language. "I've been a miner for a heart of gold." There is also clear allusion to the classic theme of love, and growing old.
Sources in the order Used
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_(album)#Track_listing
http://www.lyricsocean.com/lyrics/58279-NEIL%20YOUNG-HeartOfGold.htm
Album: Highway 61 Revisited.
Artist: Bob Dylan.
This album was Bob Dylan's sixth studio album. It was released in August of 1965 by Columbia Records. It was recorded entirely with a full rockband, a first for Dylan. At the time, Highway 61 was a highway that went from New Orleans through Memphis. It also went from Iowa through Duluth, which was Dylan's Birthplace, and reached the Canadian Border. Highway 61 was also sometimes referred to as "Blue's Highway", because it was usually referred to in Blue's Songs. As a teenager, Highway 61 became a symbol of freedom, to Dylan. It was also a symbol of movement and independence. It was his chance to get away from the life he didn't want in Hibbing. On the Billboard's Pop Albums Chart, this album peaked on #3, and #4 in the UK. Overall, Highway 61 revisited ranked #4 on Rollingstone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
-Meg K.
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7582782/a/Sleep+Through+The+Static.htm
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/18143735/review/18206548
The album “Sleep through the Static” by Jack Johnson is a more family oriented album than his previous work. This was the fourth studio album by Johnson. The album was reported to be recorded on a solar powered 8 track reel-to-reel. The album had sold over 180,000 by the second week after its release. The album became number 45 in the top 50 albums in 2008. The album won a platinum record, selling over 1,500,000 copies in the United States alone. Overall the album has made a shocking amount of sales in other countries aside from the U.S and has made many of the top songs of all times lists.
Lyrics to Sleep Through The Static :
Trouble travels fast
When you’re specially designed for crash testing
Or wearing wool sunglasses in the afternoon
Come on and tell us what you’re trying to prove
Because it’s a battle when you dabble in war
You store it up, unleash it, then you piece it together
Whether the storm drain running rampant just stamp it
And send it to somebody who’s pretending to care
Just cash in your blanks for little toy tanks
Learn how to use them, then abuse them and choose them
Over conversations relationships are overrated
“I hated everyone” said the sun
And so I will cook all your books
You’re too good looking and mistooken
You could watch it instead
From the comfort of your burning beds
…Or you can sleep through the static
Who needs sleep when we’ve got love?
Who needs keys when we’ve got clubs?
Who needs please when we’ve got guns?
Who needs peace when we’ve gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
We went beyond where we should have gone
Stuck between channels my thoughts all quit
I thought about them too much, allowed them to touch
The feelings that rained down on the plains all dried and cracked
Waiting for things that never came
Shock and awful thing to make somebody think
That they have to choose pushing for peace supporting the troops
And either you’re weak or you’ll use brut force-feed the truth
The truth is we say not as we do
We say anytime, anywhere, just show your teeth and strike the fear
Of god wears camouflage, cries at night and drives a dodge
Pick up the beat and stop hogging the feast
That’s no way to treat an enemy
Well mighty mighty appetite
we just eat ‘em up and keep on driving
Freedom can be freezing take a picture from the pretty side
Mind your manners wave your banners
What a wonderful world that this angle can see
-Michael Costa
But who needs to see what we’ve done?
Who needs please when we’ve got guns?
Who needs keys when we’ve got clubs?
Who needs peace when we’ve gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
Beyond where we should have gone
We went beyond where we should have gone
Beyond where we should have gone
There are some poetic devices that can be easily seen in this song. The song is fairly long (lyrically wise). A few examples of alliteration can be seen such as “toy tanks” and “anytime, anywhere.” Another poetic device that I found was objectification where he says “the feelings rained down.” Feelings cannot literally rain, it is instead a human emotion that’s been objectified. One last poetic device that stood out to me was his use of wordplay such as when he says “Shock and awful thing to make somebody think” which reminds me of the concept of shock and awe.
In my opinion the best album of all time is “Revolutionary Volume 1” by Immortal Technique. Unlike most rappers Immortal Technique raps about reality, culture, and politics. In the majority of his songs he talks about culture and politics in a way that portrays the truth that he is trying to get across in a malicious manner that makes the listener truly understand. One of the songs “Dance with the Devil” talks about going down the wrong path, and the corruption and hatred that can be formed from basic human greed. The way it is portrayed is in a shocking and awful manner that makes the listener understand that it isn’t just a simple message, but a truth and reality that should be recognized.
-Michael Costa
Jack Hody Johnson was born on May 18, 1975 in Oahu, Hawaii. Jack was born into a family of success, with his father Jeff Johnson who was a professional well known surfer. Jack picked up surfing at a very young age and soon became a professional. At the age of 17, Johnson made his way into the Pipe trials, making him the youngest person to ever be invited into the world’s best surfing event. During the Pipeline Masters Johnson suffered a ‘near death’ experience while crashing into a reef. Johnson’s front teeth were knocked out and he received 150 stitches in him mouth. Upon recovering Johnson began filmmaking and later became a “ surf film director, photographer, producer and score composer”. Throughout his college years Johnson began to pursue music. He would sit playing his guitar, which he started playing at the age of 14, and would sit and write his own songs. Ever since his first release of “Rodeo Clowns” Jack Johnson has been a big hit, selling over a million copies of his albums worldwide.
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Jack-Johnson-Biography/BEF2B0CE1009556248256BF200239921
http://www.lyricsmania.com/biography/jack_johnson_biography_3161.html
Sleep Through The Static is Jack Johnson’s fourth album, and one of the greatest that he has written. This album was created by using nothing but strictly nothing but solar power. Jack Johnson has a few children and this album focuses mostly on his family. Some of the songs talk about having children and trying to raise them. Some of the songs are about who children will grow up it the world, with the challenges that they will face. Some of the songs are about emotions; love and hate. And a few of the songs express the struggles with saying goodbye to the ones you love.
http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Through-Static-Jack-Johnson/dp/B000Z0UEU6
I've got an angel
She doesn't wear any wings
She wears a heart that can melt my own
She wears a smile that can make me wanna sing
She gives me presents
With her presence alone
She gives me everything I could wish for
She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home
She could make angels
I've seen it with my own eyes
You gotta be careful when you've got good love
Cause the angels will just keep on multiplying
But you're so busy changing the world
Just one smile can change all of mine
We share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
We Share the same soul
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh
Umm umm umm uhhhhhhmm
In the whole song the angel is a metaphor for his wife. When it says “cause the angels will just keep on multiplying”, it is a metaphor for his wife having children. All his children will be angels just like his wife. There is a little bit of alliteration, “Share the same soul”. The song is basically about how much he loves his wife and how everything she does makes her seem more and more like an angel.
Personally I love anything by Kenny Chesney; I think all of his albums are amazing. I love the album Just Who I am: Poets and Pirates. In a few of the songs on the album it talks about growing up and how time goes by so fast, like in the song “Don’t Blink”. A few of the songs talk about the struggles some people face just to get through life, like in the song “Dancing for the Groceries”. A few of the songs on the album also talk about just looking back on your life and thinking about all the crazy memories and good times you shared with the people you care about. Overall, I think that this album will always be known as a great feel good album to listen to at any time.
Jack Johnson released his fourth studio album on February 5, 2008. The album, "Sleep Through the Static," was produced in Los Angeles Solar Powered Plastic Plant. Previously, all his albums were produced in Hawaii. Even though it was reviewed by music rating professionals as not being his best, his fans were not disappointed. The album made its debut at number one on the U.S Billboard top 200, and remained for 3 weeks. So far, I have liked most of the songs on the album and get a feel for what Jack Johnson is all about.
The album i got was Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper is the 8th album released by The Beatles and was released in June of 1967. The album includes elements from genres such as music hall, jazz, rock and roll, western classical, and traditional Indian music. This album stayed at number one for 15 weeks on billboard 200.
{VERSE 1}
Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.
{CHORUS}
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Ah... Ah...
{VERSE 2}
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone.
{CHORUS}
Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
The poetic devices that are in this album is imagery. The line “With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.”
An album that I think is one of the greatest albums of all time is “Life is Just Peachy” By Korn. I think it is one of the greatest albums because lead singer Jonathan Davis puts past experiences in the album. The theme it exemplifies is abuse of kids by their parents. The thing that makes the album timeless is how much emotion he puts into the lyrics of his songs.
Lyrics to Go On :
In my rear view
I watch you watching the twilight
Behind the telephone lines
With nothing to prove, or to assume
Just thinking that your thoughts are different than mine
In my rear view
I watch you
And I gave you your life, would you give me mine
I see you slowly swim away
Cause the light is leaving town
To a place that I can’t be
But there’s no apologies
Just go on
Just go on
There’s still so many things
I wanna say to you
But go on
Just go on
We’re bound by blood that’s moving
From the moment that we start
From the moment that we start
I see your perfect little lies
Watch the shadows of the clouds
And the surface of the ocean out the window of a plane
I get nervous when I fly
I’m used to walking with my feet
Turbulence is like a sigh that I can’t help but over think
What is the purpose of my life
If it doesn’t ever do
With learning to let it go
Live vicariously through
You could do the same
It’s the least you could do
Cause it’s a lonely little chain
If you don’t add to it
So go on
Just go on
There’s still so many things
I wanna say to you
But go on
Just go on
We’re bound by blood and love
From the moment that we start
Just go on
Just go on
There’s still so many things
I wanna say to you
Just go on
Just go on
We’re bound by blood that’s moving
From the moment that we start
From the moment that we start
analysis:
"we're bound by blood thats moving"-figurative language
"perfect little lies"-paradox
"Just go on" is saying that the girl just keeps talking and doesn't let him say what he needs to say
Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by Bob Dylan, recorded by Columbia Records. It was released in August 1965. This album was the first one to be recorded with a full rock band. The album was number 3 on Billboard’s Pop Album’s; it was also number 4 in the UK. Soon after it was placed as number 4 in the Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Highway 61 is an actual highway which went from New Orleans through Memphis, then from Iowa through Duluth which is Dylan’s birth place and it reaches all the way from the Canadian Border. This highway was regularly featured in blues songs. Highway 61is a part of history where things have been said to have happened. A woman with the name of Bessie Smith was said to have died there in a car accident. It was said that Robert Johnson had sold his soul to the Devil there to be a master at guitar and Elvis Presley grew up in housing projects just off that highway.
I believe the best album of all time is Hey Jude by the Beatles. I believe this because Hey Jude is one of the most liked songs by Beatles fans which is contained in the album. This album has a variety of different meanings in all of the songs. The music and vocals of all the songs makes this album timeless.
Lyrics to Bob Dylan's
"Highway 61"
Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Well Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
Welfare Department they wouldn't give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard where can I go
Howard said there's only one place I know
Sam said tell me quick man I got to run
Ol' Howard just pointed with his gun
And said that way down on Highway 61.
Well Mack the Finger said to Louie the King
I got forty red white and blue shoe strings
And a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things
And Louie the King said let me think for a minute son
And he said yes I think it can be easily done
Just take everything down to Highway 61.
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren't right
My complexion she said is much too white
He said come here and step into the light he says hmm you're right
Let me tell the second mother this has been done
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61.
Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored
He was tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61.
Sleep Through the Static: Jack Johnson
This album is the fourth album released by Jack Johnson, on February 5, 2008. All the recording of Sleep Through the Static was done in L.A.'s Solar Powered Plastic Plant, meaning it was Johnson's first album not recorded in Hawaii. This album was first reviewed unenthusiastically by professional music critics, but has a positive say from fans. Fans showed their positivity by having the album debute at number one, on the US Billboard 200 chart. Also, Sleep Through the Static was made number 45 in Q's 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008. Sleep Through the Static was an overall success for Jack Johnson's fourth album.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Through_the_Static
"Sleep Through The Static"
Trouble travels fast
When you're specially designed for crash testing
Or wearing wool sunglasses in the afternoon
Come on and tell us what you're trying to prove
Because it's a battle when you dabble in war
You store it up, unleash it, then you piece it together
Whether the storm drain running rampant just stamp it
And send it to somebody who's pretending to care
Just cash in your blanks for little toy tanks
Learn how to use them, then abuse them and choose them
Over conversations relationships are overrated
"I hated everyone" said the sun
And so I will cook all your books
You're too good looking and mistooken
You could watch it instead
From the comfort of your burning beds
...Or you can sleep through the static
Who needs sleep when we've got love?
Who needs keys when we've got clubs?
Who needs please when we've got guns?
Who needs peace when we've gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
We went beyond where we should have gone
Stuck between channels my thoughts all quit
I thought about them too much, allowed them to touch
The feelings that rained down on the plains all dried and cracked
Waiting for things that never came
Shock and awful thing to make somebody think
That they have to choose pushing for peace supporting the troops
And either you're weak or you'll use brut force-feed the truth
The truth is we say not as we do
We say anytime, anywhere, just show your teeth and strike the fear
Of god wears camouflage, cries at night and drives a dodge
Pick up the beat and stop hogging the feast
That's no way to treat an enemy
Well mighty mighty appetite
We just eat 'em up and keep on driving
Freedom can be freezing take a picture from the pretty side
Mind your manners wave your banners
What a wonderful world that this angle can see
But who needs to see what we've done?
Who needs please when we've got guns?
Who needs keys when we've got clubs?
Who needs peace when we've gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
Beyond where we should have gone
We went beyond where we should have gone
Beyond where we should have gone
Poetic Devices:
When you're specially designed for crash testing= Metaphor
"I hated everyone" said the sum= Personification
And so I will cook all your books= Assonance
Trouble travels fast= Alliteration
Highway 61 Revisited Album:
The Dylan album, Highway 61 Revisited, was his first album to be recorded entirely with a full rock band. Highway 61 Revisited includes the greatest song of all time, "Like a Rolling Stone". The album is called Highway 61 due to all of the events that happened there. Bessie Smith was killed in a car accident there, Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul there, Elvis Presley grew up along the houses there, and Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered at a motel just off the highway. Highway 61 was known widely across America and according to Robert Shelton, a BBC interviewer, it was Dylan's road of freedom.
http://www.answers.com/topic/highway-61-revisited
http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/0,27693,Highway_61_Revisited,00.html
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/music/highway-61-revisited
Like a Rolling Stone:
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
Threw bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People called said beware doll, you're bound to fall
You thought they were all kidding you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hanging out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging your next meal
How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be on your own, without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
You've gone to the finest schools, alright miss lonely
but you know you only used to get juiced in it
Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street
And now you're gonna have to get used to it
You say you never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibies
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And say do you want to make a deal?
Oh, you never turned around to see the frowns
On the jumpers and the clowns when they did their tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on your chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discovered that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal
Princess on a steeple and all the pretty people
They're all drinking, thinking that they've got it made
Exchanging all precious gifts
You better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him he calls you, you can't refuse
When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to loose
You're invisible now, you've got not secret to conceal
In the first two lines there is an obvious example of alliteration that includes the words "time, fine, dime, and prime". There is also a metaphor of "You used to ride on your chrome horse with your diplomat/
Who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat" that may mean that the target of this song used to show off everything with those fur scarfs that look similar to cats.
Best Album Ever:
I don't really know a lot of albums so I'm going to have to say that Highway 61 Revisited is the best album of all time. It's theme of freedom, and life morals mixed with the ambient harmony of instruments creates a perfect mixture of sound and lyrics. The morals of each song cannot be forgotten unless by force and the astonishment that old time Dylan fans is great due to the new "Electric Dylan".
-Jason Oliva
Helplessly Hoping (CSNY)
Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit
He runs wishing he could fly only to trip at the sound of good-bye
Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
Did he hear a good-bye or even hello?
They are one person, they are two alone
They are three together, they are four for each other
Stand by the stairway, you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
Love isn't lying, it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost and choking on hello
They are one person, they are two alone
They are three together, they are four for each other
There is alliteration of the letter h in the first stanza. There is also imagery in the first stanza. Alliteration and imagery are present throughout the song.
-Coren Gillon
"Sleep Through the Static"
Trouble travels fast
When you’re specially designed for crash testing
Or wearing wool sunglasses in the afternoon
Come on and tell us what you’re trying to prove
Because it’s a battle when you dabble in war
You store it up, unleash it, then you piece it together
Whether the storm drain running rampant just stamp it
And send it to somebody who’s pretending to care
Just cash in your blanks for little toy tanks
Learn how to use them, then abuse them and choose them
Over conversations relationships are overrated
“I hated everyone” said the sun
And so I will cook all your books
You’re too good looking and mistooken
You could watch it instead
From the comfort of your burning beds
…Or you can sleep through the static
Who needs sleep when we’ve got love?
Who needs keys when we’ve got clubs?
Who needs please when we’ve got guns?
Who needs peace when we’ve gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
We went beyond where we should have gone
Stuck between channels my thoughts all quit
I thought about them too much, allowed them to touch
The feelings that rained down on the plains all dried and cracked
Waiting for things that never came
Shock and awful thing to make somebody think
That they have to choose pushing for peace supporting the troops
And either you’re weak or you’ll use brut force-feed the truth
The truth is we say not as we do
We say anytime, anywhere, just show your teeth and strike the fear
Of god wears camouflage, cries at night and drives a dodge
Pick up the beat and stop hogging the feast
That’s no way to treat an enemy
Well mighty mighty appetite
we just eat ‘em up and keep on driving
Freedom can be freezing take a picture from the pretty side
Mind your manners wave your banners
What a wonderful world that this angle can see
But who needs to see what we’ve done?
Who needs please when we’ve got guns?
Who needs keys when we’ve got clubs?
Who needs peace when we’ve gone above
But beyond where we should have gone?
Beyond where we should have gone
We went beyond where we should have gone
Beyond where we should have gone
I have found the use of many poetic devices in the song. He uses alliteration throughout with examples such as, "trouble travels fast", and "pushing for peace". He also uses personification when he says, "freedom can be freezing". He also uses rhyme such as, " cash in your blanks for little toy tanks".
Like A Rolling Stone.
Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
Poetic Devices:
1. Third Person Narrative.
2. Similie "like a rolling stone"
3. Alliteration: "princess on the steeple on all the pretty people."
4. Imagery: "you used to ride on your chrome horse with your diplomat.
5. Metaphor: "vacuum of his eyes".
-Meg K
The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in June 1967 and was an instant commercial success that was expected of the British rock band. It spent 27 weeks at the top of the UK Album chart and it had a 15 week rule over the U.S’s billboard 200. The awards did not stop there though it won four Grammys and in 2003 in Rolling Stone ranked it in its list of the top 500 albums ever recorded as number one. While Sgt. Pepper was being recorded the Beatle craze was starting to die down largely due to the bands decision to stop touring and become a studio band. This obviously did not sit well with a large majority of their fan base, but this sudden increase in time at the studio could account for the album’s huge success.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band
http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/sgt.html
http://taz4158.tripod.com/sgtpepper.html
The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in June 1967 and was an instant commercial success that was expected of the British rock band. It spent 27 weeks at the top of the UK Album chart and it had a 15 week rule over the U.S’s billboard 200. The awards did not stop there though it won four Grammys and in 2003 in Rolling Stone ranked it in its list of the top 500 albums ever recorded as number one. While Sgt. Pepper was being recorded the Beatle craze was starting to die down largely due to the bands decision to stop touring and become a studio band. This obviously did not sit well with a large majority of their fan base, but this sudden increase in time at the studio could account for the album’s huge success.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band
http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/sgt.html
http://taz4158.tripod.com/sgtpepper.html
All At Once- Jack Johnson
All at once,
The world can overwhelm me
There's almost nothin' that you could tell me
That could ease my mind
Which way will you run
When it's always all around you
And the feelin' lost and found you again
A feelin' that we have no control
Around a song
Some say
There's gonna be the new hell
Some say
It's still too early to tell
Some say
It really ain't no myth at all
Keep askin' ourselves are we really
Strong enough
There's so many things that we got
Too proud of
We're too proud of
We're too proud of
I wanna take the preconceived
Out from underneath your feet
We could shake it off
Instead we'll plant some seeds
We'll watch em' as they grow
And with each new beat
From your heart the roots grow deeper
The branches will they reach for what
Nobody really knows
But underneath it all
Theres this heart all alone
What about is gone
And it really won't be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singin' from at all
Theres a world we've never seen
Theres still hope between the dreams
The weight of it all
Could blow away with a breeze
If your waitin on the wind
Don't forget to breathe
Cause as the darkness gets deeper
We'll be sinkin as we reach for love
At least somethin we could hold
But i'll reach to you from where time just cant go
What about when it's gone
And it really wont be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singin' from at all
This song contains many literary devices that are highlighted.
-Tamika Q
The best album of all time, in my opinion, is Dark Side of The Moon. Seeing as we just answered this question on the test though I would have to say that Four by Blues Traveler is also a great album. The album adresses several themes including anti-materialism and war among others. The music is absolutely fantastic which contributes largely to the timelessness of the album as well as the long living themes portrayed by the lyrics.
Neil Young’s album Harvest is his fourth solo album. It was released February of 1972; and it was recorded January-September 1971 at Quadraphonic Studios, Nashville. The length is 37 minutes and 11 seconds. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks. His song “Heart of Gold” peaked number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the best selling album of 1972. The album is mainly produced by Neil Young. The label is called Reprise Records. The genre is rock, folk rock, and country rock.
Personally, I think one of the best albums is 808’s & Heartbreak by Kanye West. The first time I heard the album at my friend’s house, I had to get the album the next day. Sometime when you get an album, there are some songs you don’t like. I love every song on this album. The theme that was constant was heartbreak. This album is amazing. The reason this album is my favorite is because I love ever song on it.
The album So Far was compiled by the original “super-group” of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. They first came together in 1968, after they all played in separate bands and dabbled with solo careers. After joining, the band repeatedly split and reunited over the years due to bruised egos and miscommunications. Neil Young, in particular, left the band many times, during which Crosby, Stills and Nash recorded their own trio album. The album So Far was released in 1974 as a compilation album of CSNY’s greatest hits ‘so far’. The cover of the album was designed and painted by Canadian folk singer Joni Mitchell, who also wrote the song “Woodstock”, which is featured on the album. What’s interesting about the album’s release is that CSNY had only had twenty-two songs to their name when they decided to release the eleven-song ‘Greatest Hits’ album. However, the demand for a compilation disc was high because CSNY had already had numerous Top 40 hits.
-Carolyn Hathaway
http://www.classicbands.com/CSNY.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Far_(album)
The album So Far was made by CSNY. It was their first compilation album and included two of their hit singles. It topped the Billboard one-hundred in 1974. The band originally was against the album. The album kicked off their much antisipated reunion tour.
-Coren Gillon
The album Sgt. Pepper discusses everyday subjects. Some of the subjects include the greeting of the day which you here in “Good Morning, Good Morning.” Another subject that is discussed is a teenager leaving home and leaving their parents. This is in the song “She’s Leaving Home.” Lastly, another subject that is discussed is growing old and looking back. This is discussed in the song “when I’m Sixty-four.”
“Within You Without You”
We were talking-about the space between us all
and the people-who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth-then it's far too late-when they pass away.
We were talking-about the love we all could share-when we find it
to try our best to hold it there-with our love
with our love-we could save the world-if they only knew.
Try to realize it's all within yourself
No-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small,
And life flows within you and without you.
We were talking-about the love that's gone so cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul-
They don't know-they can't see-are you one of them?
When you've seen beyond yourself-then you may find, peace of mind,
Is waiting there-And the time will come when you see
we're all one, and life flows on within you and without you.
Jeremy Martin
Neil Young, arguably one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers, released Harvest in 1972, which was his biggest album. Harvest epitomized his laidback side of singing and songwriting. Young’s style and sound is mostly attributed to the distinct sound of his electric guitar. Some of his songs are laced with messages, such as “The Needle and the Damage done”, which is an anti-drug song. Both “A Man Needs a Maid” and “There’s a World”, were recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. There are also background and vocal harmonies from James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Stray Gators, and CS&N. “Like all his albums, Neil Young's Harvest is beautiful and difficult. Difficult because, while Neil's mournful songs are for the most part simple and affecting, they are often rich in poetic suggestion and melodic charm.” (Playboy, 7/72).
http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/neil-young
http://www.superseventies.com/youngneil1.html
"Old Man"
By: Neil Young
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
Twenty four
and there's so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two.
Love lost, such a cost,
Give me things
that don't get lost.
Like a coin that won't get tossed
Rolling home to you.
Old man take a look at my life
I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.
Lullabies, look in your eyes,
Run around the same old town.
Doesn't mean that much to me
To mean that much to you.
I've been first and last
Look at how the time goes past.
But I'm all alone at last.
Rolling home to you.
Old man take a look at my life
I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
This song definitely has a rhyme scheme and it has some alliteration as well, such as "lot like" and "tell that it's true". There is also figurative language when he says, "rolling home to you". Another thing that I noticed is the fact that this song is a bit of a cliche too.
In my opinion, Keith Urban's Greatest Hits album released in 2007 is one of the best albums of all time. First of all, Keith Urban has a beautiful voice with extraordinary vocals that can just pull anyone in. All the songs on this album are very easy for the audience to relate to and for the most part, he sings about a wide range of topics. "I Told you So", "Tonight I Wanna Cry", "You'll Think of Me", and "Stupid Boy", are all about hurting from love. "Making Memories of Us", "You're my Better Half", and "Your Everything", to name a few, are upbeat, happy songs that depict a blissful love. This album is truly Urban's best and each song will surely pull on a couple heartstrings and bring a few tears, whether happy or sad.
"Guinnevere" by CSNY
Guinnevere had green eyes
Like yours, mi'lady like yours
When she'd walk down
Through the garden
In the morning after it rained
Peacocks wandered aimlessly
Underneath an orange tree
Why can't she see me?
Guinnevere
Drew pentagrams
Like yours, mi'lady like yours
Late at night
When she thought
that no one was watching at all
She shall be free
As she turns her gaze
Down the slope
to the harbor where I lay
Anchored for a day
Guinnevere
Had golden hair
Like yours, mi'lady like yours
Streaming out when we'd ride
Through the warm wind down by the bay
Yesterday
Seagulls circle endlessly
I sing in silent harmony
We shall be free
The poetic devices in this song include alot of imagery ("peacocks wandered aimlessly underneath an orange tree", alliteration ("warm wind", "seagulls circle"), and is a first person narrative.
-Carolyn H.
The album The Joshua Tree by U2 is, in my opinion, one of the best albums of all time. The songs featured on it include "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Bullet the Blue Sky". It has both up-beat tracks and powerful rock ballads. Bono's voice flows smoothly with the latter especially. Anti-war songs like "Mothers of Disappeared" are also on this album, in the traditional U2 style of social activism. Themes of love, struggle, and war make this album timeless. Its songs and messages can still be appreciated today even though the album was released in the late '70s.
-Carolyn H.
The Beatles are a band steeped in historical achievements and widely recognized as potentially the greatest musical group in history. Rising from humble beginnings in Liverpool, England, the band took shape in the 1940s, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. At this time, Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best were also members of the band. After Stu left the band for personal reasons, and the group made a collective decision to replace Best with Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr), the Beatles were complete. Through persistence and the help of their manager Brian Epstein, the band began to attain some recognition, which would be increased exponentially upon their journey to America. While in the United States, the Beatles made the album “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1967. At this point, the Beatles has stopped touring publicly, and hoped that they could create an album that would, in effect, travel for them, increasing in popularity by word of mouth. Paul McCartney gave each member of the band an alter-ego, an identity in the fictional “Lonely Hearts Club Band,” so that they could experiment with their music. The music was innovative, combining a number of different genres, and it even included a taste of traditional Indian music, as heard through Harrison’s use of the sitar. Lennon, who wrote many of the songs, feared that the lyrics of each were largely unconnected, and that the album had no resounding theme throughout, but the consistency of the “imaginary band” gave the album a feeling of continuity. It was later renowned as one of the first “concept albums.”
Getting Better (Lennon/McCartney)
It's getting better all the time
I used to get mad at my school
The teachers who taught me weren't cool
You're holding me down, turning me round
Filling me up with your rules.
I've got to admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
I have to admit it's getting better
It's getting better since you've been mine.
Me used to be a angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I'm doing the best that I can.
I've got to admit it's getting better
I used to be cruel to my woman
I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved
Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can.
I admit it's getting better
A little better all the time
Yes I admit it's getting better
It's getting better since you've been mine
Poetic Devices:
Ambiguity – “It” is getter better, but we do not know what “it” is.
Metaphor – “You’re holding me down…Filling me up with your rules.” He is not literally being held down or filled with rules, but instead he feels his freedom is being impeded.
Metaphor – “Hiding me head in the sand.” Represents his stubbornness to change or his ignorance of a better life.
Works Cited (For my other post, as well)
http://www.bjornetjenesten.dk/teksterdk/beatles/sgtpepper.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper's_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band
http://www.essortment.com/all/historyoftheb_rmdq.htm
Personally, my favorite album of all time has to be U2’s “The Joshua Tree.” It contains some of my favorite songs, such as “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Running to Stand Still.” It has a very atmospheric, bluesy, profound sense to it, which combines with the imagery and the “cinematic” quality of the album. The band hoped to display the paradox of the world’s view of America, showing how it is despised while still glorified as the epitome of freedom. The reason that the album is timeless, in my humble opinion, is because, regardless of their intended purpose, the lyrics of each song can take on a very personal meaning. The song “With or Without You” is a universally relatable tale of heartbreak, and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is, at least to me, a story of searching for peace in the world. “The Joshua Tree” is enduring because it has multiple interpretations, and, in the end, each generation can relate to U2’s lyrical explanations of the human condition in a very personal way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2#The_Joshua_Tree_and_Rattle_and_Hum_.281986.E2.80.9389.29
http://www.u2.com/discography/index/album/albumId/4007/tagName/studio_albums
The album "So Far" was recorded between 1969 and 1970 through CSNY's label "Atlantic" The band was started by Crosby, Stills, and Nash in 1968. The band later decided that they needed a keyboardist. That was when Young came into the picture. Their genre is rock/folk rock. They played at Woodstock numerous times, that's why i chose the song "woodsock".
Woodstock
Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell me, where are you going?
This he told me
Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Well, then can I roam beside you?
I have come to lose the smog,
And I feel myself a cog in somethin' turning.
And maybe it's the time of year,
Yes and maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am,
But life is for learning.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
By the time we got to Woodstock,
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes
Riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are caught in the devils bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
Woodstock is a narrative and has point of view. The narrative is of a kid who wants to get out and join a rock band and someday make it to Woodstock. Also, there is personification when it says "we are sawdust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSNY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Far_%28album%29
January 6, 2010 6:54 PM
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