Drops of Jupiter Song Analysis

Drops of Jupiter

Drops of Jupiter (2001) is a Grammy award winning song by the American pop band group Train. It was made by the lead singer Pan Monahan after his mother died from lung cancer in 1998. Throughout the song, the orchestra in the background gives you mixed feelings of a somberness and uplifted spirits. The lyrics convey the message of a broken love story between two people. When its says " now that you're back in the atmosphere with Drops of Jupiter in her hair"  it transmits the idea that someone has left and come back with a new found knowledge about herself or life in general. A meaning of the symbol Jupiter is a sense of maturity and knowledge gained through a time of growth, so overall she returned with a renewed mind . The idea portrayed is the women left the man to discover  the other things that life has to offer and upon her return he rhetorically asks if it was everything that she imagined. The lyrics " Did Venus blow your mind? Was it everything you wanted to find?  and " Heaven is overrated"  are all examples of the rhetorical speech in the song. The effect of the song is extremely powerful and throughout the music video you can tell that their is a sense of longing from the guy that was hurt by the initial demise of their relationship. At the end of the song he recites " And did you fall for a shoot star , fall from a shooting star" which is another way of asking if she fell for an illusion or false belief while she was out there looking for another alternative or what she believed that she wanted. Overall, Drops of Jupiter is a compelling tale of two people from the man's perspective about how a person whom he was close with lost their way with the distractions of life and as a result she took him for granted before it was to late.

For free?

In this video, Kendrick Lamar talks about the struggles that poor black people face. He uses a woman to personify the idea of the American Dream. The video starts out with the woman calling out Kendrick saying that he's a "ho-ass nigga" and "nigga you ain't shit". She continues talking down on him because he didn't do things like buy her clothes for the 4th of July and that she shouldn't be with him anyway because she needs a "baller-ass,boss-ass nigga". This relationship is a metaphor for the way America has treated blacks in order to try and devalue their character and lower their self esteem.This also plays on how the idea of how black men in America can only become successful by becoming a rapper or an athlete. The woman is not satisfied unless Kenrick makes alot of money to buy materialistic things like clothes.

Kendrick replies using the phrase "this dick ain't free". Kendrick starts by saying  "You looking at me like it ain't a recepit like I never made ends meet, eating your leftovers and raw meat". This is talking about how poor people are only able to live and make ends meet by living on what rich people leave over for the poor to make money and support their families. "He says livin' in captivity raised my cap salary Celery, tellin me green is all I need Evidently all I seen was span and raw sardines". Kendrick talks about how people are raised under the idea of the American Dream tells you that all you need is money. This causes people in poverty to be consumed by chasing the need for money since they were raised in an environment with so little. He ends the song with "Oh America, you bad bitch, I picked cotton and made you rich now my dick ain't free", saying that  black people and slavery helped tremendously and is very much responsible for the success of America's economy and now he's done with the system of America taking advantage of black people

"Thank You" by MKTO: Song Analysis

The song “Thank You” by music group MKTO has a profound message found within its lyrics. It was released in November 12,2012 by singers Malcolm Kelly and Tony Oller. At first it seems like another catchy song with a likeable beat, but a close analysis gives tells us the true meaning. This song is trying to convey the message that the previous generation has made it difficult, for the new generation to move forward and succeed. Therefore, the target audience is pivoted toward the younger generation that have experienced hardships in their life. This is shown in the first stanza of the song: “Yo, this one right here is for all the drop-out schoolers… For all the misfit kids and the total outcasts.” This intro is used to welcome anyone that feels like they are failing and later elaborates that the reason their failure exits is because of past generation mistakes. These mistakes are outline in this song and include wars and any restrictions placed on you by someone who is older than you. Though what makes this song interesting is that the singers of MKTO, Malcolm Kelly and Tony Oller, are thanking their predecessors for their actions. This is done in a sarcastic tone to symbolize that they aren’t really thankful and still believe in a bright future. Tony Oller alludes to this bright future when he sings “But we’ll be fine” after sarcastically thanking the past generation, for their mistakes affecting him and his peers. The music video came out in January,4 2013 and it helps elaborate their lyrics meaning even further into imagery for all to understand. Both the lyrics and the music video can be found below, for you to listen and comprehend the meaning yourself on your own time.

Click here to watch the Music video

Click here to read the lyrics  

Same Love

The song "Same Love" was written by Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert, and performed by the Artist Macklemore. Macklemore is a more mainstream Hip-Hop artist who is known for creating music that calls attention to social issues though he is a white male , his success is founded on creating music that minority groups can relate to. In "Same Love" Macklemore is touching on a few key issues in society while the general theme of his work is "equality for homosexuals" and what "love means. At the time this song was realized, those who identify as homosexual or belong to the LGBT community faced prejudice and oppression. In 2012 some states same -sex partnership cannot get married. Macklemore's "Same Love" is speaking to those aware of this problem. "Same Love" begins with Macklemore telling the story of a young man (himself) in questioning of his sexual identity based on stereotypes of homosexual males. Macklemore say "(Be)Cause I could draw, my uncle was (Gay), and I kept his room straight." This beginning to the song is a powerful attention getter. As males in society today, we are constantly being questioned of our masculinity and by the connotations of "homosexual" meaning "feminine". This not only grabs the audience's attention but leads into how relatable this song is. The reliability of this piece can be seen throughout: the questions of sexuality and the comforting of his (Macklemore) mother, the hate in Youtube comments, and the oppressive view of the conservation church. All of the imagery illustrates how big the problem is for those the LGBT community.
While making this piece relatable, "same Love" cries with it a call to action for it's audience. The references to the civil rights movement provoke a strong emotional reaction to those who are familiar with the Civil Rights Movement. "It's human rights for everyone, there is no difference!", "No freedom 'til we're  equal, damn right I support it", and "progress, march on"are all examples of signifiers of the civil rights movement.
Lastly "Same Love" is calling society's ideas of love into question. Macklemore's argument here is Christianity, or rather the Conservation Church, has forgotten the bible teaching "God loves all his children" and instead has started "paraphrasing a book written thirty-five hundred years ago." Macklemore is calling into question our society's ideas of love and then proceeds to define love subtly in the song's hook, and more in the ending of the song ("Love is kind"). "Same love" repeatedly states our sexuality is a predisposition, not a choice, and real love does not judge. ("Love is patient.")

"Same Love" is filled with constant metaphors about the songs main themes. Every few lines is making a point while reading like someone is singing it. The way it is written makes the piece more memorable and thus more powerful. Unfortunately Macklemore may be "preaching to the choir" since he is already known for writing these kinds of songs and it is not probable that someone in the conservative church will be listening to this. Still, the song "Same Love" is written eloquently and is still carrying a powerful message.

What's My Age Again? by Blink-182

    The song What's My Age Again reflects many things that were happening in the transition from the 1900s to the 2000s.  With the lyrics describing the rebelling of growing up to the actual music video, Blink-182 takes the listener on a fun, childlike journey that lets them question their age.   The lead singer in What's My Age Again is Mark Hoppus and as the song starts out, a listener who is not familiar with Blink-182, could guess that this man is over eighteen.  The song then illustrates an event that happens to most men in their early twenties, Mark is about to get laid.  Then he says he turns on the TV, and begins watching it.  This is just an example of how Mark Hoppus does not know how to grow up.  Even after his girlfriend gets angry with him, when he is taking her home he stops at a pay phone and attempts to prank call her mother.  Then, throughout the song he continues to ask what exactly is his age again.  I believe that Blink-182 created this song to emphasize to their fans that even though they are growing up, they are still maintaining their childish behaves and are in fact young enough to party with their fans.  In What's My Age Again's music video in features Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker running through the streets, of what I believe to be Los Angeles, naked. The band and their nakedness symbolizes them still having the heart of a child but when the run past an attractive woman they cannot help but stop.  What's My Age Again is a fun song as its beat is very energetic, like a child, and also is one of Blink-182 greatest hits.
Watch their video here or listen to the lyrics here.       

Blog post 2: "All I ever wanted" by Montana 300

Links:

·         Song w/Lyrics- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APJZAcOUjUE

Blog post 2:

            This song “All I ever wanted” written by Montana 300 very vividly describes the hardships which he has endured in his life. Montana of 300 grew up in the troubled city of Chicago. His parents and family were very impoverished and as he states in the song “taking turns with plates and forks because there wasn’t enough dishes, taught to share with all my siblings if I got it they can get it” and this humble Montana at an early age. You don’t know the true value of something until you’ve lost it or don’t have it and Montana wasn’t blessed like many of us are. So he had learned to be grateful for what little he had. His mother was a drug addict and after multiple attempts of trying to rid his mother of her drug abuse, he granted towards the street life. He convinced himself that he would not fall victim like many of his peers.

            He soon realized he had a talent in poetry. His father used to play many lyrical rappers which would further motivate Montana to rap and would also keep him off the streets. But the street life still had a grasp on him, in which he refers to in his lines,” Never thought I had to hustle, never thought I tote this glocks; never thought I fight them cases, sleeping counties on a cot.” But the most evident aspect not only of this song but his music as a whole is god. Montana was always a spiritual man he shows that “but the lord ain’t make me blind, I know how to read them signs.” The is the last line of the song and its powerful because he’s referring to seeing not by visually but by differentiating between people and knowing the difference between good people and fake people.

"Born in the U.S.A."

The Meaning Behind "Born in the U.S.A"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhWR4d3FJQ

     “Born in the U.S.A.,” released in 1984, is one of the major rock hit songs of the 1980’s.  Written and performed by rock legend Bruce Springsteen, the song focuses on the Vietnam War and the poor treatment of the returning Vietnam veterans.

                  Many of Springsteen’s songs focused on blue collar/working class people and their daily struggles.  New Jersey native Springsteen did not himself serve in the Vietnam War, having been found medically ineligible for service.  However, many of his generation, including some of his friends, were Vietnam veterans, so he wrote the song from the perspective of the issues they faced.  When this song came out, over a decade had passed since the end of the war.  The American public, in a time where conservatism and patriotism were flourishing, had become more aware of how Vietnam veterans were mistreated and their tragic hardships.

                  Springsteen, as one of music’s most prominent voices for the working man, used the song to illustrate, for example, the difficulties faced by Vietnam veterans in finding employment upon their return to civilian life.  The imagery he uses in the song reflects not only the frustrations of the Vietnam veteran, but also the increasing economic difficulties in the 1970’s and 1980’s for the working class.