Friday, December 23, 2011

Backmasking


Stairway to Heaven:
            This song definitely has some backmasking hidden within it, and the fact that forward the song says “heaven”, but backwards says Satan and references hell. This is one example of a truly back masked song, where there is a hidden message when played backwards, but it was not pre recorded and just converted to a backwards song.
Imagine:
            In this song, there was not an overpowering occurrence of backmasking and secret messages when it was played backwards. It is said that, when the song is played in reverse, that the message says “the people war beside me”, which would make sense if it were truly backmasked because John Lennon believed in perpetual peace, and when he was alive, there was a lot of fighting going on around him. This is why the back masking of Imagine is said to actually be on purpose, but personally there is just a mumbo-jumbo of words that can only be made out to sound like “the people war beside me” if one listens closely. This song does not seem to be genuinely backmasked.
Beat It:
            Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” is rumored to say “I have satan in me”. People have said that due to his supposed obsession with young children, he may have believed that satan really was in him. Although it would make some sense if this were to be an actual instance of backmasking, the incoherence of the lyrics when played backwards is not enough to actually convince one that the message was put there intentionally.
Paparazzi:
            Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” definitely contains a clear instance of backmasking. When played forward, her song says “'There's no other superstar you know that I'll be your papa... paparazzi. Promise I'll be kind”, and when it is played backward, it says 'Evil save us! These stars above, above... we model it on the arts of Lucifer.' Gaga’s message isn’t very clear in the beginning, but once she begins talking about modeling it on the arts of Lucifer, it becomes very apparent that the song was backmasked. The message is very clear at the end, and appears to be 100% intentional.
Another One Bites the Dust:
            In Queen’s song, ‘Another one Bites the Dust’, there is definitely backmasking. This is one of the most original instances of backmasking in my mind, because the song was recorded and then played backwards, and didn’t record the back masking first. It sounds a little bit rough, but they make it very clear that ‘it is fun to smoke marijuana’, even though the words may be a little hard to interpret. The message is very obvious, and one can pick out what Queen is saying when played backwards, without even having the words to begin with, showing that this is an original example of backmasking.
I’m So Tired:
            This song by the Beatles was rumored to have backmasked messages claiming that Paul McCartney was actually dead in them, but even when played in reverse, it is a stretch to say that there is any actual instance of backmasking due to the fact that the words are so incoherent and mixed together that one can barely even understand what they are trying to say.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

AP English Analysis 11/17


Jackie Toomey
11/17/2011
English D
Petry Analysis
“The Street” By Ann Petry
     Shifting between physical and intellectual characteristics when describing the “wind” in “the street”, Ann Petry uses a “cold”, uninviting tone coupled with sinister personification and menacing imagery in order to solidify the common idea that despite the large amount of people, city streets never fail to “discourage” newcomers with all their “dirt”, “dust”, and “coldness”; just as they did to Lutie Johnson. 
Throughout the entirety of the excerpt, Petry consistently leaves the reader with a sense of “coldness” in regard to the tone of the piece, which she develops through the use of forbidding, inhospitable diction. She describes how, in it’s rage, the wind “drove most of the people off the street...except for a few hurried pedestrians who bent double in an effort to offer the least possible exposed surface to it’s violent assault”, which, in itself, contributes various different instances where the diction she chooses aids in the creation of the harsh, brutal tone. She also accounts for the way that the wind “did everything it could to discourage the people walking along the street. It found all the dirt and dust and grime on the sidewalk and lifted it up so that the dirt got into their noses, making it difficult to breathe; the dust got into their eyes and blinded them; and the grit stung their skins.” In doing this, Petry further exemplifies that there is nothing hospitable or welcoming about the wind described in the excerpt; only cold, merciless tone that chills the reader down to their very bones.
     Working along with the cold tone she has developed early on, Petry makes use of dark, ominous personification in order to develop a sinister personality that she attributes to the wind throughout the excerpt. She gives life to it by describing the way it “rattled the tops of garbage cans, sucked window shades out through the top of opened windows and set them flapping back against the windows.” Her utilization of humanlike actions such as “rattled” and “sucked” aid in showing just how uninviting the wind can make a city seem. By exemplifying how the wind “drove most of the people off the street”, it further shows that “the wind”does not welcome those who do not belong there. In order to show the inhospitable characterization of the wind, Petry uses dark, sinister personification that illuminates the depth surrounding the intensity the personification adds to her excerpt. 
     The dimension added to Petry’s excerpt through the use of ominous, menacing imagery is one that is essential to the development of her universal idea. Right from the start, Petry wastes no time with sugar coated descriptions of happenings in her work, instead she does a wonderful job of evoking emotion from the reader when she describes how the wind “wrapped newspaper between their feet entangling them until the people cursed deep in their throats”, and how it “grabbed their hats, pried their scarves from around their necks, stuck its fingers inside their coat collars, blew their coats away from their bodies.” In this instance, it is fairly easy for the reader to develop a vivid image in their mind of the happenings that have taken place at that particular point in the section. She further adds to the balefulness of the piece by telling how the wind in it’s actions made it so difficult that those around it “cursed deep in their throats, stamped their feet, kicked at the paper”, and became generally very uncomfortable. Just as Lutie Johnson experiences, the wind can have a daunting effect on the confidence of someone lost and alone in a large, populated city.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Song Analysis 2


Ray Charles – A Song for You

Shifting from a regretful mood to one of optimistic hopefulness in “A Song for You”, Ray Charles uses powerful hyperbole, fleeting personification, and metaphor that serves to intensify the life of a celebrity in order to demonstrate his complete and total devotion to “a friend” of his: his lover.

Throughout the entire piece, Ray Charles over exaggerates certain aspects of the story being told, which adds depth and strength to the point he is trying to get across. In stanza two, he begs his lover to “please see through” him, which obviously could never legitimately happen, but instead he uses the figure of speech to reiterate just how badly he wants his lover to know he has nothing to hide, and she is everything to him. Later on in the song, Charles claims that he loves her “in a place where there’s no space or time”, which again, is not true, but serves to represent the fact that he is willing to devote all of his “life and time” to her. The intensity and meaning that Ray Charles attaches to the hyperbole he uses definitely solidifies the idea that no matter what, nobody or nothing could ever taint or cloud his love for her. 
The way in which Ray Charles incorporates sparse humanistic characteristics into his works by applying them to inanimate objects is essential to the deeper meaning in that it captivates the listener and causes them to really think about what he is saying. He claims that his love is “hiding” inside the “melody” he’s singing to her, and in order to find it, she needs to actually listen to what he is saying instead of going on by her own opinions. He also, by saying that she taught him “precious secrets of the truth”, implies that “truth” is an animate object that has the ability to hold secrets. Through the meager instances of personification, Ray Charles is able to intensify the feelings he harbors for his love and express them through the animation of non living objects such as “love” and “truth”.

Despite the assimilation of various other meaningful poetic devices into his song, Ray Charles adds in a touch of metaphor when he uses it in order to describe his famous lifestyle. It is said that he has “acted out [his] life in stages/ with ten thousand people watching”, which, through the interpretation of the word “acted” can be seen as him indirectly comparing his life to that of a movie star’s. In doing this, Charles elicits a sympathetic reaction from the listener, due to the fact that no child or person wants to live out their life under the constant scrutiny of “ten thousand people” that they don’t even know, who are watching them. 



"A Song For You"

I've been so many places in my life and time
I've sung a lot of songs, I've made some bad rhyme
I've acted out my life in stages
With ten thousand people watching
But we're alone now and I'm singin' this song for you
I know your image of me is what I hope to be, baby
I've treated you unkindly but girl can't you see
There's no one more important to me
So darling can't you please see through me
'cause we're alone now and I'm singin' my song for you
You taught me precious secrets of the truth, withholdin' nothin'
You came out in front and I was hiding
But now I'm so much better so if my words don't come together
Listen to the melody cause my love's in there hiding
I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for my life, 'cause you're a friend of mine
And when my life is over, remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singin' my song for you
I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I've loved you for my life, yes, you're a friend of mine
And when my life is over, remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singin' my song for you, yes
We were alone and I was singin' this song for you, baby
We were alone and I was singin' my song,
Singin' my song, singin' my song, singin' my song
Singin' my song

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Song Analysis #1

Song Analysis #1: George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today

            Shifting from song to spoken word in “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, George Jones uses captivating imagery, solemn narrative, and intense hyperbole to convey the melancholy situation in which a man pursues a woman, but after many attempts all to no avail, realizes she will never love him back, and submits to the inevitable disappointment of being rejected and becomes depressed for the rest of his life; only to “smile” for the first time “in years” upon his death.
            Throughout the song, Jones incorporates various different examples of imagery, each captivating the listener and drawing them further into the raw emotions of the piece. The first and most prominent example of imagery he uses is in lines 9-12 when it says “kept some letters by his bed/ dated 1962/ he had underlined in red/ every single I love you”. Within those four lines, Jones is able to trigger a tidal wave of emotion by exemplifying just how much this man loved the woman, and how important it was to him to let her know that he loved her. In addition, when Jones says “he kept her picture on the wall/ went half crazy now and then/ he still loved her through it all/ hoping she’d come back again”, it really demonstrates to the reader the intense passion that he possessed for this woman, because despite the fact that she had rejected him, he still kept her picture on the wall which caused him to occasionally go crazy and become depressed. Finally, in lines 15&16, it is said that the man was “all dressed up to go away/first time I’d seen him smile in years”, which refers to the attire one is wearing when being buried; and this line alone creates a vivid image in the listener’s mind of the man in a casket, dressed in his best clothes, smiling with great relief.
            The shift in point of view right in the middle of the song leads to a more solemn, grave narrative that recounts the experience of the woman the man was madly in love with. She says that she “went to see him just today/ oh but [she] didn’t see no tears/ all dressed up to go away/ first time [she’d] seen him smile in years”, meaning that she attended his funeral but didn’t see him crying or pleading with her to stay for a change, while he was all dressed up in his burial clothes she saw him smiling because he was at peace; no longer haunted by the fact that she didn’t love him back. At the end of the song, the very last lines say “you know she came to see him one last time/ oh and we all wondered if she would/ and it kept running through my mind/ this time he’s over her for good”, and this summation ends the song with a bold statement that refers back to the very first line where “he said I’ll love you till I die”. By referring back to that first line, it solidifies the theory that the man has actually died, and his death releases him from the prison of pain his life had become due to the rejection shown to him by the woman he so dearly loved.
            Although the imagery and solemn narration play a vital role in developing the universal idea, the intense hyperbole Jones uses provides a more powerful, extreme undertone within the song. Lines three and four state that “as the years went slowly by/ she still preyed upon his mind”, where she is not literally preying on his mind, but it is meant to be perceived as the way in which she is always there in the back of his mind, and he can never get rid of her. The last example of hyperbole that presents itself in his song would be the line where it says that he “went half crazy now and then”, which doesn’t literally mean that he went half crazy and was therefore put into a mental institute, but his love for her caused him to do irrational things and act in ways that he normally would not. Overall, by using captivating imagery, solemn narrative, and intense hyperbole, George Jones does a good job of portraying how love can lead to heartbreak and sickness within a relationship that is destined only to be cured by the death of one of the lovers.

"He Stopped Loving Her Today"
He said I'll love you 'til I die
She told him you'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half crazy now and then
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

(Chorus)
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

(Spoken)
You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Irony Analysis


"A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall" - Bob Dylan

                Shifting from a dismal tone to a tone laden with eager determination in “A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall”, Bob Dylan utilizes personifying imagery, deliberate irony, and powerful paradox in order to show that struggles are different and plentiful around the world, and if everyone doesn’t work to help others, “a hard rain’s a gonna fall”.
                Throughout the entire song, the imagery provided by Dylan can be categorized as both sinister and personifying. He uses phrases such as “dead oceans”, “hunger is ugly”, and “a black branch with blood that kept drippin” to give lifeless, everyday objects human characteristics, which, in turn,  further seduces the listener into the dark, dismal place in which the hardships and difficulties of the world reside. By offering statements that contain ominous diction intended to portray this troubled world, Dylan exemplifies a universal concern and provides his own personal assurance that he will “tell it, and think it and speak it and breathe it/ and reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it”, meaning that he will do his best to assure that no suffering goes unnoticed.
                Although the imagery within the song develops a significant portion of the universal idea, Bob Dylan’s deliberate use of irony adds another whole dimension to the meaning. In the fourth line of his song, Dylan says, “I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways”, which contains two instances of irony: the first being the fact that highways are for ‘high’ speeds, and walking or crawling is not normally something one does on a highway. The second ironic aspect of this line is the part where Dylan describes it as crooked; whereas generally, highways are known to be straight. Adding this ironic twist so early on in the song serves to provide the listener with a glimpse into the position Dylan takes when it comes to his opinion about the issue being addressed later on in the song. Another ironic occurrence that presents itself in his song would be the line where he says that during his excursion, he “heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley”. As one might already know, clowns are intended to be jovial characters that provide laughter and fun for all; they are not typically known for crying alone in alley ways, which, when compared to the intrinsic values that are normally attributed to a clown, proves to be exceptionally ironic. The situational irony that is constructed from the highway and clown paradigms in Dylan’s song aid in the development of the deeper meaning of the song by giving examples of how things should be, but then in real life are falling to pieces, just like the rest of the world.
                The final device Dylan employs in his work is powerful paradox, which he uses to grab hold of the reader’s emotions and develop a vantage point that he draws on to guide them through the myriad of sentiments he himself is experiencing throughout the progression of the song. When he says in line seventeen that he “saw a thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken”, Dylan creates a paradoxical incident in the sense that people with broken tongues can obviously not speak, but there is another meaning that, when interpreted a certain way, could be construed as a way to say that although the people of the world usually have a lot to say, the current condition of the world has left them utterly speechless. Another illustration of paradox Dylan provides is in the line where he says that he “heard one person starve” and “many people laughin”. Here, he juxtaposes two completely opposite concepts that would not normally appear in a sentence together, but he creates the paradox by wording it so that the interpretation of the line could represent the ignorance shown by those who have little hardship towards those who live day to day carrying the weight of adversity on their shoulders.
                In brief, it can be said that through the utilization of imagery, irony, and paradox, Bob Dylan epitomizes the notion that struggles ensue around the globe, and in order to ease the suffering of others, we as a race must work as one to mitigate the hardships that inhabit the world before it is too late.
               

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Friday, October 7, 2011

Reflection on Popular Culture in Music

Jackie Toomey
Poetry of Song G
10/7/2011

            It is said, in the Turkish Proverb that “as the music is, so are the people of the country”, and by analyzing a few select songs from the top 50 songs in the United States, one is able to see that this statement contains value and merit. The songs that were chosen to be analyzed for this reflection on popular culture in music are “Mr. Know It All” by Kelly Clarkson, “Dirt Road Anthem” by Jason Aldean, and “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry. Each of these songs contains multiple aspects of poetry within the lyrics, while expressing certain things about our generation and their culture.
            In the first song, “Mr. Know It All”, Kelly Clarkson writes about a girl who has a falling out with an ignorant, overconfident lover that treats her as if she is a piece of property, and the point of the song is to let that person know she’s not going to put up with his games anymore. The first three lines of her song contain the most prominent example of irony that presents itself within the lyrics, and it’s when she says “Well ya think you know it all/ But ya don’t know a thing at all”. These lines also contain hyperbole when she says that he doesn’t know a thing at all. This is untrue because like almost all human beings, they most likely know SOMETHING, which makes this an over exaggeration. Another example of hyperbole in her song is in the line “So what you’ve got the world at your feet”, due to the fact that the entire world can never actually be sitting at someone’s feet. The last major poetic device found in this song is metaphor, when she says “When somebody tells you something ‘bout you/ Think that they know more than you do/ So you take it down, another pill to swallow”. She refers to the information given to the person as a pill that they have to swallow, and does not use the words ‘like or as’ in her comparison, making it metaphorical. This song and its entirety convey to the rest of the world an image of American women that do not roll over in submission to the man, and do not take any abuse (whether it be physical, mental, or emotional) from him. It also shows that the gender roles have been leveled; by not submitting to the man, it gives women a stronger, more liberating sense of self. Overall, the song “Mr. Know It All” by Kelly Clarkson gives a strong image of a woman’s sense of self, and also shows that music consumers of this generation are very opinionated and like to hear about women not giving in to male pressures.
            Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem” is a reminiscent country song that is meant to trigger memories and elicit certain feelings from the listener, and he does this by using simile, personification, and local color. “Laid back swervin’ like George Jones” is the second line in the song, which contains both simile and allusion. “Swervin’ like George Jones” is an example of simile because he is comparing himself swerving to George Jones swerving, and it is an example of an allusion because he references George Jones, a famous country singer. Personification is used in the lines “Smoke rollin’ out the window/ An ice cold beer sittin’ in the console”. As one might know, beer cannot actually “sit” in a console, thus giving it humanistic qualities. He uses local color when he alludes to Pott’s farm in line 9 of the song, because it is a specific place he used to visit “back in the day”. This song doesn’t really portray any messages about gender roles in society or success, but it does create the feeling that our generation is becoming less and less satisfied by things, and should learn to enjoy their childhoods and make the best out of their young years.
            The Band Perry has a song out called “If I Die Young”, which is about a girl’s wishes for after her death. This song includes metaphor, simile, and oxymoronic diction, which work together to carry the somber tone that is used to get the point across to the listener. When they write “the sharp knife of a short life”, this is a metaphor because the sharp knife cuts things and brings them to an end, which is parallel with a short life- suddenly ended. The simile included in this song is contained in the lines “And I’ll be wearing white when I come into Your Kingdom/ I’m as green as the ring on my little cold finger”, where they compare how ‘green’ she is to the ring on her finger. Finally, the oxymoronic diction used in their song is best exemplified in the line “what I never did is done”, and this is due to the fact that what she didn’t ever do can’t possibly be done, but it is also paradoxical because she is done, and therefore she will never even get the chance to do what she’s never done, so in that sense it is logical. This song shows that Americans have begun to create a fondness of country love songs, and that modern American culture is constantly changing, with ever-present variety.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

THESIS

Breakin' Hearts (Ain't What it Used to be) - Elton John

        Shifting from an aggressive, youthful tone to a somber, much more wise tone in "Breakin' Hearts (Ain't What it Used to be), Elton John utilizes captivating metaphor, crude simile, and coarse personification in order to convey the idea that as one gets older, the thrill of heartbreak, along with many other things in life, simply "ain't what it used to be".


They used to say that boys are tough as nails 
In every way he keeps his heart as guarded as a jail 
Now things have changed, I feel so old 
Like any girl could drag my heart across the coals 

I was always there in the thick of things 
I always had the heart of every woman on a string 
The danger zone shone from my eyes 
It seemed like every inch I gained became a mile 

It's not the night reaching in and touching me 
It's just that breaking hearts ain't what it used to be 
It seems that time has killed that cruel streak in me 
And breaking hearts ain't what it used to be 

It's not the light shining in and catching me 
It's just that breaking hearts ain't what it used to be 
But time has come and cast a spell on me 
And breaking hearts ain't what it used to be 

And now I know what lonely means 
I used to give so little and gain everything 
The darkest part of every day 
Is the shadow of another girl as she turns and walks away 

Can't say I blame them all for being hurt 
After all I treated each and every one like dirt 
Who wants a heart that's never home 
I face the facts and lock myself into a life alone



To hear the song, click here