Jared MartoneENG 102Prof. Miller2/18/20“Almost” Thomas Rhett On top of his already amazing career filled with many amazing songs, Thomas Rhett released the song “Almost” on his new album entitled Center Point Road. Not only does this song have an up-tempo melody with catchy lyrics, but it also has some meaning behind it too. Hefirst came to fame in 2013 and has since been a big part of country music and a great artist all around. He released this song on his fourth album which is impressive because it shows his consistency in continuing to write creative songs. His songs are creative because you can relate them to personal situations, and they range from sad to happy songs.The song “Almost” is about his life and the experiences he’s glad he experienced, shown in his chorus by the use of the verse, “Thank God for the almost, thank God for the so close.” The point that he is making, is that he appreciates everything that has happened to him, even if it didn’t seem good at that time. He doesn’t regret the choices and decisions he made because it taught a valuable lesson even if it didn’t seem like it in the heat of the moment. This is shown when he says, “Thank God for the highs, thank God for the lows, Thank God for the almost.” Heappreciates every moment that has happened to him because even though it didn’t go his way, helearned from it. He starts the song with the line “When I got trucked on that old field, I almost quit that team”, and I can relate to this because it shows the hardships in sports and the desire it takes to continue. He proceeds with “I almost gave up guitar ‘cause it hurt to play those strings” which shows emphasis on the songs he wrote about heartbreaks. Following that, he says, “And everybody told me “No Man” if I gave up on my dream, Almost let it go” showing that nobody believed he could accomplish his dreams and goals, and he’s glad he didn’t listen to them.This song falls in the country genre, but it can be enjoyed by almost anyone. Even if you are not a fan of country music, you can appreciate this song because it comes from the heart and is relatable. Also, you can relate this song in all different kinds of scenarios. For example, he talks about heartbreak in the song and how it was actually a blessing in disguise, and everyone goes through heartbreak at some time or another, so everybody can connect with this song.He also uses the line, “For the doors that opened, for the ones that slammed closed” as a metaphor for the opportunities he was presented. Some opportunities that he did not take advantage of were not meant to be in the first place. Everyone has regrets but when he said, “Almost didn’t visit granddad, the week before he died”, that emotionally touched me, and I’m sure touched millions of others who have heard this song.I can see how if you didn’t like country music, you wouldn’t be drawn to this song. However, even if you are not attracted to the beat or genre of this song, you cannot deny the cleverness and depth of the lyrics. Thomas Rhett has many more great albums and songs to come, but this is currently my favorite song sung by him.
Chance the Rapper is one on the most influential rappers in modern day rap. From growing up on the streets of crime-filled Chicago, to living a wealthy life with his wife and child and following the path of God, Chance has always been a humbled rapper. Growing up for Chance was not a pleasant or easy experience for him. In many of his released songs, he attempts to describe his life of growing up in Chicago through the art of music. Chance’s “Summer Friends” song released on May 13th of 2016, being one of the bigger hits of his “Coloring Book”’ album. This song briefly describes how meeting friends in the summers of Chicago could change within months due to Chicago’s high crime rates.
Chance describes in the beginning of the song how his faith in God is incredible and that he is a God-fearing man. In the first verse, Chance explains how he seemed to be a little bit of a trouble-maker with his friends, stating that he back talked his mom a lot and had to spend nights at his grandmother’s house a lot and how him and his friends were a “bunch of tank-top, nappy headed bike-stealin’ Chatham boys.” Chatham is a town in south Chicago where Chance and his friends grew up in. Next, chance goes into the topic of stating that him and his friends didn’t have their fathers around when they were growing up, therefor, they didn’t have much of a choice other than to steal to help them live.
Chance starts to speak about his childhood memories of going to the movies and chasing ice cream trucks. He also seems to try to get the idea across that 79th street had a significant part in his journey through growing up in Chicago. 79th street is one of the most crime-filled streets in America according to the media. He repeats in the chorus the number 79 over many times and even says in the song “79th street was America then.” However, Chance stated in an interview that although the media made the street seem outrageously dangerous, it was never as bad as it seemed. Therefore, when chance says “79th street was America then,” he means that most of the news around America was focused on this one street when he was younger.
Shortly after speaking about 79th street, Chance says in his song, “had to come in at dark cause the big shorties act hard,” meaning that he used to have to go inside at night because that was when the real danger emerged in the forms of gangsters and thugs. When Chance was younger, he believes that school was always hard for him because of how he grew up on the street and that because of his bad grades, he had to attend summer school with his friends. Chancelor has now donated millions of dollars to the education system of Chicago to make them safer and more efficient. Chance states in his song, “summer school get to losin’ students but the CPD getting new recruitment,” meaning that over the summers, Chance began to notice that many students he knew in the past were now dead or apart of the CPD (Chicago Police Department).
Onto the chorus Chance sings “summer friends don’t stay,” indicating that some of his past friends he had met in the summer are no longer alive or left the city to get away from the violence. When Chance sings the chorus, there is a change of tone in his voice, telling the listener that he is still heartbroken about losing many of his friends to the city streets. Although the song is mostly about losing his summer friends to crime, Chancelor doesn’t forget to mention what he did on his own and how his family-life progressed. Chance’s family struggled financially while he was growing up with his mother owning a hair salon, his father working late nights for extra cash, and himself mowing lawns and other simple jobs to make money. Chance shares his families’ financial story in the beginning of the second verse by saying “mama hair salon doin’ perms out the armchair, dad was workin’ late, he treat the crib like it’s a timeshare, I would mow some lawns, fold my ones like a lawn chair.”
Finally, in the outro, singer Jeremih sings about how no matter what happened in the streets of Chicago, he always stuck with his friends no matter what. He says, “I would always treat my gang like family members,” letting us know that even though the people he grew up with were only friends at the time, they grew to become apart of his family. The message here is trying to show that Chance and many others growing up in Chicago needed people to help them through anything and that these bonds grew stronger as they progressed their childhoods.
The song “Summer Friends” is about how Chance wanted to remember and bring awareness to the ones lost to Chicago’s streets. He emphasizes that not everyone you meet will always be around, especially in the most crime-filled city in America. Although Chance knows Chicago is infested with crime, he still wanted to make one of the worst streets in Chicago to be viewed as not as bad as it was portrayed. I believe that Chance wants to make not only Chicago, but the world a happier and safer place for the children growing up.
Alexander O’Connor, who goes by a stage name of Rex Orange County, is a twenty-one-year-old English singer-songwriter. His style of music is very unique and has been described as Indie pop, as well as a combination of contemporary jazz and R&B. He has released three albums: Bcos U Will Never B Free (2015), Apricot Princess (2017), and Pony (2019). Rex is known for his complex and thought-through lyrics and the level of personalness that he exemplifies in his songs, which creates a deep and meaningful relationship and intimacy with his fans. Rex has come out with many amazing, witty songs. Towards the beginning of his career and in his first two albums, he was very clearly enduring a rough time in life psychologically. A lot of his songs portrayed his sadness and difficulty with relationships and everyday life. However, his newest album, Pony, contains songs about how life gets better and things are not the same as they used to be. According to Genius, “Pluto Projector” is the most popular song from his most recent album.
“Pluto Projector” is a song about Rex’s love for someone and how much he has to offer to this person. For reference, Alex has a long-term relationship with a woman named Thea. He explains how comfortable he is with this person and how much he hopes that this feeling will last forever. Rex also tells about his fears about all of his work and his career not amounting to anything or meaning anything. He explains how he is unsure of who he is, but how his lover does understand him and how he is going to do everything he can to hold himself and their relationship together.
[Verse 1]
What if all this counts for nothing
Everything I thought I’d be?
What if by the time I realize
It’s too far behind to see?
Seventy-mil projector
I can show you everything, yeah
The beginning of the first verse of the song describes Rex’s fears about all of his efforts counting for nothing and his uncertainty of the future and what is to come. The end of the verse explains how even though he is unsure of his career, he knows that he can do so much for his love, and he never wants their relationship to come to an end.
[Verse 2]
Spending the years together
Growing older every day (Every day)
I feel at home when I’m around you
And I’ll gladly say again
I hope the encore lasts forever
Now there’s time for us to spend
In the second verse, he expresses his desire to grow old with her and continue to love her and be loved by her. He explains how he can still be a boy in his thoughts, and he does not feel like he is meant to understand himself. His lack of understanding about himself creates a lack of confidence for him, but he knows that his significant other understands him in a way that no one else does, and maybe one day he can do the same. Then, in the bridge, he explains how he simply wants to hold things together and be strong and mature if for nothing else, for their relationship.
[Outro]
Stay forever, you know more than anyone (Yeah, whoa)
And it’s you that knows my darkness
Lastly, in the outro, he says that he wants her to stay forever because she knows him more than anyone and she accepts his flaws and his dark sides.
Alex O’Connor makes music in a very specific and interesting genre. This means that not everyone has the taste for his style of music. Most of his listeners are angsty teenagers or people in their early twenties, they find his lyrics relatable and powerful. Since his music is sarcastic and often profane, it might not be best suited for most adults. Although Rex’s music is tailored to a specific audience and some find his music peculiar, but there is a lot to be said for his lyrics and beautiful harmonies and instruments.
The song “Can’t hold us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a monumental hip-hop song. The Seattle Hip-Hop artists have a huge fan base and are backed by their home city of Seattle. “I got my city right behind me/ If I fall they got me” (Verse 2 Macklemore). The song was released in 2011 on August 16. The song is a part of the duos studio album The Heist which came out in 2012. The song has a quick beat and great message
The song is about the good old days of rap/ hip-hop. With the lyrics, “Can we go back, this is the moment/ Tonight is the night, we’ll fight till it’s over…” (Verse 1 Ryan Lewis), listeners become aware of the old rap that the singers are talking about. Lewis says that they will fight till it is over, he is referring to them continuing to make and perform that style of music till it is no longer wanted or ceases to be made. They say that they pass the torch onto the next generation to light the way for their city.
Macklemore starts off his part of the song by talking about his return. He says that he has found a new way how to get up out of bed and keep moving on, facing his mistakes and building on them. No longer is he getting up and checking to see what the internet thinks of his music. Instead, he is, “… fresh out, pimp strut walking/Little bit of humble, little bit of cautious” (Verse 1 Macklemore). He says that this new life is his party and no one else can copy it.
Macklemore also talks about how he never sang for the fame and money but how it was to give back to the people. Listeners hear this with the lyrics, “Nah, I never ever did it for a throne/ That validation comes from giving it back to the people…” (Verse 2 Macklemore). Macklemore gives off great message for the younger aspiring singer/songwriters. He tells about how the fame. was never about him and how he sang for the people. It is evident that he loves his city and its people. All he has achieved has been dedicated toward giving back to the people and his city. The artist is grateful for all he has achieved and know they owe it all to the people.
The way that the artists use the phrases such as, “Chasing dreams since I was fourteen” (Verse 2 Macklemore), “… I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T” (Verse 2 Macklemore), listeners become aware that being independent and going after things on your own is the only way to success. After all, no one can do it for you. Macklemore uses phrases like these to show how he has been working at this for a young age. “We did it our way” (Verse 1 Macklemore). This shows how he has been dedicated and determined to live life the way he wants, the best life he can live. He mentions that we need to learn from our failure and move on. That we need to keep marching and grow stronger.
I believe that the audience would love this song as it appeals to many types of people. This song is a great pump up/work out song. It gets the adrenaline pumping and hypes you up. It motivates you, not only through its lyrics but through its beat. I would recommend this song to everyone. Even if you don’t like rap this song has a great message. This song tells the story of how the singers have worked hard to do things their own way and give back to the people who have given so much to them. “Can’t hold us” also appeals to people who love to dance as this song is easy to dance to.
Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” was released on the controversial 1965 album, Highway 61 Revisited. The song itself is an eleven minute, ten verse, folk ballad that is lacking a single chorus. It is one of his strange masterpieces. The ballad is a surreal collection of verses: each on a situation between historical and/or fictional characters that all have some relation to the cryptic “Desolation Row.” On a deeper level, the song is about different individuals navigating their own personal struggles and the turmoil of the period the song was released in. The titular “Desolation Row” is an unattainable place of comfort and reason. It is the places that all of the song’s subjects are try to get to.
The first verse sets the tone with surreal yet slightly macabre imagery and allusions. It mentions “they’re selling postcards of the hanging…the circus is in town” (line 1 and 4). Critic, Mark Polzzitti suggested that in his 2000 book, Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, that the hanging is reference to the 1920 lynching of three African American men traveling with a circus in Duluth, where Dylan grew up. The lines “And the riot squad they’re restless/ They need somewhere to go” (lines 9 and 10) evokes the societal chaos of the mid 1960s, referencing the militarization of the police in this era. But the pair of lines “As Lady and I look out tonight/ From Desolation Row” (lines 11 and 12) make the case that the narrator is viewing the turmoil in a situation of security and understanding. When Dylan uses the language “Lady and I,” its possible that he is alluding to Lady and the Tramp; saying that as a tramping vagabond, he is removed of the societal turmoil and is in a position to view, understand, and criticize it.
He references the character, Ophelia, from the play, Hamlet. He mentions that “for her I feels so afraid” (line 38) meaning that Dylan is using the character to talk about someone he is worried for and cares about. The lines “her profession is her religion/ her son is her lifelessness” (lines 43 and 44) reference when Hamlet telling Ophelia to leave him and become a nun. This is possibly a metaphor for Dylan pushing this girl out. And the lines “And though her eyes are fixed upon/ Noah’s great rainbow/ She spends her time peeking/ Into Desolation Row” (lines 45-48) suggest that she too is fixated on this “Desolation Row” and the consolation that it brings.
Verse three seems to be about a person who has fallen from grace. The introduction of to the subject of this verse —“Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood/ With his memories in a trunk” (lines 49 and 50) —shows us, the listeners, that the subject was once a intelligent, respectable man but has fallen into shabbiness and irrespectability: Einstein being a intelligent genius, and carrying “his memories in a truck” meaning he is the soul keeper of the memory of his once existing fame and fortune. The line “And he went off sniffing drainpipes and reciting the alphabet” (lines 55 and 56) proposes that this man sniffs the glue used to seal drain pipes for a high while reciting to alphabet to show how clever he is. The lines “You would not think to look at him, but he was famous long ago/ For playing the electric violin on Desolation Row“ (line 59 and 60) solidify the understanding that he once existed in the state of reason (Desolation Row), but now that time only exists in his memories.
This dynamics that play out in the song reflect upon the idea that Desolation Row is representative of a state of reason and resolve that people lack and are fixated on getting. Ideas like this are the kind of ideas that separate Bob Dylan‘s work apart from other artists.
Charlie boy was released in 2012. Charlie Boy is a song that is referring to the Vietnam War. This song shows the disapproval of the public about the war.
In the song lyrics when it says,
“News was bad on Upland Ave.,
Metuchen mourn our loss
Sons rebelled, while fathers yelled,
And mothers clutched the cross”.
This quote from the song is showing that mothers, sons and fathers are upset and angered about the war. When it says “while fathers yelled” it is referring to them yelling in anger about the Vietnam War and there disapproval. The “mothers clutching the cross”, is referring to them praying over the men at war and the “clutching” is referring to the mothers being scared and sad.
In the quote,
“Charlie boy, don’t go to war,
First born in ’44
Kennedy made him believe
We could do much more”.
In this quote it is says “Kennedy made him Believe we could do much more”. The writer of the song is saying that he isn’t for the war or Kennedy. Kennedy lied to them giving them false hope. It also elaborates that he doesn’t want him to go to war when it says “Charlie boy, don’t go to war,…”.
The beat of the song Charlie Boy, is very calm. The instruments that are being used gives off a relaxing and almost mournful vibe. I feel the music goes great with the song, it is not super up beat and loud, but rather quite and calm.
The Lumineers band consist of, Wesley Schultz, Neyla Pekarek, Jeremiah Fraites, Ben Wahamaki, Maxwell Hughes. All the members who are part of this band bring the music together very well. Without one member the music would not run so smooth and sound as great. Neyla Perkarek is the only female that is one of the lead people in the band. Neyla mainly play the cello, sings and as well plays side instruments. Jeremiah Fraites plays the drums for the band. Ben Wahamaki plays the base. Maxwell Hughes is one of the lead song writers. Jeremiah Fraites, plays the drums, piano, mandolin, and does backing vocals. Finally Wesley Schultz. Wesley is the lead singer of the Lumineers. Wesley also plays the piano as well as the guitar. Wesley is the front and center band member, although they work more as a team. The song Charlie boy is written about his great grandfather and the Vietnam War.
“The song is about the lead singer, Wesley Schultz uncle Charles Schultz who was killed in the war.”(CodenameMetcon) In Charles Schulz’s early twenties, he enlisted to go to war. Charles family looked down on the idea. Charles had been a major support of President Kennedys. When Kennedy had voiced, “ask not what not what you country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”, Charles was draw to enlist in the war. When Charles Schultz died in action, his family raged with anger and sadness. This is displayed in the song. -^(CodenameMetcon)
This is one of my favorite songs by the Lumineers because it is short and sweet, and also has a lot of meaning to it. The Lumineers band is one of my favorites because it is an outlet from pop music and what is more popular today. My interest had sparked with the Lumineers when I attended one of their concerts back in 2016. The Lumineers were one of the opening for U2, a similar band that I enjoy. I was able to watch them grow and become more popular as the years went. If you ever need a temporary break from the average day to day music, I feel the Lumineers is the way to go.
Work Cited
Ryan hadlock, Jeremiah Fraites & Wesley Schultz. @2020 Genius Media Group Inc. Charlie Boy, The Lumineers.
Girl in Pieces, written by Kathleen Glasgow, is a heart wrenching novel about seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis. Charlie’s father drowned himself when she was a child and her mother wants nothing to do with her. Charlie ends up living on the street and knows how to survive there. These past traumas add to her already present self-loathing. She has three close friends: Mikey, Ellis, and DannyBoy. Charlie is very suicidal, and her choice of self-mutilation is cutting with shards of glass. When the story starts Charlie is in a psych ward. She ends up there after cutting herself while living on the street. She refuses to talk and learns her friend Ellis is pretty much dead after cutting too deep. When Charlie eventually leaves the ward, she decides to go to Tucson, Arizona, where Mikey is. She believes if she shows up there Mikey will love her like she has always wanted, even though he always had a sweet spot for Ellis. Charlie meets Mikey in Arizona and faces the rejection she was afraid of. While living in Tucson, Charlie gets a job at a café called True Grit and meets a semi famous rocker named Riley. She strikes up a romance with Riley, who is a few years older and a raging alcoholic. Not long after their relationship begins, Riley cheats on Charlie with another woman and they ransack Charlie’s apartment. This leads Charlie to relapse and start deep cutting again. Eventually Charlie starts to pull herself together and some of her psych ward “friends” come out to Tucson to see her and help her stay on her feet. At the end of the novel, Charlie meets Riley again at one of his concerts and he writes a song for her as an apology. Charlie silently forgives Riley and moves on in hopes of moving past that time in her life.
Kathleen Glasgow did not cut any corners when it came to writing this book. Even the cover is reflective of the story inside. Each of the words are written in what looks to be charcoal and are smudged as if someone was writing it and moved their hand. The dirty appearance of the writing could reflect that of Charlie who lived on the street and was considered “dirty”. The dirty cover could also suggest how Charlie feels about herself and being a cutter. Through each of the words there is a red gash that looks to be deep in the center. The gashes are representative of the self-inflicted cutting Charlie does with her shards of glass. The background of the book is a tan color that could represent Charlie’s outlook on life. Charlie believes her life isn’t worth living and is boring and never ending, like the color tan.
This book is a beautiful piece of work that illustrates the struggles of living with mental illness and the trials that come along with it. It also shows the scars that parents leave on their children and the lasting effects. For those struggling with cutting, the book could be triggering and probably shouldn’t be recommended. I believe that with the right audience this book can be well appreciated. I believe more people should read this book because it can help others to understand what it can be like to have a mental illness and to be around those suffering from it. It also shows the steps of recovery and the hope and pain associated with it.
“He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel… And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (Poe 125).
It was my mother that first introduced me. He was her favorite author during her rebellious teenage years. Thus, she was overjoyed to read my brother and I to sleep almost every night when we were little. I had my grade school’s librarian point me to the horror and mystery section where I picked a few books from recommendation and ran home to show my mom. It began with The Pit and the Pendulum, followed by The Masque if the Red Death, and many more of Poe’s legendary works. I had fallen in love, such as my mother had, with the dreary opulence that emanated from his creations. Edgar Allen Poe’s ability to cultivate a cascade of terrifying, suspenseful, and–abnormally–romantic pieces has fascinated an extremely massive population with minimal difficulty, and therefore he should proceed to be an author introduced to everyone, at least once in their lives.
A blindingly white, Christmas morning, my grandmother and mother watched with anticipation as I opened my next gift. I had previously mentioned my recent desire for additions to my book collection to them, but they blew me away with an exclusive collection of Poe’s classical stories, bound in a bright red, silk ribbon. This book contains all the stories I had read as a child and more. Following my intense expression of gratitude to my wonderful family, I traced my fingers over the soft, black leather cover. My eyes grazed leisurely over its chapters and hands flipped carefully through the pages with excitement. His stories compared to that of childhood nightmares, but I could not be any more delighted.
If one story were to stand out, “The Masque of the Red Death” would be shooting fireworks from its pages. It was one of the first stories read to me and has not fled my mind since. It tells a story of a Prince in a country riddled with a sickness, the Red Death. Instead of caring for his subjects, he welds himself and his regal companions inside his kingdom to feast, dance, and pay no mind to the atrocities occurring beyond his walls. He initiates a masquerade, where the guests wear flamboyant and ridiculous costumes. All is cheery, until an unfamiliar guest is seen dressed as a corpse. The Prince finds this behavior blasphemous and orders the figure to leave immediately. However, before he could apprehend the corpse, the Prince collapses and dies, followed by the extinguishing of the entire palace’s candles and the rest of his guests trapped inside his walls with the sickness that plagued the country. Eventually, the bloodied kingdom holds only darkness, decay, and the Red Death.
Edgar’s stories reveal twisted sides of his personality, yet display monumental intelligence and creativity. The vocabulary utilized is beyond academic and plots never cease to amaze readers. Throughout an exceptional narrative, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe exercises unrelenting and unusual words and phrases that keeps readers on their toes. He writes, “…Usher arose… and greeted me with a vivacious warmth which had much in it, I at first thought, of an overdone cordiality–of the constrained effort of the ennuye man of the world” (Poe 65). This example only scratches the surface of Edgar’s elegance. Exposing his works to youth would undoubtedly assist in improving their own writing abilities regarding word choice and plot development. For this reason and his eerie aura overall, Edgar remains unchallenged as America’s gothic literature behemoth.
For future Poe- enthusiasts, I strongly encourage the introduction of his stories to friends and family alike. The collection of stories I was gifted for Christmas may very well be one of the greatest gifts I have received in terms of sentimentality and interest. I thoroughly believe countless others will feel the same way. May the thought of improving terminology and story-telling trump any possible nightmares bestowed by these stories.
The song “Jet Fuel” by Mac Miller is a song he wrote about his struggles with addiction. The title is a direct metaphor for the drugs and alcohol he uses. Miller, who died of a drug overdose in September of 2018, is trying to warn listeners the dangers he was going through and the outcomes of what could happen if they got addicted to drugs. His song seemed to have 4 main themes he mentions: water, the sky, self-appreciation/awareness, and loneliness.
In the first verse, Miller mentions theme one, water. He says, “Now my head underwater but I ain’t in the shower and I ain’t getting baptized” (Miller). The mentions of the water are talking about how he’s “underwater” for positive outcomes. The shower represents becoming clean of addiction, while being baptized would be a forgiveness of his sins. Instead, he is being dragged under from his addiction. He then goes on to talk about other things, such as his rap skills. Mac says, “All I wanna do is the most/ Backflip off the rope, sky hook when I’m in the post” (Miller). He’s going to great lengths to use his drug usage and his ambitions to become the greatest artist, hence doing the most. Sky hook is a basketball move that is very difficult and almost unguardable and uses this to compare his rap skills. He is saying his rap skills are untouchable and no one can compare to them.
In the pre-chorus he says, “Woke up this morning with a bright idea (smoke)” (Miller). He is explaining that he smokes to escape his daily realities. He’d rather be in a high state than a sober state. This is because he feels more like himself high. He then goes on to say, “Maybe I can exist forever right here” (Miller). He is saying he would rather exist and live in this moment of his high, than to go on living a full life sober.
The chorus brings up another theme; the sky. Mac talks about being in the clouds, which represents his high. In the sky he is floating and flying, bringing him to a sense of peacefulness. He says that he will return to earth when he runs out of “jet fuel” (his drugs/alcohol), but unfortunately due to the amounts of money he has, his source of drugs is never ending.
In his second verse, his final two themes are mentioned. In this verse he talks about how he’s brutally honest, and how he doesn’t limit himself to what he can succeed. “Everybody wanna jump in but I’m old school, lone wolf, take em off solo/Yeah, I don’t need nobody (I don’t need nobody!) I don’t need to be nobody (I don’t need to be nobody) I’m just doing my thing” (Miller). In these lines, he is appreciative of himself and he feels as if he doesn’t need anybody but himself (rather go solo). However, he is isolated from everyone around as a result of his addiction, therefore making him lonely. He also talks about how he doesn’t need anyone else’s negativity in his life. “So over there with that bullsh*t/We don’t need it on this side” (Miller)
Finally, in his outro he vocalizes, “Fate in your hands/While you’re waiting for me/I’m already there/Falling in deep/ Now is only now/Head back to the ground, dear” (Miller). This means that the drugs are always there waiting for him during his brief periods of sobriety. His fate is in the drug’s “hands” and the outcomes for his life are now determined by his addiction. He only plans on using the drugs for the moment being, and he will head back to the ground (sober up) when he is finished.
This song is very influential and does a good job of showing the singer’s emotions throughout. Mac Miller does well overall presenting his themes. Listeners can learn from the song, because it gives a very meaningful message. Drug and alcohol abuse can be very dangerous and, in some cases, deadly (such as in Mac Miller’s case).
Works Cited
“Jet Fuel by Mac Miller.” Genius, genius.com/Mac-miller-jet-fuel-lyrics. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
Time is Love Overview Josh Turner sings the song Time is Love. It is critiqued as being not fulfilling enough. Turner sings about how he needs to not waste time and get home to his woman. Fans were looking for more to the story. They wanted more of a climax and ending, rather than a beginning and a theme. The purpose of the song is to get the point across that Turner wants to get home to his significant other because he misses her. He does not want to spend all of his time at work. Turner sings, “I only get so many minutes / Don’t wanna spend ‘em all on the clock / In the time that we spent talkin’, how many kisses have I lost.” This emphasizes how he would rather be at home spending quality time with this mystery woman, than stuck at work squandering his time away. Turner will work to make the money he needs, but he will not work longer than he has to because that will waste his much needed time. He still values his job, but he values his love for his woman more. The chorus does not add any extra information to the story that is playing out in the song. It just continues building up the need for the man, Turner, to be with his woman. But like most unpopular, scrambled songs, his story goes nowhere fairly fast. The chorus repeats too much, which takes away from the story line. In order to make the song better, more information should have been added with less of a chorus. There is build up but no concluding, evident moment where he finally meets up with this woman. By the time the song would eventually climax, the audience has already lost interest. I think that the song, Time is Love, is a fairly good song. Turner has a good singing voice. He sings clearly, and his country accent makes it sound better. Turner arranges his priorities in order to place his most important ones first, that of which being love. At the bottom of his list is money. In 1748, Benjamin Franklin said, “Remember that time is money.” This means that in order to earn money, one must act and use one’s time. The expression could also mean that there is no time available to lose. As much as the song, Time is Love, has been criticized as being subpar material and below Turner’s talent level, many people thought it had an amazing sound and loved it. The song was named by Billboard Magazine as being the number one country song of 2012; however, it was not the number one song on the Hot Country Songs chart. Time is Love is the second song in history to achieve those titles. This provides evidence that a majority of people truly believe it is a fairly well created song. Overall, Turner’s song, Time is Love, is a good song. There are good reviews and bad reviews on it. It is hard to say whether or not a majority likes the song due to such controversial ideas and statements made on the track. I do, however, agree that the song should have had a climactic point where the story of love tied together. Though some may say the song is good and others may say it is bad, the theme of love over money is passionate, and Josh Turner sang the song very well.
Creative Minds 