English Final - Soundtrack

What We Learn From Our Past

1. I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Tricks

I chose the song "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Tricks because it has some similar themes and ideas that I found while reading Romeo and Juliet. The first thing I found has to do with the lyrics of the song and the second has to do with how the song is portrayed and played.

The theme that I found in Romeo and Juliet was their need for love whether it was from each other or having self love. “I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I’d love you to love me. I’m begging you to beg me.” These could just be catchy lyrics, but what I see are people not in love, but people that need love. This doesn’t mean it is a cry for help, just the notion that they think they’re in love when really they just like the idea. This is shown in Romeo and Juliet because I don’t actually think they’re in love, but rather they want love. They need for someone to need them. Another point is that the lyrics are the same over and over. Romeo and Juliet didn’t really think of anything new. They said the same things to each other and they were always about how they loved one another and how they can’t live without the other. It wasn’t anything too deep, for this song is more catchy than deep.

Next, the song is portrayed in a catchy teenage vibe. The screaming girls, the moving guitar solo and the steady drum beat show the teenage bop-y feel. We have to remember that Romeo and Juliet were only teenagers when they fell in love and were married. The happy and captivating song reminds me of young adults at a dance or walking down the street just infatuated with each other. Romeo and Juliet were definitely in love with their infatuation for one another and as you listen, you can almost see people staring into the eyes of the one next to them as their dancing on the school’s dance floor.

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2. Macho Man - Village People

I picked the song “Macho Man” by the Village People to portray the stereotypes that men go through. Other than the obvious lyric choices, there are the voice portrayal and the instrument and flow of the music portrayal.

We said in class that the men in our society feel as though they are pushed to “Macho” and can’t let out their inner feelings and such. Part of their “Macho” appearances is a strong and assertive voice. The voices in this song aren’t exactly Grammy winning voices. They push the lyrics that they are singing into your head and thoughts. The strong and assertive tone in their voices can be influential to the men in our society to be more like them. Another thing is even though they are already outside of the men stereotype as singers and performers for something other than their body; they still decided to put the “macho” voice on.

The instruments in this song don’t exactly help either. This song has the upbeat and loud drumbeat and the piercing sound of a trumpet or some type of horn. The music that is fast moving and instruments that blare show that there is no room for anything else. For the men that feel they are macho and are pushed to that lifestyle, there is no room for any creative side or vulnerable side.

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3. War - Edwin Starr

I chose the song “War” by Edwin Starr because it portrayed our current events this year. It could be the repetitive lyrics or the in your face music and chaos that the music brings.

The current events this year, while interesting, seemed to be pretty repetitive about what we said. When you were sitting at the table or on the ground, you were usually sticking to one point and never moving from your point. You kept the strong voice while saying it to. You were not going to back down from your idea. The song does the exact thing. The singer declares how war is a stupid thing and won’t back down from his point. He repeats the same phrase 10 times or so throughout the song just to reinforce the idea. While in current events, I’m pretty sure I said the same thing over and over because I thought people weren’t getting my point.

The in your face music and the chaos of the instruments describe the atmosphere of the people around us in current events. If everyone is trying to put on a strong front and state their points you’re going to have people in your face trying to fight for what they think is supposed to happen. The chaos of the instruments during the verses of the song is like an instrumental depiction of what happens when we’re all talking at once. You can’t follow a single instrument or conversation with so many things going on at once, but when someone takes the more assertive route, you hear them clearly.

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4. Spirit (Having Flown) - the Bee Gees

To reflect my experience with Global Citizen Project, I picked the song “Spirit (Having Flown)” by the Bee Gees. Even though it is only the start of GCP, it has brought many new and interesting thoughts and ideas to my mind.

“I'd like to take you where my spirit flies, Through the empty skies we go alone, Never before having flown.”

In GCP, we want to go someplace we have never gone before, whether that is what you really do or if you are emotionally going somewhere you’ve never gone before. In GCP, we are trying to go someplace unfamiliar and help in a way we know how to or creating new ways to help. In this song, the person the singer is singing to hasn’t gone where his spirits fly. With GCP, we are also trying to bring others with us. It isn’t all about us helping, it is about opening other people’s eyes to the problems we see and get them to help as well.

Also in GCP, there is apprehension. I know the people we are trying to help don’t know we’re trying, but there will always be that silver lining of apprehension in the people’s minds. The intensifying of the music in the chorus reminds us there won’t be a lot of time for every situation. While we don’t want to work fast without care, we still need to work efficiently. Plus, the soft but precise voices show that you don’t need to take a full on approach to everything as long as you knew where you will go in the future. That is what the higher pitched string portion of the music is too. The strings show that you’re always moving from one note to another or from one idea or person to another, we’re moving.

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5. Tequila - the Champs

The song “Tequila” by the Champs is an instrumental, but a good song for the ideas and reflections I got from Life of Pi. An instrumental is just as a good a song with words. You just have to view the instruments as the story tellers.

In Life of Pi, there was a twist in the end of the story. You could choose between the “animal story” and the “human story”. One was supposedly right, but the author never tells you which one is right and which one is wrong. I like to view this song as one of two stories. It is just an instrumental, which is one of the two. The other one would have been the version of this song with more lyrics than the occasional “tequila”. While this song doesn’t give you a choice on which one you get to choose, it does tell a story that is what people prefer. The blaring of the trumpets plays the role of the narrator telling a story. The background music played by the cymbals and guitars are what is happening around the narrator. So, you could have this story choice or the lyrical one.

What also relates this song to Life of Pi is the captivity you find yourself in when you listen to the song. In the book, you read about Pi’s life and every page I read, I felt like I was right there. Every animal that was killed and every emotion he felt, I felt too. This song captivates you to the point where almost everyone dances. You feel the emotion of the song and you can’t help but dance or hum along. You feel the emotion of the musicians just like you feel the emotion of Pi.

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6. Imagine - John Lenon

I picked the song “Imagine” by John Lenon for its comparisons to Ishmael. For this book takes a lot of imagination just to get to the point of comprehending it.

The music is somewhat dark. The music flows on, but in a sullen way. Ishmael didn’t exactly make you happy. You had to sit and read the book and come to terms that it was true. The human race tries to get a hold of everything it can. Why don’t we “Imagine no possessions”? If we imagined everything that the book told us that happens or should happen, maybe we would have a better earth. Maybe Lenon’s dream would come true. “…living for today”. Ishmael teaches us to live for what we have not what we want.

As well as coming to terms that we are doing harm to the earth and everything else, we gain a sense of perspective. The song asks us to imagine different things and it even challenges us to realize some people aren’t the only ones doing certain things. This song really challenges you to take a look at your life and other people’s lives. Change your perspective and live for today.

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7. Jive Talkin' - Bee Gees

For my reflection song, I originally started out with “Monday Monday” by Mamas and the Papas because I absolutely love their work. I started writing my statement as if I was some preppy old lady who didn’t know how to be herself. Honestly, what I was writing wasn’t me. I like to write how I talk and so I’ll be taking a huge risk by doing that right now. I only say this because I want you to see who I really am. I’m going to be me for the last thing I really get to say.
For my second attempt at the song, I picked “Jive Talkin’” by the Bee Gees. Like all my other songs, it is not a very recent song at all. I picked older songs not only because my dad is pretty old and passed the taste of music to me, but older songs seem to fit better with stories and visuals.
I am also going to come out and say that I am horrible at writing reflection statements to go with songs. I have such ‘song A.D.D.’ that writing a paper on songs seemed like an impossible thing to occur. I wish I could just say, “Listen to the music and let the memories flow back to you.” but I can’t. That is fun to do, by the way.
Here’s the serious but fun part of my reflection. I want to tell you who I really am.

I am…
-technically an 8th grader because my birthday was after the cut off.
-a singer. What I really love doing is performing. Academics are important, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love it. Being a part of the arts would be something I’d love to do in the future.
-a strong opinionated women. I am indeed calling myself a women because I have always thought of the word ‘kid’ degrading on older children, and the word young adult is just weird.
-someone who will speak her mind when she feels it is needed. I’m not always going to be serious, but when needed, I will.
-an immature high school freshman. Who else do you know dresses up in a sombrero, cape, mustache, and the works all because she lost a bet and knows the teletubbies song by heart?
-tired because I realized that I hated my reflection at 1 in the morning.
-never looking forward. I am scared of the future and what it holds. I’m not a determined worker so college and beyond is what scares me. I like having the smallest house on the street and being able to run over to Taylor’s house across the street when I forget a sheet of homework.
-never going to be a freshman in high school again. This year went too fast and it doesn’t have enough memories. We need more memories.
-never going to forget my freshman year in Academy. While I just said we need more memories, we still have enough to last a lifetime.
-probably failing this portion of my final, but I didn’t want to be fake this time around. I was going to be me and reflect on the year and what it held for me.
-going to miss English class. It did have some great memories whether it was at South or at North, they were there.
-dancing in my computer chair because this is such a catchy song.
-going to provide you with an inspirational quote my friend said back in 8th grade. “Technically every closet is a walk-in closet if you try hard enough.” She really was talking about walk-in closets, but when you sit and think about it, you realize that it’s saying you can do anything you put your mind to.
-thankful you selected me as part of the Academy. I really feel like I fit in this place and I am glad to be with such great people.

What do all those things have to do with my reflection you ask? In Academy, I learned to be myself. I am a crazy, book smart, blonde and has learned in Academy that I should never change who I am. I am everything I say I am and I won't change. In class I speak my mind and people might not like me for it. I sing in class and people might not like me for it, but in anything I do, I try to be as upbeat as possible. Like the song, I'm "Jive Talkin'", just floating through life right now. I'm trying my hardest at what I do, while keeping to who I really am.

Have a great summer and enjoy the rest of the song!

P.S. Everything sounds more symbiotic if you read it with my voice in mind.