Friday, June 12, 2015

This is the week 3 music journal



Good old iPod shuffle hasn't failed me yet, so off I go again. Well, there were a few songs that I wanted to write about in that stretch, and one of them was pretty short...so I'll do two songs this week. 


What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?

Avenue Q

So...this first song is from a musical (my favorite musical). It tells the story of a young man who just got out of college and is trying to find his place in the world.  This song starts the musical with a number has a sedate three count, which does change after this song to a brisk four count in the next song (It Sucks to Be Me). I like this song because I used to joke about how the dual degrees I was trying to earn at the time were synonymous with the message he portrays. The music starts out with a bass guitar, what I believe is a clarinet, and a keyboard. Between the beat and the instruments, I suppose it feels slow and easy going, though the lyrics bring in humor.


Hiro no Tsuki

Akino Arai

Get ready for some lyrics you can't understand unless you can speak Japanese. This song has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager and first heard it, even back when I didn't know what the lyrics generally meant.  The instruments in this song mesh with the beat and singers voice to express a..not quite sadness, but an aching longing of something that seems out of reach or indecipherable. The song has four counts that I think start out slow, but pick up to be andante or moderato.  The many instruments include bass guitar, harp(?), cello, a string instrument that I can't quite find a name to put to it since it sounds higher than normal, and maybe the viola.  

So, for my random music, I decided this time to go use 8tracks.com and click the random music button and see what pops up.


I Love You

Alex & Sierra

The song opened up with a man singing in a tenor voice in what I think is a minor key.  The slow four count and the keyboard in the background make me think of a love song.  As the song goes on, and the other singer comes in to, I can't think of another word but counterpoint, the first singer.  It becomes sad, though the dynamic rises. Even though it's a love song, it seems to be a sad song, of love unrequited or unreturned.  Or perhaps of a broken relationship. I don't hear many instruments throughout the song either, but do notice a rhythmic instrument that sounds raspy.

No comments:

Post a Comment