Monthly Archives: March 2015

Rocket Queen- Guns ‘N’ Roses

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“Rocket Queen” by Guns ‘N’ Roses is about a girl that was going to start a band and name it ‘Rocket Queen’. Axl Rose was infatuated with this girl and wrote this song for her. I like song, I’m not very familiar with it but I can say that I don’t hate it. I chose this song for this reflection because it is definitely Rock ‘n’ Roll, but it is definitely sex as well because in the bridge of this song, there is actually a recording of Rose and the drummer, Adler’s girlfriend. I’ve never even heard of that happening before so that’s why I chose this song.

The music integrates well with the lyrics and the message of the song. During the bridge, there is a guitar solo with drums and obviously sex noises—I find that so funny! This song is showing how much Rose cares for the girl and he obviously feels lustful towards her and is aroused when he thinks about her, so I think it was a good choice to put the recording into the song. It was a bold move, and obviously it paid off. About halfway through the song, the tempo changes and it’s mainly drums integrated with electric guitar and base. This is a clear transition of the song, and in the second part of the song the lyrics are more loving and affectionate in contrast to the first part of the song. This is done because Rose wants to get his message across to the ‘Rocket Queen’ girl.

This song is autobiographical like I mentioned before, it is about Axl Rose and the girl that he was crazy for. Her name was ‘Barbi (Rocket Queen) Von Greif’ and she was eighteen at the time that Rose had a thing for. Slash commented that although she was pretty young, she had a notorious reputation and was called “a queen of the underground scene”. This type of song is not unusual for Guns ‘N’ Roses at all, it sounds like a lot of their other popular songs, although I’ve never heard another song that has a sex recording in it so this song could also be called unique in that way. I would say it sounds a lot like ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, which is also from the album ‘Appetite For Destruction’.

I would definitely recommend this song, but not really for anything specific. I would say if you just got your heart broken, definitely do not listen to this song. Also, I wouldn’t recommend it for working out either, but I guess it could possibly work if you really wanted to. I would say just put this song on your regular playlist on shuffle and listen to it occasionally. If you happen to have a playlist named ‘Oldies’ then you can definitely put this song in there. All in all I think this song is really cool and worth listening to.

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TnL-LJKWE0&spfreload=10

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gunsnroses/rocketqueen.html

Rose, Axl. Perf. Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, and Izzy Stradlin. Rocket Queen. Guns ‘N’                               Roses. Mike Clink, 1987. CD.

 

“The Last Night”- Skillet

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The song I chose this week is “The Last Night” by Skillet from the album “Comatose”. This song is about a girl who has decided to kill herself and is saying goodbye to her friend. Her parents think that she is just “going through a phase”, but they just don’t understand her and they never will. She has been cutting herself for a while now and doesn’t want to have to feel like this anymore. The whole song her friend is trying to tell her that she does matter, and he cares about her. He says that this is the last night she’ll be alone; he will be by her side every night after this. I think this is a beautiful song, it really shows how you may feel like you’re alone, but there’s someone out there who cares. I like this song a lot.

The song starts off with a piano, and then electric guitar and drums come in. This song is rock and I like how the music and the lyrics work together in this song. In the bridges the music gets lower and Skillet really focuses on the lyrics, they even sing softer. Then during the chorus, the music is louder and more in your face and I think that is done to try to get the point across that she’s not alone. I wouldn’t say this song is a duet, but since Skillet is made up of two men and two women, they often have one of the women chime in for some of the vocals. They do this in this song pretending to be the girl in the story. I love when bands do this, personally I’m a big fan of duets; I love how the two voices work together to harmonize. So, when Korey (girl singer) came in backing up John (lead male singer), I got so excited and instantly loved this song. I also think it’s really funny because the two singers in this song, are actually married in real life.

This song is not autobiographical, John wrote it because he thought of all the kids that are hurting so badly because they think they are worthless, so he decided to write a song that could possibly help them realize they are loved. Skillet is a Christian rock band, so they were shocked to hear how many kids at their shows admitted to them that they cut themselves and were depressed so he really wanted to help relate to them. And obviously there’s the God aspect in this song, the guy in the story is sort of representing God, in a sense, saying that if she gives Him a chance he will always be there for her.

I have this song on my iPod, and I just hear it when I shuffle my songs. I don’t really think that there is a specific time when you should listen to it. It’s definitely not for break ups, but I could see it for workouts. It has like a ‘head bumping’ feel to it, so I could definitely see it motivating you while you’re on the treadmill. Also, if you are someone who is depressed or has a history of cutting yourself, and you don’t think you matter to anyone—listen to this song. This song is for you. I think Skillet does a great job at helping anyone who is feeling like this. The message they are trying to get across in this song is genuine and true; there is someone who cares about you. I really think this song is worth listening to and putting on your iPod so do it!

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP0Ne9aW7UI&spfreload=10

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/skillet/thelastnight.html

Peters, Lori, and Ben Kasica. By John L. Cooper. Perf. Korey Cooper. The Last Night. Skillet. Brian        Howes, John L. Cooper, Zachary Kelm, 2006. CD.

“No Hurry”- Zac Brown Band

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For this assignment I asked my dad what song he thinks speaks to him best and he told me “No Hurry” by Zac Brown Band. This song is basically about how you shouldn’t worry about the little things that you have no power to change, you should just relax and enjoy life because it is way too short be hung up on the little things in life. I think this song is an accurate representation of my dad because my mom is the complete opposite of that. She rushes through everything and doesn’t really enjoy any of it because she is just worrying about getting through it as quickly as possible. It is extremely frustrating to live with her, and now that I’m in college and so is my older brother, I feel so sorry for my poor dad who is stuck with her. She’s a great woman, don’t get me wrong, but she is just so fast paced and never really gets the chance to “sit back and smell the roses” so to say. I really like this song, it’s country and I love country, so I obviously like this pick but also Zac Brown Band is a very serious group that takes music very seriously so they’re music is always really beautiful.

From listening to the song, I detect there is a guitar, a violin, and a little bit of drums. I think this music works well with the lyrics and the message Zac Brown is trying to get across. The music is very soothing and calm and that’s what the lyrics are all about—relaxing and just enjoying every moment in life. There’s a moment in the song where there is no singing, and the instruments get louder. This represents the hard times in life that we all go through, but then of course the instruments get low and it’s Zac’s beautiful voice saying he “ain’t in no hurry today”. Although we all have hardships in life, they just help us see the important things in life and show us that you cannot get hung up on the little things in life.

Unless you’re heart is made of stone, I think that these lyrics and the music behind them can really evoke emotions out of anyone. It’s just such a feel good song that can really “hit home” for a lot of people. The idea came to the writer when he was driving to meet his friend at an aquarium, and the whole time he was thinking about the other things he should be doing instead. He then realized how those things could wait; he was going to enjoy his day first. There’s a word for that—procrastination—but either way, I think this song sends out a good message about how sometimes you just have to break from the world, and enjoy doing nothing. This song is from the album “You Get What You Give” and I think it really fits in with the other thirteen songs on the album. The song “Knee Deep” has sort of the same message as this song except the music is more upbeat and it’s just basically about being at the beach and relaxing all day!

This song is awesome; I highly recommend it! I also really recommend any Zac Brown Band song; they’re an awesome band. This song would be great to just have on shuffle on your iPod to listen to whenever, but I also really recommend adding this to your beach/tanning/relaxing playlist, if there is such thing hah! I can just imagine sitting in a lounge chair with my feet buried in the warm sand and listening to this song with the sounds of waves crashing in the distance. That sounds like a great time to me!

Brown, Zac. By Wyatt Durrette and James Otto. No Hurry. Zac Brown Band. Keith

Stegall, 2012. CD.

Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZBR0yh3CO4&spfreload=10

Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/zacbrownband/nohurry.html