Author Archives: Ruowen.Xu@stonybrook.edu

Meat Loaf – Paradise By The Dashboard Light

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“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was first released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. The song is most notable for its unique structure and length, and has become a staple of classic rock radio.

First of all, I want to introduce the background and recording of this song. From official information I have searched on website, it says that “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” is one of the longest songs to be released uncut on one side of a 45 RPM record. The only difference is the song fades out almost immediately after the final line is sung. In some countries a shorter 5:32 edit was released. The largest change is the complete removal of the “baseball play-by-play” section. According to Meat Loaf on VH1 Storytellers, the original length of the track was to be 27 minutes.

After I introduced the background, I also want to discuss about its strong structure. There are there parts of this song, let me talk about it by each part:

Part I Paradise: The song opens with the characters reminiscing about days as a young high school couple on a date. They are parking by a lake and having fun, experiencing “paradise by the dashboard light”, and the boy insists they’re “gonna go all the way tonight.”

Part 2 Let Me Sleep On It: Just as the boy is about to “steal home base”, the girl bursts out, telling him to “Stop right there!” She refuses to go any further unless the boy first promises to love her forever and marry her. Reluctant to make such a long-term commitment, the boy repeatedly asks her to continue on for the time being and promises to give his answer in the morning. However, as she is not giving in that easily, so that he finally cracks and gives his promise: “I started swearing to my God and on my mother’s grave/That I would love you to the end of time”.

Part 3 Praying for the End of Time: Back in the present, the characters can no longer stand each other’s presence. However, the male character cannot possibly break his vow and hence is now praying for the end of time to relieve him from his obligation. The song fades out on the situation, juxtaposing his gloomy “It was long ago, it was far away, it was so much better than it is today!” with her joyous “It never felt so good, it never felt so right, we’re glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife.”

Furthermore, I want to add some my personal understanding and feeling into this reflection. The song outlines the sad and disgustingly true nature of the desperate hookup, stripping sex of all the glamor and possibility that makes physical intimacy feel like a good idea; instead it’s sex as an act of desperate, ill-fated connectionIt’s just a stylized version of a live performance. Meat Loaf passionately makes love to the microphone, wearing a white blouse open at the collar, his long hair sweaty and stringy. He is wearing suspenders. He is singing about having sex at 17, and it is hard to look at him—older now, flabbier and wrinklier, throwing himself into the song with wild facial expressions and formless near-dancing.

In conclusion, this is my first time to write a reflection about rock music and I feel it is so good for me to try on it. I always pay much attention on classical and slow music because I think sad melody can make listeners relaxed and comfortable. Now I have total new understanding of rock music and I think it is very exciting. During the writing, I go to the youtube to watch the video and I am totally attracted by the hot atmosphere and that was amazing. I searched for many information of the song on the website because I am not familiar with rock music at all before, but now I think I have already laid a foundation for learning rock music in the future.

Unknown         Unknown1

 

work cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_by_the_Dashboard_Light

http://www.avclub.com/article/paradise-dashboard-light-intentionally-unsexy-207098

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1711

 

 

P!nk – Just Give Me A Reason

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“Just Give Me a Reason” is a song written and recorded by American singer and songwriter Pink featuring fun.’s lead singer Nate Ruess. The song was chosen as the third single from Pink’s sixth studio album, The Truth About Love (2012). “Just Give Me a Reason” is a pop ballad written by both artists and produced by Jeff Bhasker. It starts off with a simple melody played on the piano, as Pink starts to sing the first verse and chorus, the latter of which introduces drum machines and bass. The second verse is then sung by Ruess, and the rest of the song is sung as a duet. The song ends with a piano solo, similar to the intro. It has a duration of four minutes and two seconds.

“Just Give Me a Reason” features Nate Ruess from the American band Fun. Originally, it was just a song writing session but Pink realized that she needed someone else to sing the song with her because she thought that it was more of a conversation than a one perspective song. She asked Ruess to do it with her and got him to do the song as a duet. The song is about the desire to hold on to a relationship even when it appears to be breaking down. Common Sense Media (CSM) said Pink, singer from band fun team up in sweet love tune. Billboard also gave a positive review of the song saying this duet with the band’s lead singer Nate Ruess (produced by “We Are Young” helmer Jeff Bhasker) would fit right at home on “Some Nights.” Although it’s a little jarring to hear Pink’s raw, live vocals paired with Ruess’ Auto-Tune, it’s ultimately a less-schmaltzy version of those male/female duets found at the end credits of every 80s movie. HitFix said One of the highlights is her duet with fun.’s Nate Ruess, who co-wrote “Just Give Me A Reason”.

In my opinion, I like this song very much not only because its unique melody, but also its background story. The video shows Pink lying on a mattress in the middle of an artificial marsh, with fog surrounding the set and a star-studded background. The video is highly symbolic and its storyline is indirect, with references supporting the song’s theme, including a teddy bear, a TV floating on the surface of water, the water itself and a wall made of wood in the background. The scenes include Pink’s solo mattress scene, another with Nate Ruess shows the two singers singing the song in a white, blank set, and a third scene showing Pink and her husband Carey Hart embracing and diving. From the video, we can see that the singer add deep emotion into the song in order to let audience understand his emotion clearly. We are not difficult to imagine the background story through singer’s expression.

Pink duets with Ruess on the track, but she had to trick him into singing his part. She recalled to Spotify: “I was like, ‘no, this is a story, this is a conversation this song’ – it needs the other perspective whether it’s a guy and a girl, or two girls or two guys. ‘I came in and tried to convince him that this was how the conversation was going to go and it was interesting you know, he was like ‘I’ll just do the demo cos I don’t know about duets’ and I totally tricked him into doing it, and I am so glad I was able to. ‘I think now he’s very happy that he did it, I think it’s a beautiful song and I’m really, really proud of it.” I think this feedback makes this song very great because the song contains real emotion will become vivid.

Some people don’t understand that this is a temporary state and some people expect to be courted for eternity but realistically no one has time to make every hour of everyday about another person. So when all of this stuff fades away and a realistic era emerges the surprises are less powerful and less frequent. It can be rather shocking to realize that you are not their only obligation and if you go out once a month you are lucky. Instead of treasuring what they have they instead become resentful claiming that they rarely spend time together anymore. In conclusion, I think people can really learn something through this song.

(  :)This is my last reflection for ACH class this semester, I hope all of you enjoy reading my post and I will miss the time I spend on the reflection very much. 🙁 …  )

images-22

Work Cited

The Meaning of “Just Give Me A Reason”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Give_Me_a_Reason

 

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=27327

 

My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion

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Today, I strongly want to introduce my mother’s favourite songs, which is called “My Heart Will Go On”. This song is very popular at their age and it really contains too much things. “My Heart Will Go On”, also called the “Love Theme from Titanic”, is the main theme song to the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. Its music was composed by James Horner, its lyrics were written by Will Jennings, and it was produced by James Horner and Walter; Celine Dion recorded and released it.

To start with, I should put emphasis on its composition.The song is written in the key of E major, though the chorus is in the relative key of C# minor. The verses follow the chord progression of E—Bsus4—Aadd9—E—B. The chorus has the chord progression of C♯m—B—A—B. The song modulates to F minor in the final chorus, and ends in the key of Ab major.[10] The song is pop rock. It contains heavy emphasis on the instrumental arranging. Usage of flute is prominent, backed by melodic use of strings and rhythm guitars. The song features both acoustic and electronic instrumentation. Dion’s vocal performance is described as “emotional” and “demanding” by Pandora radio. This is the key which makes this song’s melody so attractive and unique.

Secondly, the background story of this story can not be ignored. This song is the background song of the most famous film called” TITANIC” at that time. It was about a romantic love story between Rose and Jack. Rose was an aristocrat, but Jack was only a poor boy. The big difference of their identity became the biggest problem between them. Unfortunately, there were a terrible accident happened at night. The steamship sinked and everything changed. Towards the death, the lives and emotions are very weak. The weak point of humanity was entirely expressed. After braving several obstacles, Jack and Rose return to the boat deck. The lifeboats have departed and passengers are falling to their deaths as the stern rises out of the water. The ship breaks in half, lifting the stern into the air. Jack and Rose ride it into the ocean and he helps her onto a wooden panel only buoyant enough for one person. He assures her that she will die an old woman, warm in her bed. He dies of hypothermia but she is saved. Every time when I recall this story, I am deeply moved by the love between Rose and Jack. Their love becomes more solid when they faces death. Also, different people’s emotion when the disaster happened are very moved as well. All of the images at that night becomes forever in every people’s heart.

Third, the melody of this song is the most impressive to my mom. Every time when this song plays, we can imagine that many innocent people suffered a lot from that terrible accident. So many people died in the cold sea and so many people loses their family members. All the people’s tears are so sad, which can be clearly presented by its melody. The melody of this song is very sad because it represents people’s death and lovers’ isolation. Every listeners will prey for the victims.

In conclusion, my mom loves this song not only because it is closely related to their age, but also the love story between the main character is very simple but moved. I hope you like this song. 🙂

Titanic_poster      Celine_dion-my_heart_will_go_on_s

 

work cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Heart_Will_Go_On

The monster – Eminem

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“The Monster” is a song by American rapper Eminem, featuring guest vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna, taken from Eminem’s eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013). Eminem isn’t one for holding back. Throughout his career, Slim Shady has used a rhyme book as a canvas to draw out his deep-rooted feelings, inner demons and wildest fantasies. “The Monster” was released on October 29, 2013, as the fourth single from the album. The song’s lyrics present Rihanna coming to grips with her inner demons, while Eminem ponders the negative effects of his fame.

Actually, this is a love story between Eminem and Rihanna. First, I want to share the background of this song to you. “The Monster” did not begin its life as a direct rewrite, though. The main melodic hook was written by young recording artist Bebe Rexha while working on her own album, before she pitched it to Eminem. (The main writer of “Love the Way You Lie,” pop singer-songwriter Skylar Grey, wasn’t involved.) Em then took Rexha’s composition into the studio with producer Bryan “Frequency” Fryzel, wrote his rhymes on top and invited Rihanna to sing the hook; Rexha’s original background vocals were left intact, deep in the mix. “The Monster” may well improve on its predecessor in catchiness, but it can’t match Eminem’s and Rihanna’s previous smash for soul-baring revelation and the sense of the new. It’s hard to imagine “Monster” having the legacy that “Lie” had. But as pastiche, it’s an apt 2013-closing smash—it will likely rule the Hot 100 long enough to last through the holidays, bringing one of the more frustrating, patchworky years on the pop charts to a close.

Furthermore, the words of the song is very beautiful. For example:

I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh, well, guess beggars can’t be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public. Excuse me
For wanting my cake and eat it too, and wanting it both ways
Fame made me a balloon ’cause my ego inflated
When I blew; see, but it was confusing

“The Monster” may well improve on its predecessor in catchiness, but it can’t match Eminem’s and Rihanna’s previous smash for soul-baring revelation and the sense of the new. It’s hard to imagine “Monster” having the legacy that “Lie” had.  The song focuses on Eminem’s ongoing struggles with fame, and his desire to live a normal life. In conclusion, when I listened to this song, I really appreciate it not only because of the background love story, but also the melody is really attractive.

eminem-shoots-the-monster-video-with-rihanna   main_image

 

work cited

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=31249

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_(song)

Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture (Full with Cannons)

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                                  ——— Historical background: Napoleon’s invasion of Russia

Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber music, and a choral setting of the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy.He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, which he bolstered with appearances as a guest conductor later in his career in Europe and the United States.

The Year 1812, festival overture in E♭ major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is an overture written in 1880 by Russian composer Tchaikovsky to commemorate Russia’s defense of its motherland against Napoleon in 1812.

The music can be interpreted as a fairly literal depiction of the campaign: in June 1812, the previously undefeated French Allied Army of over half a million battle-hardened soldiers and almost 1,200 state-of-the-art guns (cannons, artillery pieces) crossed the Niemen River into Lithuania on its way to Moscow. The Holy Synod, aware that the Russian Imperial Army could field a force only a fraction of this size, inexperienced and poorly equipped, called on the people to pray for deliverance and peace. So, the background story of this song is about a battle. In addition, the composition of this song is three parts: Historical background, Anachronism of nationalist motifs and Commission.

When I am listening to this song, I really appreciate the melody of it. For example, at the beginning, the melody is slow and contains a little sadness; at the middle, it becomes a little cheerful and at the end it is very fast and loud. Tchaikovsky wrote this song in order to memorise the Russian battle which is to defeat Napoleon. In this song, the composer wants to express a very significant moment of the history and the precious spirit of the soldiers.

In conclusion, i think we can clearly understand the plot of this song. First, the Russian people was suffering from terrible war and many people lost their lives. Second, the war between France and Russia is very competitive. Third, the Russian people celebrate their victory and they are very excited.

Porträt_des_Komponisten_Pjotr_I._Tschaikowski_(1840-1893)    Napoleons_retreat_from_moscow

 

work cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

 

You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

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“You Belong with Me” is a country pop song performed by American recording artist Taylor Swift. It is one of my favourite songs not only because of its moving melody, but also it’s romantic love story. Taylor Swift is a famous singer who has very sweet voice and pretty face and she acts two different character in this song. This song describes a love story between a handsome boy and an ordinary girl with a length of three minutes and 52 seconds.The song’s accompanying music video was directed by Roman White. The video featured Swift portraying two characters, a nerd (the protagonist and narrator) and a popular girl (the antagonist and girlfriend), while American actor Lucas Till portrayed the male lead.

The background of this story begins with a very handsome boy and a common girl who lives opposite the window. When the boy is having a phone call with his girlfriend with a bad mood, the girl write words on a board to concern about his situation and encourage him. The boy has a very pretty girlfriend who wears short shirt and very sexy, but she is faithless and unreliable. Next day, they talk together happily, but when the boy’s girlfriend arrives, the girl have to let him go. The boy actually be attracted by her energetic and shiny and the girl also finds herself love him very much. When the school has a sports competition, the girl comes to encourage the boy and the boy wins at last. The boy was happy to share the good news with her girlfriend, but he finds that his girlfriend falling in love with another cute boy. The boy feels so upset and sorrowful. Finally, the school has a big party one day and the boy invites the girl to attend. Then the girl put off her sports clothes and then dressed herself into a very pretty princess. When she arrives the party, all the people fix their eyes on her because she is the shiniest star. The boy is deeply attracted by her and they kiss and be together.

This story is really nice because it is very real and it tells people even ordinary people will receive a fantastic love if they never give up. Taylor Swift is a really smart girl because she acts two total different girls and expresses their personality very specifically. Actually, this song has a happy melody with a little sadness at the beginning. What makes me most impressive is this love story because it propagandises a very positive idea to all the people who is searching the love. To be strive for what you really want, do not give up anyone who you love and their will be miracles after your efforts. It is a great song with happy melody, which can express a positive idea to young people.

In conclusion, what makes a song so attractive and unforgettable is not only because of it’s melody, but also it’s background story. I hope you like this song after you read my introduction.

Taylor-Swift-You-Belong-With-Me-Music-Video-taylor-swift-21519674-1248-704   Taylor-Swift-You-Belong-With-Me-Music-Video-taylor-swift-21519657-1248-704

 

work cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Belong_with_Me

http://theboot.com/story-behind-the-song-you-belong-with-me-taylor-swift/

Reflection to Alice’s Restaurant – Original 1967 Recording

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“Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”, commonly known as “Alice’s Restaurant”, is a musical monologue by singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, released on his 1967 debut album Alice’s Restaurant. The song is one of Guthrie’s most prominent works, based on a true incident from his life that began on Thanksgiving Day 1965, and which inspired a 1969 movie of the same name. Apart from the chorus which begins and ends it, the “song” is in fact a spoken monologue, with ragtime guitar backing. ” When i first saw this video, i have a very deep impression on its image and the background music. This song lats for almost 18 minutes, which is the longest song i have ever listened before. When i am listening to this beautiful song, i enjoy the melody and the voice of the singer, but i still very curious about the story of this song.

Later, i search for the related information of this song on official website. The story is almost described like that: restaurant-owner Alice Brock, who in 1964 used $2,000 supplied by her mother to purchase a deconsecrated church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where Alice and her husband Ray would live. It was here rather than at the restaurant—which came later—where the song’s Thanksgiving dinners were actually held. In this story, there is a true incident about Guthrie, that Guthrie tells the story of the littering incident, which proves significant enough a criminal offense that it could bar him from military service.The sentence “Shrink, you can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant,” is at the end part of the song, which contains deep emotion of Guthrie.

I am really curious about every background story of the song, what make them significant is that real experience will provide singer real emotion in order not to let the song so boring and blank. The story will make the song more vivid and lively to audience.

According to the books, this song is notable as a satirical, first-person account of 1960s counterculture, in addition to being a hit song in its own right. In my opinion, i have a little personal understandings of the song’s core idea and i really like the melody of that. The long time for this song will not let people feel bored at all because when you listen to it carefully, you can feel the emotion and the real story of the singer.

Stockbridge-alices-restaurantGuthrie_Center

 

 

work sited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Restaurant

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1616

Hate Reflection/ “Taxi” by Harry Chapin

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Harry Chapin is a famous singer and humanist who was bored in New York. He composed many songs, such as 《Dance Band On The Titanic》、《On The Road To Kingdom Come》、《Sequel / I Finally Found It Sandy》、《America’s Least Wanted》、《Elektra / Asylum Fall 1973 Releases》and so on. I used to listening to his songs in my young age and these masterpieces left me very deep impression. I like his musical style and his emotion expressed in the songs.

“Taxi” is one of the most famous songs in his works and i think he probably expresses his hate to the fate and love. The story about this song is a tragedy of love. Harry was a taxi driver in the San Francisco. When he took a very beautiful lady who wears a blue dress in a rainy day, he recognised that this pretty lady was his first love Sue. Sue had a very familiar face and sad smile, which means her life wasn’t very happy. Because of the arrangement of fate, the reality let them  broke up and they both searched for total different dreams. Later, Sue recognised Harry as well from the reflectors of the car, they finally recognised each other. Harry said that he had already experienced very long distance and little smile, he still concerned about whether Sue was good or not. But the saddest thing is that the time flies and nothing can be changed. When they arrived at destination, Sue gave Harry 20 dollars and then walk to her home, which could’t give her happiness. After meeting with Sue, Harry drove away and he was singing on the way, he said that his dream is to receive freedom in the sky, but Sue wanted to be an actress. Now Sue is still acting that she is happy in a very big family, but himself is very happy to drive the car.

The story behinds this song is really very sad because two lovers meet in the future and they will never be together. Their total different dreams make them on different path. Life sometimes just so ridiculous and it can control many people’s fate and future. Based on Harry’s facial expression, i can not only see his hate towards the love story, but also contains much sadness and heartbroken. In conclusion, i love Harry’s songs because there are always many stories and emotions behind them.

About me

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Hello everyone, my name is Stella. I come from China.I need to take almost 14 hours to arrive Long Island by airplane. I live in Shanghai, which is a really fantastic city in my country.I am a freshman and my major is Economics. I have many hobbies, such like going shopping, watching movies and travelling. I have a traditional Chinese family which consists of three members. I have three small turtles as my pets which are very cute.

I love music very much at very young age. Actually, i have taken piano classes for almost seven years in official music school. The long period of piano lessons have lay a solid foundation for my future music learning because it cultivates my music talent and guide me how to appreciate and understand different kinds of music in correct way. I really feel lucky because my parents provide me such precious opportunity to get access to the musical instrument. I like classical music very well because i used to play many songs which are written by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and so on. I think such music like what they composed has unique style and people will never feel bored about that.

Furthermore, i always attend some piano and violin concerts in China and in Stony Brook university in order to get more chances to create deep understanding of various music.