Countdown - Beyonce

I am sure most of you are all have heard the song Countdown by Beyonce. It is part of her new album IV (4). In the song she pretty much describes her and Jay Z’s entire relationship and how strong their bond is.  She does this in the form of a countdown. First she starts with 10 and describes how her “baby” (Jay Z) is a ten. Then she uses by saying he dressed to the 9, meaning he has a good sense of style. Next she uses 8 by saying that he picks her up at they “ate”. He makes her feel so lucky 7, like the lucky number 7. He kisses her in his 6. They’re making love in 5, as in 5 seconds.  He is still the one she does it 4 (for).  She is trying to make a 3 from that 2, meaning that she is trying to start a family with him, and ironically enough she got pregnant around the time that this song came out. Finally she uses the number one to say that he is still the one. I think that was a cute way to describe their relationship, it almost describes the 10 reasons why she loves him so much. In the verses of the song she pretty much just describes how they do fight, and although things aren’t always great she will always be in love with him and keep falling in love with him. She explains how they both don’t get tired of each other and still love everything about each other and she will do anything for him. It is also ironic how the song is a countdown starting from 10 and they have been together for 10 years. It seemed like perfect timing to make such a song. 

I Smile

So I have been in a terrible mood lately. I just cant seem to cheer myself up and I have just been really down in the dumps. I decided to listen to some music and one of the positive songs I listened to to make me feel better was “I Smile” by Kirk Franklin. Another gospels song but an extremely modern one this time. 

This song is primarily about how when the day is sad and gloomy and you think that there is nothing that can make it better a smile can take you a long way. Sometimes when you just put a smile on and try to make something into a positive it can surprisingly turn your day around. A smile can not only make you feel better but it can also make you seem more welcoming and allow others to make your day better. There is also the idea that nomatter how upset you are to just keep a smile on your face and not show how upset you are. 

This takes great strength because its so much easier to think and feel negatively than it is to do so positively. Its about knowing that something positive is coming at the end of this and that as long as you have a positive outlook on things its bound to go away. By the end of the song, the gloomy day with no happiness or sunshine turned into a bright day with tons of sunshine because of the speaker smiling and not letting the issues they were dealing with control their day.

This song is very influential to me because there are many cases where I am upset and all I have to do is smile and remember that it will be okay soon and I eventually forget about everything that bothered me. 

We Are Young

We Are Young by Fun is one of my new favorite songs. I listen to it on repeat every single day. I don’t know why but it always puts me in a fun and uplifting mood. The meaning of the song is to pretty much live carefree young life. I love this idea. Just living fearlessly and not worrying about anything. Songs like this are inspirational to me because I try to live this life every single day. When I listen to this song I think about going out and doing something adventurous that I have never done before and just living each moment like its my last.

I heard that Fun was actually here at Penn State and performed the song. I am so upset that I missed it. I would have loved to see this song performed in person. Its probably even more amazing and makes you feel even greater.

I feel like this is also the perfect song to kick off the summer. There is always that one song that reminds everyone of the summer and I feel like this is going to be it. I picture myself at the short this summer driving to the beach blasting this with the top down in my car. Lol last year my song was Good Life, and they have similar themes if you think about it. They are both about life being good and enjoying every minute of it.

I recommend that everyone listen to this song and tell me what you think. I am sure your all going to like it, I still haven’t met anyone who doesn’t. It is also very catchy, I guarantee some of you will walk out of this class singing it, and getting it stuck in other peoples heads lol I do it all of the time.

Sara Beth

I love country music! One of my favorite bands is Rascall Flatts so this week I will do my blog on one of there songs. A song that has influenced me the most is Skins (Sara Beth) by Rascall Flatts. I listened to the song multiple times but for a long time I never actually payed attention to the lyrics and recognized the true meaning of the song. There is a whole story being told in the song that I never noticed and when I finally  took note of it, it literally brought me to tears. 

The song starts with a girl named Sara Beth who is nervous at the doctor because she has been very sick and she does not seem to be getting better. She finds out that she has cancer and the doctors are assuring her that things will be fine. They tell her that although the cancer is strong they thing that they caught it and she has nothing to worry about. 

The chorus describes her dream of her dancing with not a care in the world in the arms of her true love as the wind blows through her hair. 

The second verse describes how she cries to her mother because she does not know who is going to want to take her to the prom. She has been going through cancer treatments and does not have any hair. She is embarrassed and cries in her pillow and falls asleep as she has the same dream about dancing with her true love. 

The day of her prom arrives and her date is at the door. She comes to the top of the stairs to see him and everyone is surprised to see that when he takes of his hat, his head is completely shaved. He shaved his head to make her feel more comfortable at prom and to show her that he does not care about the fact that she has no hair. By the end of the song her dream has come true and she is dancing with her true love with not a fear or care in the world. 

The concept of this song is so beautiful and touching to me, usually cancer stories are sad stories and to hear something that happy come from such a sad situation is great.

Make You Feel My Love

Adele is one of my all time favorite singers. She is a British singer and songwriter who expanded her career by bringing to the States and it became a great success. She became the first artist to sell more than 3 million copies of an album in a year in the UK. She is a very talented artist who has literally made history and become so successful at such a young age. I love every single one of her songs and I literally cant go a day without listening to her music. In class this week before class started we had a short conversation about how amazing Adele is so I decided to talk write about one of my favorite songs of hers for this week. “Make You Feel My Love” is one of my favorite songs. It is a very slow and tranquil song with only light piano music playing in the background. The song is a romantic love song that could soften anyones heart. It seems like she must have gone through a rough breakup or is falling in love with someone at the time because the main concept of the song is about how she wants this person to “feel her love.” The lyrics are about the things she would do for this person and how far she would go just for him feel how strong she feels about him. The lyrics are very exaggerated to show exactly how strong the love is. She uses examples like going hungry, going black and blue and to the ends of the earth for this person. The song is so touching because lyrics like those connect to the listeners emotional side and get them to fall just as in love with the song as she is with this person. 

This is the song if you guys would like to hear it. I recommend you listen to it. LOL it really is a great song and Id love to hear your feedback.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Earlier this week, Whitney Houston, one of the most influential women in the music industry passed away at the early age of 48 years old. She was the worlds best selling music artists, selling a record number of 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She was also in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most awarded female act of all time. Her music has influenced many groups of people of many ages, from 90 year olds to college students like you and me today. 

One of the songs that I want to focus on for this week, that I am sure you all should be familiar with is “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” It is a a fun 80’s pop record that could make anyone probably want to get up and dance. This song won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and it was also was considered an 80’s gem. It is Whitney Houston’s second biggest hit after “I Will Always Love You.” 

I personally like this song because whenever I listen to it, it always seems to put me in a  fun and excited mood. Not only did Whitney Houston have an amazing voice but it was also very carefree which was great for the song. The song is about a girl who is looking for a fun and exciting parter to taker her breath away and show her a good time. Its just a simple song about a young women looking for a little excitement in her life.

If you have not heard the song I recommend that you do, and I hope you like it. If you don’t, thats also understandable and I would love to hear opinions as to why you don’t or a song of hers that you prefer. 

Ohh N Love

Valentines Day is coming up! As a matter fact its only four days away! In the spirit of Valentines Day and for all of those people in love or even those people who still have not found that special someone I am making this weeks song a love song. 

I recently heard this song called “Ohh N Love” by an artist named Mateo and I absolutely fell in love with it. I constantly play it on repeat and I never seem to get tired of it. The song is about a man who is wondering if he will ever fall in love again. He meets a girl and he feels as if he is falling in love with her. In the chorus he says “I want to be the song she loves and I never thought I'd say this baby.” One of the thing people fall most deeply in love with is music and throughout the song he relates her to his new favorite song. In the second verse he says “So long I've been lookin' for chances of this harmony. Now I know that she's the lyric and the tune that explains the meaning of life.

There is no music without her to give it to, yes I'm fallin' but can't seem to find the words for her yeah.” He explains how she is the lyrics and the tune that describes his whole life and how she is his favorite song that he loves to hear. 

I personally love this song because I know how much music means to me and how it influences me. I am definitely a hopeless romantic and the idea of someone loving another person the way that they love a song is pretty amazing to me. Music is a way to touch parts of people and feelings that people never knew they really had and for another person to do that is really special. 

 This is a beautiful song and it may not touch you the way it touched me, but I know there are other love songs that have and I would love to know what they are.