James Brown’s song, “Get Up Offa That Thang” is an upbeat song that actually makes be want to get up off of my thang and dance. The phrase “get up offa that thang” is continuously repeated and followed by “and shake it till you feel better,” or “and try to release that pressure”. These phrases in addition to the up beat music is very exciting and up-lifting. The lyrics to this song are very repetitive. Almost the whole song is just a repeat of the two phrases mentioned before. I think the repetitiveness gives the songs a playful feeling. There aren’t too many lyrics to pay attention to that are would otherwise be taxing on the brain; it is very straightforward and playful which makes for a good song to dance to.
Author Archives: d.yacobian
Dafna’s Intro/Thesis
Eminem’s song “Not Afraid” and Sylvia Plath’s poem “I am Vertical” both use imagery of nature to illustrate where they find strength in verticality; Eminem shows how he finds strength high up through the appearance on high surfaces and supernatural powers in his music video whereas Plath uses imagery of plants to demonstration how strength is rooted from the ground. Seeing Eminem’s video through the lens of Sylvia Plath, there is a disagreement between where strength is found in verticality. The idea of verticality is reimagined in Plath’s poem because it goes against the common idea that strength is found higher up.
Plath’s “I am Vertical” and Eminem’s “Not Afraid” Thesis
Eminem’s song “Not Afraid” and Sylvia Plath’s poem “I am Vertical” both use imagery of nature to illustrate where they find strength in verticality; Eminem shows how he finds strength high up through the appearance on high surfaces and supernatural powers in his music video whereas Plath uses imagery of plants to demonstration how strength is rooted from the ground.
Verticality in “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
I chose the song “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban. Throughout the song, Groban uses verticality as a way to describe how a special person instills a sense of strength in him. For example, Groban sings, “You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.” Here, Groban uses the verb “raise” so describe how this person makes him feel resilient and able to overcome tough obstacles. He continues to sing, “I am strong when I am on your shoulders.” Here, Groban uses this image of literally being higher up to illustrate the strength he feels from this special person. Overall, verticality is prevalent in this song as Groban uses height as a metaphor for strength.
Introduction
Hello students, professors, administrators and alumni. I want to start off by thanking you all for being here today! Aren’t we all so lucky to be a part of such a great school? However, even the greatest continue to need inprovement. We are gathered here today to address some improvements we may want to consider to enhance our experience here at Baruch. Such improvements include fixing our elevators, adding greenery and creating a more ideal dorm life. If we take a closer look at the importance of these issues, I’m sure you all will understand the significance of addressing these issues at hand.
“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” Response
Martin Luther King Jr’s statement “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” is very powerful. It creates this image of a man at the top of a mountain, overlooking the world beyond him. Mr. King claims he has been to the mountaintop and explains that he has seen the “promised land” from up there, a world where everyone lives in peace and equality. In reality, it’s not possible for Mr. King to have seen this world of equality because it simply hasn’t truly existed yet. However, this metaphor instills a sense of hope that there will be peace and equality in the future. Mr. King continues to admit, that he doesn’t know if he, himself, will make it to the promised land, but he isn’t concerned because he is confident in the fact that they, as a people, will eventually get there. I think that this is what makes Martin Luther King Jr so powerful- his motivation is truly for the good of the people.
This idea is really important to consider while we write our argumentative essay. In order to get anything accomplished, we must show numbers and more importantly, our people must be determined and optimistic in order to push for our goal. In order to accomplish this, we should follow Mr. King’s method of establishing a sense of hope by ensuring our goal will be accomplished in the future, whether we are here to share the accomplishment or not.
“Self Reliance”- Appreciate the Present
In his essay, “Self-Reliance”, Emerson claims that “he [man] cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time”. Here, Emerson is comparing man to nature, saying that unlike the roses under his window, people don’t live in the moment. People are constantly reminiscing their past or envisioning their future, and in doing so, we forget to appreciate where we are today and before we know it, life passes right by.
This excerpt speaks to me because I am definitely a victim of this. I predominantly find myself planning for my future. In high school, it was always planning for college- I found myself doing every class, test, sport, or club mainly for the sake of having an exemplary resume for college. And here I am, in college. But now, everything revolves around where I want to be after college! “What’s your major?” they ask, or “What do you want to do after college?” I tend to answer, “I want to study biology” or “I may want to be a doctor” because I don’t want to sound aimless. But, quite frankly, I’ve only been in college for one month and I don’t really know what I want to study and have almost no clue what I want to do after college. But that shouldn’t be a problem. Yes, planning for my future is essential to know what I are working towards, but our society has almost made it a priority where the second you make it to a new stage in life, it becomes about what the next stage will be. We all need to take a step back to appreciate where we are now. Four years is so far ahead, it is almost irrelevant to ask what I want to do after college; I barely know what I want to eat for dinner tonight!
The Food Sucks!
Esteemed administrators and faculty, fellow students, and members of the Baruch community, the food sucks! It’s too expensive. It’s not good quality. It’s not what we paid for. It should be better. After all, this is a commuter school! There are no nearby dorms where we can make our own food, so it should be provided for us! How can we be expected to perform at our best if we are not being fed properly?
“The Song Machine” Response
“The Song Machine” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/the-song-machine?printable=true¤tPage=all
Beyoncé’s “Halo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig
Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0T3WAbU6tg
The article “The Song Machine” by John Seabrook writes about what goes into creating hit music. Seabrook informs us on how most songs played on the Top Forty radio are collaborations between producers and “top-line” writers who in some cases are the singers too; the producer composes the chord progressions, programs the beats, arranges instrument sounds and then sends his track to top-liners who then come up with primary melodies, lyrics and hooks. Producers sometimes send their tracks to more than one top-liner, which is why certain songs sound similar and can lead to problems between famous singers who fear that they will be accused of copying. An example of this occurrence is apparent in Beyoncé’s song “Halo” and Kelly Clarkson’s song “Already Gone”.
Although this habit producers partake in causes problems between singers, I find it interesting to analyze how the initial track evokes similar or different emotions from the writers, which can be discovered in the lyrics of their songs. For example, Beyoncé’s “Halo” is about someone who finally lets his or her guard down because he or she finally feels comfortable to let a person into his or her life. “Already Gone” by Kelly Clarkson is about a girl who knows her relationship will not work and she therefore must leave so that they can both be happy. Even though the lyrics to “Halo” and “Already Gone” were written to the same track, the emotion Beyoncé recognized was completely opposite than what Kelly Clarkson wrote to; While Beyoncé wrote about accepting someone into one’s life, Kelly wrote about someone having to leave another persons life. It’s really amazing to me how the two singer/songwriters used the same track and created lyrics that are almost polar opposites. At the same time though, is it a coincidence that their lyrics are polar opposites and not two completely irrelevant topics?
Walk down Lexington
I stepped out of the Lawrence and Eris Field building and for the first time I took the time to pay attention to all the interesting people, places and things throughout the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. My hunger brought my attention towards a restaurant sign that read “hot pasta special combo!” which only made me hungrier. I hadn’t eaten lunch yet and the thought of nice bowl of spaghetti made my mouth water. To distract myself I tried to focus on the people walking down Lexington. I spotted a girl taking a Snapchat, which brought a grin to my face. The silly face the girl made that was only meant for a certain person is now unintentionally instilled in my mind and she doesn’t even know.