Finding Emotion and Meaning in Music.

JOY: "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire

Finding a song that somehow communicated the feeling of joy was actually the most difficult to decide on. The emotion of joy can be expressed in many different forms and it was hard to limit myself to one song. Honestly, I spent the majority if my time working on this assignment trying to pick one single song. In the end my result was "Wake Up". This is not going to be a typical song that expresses joy simply because the joy I find in it is through my experiences. I have an indexical relationship with this song due to always hearing it while driving through downtown with my friends at night. I clearly remember several times playing this song and having a good time, even when all we were doing was dancing in the parking lot of a mall and had security check us out. If this song was played at the beginning of our night, we were certain it was going to be a good one. 

ANGER: "Let it Die" by Foo Fighters

"Let it Die" represents anger to me from the sound of the music. Often people are slow to anger which is represented by the quiet and softness in the beginning of the song. After a good minute of soft simple music, more is added in showing the development of the anger as it continues to progress into the burst of sound that is suddenly harsher to the ears than it was before. The lyrics themselves in the song reiterate the emotion in the music, the repetitive words and accusatory and sarcastic tone give more insight into the anger present. The immediate change in the music catches the listeners attention, just as the immediate change in emotion would catch the attention of whoever is on the receiving end of the anger. 

SADNESS: "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss

"Whiskey Lullaby" has a clear symbolic relation to sadness. The lyrics describe the relationship between a man and a woman as they went separate ways, yet the actions of one ultimately affected the other which in turn leaves them with the same result years later. The somber tone of the music creates and association with the listener to sadness with a connection to the lyrics and the story they tell. 

SEXUALITY: "If I Were A Boy" by Beyonce
The unique thing about this song is that is somewhat shows what it means both to be a woman and to be a man. The lyrics symbolize the doubt the woman has in the relationship and she goes on to describe all the things she would to if she was to be a man. She describes a man that is honest and caring, not one that cheats and is ungrateful. The song also shows the difference between boys and the real men, the real men understand what he needs to do to fix the mistakes he has made. While the boy will continue to make mistakes and not learn from them.

Family: "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 

"Home" has been a song I have associated not only with my family, but also with my friends that are close to me like family. I recently had a friend, Iris, who was from Spain leave to go back home. While she was in America this song became one of her favorites, at her going away party I had recently begun learning how to play guitar and I decided to learn this song as my first one in order to play it for her as her going away gift. This song has a indexical relation to me partly through that experience. Not only can I sometimes relate to the relationship the two people in the song have together, but I can relate my relationships with my friends and family with it as well. The bond the people in the lyrics have is the bond I have with them. Home really is wherever I am with them, even if it includes using social media as our medium. 

Let's get past the introductions, shall we?

Hello, my name is Shannon. I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana where everything is closed after Ten o'clock  PM. I went to Homestead where I was a member of the Color Guard. I am the oldest of three with two younger brothers. Almost my entire family lives throughout Michigan except for and Aunt and Uncle who live in Spain and my family who is in Indiana. I'm Scottish with and Irish first name and people often mix them up, so I will respond to MacKenzie sometimes if I am called that.

"Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant
This song I chose to describe Fort Wayne and growing up. I suppose most people have feelings similar to mine about where they are from, it is not that I hated Fort Wayne, it is that there was not anything there for me anymore. This song can be interpreted as he is getting high off of cough syrup, so do not get me wrong, I don't abuse any kind of drugs. To me the lyrics mean more than what they appear on the surface, the lyrics when taken piece by piece can be a sort of evaluation of the past several years of my life. Beginning with, "So I run now to the things they said could restore me/Restore life the way it should be," it takes me back to when my mom was first diagnosed with cancer, she is doing fine now, but at first things were really difficult I felt like the world I had always known was no more; which fits in with the lyrics, "I'm losing my mind losing my mind losing control." Few things have had as great an impact on my life as that, when the life I had known was beginning to fall through the cracks of my fingers like sand, I was desperate to find something, anything, that would remain constant. I've had this feeling for awhile that there is something more for me to do with my life outside of where I grew up, I know it's close, but it is just out of my reach. When he sings, "If I could find a way to see this straight/I'd run away/To some fortune that I should have found by now" I think of how once I know what I need to be doing, I will be ready for it. 

"All That I Am" by The Afters
 About a year ago I felt closer to God than I ever had before, I spent a week at a camp that really did change my life. My faith has been something I value since I can remember. I don't want to get into a deep discussion about my beliefs, but this song and the lyrics, "I know that You hear me when I say my prayers/I know that You're with me even when I'm all alone/When I close my eyes, You're calling me closer/When I pull away, You're pulling me closer," provide me with the reassurance that I sometimes need. 

"Love Will Save Your Soul" by Grouplove
I have always had a conflicting relationship with my parents. They haven't always been the most supportive of everything I do either. Sometimes I felt left out when my friends would have their parents there with them after events to congratulate them, yet mine would be with my brothers or at home. When the phrase "love will save your soul" begins to repeat in this song, I think of how even though things have not always been the best, as long as I keep thinking positively, then eventually it will all work out. 

"Footloose" by Kenny Loggins 
This song I chose because it always makes me want to dance. Dancing is something that I always love doing, as well as singing. I will sing about pretty much anything anywhere and make up my own songs on the spot. I will also dance to music up and down the grocery isle, yes, I am that person. When I dance though, I feel most comfortable with a group of people I know really well, or people that I do not know at all. Performing is something in general that I would not be able to imagine my life without. Wether it is acting, singing, dancing, or anything else, simply being in front of a crowd of people and captivating their attention is the most exhilarating experience one can have. 

"Sway Your Head" by We Shot The Moon
This is the last song that I feel like describes me well, or well enough. It has been hard to use songs to explain where I am from and who I am. Sway Your Head is a song that can always make me feel like I am prepared to conquer anything. The song is all about not giving up, continuing on, and believing in yourself. I am always ready to try just about everything, if I am not good at it at first then I will keep trying until I do get better. I am often driven and motivated to complete things, I have learned that in order to grow as a person you must always be ready to throw yourself out there, and idea I believe this song expresses well. 




This are the songs, or the best of the songs that I feel can somewhat explain me. I hope that after listening to these songs and reading my paragraphs that you have a better understanding of what makes me, me. 


Shannon MacKenzie