Week 12: "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

For the final blog, I decided it would be only right for me to write another post about Taylor Swift. So this is on "Shake It Off"!

I remember when this was a hit. In fact, from listening to it again, I feel as if I am back in the era of 1989 Taylor Swift. It was truly a simpler time (at least for myself). I love the message of the song; people are going to be against you and things are going to go wrong in life, but it will make your life so much easier and enjoyable if you just "shake it off!"

This was definitely in the peak of Taylor's pop era. I think that this song had a positive impact on a lot people in such a chill yet direct way. It isn't all in your face, but it's fun and the message of the song is clear.

The drum combination causes the song to be very upbeat, and easy to dance to, thus going along with the theme of "shaking it off". It's fun to think that the song will you get you up and dancing, shaking it off along with Taylor!

I also thought that the bridge was a fun change from the rest of the song, while also flowing quite well with it. 

Week 11: "Tim Mcgraw" by Taylor Swift

This week, I chose to listen to "Tim Mcgraw" by Taylor Swift. I absolutely love Taylor Swift, old and new music, and so of course I had to choose this song! I am excited to hear more of the re-recordings, but for now, I listened to the original version. Some people don't understand the concept of the re-recordings, but I think that they're very important. She didn't get much of a say in her own music and didn't end up even being able to own it under her own name. With that, I like her more recent stuff more than her older music, but this song is still a classic. 

I grew up on Taylor Swift, and so have many people my age. Because of this, I'm sure that listening to this song feels nostalgic many. 

I don't usually like country music, but I definitely enjoy this song. Young Taylor Swift has such a sweet country twang that isn't overpowering like other country artists that we often see. 

I like that this song is acoustic, it lets the guitar and Taylor's voice isolate and shine on their own. As other elements are added, it is subtle and not all "in your face". 

Week 10: "What's Love Got to do With it"

 This week, I chose to listen to "What's Love Got to do With it" by Tina Turner. 

I like this song. By the time you get to the chorus, it is very recognizable. Her rasp in her voice adds a certain kind of touch to the song and adds emotion to the melody and lyrics. I like that the guitar strums happen every measure or so, up until the pre-chorus and such. It causes the focus to be more so aimed towards the lyrics and melody of the singer's voice.

The little interlude was fun and groovy. Not going to lie, it kind of reminded me of Animal Crossing and like music that comes from that. I haven't even played Animal Crossing. Anyways...

This song is so upbeat but also so chill at the same time, and I like that about it. I feel like I should be listening to this on an island in the middle of the summer. I think that is because of the beat and tropical feel to the song overall.

I would not say that this is my favorite song that I have done a blog on in this class, but that doesn't mean that I don't like it. 

Week 9: "Play That Funky Music"

 This week, I decided to listen to "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry.

I loved the intro to this song, I liked that it continued with that same vibe. It's so groovy! The vibe is so easygoing and fun, it's definitely enjoyable to listen to. The consistent beat and guitar melody makes it an easy listen as well, which is I can appreciate.

At the same time, the chorus still elevates the song to a different listen. Even upon my first listen, I was able to tell where the pre-chorus and chorus were supposed to be. This is because the style is very established. The song had a definite change for the pre-chorus, and flowed quite nicely into the chorus.

I thought the way that the lead singer sung was kind of fun. He has a rasp when he sings higher than usual, and I like that sometimes. It can add a sort of variety to a song. 

I loved the bridge, it was very upbeat. It took the song to another level and provided a good foundation for the chorus and then outro to follow. 

This is definitely among the longer songs of its era it feels like. In earlier days, I have gotten the vibe that generally songs are 2-3 minutes long, which can be considered short in our modern day. 5 minutes is usually decently long for a song. 

Week 8: "Satisfaction"

This week, I decided to listen to "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones.

I've known this song for a while, and it definitely felt familiar when I read the title. I feel like this song is a classic. It was good back in the day, and it is still good now! I found myself drumming my fingers to the beat when I was listening to it.

I saw a video a while back talking about songs that have gone viral lately, and it mentioned the fact that a lot of them have this constant down beat that we see in Satisfaction. I think that this element definitely adds to the number of reasons why this song has always been so popular.

I love the guitar throughout this song, I always have a great appreciation for fun guitar parts in songs. I have played the guitar since 8th grade, and my dad used to play the guitar on Sundays when I was a kid. I would dance around the living room to his playing. So the guitar has always been important to me!  Because of this, I tend to may more close attention to the guitar in songs that I show interest in. 

Week 7 - "If I Were a Rich Man" (From Fiddler on The Roof)

When looking at the songs to write about, I thought about choosing one of the songs in bold, as I tend to do. But when I saw "If I Were a Rich Man," I immediately chose that instead. During my senior year of high school, I was Tzeitel in our production of Fiddler On The Roof. Since I have some memories attached to this song, I thought that it would be more enjoyable to analyze it, rather than a random song that I found on a list. 

I love the storytelling that happens in this musical, and specifically in this song. Even through this single musical number, we can tell a lot about Tevye's character. He so deeply yearns for his family to have a better life than they do, even though he knows that he is already happy where he is. The simplicity of wanting more than you have is something that everyone experiences at some point.

I enjoy the raspyness in his voice, showing his old age. However, his voice is still strong, and he has a solid belt. I also love when he sings the little interludes of "Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum," it really adds to it. It shows how dedicated to their religion and lifestyle their family is. 

  "Sh-Boom" By The Chords

    This week, I listened to "Sh-Boom" By The Chords. I love this song! It always brings me back to watching cars as a child. This song also just has such good vibes, it's rather difficult to not enjoy listening to it. It's not even that long of a song, but it has everything that it could need. 

    I quite enjoy the solo sections of this song, I like that they were able to focus on certain elements, one at a time. I also really liked the harmonies. I am a sucker for good harmonies,))) and the harmonies in this song are great. I also feel like this song is straight to the point. It isn't too repetitive, nor is it too long or not cohesive at all. Instead, I felt like the verses and such flowed quite well and smoothly. 

    I've always thought fondly of this song, and I really do think that that is with good reason. I am also glad that this song was the one that was chosen for cars and that is currently more well-known. The Chords did a great job with this song. I can't complain about this one!