Emotions and Meaning in music

Music and emotions go hand in hand. And for all of us certain songs trigger different emotions, for example my brother had the same CD's in his car when he was still in town and we would always take drives together for what ever reason and one of the CD's that was always playing was Red Hot Chile Peppers greatest hits. It got really repetitive but I didn't really mind because I enjoyed the time spent with him. Now every time I hear a Red Hot Chile Peppers song I can't help but think about my brother and the good times we had just driving around. This is just one example from my life where the semiotic chain connects music and emotion in my life, but here are some songs that also may be associated with common emotions.


Joy!

Young Blood- The Naked and Famous


This song is one of Naked and Famous's most famous songs. I think this is because of its up beat/catchy tune but also because of the similarity it brings out in all kids and young adults that just want to be free and live life. The song being the sign, the memories with friends from high school doing wild things being the object, and the wild/exciting emotions that come with is as the interpretant. Every time I hear this song I immediately think of my friends back from high school and particularly spring break and all the shenanigans we got our selves into. Its times like those that only happen a few times in our life and it creates an emotion of great joy and excitement in my life.




Sadness

Trouble- Cold Play




This song is both sad in its lyrics but also in its experience with me. First the lyrics, " I spun a web, it's tangled up with me, and i lost my head, the thought of all the stupid things I said"... "Singing, I never meant to cause you trouble, I never meant to do you wrong". In these few verses you can sense his heart ache and sadness towards the one he hurt. This experience can be found in all of our lives of people who we've hurt and looked back on and felt a real gut wrenching sadness about it. Personally for me this song makes me sad in a different sense. My junior year playing football for my high school I was starting safety and after our loss in the sectional game we were all pretty upset about it. All of our hard work throughout the summer and fall had come to an end in just a matter of hours. On the bus ride home I tuned into my ipod to try to escape from the sadness me and my peers were feeling. This was the first song that came on and it really summed up that whole night for us. In this example the song Trouble being the sign, the sectional loss the object, and the great feeling of sadness being the interpretant.



Anger

I Gave You all- Mumford and Sons


Most songs that people would associate with anger might be heavy metal or rock songs with really strong cords but this song is not of that group. It starts out slow and sad but turns to anger and frustration. I think this song does a good job of depicting a common anger we have in our lives. Sometimes we put ourselves our there and expose our feelings to someone and in the end they throw it back in our face and were left feeling hurt, sad, and finally angry. Its this progression from hurt to sadness to anger that many people feel after a relationship ends. Mumford and Sons does a fantastic job of depicting these emotions and allow us to make the semiotic connections to our own life and the relationships we've had.








Family

Home-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros




I love this song partiality because of its catchy lyrics and nice whistle solo but also for the overall theme of home is where your heart is. This saying has been around for ever and can be easily over looked. I played a lot of sports in high school and surrounded my self with fellow athletes and coaches. By doing this I created a pretty big family around me through my high school years. I trusted these guys, I protected these guys, and I grew to appreciate these guys. I put my heart into the sports I played and that ultimately was where my home and family was.




Sexuality (what it means to be a man)

Don't look back in anger- Oasis


This emotion or feeling was, in my opinion, the hardest to match with a song; and more importantly a song that is fairly popular. I picked this song for its lyrics and message of not looking back on past experiences with anger which I think is a very important quality for a real man to have. I was taught by my dad at a young age to turn the other check and not judge or hold grudges because at some point in our lives we will eventually wrong someone and we would hope to expect them to not hold grudges against us. Secondly I picked this song because it reminds me of an experiences I had in Wisconsin. There's a christian camp up in the north woods of Wisconsin that I have been going to every summer since I was born, literally. It was at this camp that I learned many valuable life long lessons, one of which was how real men should act. Not afraid to show emotion, loving and protecting, respectful, and God fearing. But the reason I associate this song with those teachings is because one summer I was on staff as a lifeguard and part of the lifeguards responsibilities at the end of the week was to clean the inn. This is easily the hardest and most time consuming job that there is to do at camp and none of the guards looked forward to it. But this particualr summer I was in one of the rooms cleaning the shower when all of a sudden the head guard put some music on for everyone to hear from the hall. This was the first time i heard this song and immediately my emotions went from anger and frustration to content and strength to finish my job. Its a weird connection I know but its starts out as me hearing this song (the sign) then me remembering my experience in Wisconsin ( the object)  and feeling happy. But it doesn't stop there because the new sign is the camp in Wisconsin, the object is the lessons I learned on how to be a real man, and the intrepretant is to not hold grudges, be respectful, etc.
   

Those are just some examples of how songs can relate to us and emotions and our life. Its through these kinds of songs that we can make semiotic chain  s that help us understand our selves.

Hello! And welcome to my blog. I'm already excited about this class and the people in it and I look forward to these two weeks. My name is Donovan McCloskey and I'm from Zionsville Indiana which is about 30 minutes north of Indy. Its a small town with a big school which I really enjoyed growing up. I have one sibling, my brother, and he's 22 and attends ball state university. It was all boys in my house, with the exception of my mom, so we were always involved in sports and outdoor activities, which i still have a passion for today. My dad was always good to us but always expected our best and wouldn't be content with anything less. I never really agreed with him all the time but looking back on it, I now see why he acted the way he did and now I've grown to appreciate it. But enough of that, here are some of my favorite songs that might help you gain an understanding of who I am.

 Who am I?

Animal-Miike Snow

I was recently introduced to this song but I was immediately hooked. From the vocal harmonies to the electronic influences I find it hard not to sing along and groove to. I also like this song because of its meaning and lyrics. I especially agree with the main chorus "I change shapes just to hide in this place but I'm still, I'm still an animal". I believe that we never change even how hard we might try to fit in or "hide". Our true selfs will always come out and we can never run away from that fact. I think this song pertains to me because I sometimes try to change my self to fit in but realize that it doesn't always work, and at the core of all of us is our true character. An Animal.

Where am I from?

Born in the USA 

Death to my Hometown -Bruce Springsteen

I pick two songs for this category both by the Boss because I don't think there are many better artist when it comes to singing about America and Patriotism. I was born in the USA and I love this country dearly and I also believe that this fine country is the best country. I believe in strong nationalism and every time I hear this song a passion inside of me is reignited. I also picked Death to my hometown for a couple of reasons. First I love the story it tells, that it isn't a war or invasion that is destroying this country but rather the people who run it and the people who don't respect this country like the boss does. I also like this song because of its Celtic tone/rhythm. My family's history is primarily Irish and we're very proud of it. I look forward to visiting my origins but I am also grateful for a country like this were an immigrant family from Ireland could come and be successful.

What kind of life I lead?

Second Chance- Peter Bjorn and John

Knee Deep- Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffet

Like I said I grew up in a house of mainly men and my dad always instilled in us the mind set of doing things right the first time. I think that he got this mind set because he was the youngest of six growing up on a farm and had to work his whole life and never got a chance to go to college because of it. Second Chance by Peter Bjorn is a good song of expressing this kind of mind set that I have grown to agree with. The lyrics "You can't can't count on a second chance, the second chance will never be found, You can't can't count on a second try the second try will never come around " explain that in this life we are never guaranteed a second chance so you have to take advantage of the chances we do get and make the most of it. This helps explains the kind of life I try to lead in the sense that I always put everything I have into what I do and believe in. I also put Knee Deep up there because even though I don't typically like country songs, I like this one for its laid back feel and soothing beat. It speaks a message that we all need to find a paradise in our lives and to just relax sometimes. I find this really applicable and sometimes necessary in my life.

What I Value?

Houdini- Foster the People

Take a Walk- Passion Pit

Looking back on my life and where I intend to be in the future I realize what values in my life that really stick out, and its these values that keep me who I am and keep me focused. In the song Houdini The lyrics " Raise up to your ability, I know that you wanna throw me into the sea for my ability. Focus on your ability (times 3)" speak a strong meaning of focusing on your ability no matter how much you would like to " disappear" because of what other people think of you. The second song, Take  Walk, is also representative of the life I value. In this world we live in we are always going to get knocked down, its just the nature of our lifes. But the important thing, and I think a quality that I posses, is to get back up and keep going. Like in the line " But then my patner called to say the pension funds were gone, he made some bad investments now the counts are overdrawn, Take a walk."


These are just some of my favorite songs that describe me and my taste