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"I Shot the Sheriff" By Bob Marley

 The song I chose to make my blog post on is the song, "I Shot the Sheriff" By Bob Marley. I chose this song because of the emotional and sentimental connection I have to Bob Marley. My dad used to listen to Bob Marley every single day, and this influenced my taste for older reggae music. I love this song for its simplicity and the short story Bob is trying to convey. What I am getting from this song, is that there is a man who was wrongfully hated by a Sheriff named John Brown. The sheriff pointed a gun at the man for unknown reasons, so the man killed him in self defense. The message I get from this is how law enforcement is given the power to do what they want in the name of the "law", and when they are the victims they are given the winning side most of the time because of their position in society. I really loved the grooviness of this song and its overall catchiness. The instruments sound so upbeat and happy when in contrast the message of whole song is about ...
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"What's Going On" By Marvin Gaye

 The song I chose to write my blog post on today is called, "What's Going On" By Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye was one of the artist I grew up listening to. One of my favorite songs from him would be "Sexual Healing", because of how good and catchy it is. After really listening to this song deeper than the usual, I have found that it has a strong message to be discovered. Marvin Gaye is using this song to bring light to the problems of the world during the time this song was made. In the case of this song, I believe Marvin was talking about the Vietnam War. He uses lyrics like, " Mother, mother,  There's too many of you crying.  Brother, brother, brother,  There's far too many of you dying" to explain the death of young men in America going to the Vietnam war and how mothers across the country had to deal with it. There were a lot of instruments heard, but I really thought the song wasn't for pleasure in a sense, but for spreading love throughou...
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"A Change Is Gonna Come" By Sam Cooke

  The song I chose to use for my listening blog is the song, "A Change Is Gonna Come" By Sam Cooke. I have heard this song many of times, and it holds sort of a monumental spot in my memory. The song starts with a beautiful 15 second build up of violins which leads to the start of Cooke's singing. I love how soulful Sam Cooke's voice is, and how you can hear the pain behind his voice. This song really stuck out to me because it sounds like someone going through many hard struggles, all while looking forward to change in the near future. The subtle trumpets in the background keep a smooth sound that worked great with Cooke's voice. I also love the incorporation of the calm violins within the song because to me, it sort of represents that good "change" the song is about. This is also a little off topic but the song cover, which is of Sam Cooke, looks like a presidential campaign poster which also adds to the feeling of change the song aims to shed light on...
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"My Girl" by The Temptations

 The song I chose to use for this weeks blog post is "My Girl" by The Temptations. The reason I chose this song is because of how long I have known the song, and the special place it has in my upbringing. My dad used to play this song at least once every time we would go out and cruise. The song begins with a smooth and mellow beat. I really love how the lyrics are so memorable you can remember the song in just a few listens. The voice of the David Ruffin (lead singer at the time) really worked hand in hand with the instrumental. The mixture of all the instruments was so simple, but the sound of it built a platform the singers could build off of. One of my favorite movies is actually The Temptations because of my love for their music. My favorite line from the song is, "I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day", which to me means the girl being talked about is the sunshine in a mans life through the stormy weather of his ups and downs. This song is for sure in my dail...
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"Nature Boy" by Nat "King" Cole

 The song I chose to make a blog post on this week was "Nature Boy" by Nat "King" Cole. I would say that the piano in the beginning of the song works just right with Nat's voice. The joining in of the guitar and bass gave the song an ominous and mysterious feeling, which supported the smooth voice of Nat. Overall, the song sounded like a lullaby you sing to children before they go to sleep. The short and sweet song even gave me a feeling of loneliness and the want for a true love. In this case, you could even put yourself in the nature boy's shoes. Throughout the song there was a slow and tranquil tone, mainly coming from the singers voice. The lyrics from the song that stuck out to me the most was towards the end of the song when he sings, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return." This cleared up all of the ideas I was wondering, trying to figure out what the song was about. From this, I could conclude tha...
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"Taking a Chance on Love" by Benny Goodman

 The song I chose to closely listen to and enjoy was "Taking a Chance on Love" by Benny Goodman. This song really caught my eye because I love to listen to old love songs. The trumpets together sound very soothing and compliment the singers voice very nicely. There was a good upbeat tempo that wasn't too fast or too slow, just the right speed for a love song. I like how there are not many lyrics but you get so much out of the story they tell. In this song, the singer tells the story of a person falling in love again. Towards the end, I heard the lyrics "I thought that cards were a frame-up, I never would try; But now I'm taking the game up and the ace of hearts is high..." and this tells me that the person didn't think he/she would fall in love again, but they are willing to take a gamble on another love. This really hit home because of how relatable it can be to millions of people. I really wonder how this song changed the love culture during the time i...
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"My Blue Heaven" by Gene Austin

 The song that I listened to and enjoyed was "My Blue Heaven" by Gene Austin. I really enjoyed this song because of how soothing and peaceful the song is. On top of that, Gene Austin's voice is sort of calm and delightful. It really makes me feel like I am living in the 1920's cruising in one of those old Ford cars down a beautiful neighborhood on a Sunday afternoon. It gets me thinking about how the people in those days acted and what their goals and morals were. None of the instruments were played in another way besides their traditional role. The piano was softly played like a background sound but seemed to work smoothly with Gene's voice. What really interested me was a line in the lyrics. The line reads, "Just Molly and me, And baby makes three, We're happy in my Blue Heaven." This verse interested me the most out of any of the lyrics because it emphasizes the message that gene is trying to convey, which is by having his wife or girlfriend (Moll...
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