How Songwriters And Musicians Are Affected By Lo Essay Example For Students

How Songwriters And Musicians Are Affected By Lo Essay cationThis Land is My Land: An Analysis of How Songwriters and Musicians are Affected by LocationThis land is your land, this land is my landFrom California To the New York IslandFrom the Redwood forestTo the Gulf Stream watersThis land was made for you and me. -Woody GuthrieAlthough the above lines, from Woody Guthries geographical classic This Land is Your Land, are deep-rooted in American Soil they still work as an excellent indicator of how a songwriters location can reflect the ideas and meaning behind the work that they produce. In Guthries case, life revolved around extensive travels throughout North America and therefore the images he conjures up represent a vast cross-section of geographical landmarks and natural representatives from several locales. His was the life of the traveler, never knowing one home for very long, and therefore it is quite obvious as to why his songwriting reflected that very lifestyle. Contrasting this, it can also be said that a finer understanding of a specific area can be achieved through a songwriters ability to concentrate on a single area and allow it to inspire all that they write about. Whether the influence on the songwriter is a positive or a negative one there is still something to be said for th e Canadian songwriter and his ability to convey a very strong sense of place in his/her songs. Whether it is the people of a particular city, an areas surrounding natural landmarks, or the main source of industry for a specific location, it can be said that Canadian songwriters are truly able to bring forth the true character behind their respective areas. For example, Neil YoungIt is very simple to listen to music without ever allowing yourself to actually hear what it is youre listening to, and based on this it can easily be understood as to why very few people ever realize exactly how large an impact a songwriters surroundings can have on their songwriting and the tone of their music. A prime example of this for Canada would be Bryan Adams. Early in his career Adams wrote songs that seemed to convey a true sense of nostalgia for, or inspiration from, the area from where he came- Vancouver, British Columbia. In his 1985 hit, The Summer of 69, Adams seems to be looking back fondly on his youth. The song truly has an air of yearning to it and the tone of the song, though fast-paced, is still a pleasant one that seems more based on fond recollection than regret. When I look back nowThe summer seemed to last forever. And if I had a choiceId just want to be there. Those were the best days of my life. This is a perfect example of what Adams songwriting was like before he became a star outside of Canada and achieved massive success in the United States. However, what he may have gained monetarily he lost in his sense of place. Now Bryan Adams, though still a Canadian, lives in Los Angeles and has homes all around the world. It has been several years since he lived in his native Canada and it shows in his songwriting. Whereas his songs used to inspire images and evoke memories, they are now reduced to empty hits that have no sense of location whatsoever. He may write one hit song after another but he has lost something in his ability to relate to his home, mainly because he is essentially without one. This can be seen clearly in Adams 1997 hit song The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me (Is You): The only thing I want. The only thing I need. The only thing I choose. Yeah the only thing that looks good on meIs you. Adams songwriting since his move from Canada in the late eighties has continued to become more and more laden with boring sexual innuendo and trite ramblings about his own overblown ego. Whereas he used to be a Canadian songwriter, he has, over the last eight to ten years become merely a songwriter from Canada. He has truly lost his sense of place and it shows. Over the course of this essay several Canadian bands will be used to prove just how much of an impact their location has had on their musics lyrical content and tone, in addition to their individual sounds. To make it as simple as possible to understand the differences in sound, one band from each of three Canadian locations has been chosen for analysis. Each location, no matter how near or how far their proximity from the others, is vastly different in many ways. From Canadas east coast, Newfoundlands Great Big Sea have been chosen; from the west coast, British Columbias She Stole My Beer; and from our own province of Ontario , Torontos Rush will be used. Each of these bands, through their music, work as perfect examples of how severe an impression geographic location can have on both lyrical content and sound. When discussing or pandering the characteristics of a city like Toronto, one is consistently pelted with images that reflect a fast-paced, hectic, heavily populated, industry-laden, concrete jungle. And therefore it is not with any great surprise that a band like Rush, formed in Toronto in the early 1970s, would make music and write lyrics reflecting that very lifestyle. Throughout their long-standing career Rush has been known to produce music of an aggressive nature. Heavy drums, driving and wailing guitars and pounding bass lines have become known as standard fare from Torontos most well known trio. The sound of Rushs music lives and breathes as a reflection of their surroundings while growing up and living in Canadas largest and most heavily populated city. Like the city itself, their music is also cluttered with a sound that can, at times, become almost overwhelming to the listener. Although the band consists of only three members they are somehow able to produce a sound that ca rries the intensity of a much larger group. Within their hard-hitting style you can almost hear the sounds of the city humming in the background. And if you listened carefully you would think that you could hear the harsh clangs, shouts and clatter of Toronto deep in the background of their music. But with a band like Rush, the effects of being from a large city run much deeper than just the music. Rushs lyricist, Neil Peart, born and raised in Toronto, is possibly the best example of just how much of an impact geographic location can have on what kind of lyrics a band or songwriter can produce. Timothy Zahn is one of Science Fiction's most reno EssayGreat Big Sea can be classified as a classical East coast band as they try and work the sound of their homeland into each and every song. Even though their songs are often fast-paced they are not a rock band- far from it, actually. Their sound is birthed from the very land that surrounds them, a land that seems to have little to do with modern technology. Therefore Great Big Sea are mainly an acoustic band; putting aside wailing guitars, heavy drums and synthesizers in favor of acoustic guitars, whistles, and traditional Celtic sounds. The lyrics to their songs also live and breath as a tribute to the area from where they came. Ive got a smile on my faceIve got four walls around me. The sun in the skyThe water surrounds me. Ill win now but sometimes Ill loseIve been battered but Ill never bruise. Its not so bad. Taken from their song Ordinary Day, these lyrics summarize all that Great Big Sea, the province of Newfoundland and the East Coast represent. The sound of the song is as light-hearted and whimsical as the lyrics. This type of song not only reflects the type of band Great Big Sea is, it also works as an accurate reflection of the kind of people who live in this area. The type of attitude conveyed in the song matches the type of attitude you would have to have if you lived in Newfoundland where jobs were scarce. The narrator of the song is telling the listeners to be glad for what they have (four walls around them) and to enjoy the beauty of the natural surroundings (sun, sky and water). The narrator believes that without the ability to appreciate these things the people who live in that area would begin to feel those same four walls start to close in on them. It is for this reason that they have to hold their heads up and not let their situation effect the way the feel. The narrator i s telling them that if they have faith in their natural surroundings they will eventually win what they have been deserved of for so long. Its a beautiful dayBut theres always some sorrow. Its a double-edged knifeBut theres always tomorrow. Its up to you nowIf you sink or you swim. Keep the faithAnd your ship will come in. Once again, as with Rush, Great Big Sea have acknowledged the duality of their location. The double-edged knife they refer to is a metaphor that could be utilized by almost any given sea in any given geographic location. The last band that will be discussed with the confines of this short essay is Vancouver, British Columbias She Stole My Beer. However, whereas both Rush and Great Big Sea were analyzed for both their lyrical content and sound, it seems that bands from the West Coast of Canada are best analyzed based solely on sound. Many bands from the west tend to use their lyrics to look within themselves for some kind of answer to a higher question, ignoring what is the earmark of their location- nature. The West coast is very likely the most picturesque and scenic area in Canada, yet most bands from the area seem to set it aside in place of heavy contemplation and over-symbolic personal insight. However, what they lack in lyrical content they more than make up for in musicianship. Much like the atmosphere and attitude in the west, the music these bands make is almost always listenable and, for lack of a better term, friendly. Much like the people of the west, the music composed seems, whether aco ustic or electric, to have an air of approachability to it. She Stole My Beer work as an excellent example of this as their music is able to hold onto a pleasant tone no matter what type of instruments they are playing. Like the area surrounding them they are able to be as loud as a rushing river or as hushed and relaxed as a mountains peak without ever making either of the two seem out of place or ineffective. Even though what they are singing about can oftentimes become confusing, the sound surrounding those lyrics is one born of the very area that they are from. Bands from the West coast of Canada are somehow able to convey more images and feelings with their music than they are with the words within it. As can be noted from the information herein, each area discussed has its own unique and distinct purpose. Whether it be Rushs intense confusing clang representing the industry/technology-laden area of Toronto and other large cities, Great Big Seas seemingly constant head-held-hig h homage to the East coast and its surrounding natural beauty, or She Stole My Beers easy-going musicianship reflecting the West coast, it becomes obvious just how severe an impact a band or songwriters geographical location has on the work that they produce. And even though each band from these three areas assumedly has its own individual sound and style they are all drawn toward their personal surroundings in their own way, whether it be the people or the landscape, and allow it to seep through into the music they create. Social Issues