I just wanted to saying that I love the music project so far. I’m finding it fascinating how the war has influenced music so much. It’s nice once in a while (or more often!) to take the time to really break down a song and think about it. I wish I had more time so I could look at more songs and see if they connect to a war in any way; I think a lot of stuff would.
I’m willing to bet that everyone in the world has been influenced by war, even those who don’t think so. We think about war from a mostly political or ethical standpoint, almost never from a musical one. This project we're doing really goes to show that war creeps in and infiltrates each potion of our lives, leaving nothing untouched. Music is more than humming in the car, it’s more than a tune, it’s more than poetry; it’s a part of life. As much as breathing and sleeping and eating, music is there. So it makes sense that if war is in life and music is in life, then music and war will go hand-in-hand. It’s only a matter of time.
Still, even though it makes sense in that way, it doesn’t make sense completely. How could you sing about something that had been so painful? For some it might be that they have to sing about it, but for others I think it would be really hard. It’s like the dancing girl in The Things They Carried, she was able to dance even when life was basically awful. In those times, it’s possible to dance, just as it’s possible to sing, but not everyone can do it. Realizing this makes me have even more respect for the musicians who put their hearts to music. We will always be indebted to them.
I can’t wait to see everyone’s presentations, they should be awesome!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
elise-
ReplyDeletethis is a wonderful post. i agree with you 120%. the war has influenced everyone, even if it may not seem so. as you wrote in my post, i guess we both have to live with being over-analytical. but i guess thats just fine (: happy blogging!
Elise:
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you bring up connections made in class to this post. It seems that nowadays everything is connected to everything in some way or another, whether those things are complicated or simple. I also believe that it is also great to see and analyze something other than written text, too.
When you brought up singing about painful things, it made me think about what the definition of music is. I think that, on a basic level, it is a form of expression. During war, there are strong feelings of grief, sorrow, pain, all strong emotions that bring about expression. That's why I think there are so many texts written/performed about war.
Good point Kolin, especially in the second paragraph. It makes a little more sense now, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karin too, for your vote of confidence. :)