Analysis: The Strokes

As a kid I always liked music. I got my first iPod when I was eleven years old. My first song was “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down, still one of my favorite songs to listen to in almost any situation ranging from trying to concentrate to just a chill-down song. My love for music has evolved over the years, being exposed to different genres of music such as rap/hip-hop and pop and I enjoy both. The only genre of music I don’t like and fully despise is country. I hate country music. But my favorite genre of all is rock. All good rock songs have similar qualities.

I spent the first ten years of my life, roughly, homeschooled and constantly around both my parents. During this time, I had no choice but to listen to whatever music they enjoyed playing drying the day, whether it was Seal in the car or Melissa Etheridge on the home stereo. Once I had struck my preteens, and with the help of my then high-school aged sisters, I was introduced to punk rock and hard rock genres of music. This became a new addiction for me; it felt rebellious, cool, in style and new. Eventually, it felt very repetitive and it seemed as if everyone was trying to emulate the same sound. So, after a short time, I began searching for music on my own. I bought Coldplay and Vampire Weekend albums, and was on the lookout for music with a more sophisticated feeling than what I had been listening to previously. I was then hopelessly addicted to music that I was discovering, and was proud to say I found my own style of music to listen to. After I received Coldplay’s album, “A Rush of Blood to the Head” as a Christmas gift, I would play it daily to

Rock and roll has developed a long way throughout the years from a dance craze in the 1950’s to a political and cultural landscape that is recognized worldwide. Rock and roll has come to define the roots of teenage rebellion, people who don’t follow the norms, and have disrespect for authority. The style of rock and roll itself is a melting pot of music, a combination of sounds that include jazz, country, blues, ragtime, gospel, swing, classical, and ethnic music. It can be a simple variation of three chords to a complex chromatic scale combination. It can convey emotions such as love, hate, fear, lust, sadness, joy, disillusion, or a strong sense of reality. Many things can be said about rock but the fact is that it is the most widely

music evolves, yet keeps its values intact. To many, rock music is an essential element of

Almost everyone will go through a breakup. Those who have been through a rough breakup may agree that heartache hurts. Individuals handle breakups in many different ways; some might become depressed, stop eating, or even overeat. In Aaliyah’s “I Don’t Wanna” and FeFe Dobson’s “Can’t Breath”, each artist expresses their emotional response to handling a breakup. Each are fighting to hold on to the relationship and not wanting to believe that the relationship is actually over.

And rub it in so deep, salt in the wound like you're laughing right at me

One band some may know that was a popular grunge band in the 90’s was Nirvana, which consisted of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic. This band was most popular for their hit album “Nevermind”. “One of their most popular songs on this album, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, has been and always will be a rebellion anthem for adolescents, empowering them. This message and it’s meaning make this one of the most popular songs by this band to date.”

Moving on forward, the text clarifies that the reason for the narrator being in this bar whilst as drunk as the song implies, is because of a woman that left him two nights ago.

The average rating was 5 stars. I chose this song because again it was so mysterious because he never states what he wishes he knew, making you guess what he wants to

Parts that I think still need work are dynamics. I did not hear a big difference throughout the song. Also at the beginning it was not solid. Successes that I had in this piece are that I for the most part stayed

These lyrics express that the speaker in the song is trying to help and love someone, but the other person does not believe they deserve it, and does not believe it is true because of her depression. Another line of lyrics in the song, “Oh, Miss Believer, my pretty weeper/ Your twisted thoughts are like snow on the rooftops” (15-16), represents that the woman’s thoughts are weighing her down and hiding who she truly is. This song focuses on depression and how it warps one’s mind, hides one’s true personality, physically and mentally weighs one down, and how ones does not believe the compliments one receives because one does not believe they could be

My mother was born in 1950 in Brooklyn; she grew up with Beatle-mania and after medical school moved to Greenwich Village to live amongst the beatniks. Thus, growing up listening to The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones, I knew one thing to be true: rock ‘n’ roll. These bands have been decisive parts of my transition to adulthood and have followed me throughout my life, coming in and out like crashing waves. I have spent months listening solely to The Beatles in awe of their virtuosity, hoping it will transfer to me. When I moved home back from South Carolina at the end of this summer, I began to have a profound re-obsession with The Velvet Underground. It seems everyone has their story about how this band has influenced them, for me it was a few bars into Rock & Roll. I listened as a young girl to Lou Reed's lyrics: "She started shakin' to that fine fine music, You know her life was saved by rock 'n' roll." And I too, felt I found my salvation.

A few lines that empaphasize this in the two songs is “I’ve got your memory, or has it got me” (line 15) from “She’s got you” and “You want her, you need her/ and I’ll never be her” (81-82) in “I hate you, I love you”. It’s about missing someone. That’s the main idea throughout both of these songs. The lyrics said just earlier are probably the largest idea behind what it was saying that part finally gets the word across. The rest of the song are just little hints to what the song is talking about. An example of this is “The only thing different, the only thing new/ I’ve got the records, she’s got you” (7-8) in the song by Patsy Cline. An example of this in the other song is “It hurts me every time I see you/ realize how much I need you”. They are explaining it in different ways but it still has the same idea behind

The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most influential bands in the 90’s their timbre often fell under alternative rock. Musical preferences are formed at an early age, unknowingly the people in your environment help develop how partial you are to any genre. Growing up, my mom, and older sister listened to a variety of diverse progressive music. So majority of that exposure helped me at an early age identify what kind of “tone colors” I preferred. It makes it easier to pick the type of music you enjoy the most. Alternative rock, Synth, Goth Rock, Metal, Pop just about anything with a beat is ok to listen too. I just observed that Alternative Rock, and Synth Pop are a theme to most of my playlists. Certain bands take you home, there’s a sense of nostalgia that’s associated with certain bands. For myself The Smashing Pumpkins take me to a place in my mind, where its going to be ok, on a rough day that’s all I can do to get by. The reason being is I’m diagnosed as manic depressive with a bipolar disorder. Which means I suffer from a mental illness that is more common then most people realize. However, it is hard to talk about, your just different, and that’s not a bad thing. Some days you feel like it is the worst thing in the world, and I’ve been taught many coping mechanisms to deal with myself. The first cassette tape I ever received from my mom who is also a lot like me suffering from depression as well, was a Smashing Pumpkins tape of their 1995 album Mellon

This stanza indicates the singer is sorry for not trying harder for his partner or friend. When he tried to tell them about his problems he found it “strange” that he could never explain to them. In the end that person left him. When he tried to get them back, he couldn’t move and watched as they left