Song Analysis: Back Home By Owl City

-by Christina anu, written by: Neil murray, and Warumpi Band in 1986, My Island Home, sydeny, 2000.

In life, there are many times where an individual may feel alone. Personally, this past week can attest to that notion. Moving into a college dorm, saying goodbye to my loved ones, and taking on a new chapter in my life, have all been accompanied by a new set of emotions that I have never felt before: homesickness, freedom, peer-pressure. However, looking around everyone seems happy, and it feels as if I am trapped in a space that no one else appears to be in. But, internally they may be battling the same struggles that I am. That is what can be drawn from “The Wisdom of Sociology: Sam Richards at TedxLacador,” the idea that behind the facade, our personal struggles are all connected.

Music has played a large role in my life for some time, now. My musical interests vary, greatly as I try to appreciate each and every song equally. I believe this because I know that each artist creates this work of art which takes a great deal of time and effort. With that being said my ten songs, for the most part, a bit different from one another, but they are each very special to me in their own way. I would place these songs in the ‘indie’ category. My older sisters introduced me to this genre of music at a young age. I appreciate them for this because I would not listen or know the songs I cherish now, without them exposing it to me. I chose these songs because of that reason. Both of my sisters, Cristine and Gabriela, have been great

Each decade comes with a new set of values, morals, and judgements. The 1960’s was the start of the breakdown of carried-on norms. The younger generations were aggressively expressing themselves with promiscuous clothing, hippy music, and ideas of new freedoms for genders and race. “The Harper Valley P.T.A.” is a narrative song written by Tom Hall to make a statement about the growing display of hypocrisy in small towns. Hall wrote the song in 1968 after a true story he had heard as a child in his hometown. Harper Valley P.T.A. shames the hypocritical leaders for deeming others immoral for their flaws.

I never thought I would be labeled an outsider, a misfit even. As I trudged my way through the halls of my small town high school, I would endure the gazing pairs of eyes, that belonged to my peers, followed by whispering and often times some laughter. I always used zone out during those repetitive speeches and commercials about the effects of gossiping and rumors; never did I imagine that one day I would be on the receiving end of of the everyday potshot. Growing up I was always the center of attention, the one everyone yearned to be friends with, never was I the antisocial child in the corner with nowhere to turn… not until high school. They say high school changes you. They say high school accounts for some of the greatest years of

According to Statistics Canada in the 2011 census, Midale, Saskatchewan has increased its population by 21.6%. This is an incredible response from the 2006 census where Midale had seen a drop of 6.9% from the previous census. Of course, this may be due to the recent development of oil resources in the area. Nevertheless, it could possibly be due to the tenacity of the farmers in the area that are reflected in singer/songwriter, Brad Johner’s, song, The Farmer’s Back. Midale was incorporated as a town just about 115 years ago. Agriculture has been an important resource since its beginning. Johner grew up in this area of southeast Saskatchewan and writes about his fond memories and rural lifestyle in many of his songs.

If you had to make a choice with nothing to choose from, how could you choose? Would your choice be the right decision since their is no guideline to your future? Listening to music can relieve stress and even a provide a guideline to the right choices. In the book The Outsiders written by S.E. Hinton, the Curtis brothers and other greasers have difficult choices they encounter that relate their life to the song "Give Me Back My Hometown" by Eric Church. The song relates to the actions of the boys, the dreams the greasers have of becoming better, and the need to own the streets in their area.

In today’s generation, songs are often recognized for their catchy beats, voices, and instruments that make captivating sounds. However, the band “Twenty-One Pilots”, has impactful songs which include all the aspects young adolescents enjoy. While 2015 album, Blurryface, was a was sucessful “Stressed Out” was the band’s most eloquent song. The song’s lyrics allow many adolescents, and young adult the ability to find a particular song that they can relate to. relate to people in the world today.

To me, I was just a helpless little 7-year-old that they had ripped me away from his friends, family, home and life in Costa Rica, a relatively unrecognizable, spanish-speaking country in Central America, and moved to this rural, musty little town in the middle of nowhere, Texas in who cares, USA. We had had this same overly-emotional conversation 2 dozen times before-or that’s what it seemed like at least-but it was this 25th time that convinced me that if I didn’t choose to adapt to my new environment by becoming more outgoing and extroverted then I would end up becoming some outlandish, depression isolationist who was not useful to any aspect of society, and that thought, to this day, is the most terrifying thing I have ever

Being away from home for the first time and having to start over and make all new friends can be both exciting and intimidating at the same time. When I first moved into my freshmen dorm at UNCW three years ago, I was certainly feeling this rush of emotions. I was excited to meet new people, but also scared I wouldn't make any friends who I connected as well with as my high school friends. I was especially nervous about having to live with a roommate who I hardly knew. I had always heard horror stories from my older friends and family members about having a crazy roommate who they just couldn't get along with. Fortunately, my roommmate Kelly and I became great friends and were not only able to survive freshmen year of college, but continued to live together all four years of college. This transformation in our relationship from virtual strangers, to the best of friends can be explained by Charles Berger's Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Uncertainty Reduction Theory is the assumption that when strangers meet, their primary concern is one of uncertainty reduction or increasing the predictability about the behavior of both themselves and others in the interaction. We are motivated to search for this information for one of more of three reasons - anticiptation of future interaction, incentive value, and deviance. With Kelly my motives were mostly based on anticipation of future interaction. Not only would I see her again, but I would have to interact with on a daily basis on a

At first listen, “Breezeblocks” seems like an ordinary “trip-folk” style of music by the foursome also known as Alt-j, but if you listen closer it is discernible that the lyrics go much deeper into the psyche of someone deeply in love and what happens when the love is not reciprocated.

Around the holiday season, it is Christmas music that offers help in bridging the gap felt by those separated from their loved ones. Arriving two years into a world war whose end was nowhere in sight, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, as sung by Bing Crosby, is one of these songs in particular that stands out for military families. Written in 1943 by Kim Gannon, then later recorded that October 4th, it is sung from the perspective of a World War II soldier serving overseas. The wistful lyrics and melancholy tone of the piece prompt listeners to wonder what home truly is and what it must be like for those who are unable to return during a time at which there is added pressure to make the trip. By looking at the lyrical background of this song and the context in which it was written, one can see that home is much more than a merely physical construction, specifically for those away from it during times of war.

Coming into Trinity I was scared and nervous about the prospect of meeting new people, making new friends, and doing well in my major. I believe this quote by Marilynne Robinson describes my emotions before coming to college, “I would say, for the moment, that community, at least community larger than the immediate family, consists very largely of imaginative love for people we do not know or whom we know very slightly.” As I entered college I knew meeting people would be hard, because I am not outgoing. Instead, I thought to myself I will know the girls on the soccer team and that will be nice. This imaginative love I had for my team grounded me and made me a little less afraid of what was to come.

Positively 4th Street written in 1965 is a song that is folk rock. In this song, Bob Dylan used this song to point fingers at his folk establishment he felt that unfairly criticized him. To me, that’s pretty cool because now days, artists wouldn’t have the power to do that, with facing the chance of losing that record label. In this song I heard some different kinds of musical elements. Another fun fact is the main cause of the music establishment for reacting negatively to this song was all due to him having the use of electric instruments being played. After a short 4 measure introduction, Dylan plows away at verse after verse, all based on the same eight measure harmonic pattern. The song concludes with part of a thirteenth through a chord

As the power of a song resides completely in its lyrics, it is no longer surprising that music can be healing, inspiring, or even motivating. After introducing this insight to my life, it became very rare for me to listen to any Imagine Dragons’ song without it leaving an impact on my life and my perspectives. Imagine Dragons is a rock band whose music tends to address both personal and social issues. It’s Time, one of their biggest hits and most influential songs, was written by the band’s lead singer Dan Reynolds during a difficult time in his life. “ I was not very happy with who I was, I guess, and I wanted to make some changes” says the singer in an interview with Purevolume , in which he addresses It’s Time as a poem he wrote to express