Soundtrack of My Life

Music is well known to cheer as well as to depress society. The main goal of music is to transmit a message through the use of a song. Sometimes it might be a very strong message, for example, racism, homosexuality, religion, etc. Or sometimes it might have a positive/ funny message, such as encouraging people to have a nice day and forget about all the problems they are currently facing. I personally enjoy listening to motivating music. This is why I choose “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony as my favorite song. I believe that I can majorly relate to this song, since I always try to be positive about life and enjoy life despite having to go through some bumps over the road. Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony took first place on the music charts for a very long time. This song makes me feel inspired and usually gives me positive vibes to start my day, it majorly affects my attitude, and helps me remember to live my life and forget all about the bad because we only live once.

Every song I’ve heard can to connected to a memory in my life. It doesn’t have to be an important memory; certain songs flash images of the radio playing while driving down highways or hearing a song playing in the background of a commercial. Others inspire memories like times I’ve danced with my family, or covered songs with friends. These are the memories I will hold on to forever, and I’ll do it through these

In a more recent time, I find the lyrics to songs very powerful and meaningful. Each song has a meaning, and every song I listen to can relate to my life. I mostly listen to very sad songs, and although it sounds disheartening, it’s what I can relate to the most. There was a time in my life when I was very lonely and unhappy. I had no one to relate to, except for when I found lyrics in a song. Music helped save my life, it was there even in the darkest of days.

One of my all time favorite songs is"Ohio" written by Neil Young. Each time I listen to this song, all I can think about are the riots that occurred in the 1970s protesting the Vietnam War. It makes me so angry that innocent people got hurt when they were simply expressing their beliefs. This song will always be one of my favorite protest songs, because even though it does not have many lyrics, if you think about them, they illustrate a story.

Whenever I hear the song ‘1926’ by James Kalet it makes me think of going to the skate park to bmx with the homies. In the song it says ‘me and my n***a in my room in the basement what do’... This reminds me of chilling in my friend's room and freestyling and rapping and going with the flow.

Rock music has been a large part of our lives since its origins way back in the 1940’s. It’s tone has advanced and changed to meet the needs of specific sub genres, but the message is the same throughout the decades; Rock music is a staple of American culture. Emo and Death Metal hit on the emotional strains of their listeners, while Christian Rock and Rock and Roll give a more positive and upbeat feel. Regardless of the tone, music has been proven time and time again to be directly linked to the brain’s pleasure system. Songs that release a lower level of dopamine have been proven to trigger negative emotions such as depression and anxiety. They are also more likely to cause an emotional connection between the listener, and the song. Other

The ability to portray a narrative through a song helps visualize the meaning of a unique story. Depending on the message the song delineates, can either put a saccharine smile on one’s face or generate a cascade of tears. The impactfulness of a story, especially through a song, provides meaningful lyrics which may relate to a dramatic event in a person’s life. Since the days of Native Americans singing songs and telling oracles, the lyrics a song possesses forms special stories that helps a person with their individual struggles in life. Therefore, people often refer to songs to revitalize an unpleasant day. Notable artists usually achieve significant success when they produce impactful songs that many can relate to. Their awareness

Forde’s essay relates this to musical repetition and the what/how the lyrics coach you. With the song “Happy” for example, the artist is directing you by saying: “because I'm happy, clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.” There is a direct correlation to the emotions a person feels with a song that allows you to bridge the gap of tedium and relive a song over and over again. This song elicits the same feelings we received from childhood classics you know and love like “If You’re Happy and You Know It (Clap Your Hands), or Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (223). According to Margulis, music with the right amount of repetition and lyrics can “capture the motor circuitry of the brain, so you have the sense that the music is really pulling you along. It can make people feel really happy” (Happy, 223). The delight you feel while listening to a summer song can help get bring you a feeling of euphoria, even if it only lasts as long as the song is

Certain songs resonate deep down within one’s soul. The reason may not seem clear, but particular songs cause an effect on a person when they are heard. Many songs cause this reaction, and even though a person cannot quite put his or her finger on the how and why, a person experiences this forever. A song can achieve incredible things. Whether the song lifts someone’s spirits, transports their mind to a time and place long since passed, or breaks their hearts, music is a constant. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” may have been overshadowed by the band’s songs “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”, but “Simple Man” takes a person back to their childhood, evokes hope, and reminds people that the things needed in life remain simple

“Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your life or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment” –Sarah Dessen. (Goodreads) Everyone has a go to song for every emotion, memory, and expression that they feel. If you could compose a soundtrack for my life it would consists of these four songs; “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” ”Teenage Dream,” “Heaven,” and “Laughed until We Cried”. Time flies, but when you listen to a particular song, you relive those days all over again.

Whether it is a child dreaming of higher ambition or a mother’s lullaby soothing all worries away, these experiences eventually become a distant memory in adulthood. The artists connect a similar nostalgic childhood theme that relates to most listeners. An example can be found in the line from Twenty One Pilots “When our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out” (10). Twenty One Pilots are insisting that childhood is less stressful than being an adult by using a positive memory felt during childhood. Lukas Graham also finds common ground with using the innocence and security of childhood, as demonstrated in the line “It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger” (4).

Some people remember things based on the date or who they were with, others tie their memories to specific emotion-filled moments, I remember everything based on what song was playing. I listened Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America”, off my brother’s first generation iPod, the first time my mom allowed me to bike alone through the neighborhood. Carpools home from rec soccer practice were filled with the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” and geeky dance moves, windows rolled down so everyone could see. Coming home from fencing practice and studying late at night was an accompaniment of Bruce Springsteen songs being quietly played on the piano by my dad. Whatever the memory, music permeates each and every one.

Catcher in the Rye was a phenomenal work of literature. The novel has been able to withstand the test of time without ever making it to the big screen. Now present day, with a movie of the bestselling novel coming soon, every detail must amaze the avid reader of the book. This includes: top-notch lighting, a flawless director, a plethora of A-list actors, outstanding scenery, and last but certainly not least, a breathtaking soundtrack. A soundtrack can completely devastate a movie. If there is a scene where a character is crying because they lost their friend, it would definitely be peculiar if the music in the background was “Can’t Touch This” by M.C. Hammer. Soundtracks tell the audience what to feel whether it would be fear or excitement. With a soundtrack playing a critical position in a movie, the songs that have been chosen have transcended more than just the scenes they are played in, and turned into the embodiment of some of the major themes in the movie.

Everyone in the world listens to music, no matter what genre it is. We all have our own certain preference. Certain songs we listen to can bring back a memory from our past. The memory can be happy or sad. The two songs that are my most favorite are “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas, and “American Noise” by Skillet. These songs bring back very special memories from my childhood.

According to Digital Music And Audio, “overall, the emotional effect of our favorite music has tended right towards the “happy medium and sad vibe’ ” so it seems to be more balanced.