During this week’s discussion we talked about a lot of familiar bands and artists…David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell. Even though they were familiar from their names I actually never really listened to any of them too much. Since I like rock/hard rock I’m not sure why or how I never got into Black Sabbath. I know just a few songs and I believe they have some songs on either guitar hero or rock band (which I used to play a long time ago). We talked about their album cover. It’s very dark and gloomy. It’s black with a red tint. It has a house, tree, and a man or a woman standing in the middle. We talked about the thunder, rain, and bell at the beginning of their song and how many other songs begin that way. Their music really emphasizes the guitar, it stands out and the drums do too. I know that Jimi Hendrix is famous for his amazing guitar playing. I think it is really different from anyone else’s guitar playing. I know his songs “Purple Haze”, “Foxy Lady”, “Voodoo Child”, and probably more I just don’t know all the names of them. In his videos I saw that he has a very unique clothing style, he can play guitar with his teeth or behind his head, and he set his guitar on fire and smashed it. I think it is pretty difficult playing guitar with your hands let alone with your teeth! I have no idea how he did it! We also talked about how some artists smash their guitar/drums/instruments after a show. When I see or hear that I can’t even look because I would never be able to smash one of my guitars. Even if it wasn’t an expensive one. When I see bands smashing their instruments I just think “Nooooo, why are you doing that??” Anyway, we also talked about Joni Mitchell and her song “All I Want”. The class gave their opinions about what they thought the song meant. It seems simple and we think we know what she is talking about, but do we? The song sounds like she is in a complicated relationship. “How you hurt me baby so I hurt you too then we both get so blue.” It sounds like she wants to make the relationship better and keep trying. She sings about so many things she wants to do for him, “be the one that you want to see, knit you a sweater, write you a love letter, make you feel better, make you feel free.” I liked hearing what everyone thought about the song and what they thought the lyrics meant. That is what I love about music, finding a meaning from the lyrics or relating to the music. It is also why I mention in all my other blogs that now, music isn’t as meaningful or thoughtful. Lastly I just wanted to talk about the Ziggy Stardust video we watched. I think the makeup and outfit did make him look more feminine. It was interesting how we talked about how other artists wore makeup and about the messages they send. Once I thought about it I know so many bands that wear makeup, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, KISS, Ozzy, Ratt, Cinderella, Poison, etc.