As I said in class, I really like Michael Jackson’s music but didn’t know too much about him. I knew he started out singing very young, he was a very talented dancer, he was black then his skin was white, and that he was involved in some incident with a baby. I know at least one of his songs are on rock band or guitar hero. He was also called The King of Pop and sold millions of albums. Michael has a very distinct voice. When he is singing you have to know it’s him. I can honestly say I’ve never heard a voice like Michael’s before. Michael’s voice is smooth and he can hit some extraordinary notes. He has this powerful, strong, and a little bit raspy kind of voice. He is a natural singer. You also know it is Michael singing because he always said Eeee heee! His music videos are interesting. I like his videos because it grabs your attention and they are actually about something. They are all different and have something unique about them. Today a lot of music videos really don’t have a meaning or anything interesting about them. They mainly focus on “the looks” of the artist. Music videos today seem like they are all the same. They don’t tell a story or pull you in, wanting to see what is next. Michael’s videos are creative and artistic. I love all the dancing he does. He is awesome at moonwalking! For my senior variety show I was in a group dance. We did about 3 or 4 different songs and one of them was Thriller. We tried our best to do it the way they did it in the video. It was actually way harder than I expected! It took a ton of practice. I know a lot of Michael’s songs but some of my favorite songs by Michael are “Thriller”, “Black or White”, “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, “Smooth Criminal” and “Bad.” I don’t know how you can’t get the urge to dance or sing to Michael’s songs. I think they are some of the best dance songs because of the beat. Not only do you pay attention to Michael’s voice but to all the sounds in the background. A lot of them are fast paced, they are dance songs! I think if he was still living today he would continue to make amazing music, unique and different from anyone else. I would have really liked to have gone to one of Michael’s concerts. It would have been amazing! He was a great entertainer and singer.

Not that long ago I could not stand country music. Every time it would come on the radio I would start making noises as if I were in pain or change it as fast as I could. If I was shopping somewhere, with friends, parents, whoever…and country music came on I would immediately look at them and say, “We need to LEAVE!” Of course I was not that serious about it, just joking around but I really did not like country music. I think the reason was that I just heard Taylor Swift all the time. Her music was played constantly and it still is today (she’s more pop than country today). My outlook on country music completely changed a few years ago when I heard “Cruise” on the radio. Cruise is by a band called Florida Georgia Line. They are the first country band and country songs I really liked. Some people say they are “way too country” and they can’t believe I listen to them but I absolutely love their music. My fiancé was really into rap music and sometimes rock but he would never listen to country either. Now, I can’t help but laugh because when we are in the car not only does he listen to country music but he knows more songs than I do and sings along to them! We went to our first country concert last summer at the Clearfield Country Fair, to see Florida Georgia Line. I’ve been to several concerts before, pop concerts, rock concerts, etc. but they were not like this one. My fiancé has not been to many concerts, just to a few rock concerts with me but we both had the same thoughts about the crowd and atmosphere at this concert. There was a great deal of people dressed “country” and MOST people around us were drinking beer. Before the show even started too many people were too drunk to even stand up. They were acting crazy and not caring what they did, not caring if they bumped into you, or if you saw what they were doing. It is like that at other concerts too but you kind of just had to be there to feel the difference. The concert and the music was great. They sound exactly like they do on their cds. They are very talented and entertaining. Anyway, the country songs we listened to in class were not the kind of country songs I would listen to particularly but they were okay. Some of them were really meaningful and I like that about songs. I think some country songs are actually really sad. One of the great aspects about some country music is that it does have real emotion, real meaning, or great dance/party music. They aren’t all about beer, girls, or trucks. Now that I think about it, I actually listened to quite a few country songs when I was younger. I had one of the Dixie Chicks albums and had mixed cds with country songs on it that my aunt made me. I do think people should give country music a chance like I did (listen to Florida Georgia Line!!!!) There are some very unique voices, cool electric and acoustic guitar playing, and interesting lyrics. I found some artists and songs I really like and I think they could too. I never thought I would like it so much!

When I was in high school I was labeled or thought of as a punk or “emo”. Probably because I wore black all the time…black shirts, black jeans, black shoes and I listened to different music than most people. Maybe it was because I got in trouble at school a lot (not major trouble) or they thought I had a “rebellious attitude”. I didn’t think of myself as a punk. I thought I knew about punk music but after talking about it in class, I don’t think I really did. Punk started as garage bands. We talked about the different kinds of art…the plain picture of the banana that was actually pink inside and the art that was peed on that showed different colors. I thought it was really cool to see the virtual tour of the NYC club that hosted the first punk bands. The stage was very small and there were papers and memories all over the walls, everywhere you looked! Patti Smith’s song Gloria was very simple. It was only three chords so it was easy to play. I personally did not like the song, it’s not my style. I think because I am religious and have strong beliefs is part of the reason. Also I think I can only stand a certain amount of ignorance. Just meaning that I like songs that can be rebellious or make a point, sometimes it is just harder to listen to some of the words in some songs than others. It makes you feel a certain way. But I do believe every person has their own thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. In class we talked about how some songs were banned in some places. All the punk songs we listened to didn’t appeal to me musically because I really like listening to what the instruments are doing in the background, powerful solos, deep/meaningful lyrics, and uniqueness of voices. This past few week’s material has been very interesting because we went from Folk Revival to New Wave. We covered Funk, Motown, British Invasion, Psychedelic Rock, Surf Rock, Studio Rock, British Blues Revival, Rock, Acid Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Soul, Singer/Songwriter, Glam Rock, Disco, and Punk. There are so many genres! They all bring something unique to music. I discovered many songs I like, heard a lot of old and new songs, and learned a lot along the way. All the time now I get one of the songs we listened to in class stuck in my head.:)