Ashlee Perrotta

November 25, 2008

Poetry of song, A

25 minute response!

Music has changed a lot over time. Not everyone has the same appreciation for music. The music that is produced this day in age is not very tasteful to many adults. Kevin Rudolph’s, “Let’s rock,” featuring lil Wayne has a great deal of figurative language expressed as do many songs of this time. In a whole the music taste that many young children have today represents our culture as trashy.

From my experience, with my taste of music, American culture in particular is not the best. Young teenagers usually listen to up beat, dance, or rap music for the most part. These songs are not always the cleanest of lyrics. Listening to lil Wayne’s verse in, “Let’s rock,” I picked up on some very vulgar terms. Lil Wayne says, “I can f**k you upI can f**k you down.” This is an example of how musicians today make the american culture look trashy. Songs like this one and these of lil wayne make our generation open to vulgarity. Things that would not be acceptable back in the day are all of a sudden okay in this day and age. Times are changing and every generation has a different taste in music. There are many gender rolls represented in this music. In the verse, “Yeah!Wayne's world Planet Rock Panties drop And the top And she gonna rock 'til the camera stop.” This verse is very sexist and sexual. Lil wayne is exemplifying how he would like to get this woman naked and take pictures of her, and “she gonna rock ‘til the camera stop,” shows that there is no respect for this woman. He has a player attitude. This is an example of gender roles in music today. The meassure to success is completing a goal. If his goal was to be a great rapper, knowing how to make money and spit beats, then he reached his success level. Success is not meassured in inches, but in the hardwork it took to accomplish the goal.

Rap music, pop music, and rock music are all different forms of music and although the message is not always clear, music affects certain people in many different ways. Although we do not all have the same music taste, there are no ways to avoid some of the more popular tracks. Since they are popular they are everywhere! It makes our culture look trashy in some sense because of how people sing or rap about some of the strangest things.

Dig

Incubus, an alternative rock band from Calabasas, California consists of 5 band members. These members are, Brandon Boyd (vocals and percussion), Mike Einziger (guitar), Ben Kenney (bass), Jose Pasillas (drums) and DJ Kilmore (turntables). Out of roughly 130 songs, and 6 albums, Incubus’ song “Dig,” released on March 27, 2007 and produced by Brendan O’Brien, peaked at #4 on the Modern Rock Tracks Chart, and has received huge airplay from alternative rock radio stations everywhere. In the song “Dig,” there are many poetic devices used clearly for the listener to identify.

Incubus’ song “Dig” is a complete metaphor for finding who you really are inside. In the verse, “We all have a weakness but some of ours are easy to identify,” states that we all have flaws; no one is perfect. Some of us like to hide the way we are while others have no prolem being completely up front. It is clearly illustrated with many similies, for example, “ I know you’ll act as a clever medicine.” This is showing that when “sickness turns my ego up” this person will bring them back to who they really are inside. Another similie that is illustrated is in the verse, “If I turn into another, dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me.” This illustrates that this person may somethimes put up fronts, but they have that one person that is there and can help them relate to the real person that they are inside. In the verse, “Remind me that we’ll always have eachother, when everything else is gone.” It is shown, that is you are all alione in the world and there is nothing else and no one else out there, they will always have eachother and be together. This person saves them and helps them realate more to the person that they really are and brings them back to their roots. “I know you’ll count on the me from yesterday,” demonstrates that the person that they are singing to counts on them and the person that they usually are and not the person that they are fronting to be. The real person is on the inside.

Incubus is an amazing alternative rock band, and their music is an inspiration and can truly influence people to experience life the way they are without having to change a thing. With their musical talents and abilities, Incubus continues to exert a fresh style within their music, which touches lives daily. Incubus deals with many poetic devices and always finds a way to put it into their lyrics.