Beast Of Burden by the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones’ understanding of human relationships puts Dr. Phil to shame.

Throughout their career, they have expressed the meaning of conflicts, feelings and insecurities in relationships. Often, these songs have seemingly simple subjects, but many speak on a much deeper levels.

The Rolling Stones, in their most famous song “Satisfaction,” describes not a chauvinistic character that is bragging about his conquests but rather describes the feelings of regret in unsatisfying meaningless sex acts. “Under My Thumb,” another famous Rolling Stones song is not about man putting down a woman he has complete control over but is about man who has been put down himself, overcompensating to his listener in an effort to regain lost masculinity. And “Beast Of Burden,” one of the Rolling Stones most interesting songs is abotu much more then a guy trying to convince a girl to make love to him.

The Rolling Stones featured “Beast Of Burden” on their fourteenth album, Some Girls, which they released in 1978. They bounced back from inner turmoil to create one of their best albums critics called a classic return to rock form. “Beast of Burden” the second to last song on Some Girls in some ways a typical rock song. The song has the traditional rock instrumentation of two guitars, bass and drums set. Also like many other rock songs, the form of this song is built on a repeated four-chord guitar riff. What is unique in the song is how these instruments work together within the traditional rock set-up.

Charlie Watts plays the drums like a driver holding back a team of horses. He keeps a strong a solid tempo as the other instruments push ahead and pull back. Watts is an understated player who does not bring attention to his playing. His fills are simple like in the end of the first guitar riff after he enters. All he does for this fill is play two snare drum hits on off beats providing the perfect amount of momentum. Along with Bill Wyman on bass, Watts creates a solid foundation as the guitar and vocals create tension and release within the beat.

Thirteen years earlier, in the song “Satisfaction” Keith Richards helped define the guitar riff driven song by maintaining the same guitar riff throughout most of the song. However, in “Beast Of Burden” he breaks away from the riff but as soon as the vocals enter. He duets with Ron Wood, the other guitarist, like two people dancing. They provide colors and motion while outlining just enough of the guitar riff to maintain the harmonic structure and keep the shape of the riff in our ears.

Then there’s Mick Jagger. Though he does not have a pretty voice or a wide range, he deliberately works every single note to bring expression and meaning to the text. Listening to the first line of the song “I’ll never be your beast of burden,” Mick turns the notes and words into a desperate and yearning statement. He starts softly with “I’ll never” and then digs in to “be” with a quick fall off in the pitch expressing his exacerbation as he desperately tries to explain himself. Then he rises up to “beast,” and slightly lingers on the final consonants rising up at the end of the note, which Mick mirrors on the word “burden” in which he emphasizes “bur-“ and pulls back on “-den.”
All of these stylistic touches bring the notes and lyrics alive. Mick Jagger methodically exploits ever aspect of his voice to color the meaning of the songs that he sings.

The instrumentals and vocals elevate the sound of the music beyond the rock form and the meaning of the lyrics transform the song into a beautifully honest piece of art. A “beast of burden” is an animal like a donkey or an ox that people use to transport loads or do other heavy work. Throughout this song, Mick states he will not be a beast of burden in the relationship. He will not do all the work, he will not be subservient to his partner and he refuses to do anything for this person. At the same time, Mick reflects that he has been doing beast-like work to get his partner to make love to him, “my back is broad, and it’s a hurting . . . I’ve walked for miles, my feet are hurting.”

He asks if he is hard, rough, tough and later rich enough, but he knows the answer as he immediately follows his questions with “I’m not too blind to see.” He is fully aware that she will not change her mind but he asks anyways, pointing out all that she is rejecting.

Later in the song he states his case (about 1 minute and 55 seconds in).

You can put me out on the street
Put me out with no shoes on my feet
But, put me out of misery

Yeah, all your sickness, I can suck it up
Throw it all at me, I can shrug it off
There’s one thing baby that I don’t understand
You keep on telling me, I ain’t your kind of man

He will do anything for her and he doesn’t understand why she will not accept him. He knows what he wants from her, he knows he will do anything for her and he also knows that it will never be enough. With this understanding, he states that he will not be her “beast of burden” because it will not change her mind. It is more important for him to have his dignity without her then be half a man with her.

In relationships, you don’t want to be with someone who will do anything and everything to make you happy. First off, other people can’t control your happiness and second, a person who acts subservient to your needs is not acknowledging his or her own feelings which contributes to a foundation of emotionally equality in the relationship.

The Rolling Stones began making music in a time when men were firmly in power in male-female relationships. Through the sexual revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, things changed and society questioned the roles of men and woman in relationships. What is important to remember in examining relationships is that as independent as women need to feel, men need that same assurance. Yes, men are still in power in our society but society often portrays men as needing woman to save them from their irresponsible sexual behavior and their inability to be emotionally mature (i.e the current Trojan condoms “Evolve” campaign”).

As “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor is an anthem for woman to feel strong and free after being dumped, “Beast Of Burden” is an anthem not only for men but also for anyone who have realized their own self-worth.

Some songs I love because of the feelings they bring up, or the memories that they remind me of, but what I truly love about “Beast Of Burden” is how good it feels. As much as I’ve explained this song, you have to experience it to truly understand what its about. You can tell a friend about skiing but unless the feel that wind in their hair and the cool mist of snow in their face they have no idea what they experience means.

So please, if you got a guitar play this song, it’s easy to learn, see how it feel under your fingers. If you don’t, stand up, dance with the music and sing with Mick. Only when you’ve felt that groove in your body, and the yearning in your own voice will you understand the greatness of this song and maybe why I love this song.

Stayin' Alive by The Bee Gees

Look at the photo of the Bee Gees above. Go ahead and laugh, it’s ok. I’m right there with you, there is something that is inexplicably comical about that photograph. Maybe it’s the gold leisure suits with the pants that don’t leave much to the imagination, or maybe it’s the unbuttoned jackets that reveal gold medallions, hairy chest and abdominals that aren’t exactly six-packs (or any other kind of pack for that matter). Even though we look at these photos of the Bee Gees in their disco attire and chuckle at Barry’s intense glare, disco music in an undeniable part of our culture, which continues to influence the American musical landscape.

Disco music is one of the great melting pots of musical genres. It developed in dances clubs pulling together influences from jazz, classical, Latin, soul and funk music. From jazz music came horn sections, from classical music came full orchestras, Latin music influenced the way the percussion was organized while soul and funk music added syncopated bass lines and characteristic singing styles. Disco flourished in the early 1970s but it was the film Saturday Night Fever in 1977 that cemented disco into American culture and reintroduced the world to the Bee Gees.



Saturday Night Fever is a film about Brooklyn youth who during the day struggles with his job, family and relationships during the night is the king of the Disco dance floor. John Travolta played the youth, Tony and the film cemented Travolta as part of the American cultural consciousness.

The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever features music by the Bees Gees as well as other disco groups including Kool & The Gang and KC & The Sunshine Band. The Bee Gees had hits on this album including “How Deep Is Your Love,” “More Than A Woman” and “Jive Talkin’” but it is the opening track “Stayin’ Alive” that most people identify with this soundtrack and the film.

The Bee Gees consisted of three brothers, Robin, Barry and Maurice (left to right in the photo) from Great Britain. The brothers had some moderate hits in the 1960s and developed their musical style in the 1970s while maintaining the great sense of melody and interesting lyrics that endear them as one of the great song-writing groups in popular music.

Saturday Night Fever opens with “Stayin’ Alive” accompanying Tony as he struts down the street. We see Tony looking around like a king surveying his kingdom. He grabs a some pizza, puts down some cash for a shirt he wants to buy later and tries to pick up a girl on the street. Here is a man that is out on the town and in control, but then we realize why he is holding a paint can as he is walking down the street: he is picking up paint for his job at the hardware store. In this opening, we see the dream that are in his strut, the beat that is in his head and the reality of his life. “Stayin’ Alive” greatness comes from its ability to capture the glory of escapism against the reality of life.

The opening instantly creates a dance club feeling with the opening guitar that creates a rhythmic groove accenting offbeats against the strong downbeats in the drum part. Strings enter in the introduction while the brass, bass line, and other instruments enter later in the song. This song creates a rich and deep texture due to the variety of instruments, which featured live musicians as opposed to synthesized sounds. There is no denying that there is great dance music that uses exclusively synthesized sounds but they lack a certain warmth that can be heard in “Stayin’ Alive.”

The first line, “Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk” is a overconfident statement of masculinity. In addition, many people think the rest of the song is an extension of this, however the song goes a very different direction

Music loud and women warm,
I’ve been kicked around since I was born.
And now its all right. its ok,
and you may look the other way.
We can try to understand the New York Times effect on man.

The narrator comments on the fact that he feel he has had it tough since he’s been born, but it’s ok he can shrug it off. He brings up an oddly intelligent statement about the New York Times, which reflects an attempt to relate to the person he is talking to and understand his own life.

If you change the words “Stayin’ Alive” to the “surviving,” the meaning of this song becomes much more clear. The chorus comments on how everyone is trying to survive while feeling the city and the other people working to keep up. The second verse reflects extends these ideas.

Well now, I get low and I get high,
And if I can’t get either, I really try.
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes.
I’m a dancin’ man and I just cant lose.

Even though dancing saves the narrator from his struggles it isn’t enough and in the bridge he calls for help, “Life going nowhere. Somebody help me.” During this part of the song, Barry drops from his high falsetto (head voice) into a lower voice. This voice is more honest and real while the falsetto comes across as someone showing off. The song ends with this call for help, which is a haunting reminder of the struggles that we all sometimes feel.

This song may sound typically disco but it has layers of meaning that reflect not only Tony but also people of the time who struggled as people do know to escape the monotony of life. It’s remarkable that a song that talks about escapism through dancing can provide the soundtrack for people to do just that.

Disco had a rough death in America. Many artist like The Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand and other artists who had no business doing dance music made disco records and American got sick of it. The over-saturation of Disco culture created a backlash that came to a head in Cominsky Park on July 12, 1979. That night organizers held Disco Demolition night in which people exploded and demolished disco records and memorabilia ending in a riot.

Disco did not die at Cominsky Park that night. The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever continues to sell as the best selling soundtrack of all time and was the best selling album of all time until the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Film directors have used “Stayin’ Alive” in the soundtrack of over twenty films and has been sampled and covered numerous times.

Yes, there are some ridiculous things about disco, but I think it stays with us because of it helps us escape as it did for the people in the 1970s. We all seek places that they can be somebody, feel like we mean something, whether its through dancing, online communities or something as simple as playing a board game.

Sometimes for me it’s talking to friends and other times its listening to the Bee Gees and imagining I’m the king of the dance floor, minus the gold leisure suits but not without medallions.

Under Pressure by David Bowie & Queen

To my future child,

It’s dad, I am writing to you before you are born. Right now, you are but a dream in the hearts of your mom and I and though we don’t plan to have you enter our lives for a couple years we are looking forward to sharing our lives with you. There is so much I want to share with you and right now, I want to tell you about a man and song that dares us to love.

Freddie Mercury was lead singer of a rock band named Queen from Great Britain. Many consider him one of the greatest rock singers of all time with his large range, powerful delivery and operatic style. He died young when he was 45 years old of AIDs complications in 1991 and was one of the first celebrities to succumb to this disease.

Freddie Mercury dedicated his life to entertaining people with his over the top theatrics, rock anthems and intimate reflections on love and life. Even though, I never met the man, I feel that through his art, I know him and no other song embodies the spirit of this beautiful human being like “Under Pressure.”

Queen recorded “Under Pressure” with David Bowie in 1981. “Under Pressure” is a unique song that does not follow the form of an ordinary rock song, but instead has a slow build to a majestic rock climax as only Queen can do.

The song begins with a simple bass line with background guitar lines to fill out the harmony, which accompany Freddie’s scatting. Scatting is a style of singing innovated by Louis Armstrong to imitate musical instruments with the voice using nonsense syllables. Mercury utilizes this technique throughout the entire piece showing the versatility of his voice as not only a melodic tool but also a rhythmic and supporting voice.

In the beginning of the song David Bowie (the lower voice) and Freddie sing about how the pressure tears people apart and the terror of watching people feel trapped. Then at two minutes into the song, things get quiet. Pulling everything back, Queen creates anticipation and space for the musical climax. Freddie sings about our reaction to the pain around us.

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
but it's so slashed and torn.

He is telling us how sometimes love lets us down and we pull into ourselves in order to prevent from being hurt. The organ in the background brings us to church with a feeling on confessions and shame and then Freddie asks “why.” This question rises higher and higher as the band builds, disappearing into the climax as we are asked a daring questions.

Why can't we give love one more chance?
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night
And loves dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves.

Love is hard. It seems cliché sometimes, and it forces us to change. True love is not about caring about the people we agree with but the people at the edge of our lives who do things that we do not understand. If you truly accept differences in people through love, it changes you and you care about yourself through a heart, deeper and richer for accepting others into it.

This song warns us in the end that this is our last dance. Pressure keeps us from each other, from taking a chance to love. That pressure is misunderstanding, which leads to fear and sometimes develops into hatred.

When Freddie Mercury died, some still knew AIDs as the “Gay Plague” because it hit the homosexual community in the 1980s with a devastating effect. Some people went so far as to say that AIDs was God’s punishment to homosexuals for “choosing” to be Gay. The fear of this disease led to the misunderstanding and hatred that overshadowed over the compassion people should always carry for each other.

Now, we are approaching the end of 2008, people understand AIDs as a disease that effects all of us but there is still no cure. More people accept homosexuality, as part of our culture however many believe that being homosexual is a sinful choice that runs contrary to their morals. Is this because people still hate each other and refuse to reach out and love the people at the edge of the night?

People who believe that homosexuals are sinners, sometimes forget to love the sinner while they disagree with the sin. In addition, homosexuals sometimes forget to love people who though may misunderstand them, regardless of how they treat them.

A holy book does not guide my moral. I cannot give you proof from a text that tells you whether homosexuality is choice or whether being loving someone of your own gender is sinful. What I have to go on is your Aunt Jen. Now, Aunt Jen isn’t one of your biological aunts but she is someone your mom and I love so much that she has become as close as any other of our biological family members.

I met Aunt Jen her freshmen year of college and we quickly became friends. About two years later, she told that she was bisexual. This didn’t seem like a big deal at the time but Jen’s openness and honesty has shown me the love that we all share. Aunt Jen is one of most beautiful people I have ever met in my life. In the years that I have known her, she has never done anything that I would call truly sinful or evil. What I’ve seen in her with her girlfriends is the same love that I feel for your mother, for her and for you. How can I say that loving someone of his or her gender is a sin when it is a part of your Aunt Jen, someone whose goodness I truly believe in and whose love I share?

I hope when you have children that you can tell them a different ending to this story. When you tell your children about Freddie Mercury, I hope AIDs is thought of a vaccine that you have to take when you are young as opposed to horrific and heartbreaking disease. I hope that you can tell kids about a time when people judged others humanity on their sexuality and they react with disbelief because the world has moved passed this.

During the wedding ceremony of your mother and we had reading from the bible, and in this reading Jesus spoke to his disciples and said “This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” Loving others is perhaps the hardest thing in life to do, but it is also the most rewarding.

Our life is our last dance and our love is our last chance.

Thanks in advance for beauty and love that you will bring to not only to our lives but also to everyone that you touch.

I can’t wait to meet you.

-Dad

Kyle's Mom's A B**ch (from South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut) by Trey Parker

One way to judge to quality of art is to examine what the artists wants to say and how well the artists says it. Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a film that intends to make people laugh and reflect on the ridiculousness of our culture. I have yet to meet someone who has watched this film and not gotten exactly what the creators intended out of this piece of art, a great film titled South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut.

Some of you may be wondering why I’m talking about South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut in a music blog. Well, for those of you haven’t see this film, it’s a great comedic musical. It includes some of the best traditions from musicals including the “I Want “ song, dance numbers and song reprises.

South Park began as a television show in 1997. It gained a strong audience who found the social commentary and edgy humor refreshing. At the same time, others criticized this show for its inappropriate content. Because of its short production time South Park is able to comment and satires current events and social issues which have included: NAMBLA, 9/11, U2, Michael Jackson, Global Warming, High School Musical, the elderly, Paris Hilton, homosexuality, Catholics and politics. This show is also highly referential borrowing jokes and scenes from art in our culture including the plot from a Shakespeare play (“Scott Tenorman Must Die”).

The creators of South Park released South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut in 1999. The plot (wow, ok hang on) involves Satan falling in love with Saddam Hussein, blaming Canada for the death a child, a boy searching for a mystical female body part (which some people are still searching for), censorship, betrayal, love and Brian Boitano (and if you’ve seen enough musicals, this plot really isn’t that strange). Then there is Eric Cartman who becomes frustrated with the fact that his friend’s mother has started a group to censor art and attack Canada. Eric expresses his viewpoint in “Kyle's Mom's A B**ch.”

Sebastian went crazy in The Little Mermaid during “Under The Sea” trying to convince Ariel that sea life was better while she swam away. The genie in Aladdin showed off the title character’s wealth in “Prince Ali” not realizing that Princess Jasmine didn’t care about material possessions. Lumiere (the candlestick) created a massive dinner show singing “Be Our Guest” in Beauty And The Beast while Belle only got a small taste of the grey stuff. And Cartman goes crazy telling Kyle’s how much of a b**ch his mom is while Kyle’s mom herself sneaks up behind him and watches the entire spectacle.

In this song, the word “b**ch” is uttered fifty-one times and “f**k” is uttered twice to make it a total of fifty-three swear words in eighty seconds of music. Cartman is 9 years old and ff you ever hear a 9 year old swear, they have no idea the meaning of what they are saying. The only reason they use the swear word is because it is forbidden and is funny; the same way a fart sound is funny. Compare this to Cartman’s other insult to Kyle’s mom, which is about her hair (“She's a mean old b**ch and she has stupid hair”). This is a juvenile insult and in Cartman’s eyes, so is calling her a “b**ch.” The swearing in this song is so over the top that you can’t help but laugh at its ridiculousness. At first, you may get offended by the swearing but it goes on and on making it lose its negative meaning and we become a 9 year old laughing at a fart joke.

The song begins with a false start, which is funny to South Park fans because this isn’t the first time that this song has been used, however this time is gets full orchestrated background with other levels of musical depths. The orchestra instruments provide wide array of colors including the “um-pa” background, woodwind flourishes, “ethnic” colors in the middle section and a brassy, jazz inspired break down in the very end. The high level of orchestration sets the juvenile lyrics in a mature artistic context making the humor more palatable and ridiculous.

In the middle of the song, Cartman explores how kids around the world feel about Cartman’s mom. First, he stops in China, then France, then in a Danish country and finally in an African nation. The stereotypes are extreme and clearly intended to be jokes, that it really isn’t offensive (though Cartman in back face during the African bit is pushing it). When people play with stereotypes in humor, it is more often then not pointing out how ridiculous they are. It’s when people unintentionally comment and judge on stereotypes that I believe we truly take offense to them. There is a level of irony in Cartman, an America stereotype, making fun of other races.

The song ends with a burlesque style breakdown, with a brassy over the top slow down as Cartman performs the final lyrics of the song, complete with jazz hands. It’s not enough for Cartman has to make fun of Kyle’s mom but he has to sell it with all of his soul and sing it with all of his heart.

Trey Parker one of the creators of South Park sings this song. He is singing in a patter style, which was used by Mozart in the beginning of his opera The Marriage of Figaro and was often utilized in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas like in the song “I Am The Very Model Of a Modern Major General” from The Pirates of Penzance. Composers use this style of singing for comedic effect while also allowing the performer to show off his or her singing technique. Sometime when you there are kids around and you’re not at work, just try singing along with this song. It’s not impossible but it’s not easy. Now try to sing along in your most nasal and irritating tone of voice. There is the talent in Trey Parker.

There is nothing appropriate about South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut for anyone under the age of seventeen. People often get stuck at that point and do not allow themselves to enjoy this show. Many things aren’t appropriate for children including lobster dinners and professional massages but we don’t let that get in the way of our enjoyment. South Park has always been on late at night and has a mature television rating and if a child does what the show, it is more a reflection on his or her home life and upbringing then the art itself.

South Park, Bigger, Longer, & Uncut creates powerful emotional connections. People often don’t take the feeling of humor and art that expresses humor as being important, however, it could be more crucial to our humanity. We live a world full of darkness, and sometimes we need art to remind us how much fun it is to be alive. Laughter is all the same, sometimes it’s from a precocious 3 year old, sometimes its from a stand up comic and other times it comes from a child who lives in a in a “quiet, little, pi**-ant, redneck, po-dunk, jerkwater, greenhorn, one-horse, mud-hole, peckerwood, right-wing, whistle-stop, hob-mail, truck-drivin', old-fashioned, hayseed, inbred, unkempt, out-of-date, out-of-touch, white-trash mountain town” called South Park.

Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters by Elton John

One of the challenges of being an immigrant to the United States is the holidays. When my parents who came from Taiwan, raised my brother and I, they made an effort to participate in the major holidays in order to provide an “American” childhood. Some holidays made more sense then others. My parents understood Valentine’s Day, which correlated with a similar Taiwanese holiday, but others like Halloween were a little bit more mystifying. Seriously, why do you dress up as characters in our popular culture and beg for candy from complete strangers?”

Thanksgiving made a little bit more sense. The stories of the pilgrims and Native Americans did not mean much to my family, but the idea of coming together as a family and sharing a meal did.

One Thanksgiving when I was young, we went over to a family friend’s house and before we ate, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. As I pondered the yam dish in front of me that for some reason had marshmallows in it, Thanksgiving started to make sense.

The true meaning of thanksgiving is for families to take a moment out of their lives to share a meal together and reflect on what they are thankful for in their lives. When I think back on my Thanksgiving experience I think about the times with my family, the three Thanksgivings I spent with college friends and the current tradition I now have of sharing that day with my wife’s family. What I am most thankful for in all of that are the people I shared those times with. As Elton John sang, “I thank the Lord for the people I have found” from his song “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters.”

There was an Elton John before The Lion King and after “Your Song.” A daring, compassionate and audacious artist, Elton John not only revealed himself but also reflected the world around him. From 1969 to 1979 Elton John released thirteen albums including the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The pace and quality of his albums is something rarely seen in popular music. Elton John released Honky Chateau his fifth solo album in 1972. “Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters” was the second to last track on Honkey Chateau, an album that included other popular songs like “Honky Cat” and “Rocket Man.” Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s lyricist, wrote these lyrics after hearing a gun go off in New York City. Elton John considers this one of his must underrated songs and plays it frequently to describe his love for New York City.

There is a balance in lyrics between keeping them specific enough so that they connect to peoples feelings but ambiguous enough that they relate to different peoples’ lives. Bernie Taupin is a master of expressing themes and emotions through his lyrics while maintaining this balance. This song is about looking back at an experience and realizing truths about the world and the way people live their lives. Along with these realizations comes thanksgiving for the people in our lives. Sometimes it is in our struggles that remind us of the beautiful people in our lives.

Elton John carries on the tradition of popular piano players from artists like Little Richard. From a young age, Elton John trained as a classical pianist. This foundation allowed Elton to explore different types of music including, Jazz, Country, Blues and Rock music. “Mona LisasAnd Mad Hatters” features subtle and skillful piano playing. Elton varies the background creating motion between the vocal phrases with rising and falling shapes while outlines the chords of the song. The piano line seems organic and natural but is also deliberate and intentional providing a foundation for the emotional setting of the song.

From the affirmation of the melodic leaps to the longing of the held notes, Elton John creates a melody that is introspective and honest. Not often thought of as a great vocalist, Elton John demonstrates his ability to sing in an effortless way, clearly expressing the lyrics while drawing us in like a master storyteller. The clarity of his voice has slight edges and tension, which reflects a worldliness and understanding of the deepest levels of our humanity.

This is one of my favorite, if not my favorite song of all time. I first heard this song when Elton John performed it on a televised concert after the attacks on the World Trade Centers on 9/11 to honor the work of the firefighters, policemen and other heroes. It seemed so fitting. Here was a song about New York City, about a loss of innocence but more then that, a song of thanksgiving. I had always enjoyed Elton John’s music but never thought of him as master musician until I bought Honkey Chateau and delved in to the vast catalog of the music he recorded.

My wife and I featured this song during our wedding ceremony. We wrestled with the idea of having a pop song performed at the wedding. What we came to was that the genre of the song was irrelevant. This song is a musical statement that reflects our lives growing up. But more important it expresses how thankful we are for the people in our lives. After all that that was said and done, it really was the people in our lives that made our wedding day so meaningful.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I’m not sure if it really matters that we recognize the original intention of Thanksgiving. If the personal meaning that we get Thanksgiving relates to the pilgrims, fantastic. If it’s not, no big loss. My parents found great meaning in the simple act of breaking bread with people we care about and I hope that you all do too.

Everytime by Britney Spears

"Everytime" Music Video

We don't deserve Britney Spears.

I’m not saying that we deserve better. I’m saying that Britney does.

Critics often say that we get the popular icons that we deserve and with insidious way we treat our celebrities we deserve much less then Britney.

If one of your friends checked into a drug rehab clinic or had to fight for the custody of their children, I doubt any of you would make a light of it. I doubt that any of you would say that they deserve these struggles and I doubt that any of you would hope that this friend would have to face further tragedies in their life.

Yes, there are times in our lives when we feel hurt, threatened and insecure and we wish bad things on other people. This is often our first response but always our worst. We would not accept this attitude in our children, then why do we accept in the way we view our celebrities?

Britney Spears came on to the scene in 1999, a pop princess for a new generation who could do no wrong. She was touring, releasing albums and entertained people around the world. Then things started going wrong in her life and the media became critical of her marriage, her children and her lifestyle. Instead of showing concern for the problems, people seemed to enjoy watching her life fall apart. There is nothing sadder then watching a friend’s life fall apart, and nothing more rewarding then watching it come back together. Then why is it different with Britney?

Some say it’s because she deserves it. She has money and she lives in a big house. Therefore, it’s ok to be overly critical, it’s ok to make jokes about a serious medical condition and it’s ok to call into questions the character of people from gossip and speculation.

Britney chose this profession; she knew what she was getting into. Paparazzi have been exploiting celebrities long before Britney was even born, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. Corruption in politics is not ok just because its been around a long time and I don’t think its ignorant to expect that the people we elect into office to be able to rise above a corrupt system. We may not have created the machine that feeds our appetite for celebrity drama and yes, celebrities in many ways are as much to blame for this as we are, but I believe that we can do better. It is a human need to observe outside drama to help us deal with our own lives and the greatest and the most meaning drama is in the art, not the artist. Britney proves this in her strongest song “Everytime” from her fourth album In The Zone released in 2003.

“Everytime” is a daring song for Britney Spears because it features her voice. Britney Spears is not a great singer. Her voice lacks the sexual prowess of Shakira, the range of Mariah Carey, the soul of Beyoncé and the pop sensibilities of Madonna. Britney usually belts with a nasal, whiny voice that only through recording techniques comes across with an appealing vocal quality. In “Everytime” Britney does something different. She pulls back her voice, carefully singing through a half whisper which clarifies her tone and pulls her sound higher up into different resonating cavities in her head creating a light and airy tone, which may not work for all songs but is absolutely perfect for this song.

Britney sings the first words “notice me” with such childlike sadness. She barely sings these notes through the tone of someone choked up and fighting back tears. Britney stays at this line between crying and singing allowing her voice to shake. When she gets to the last line of the first verse “Why carry on without me?” she has nothing left. Instead of getting louder into the chorus like we expect she gets soft like a person defeated by her own failed hopes.

The lyrics reveal a level of depth that most Britney Spears songs do not approach. This is the story of a girl who realizes how much she needs a person in her life. She blames herself for her own depression and disturbingly self-aware of her mistakes. Overall this song is an apology that climaxes in the bridge:

I may have made it rain
Please forgive me
My weakness caused you pain
And this song is my sorry

Britney follows this apology in the next verse hoping that his face will “fade away.” In some ways apologizing is Britney’s first step in moving on with her life. Sometimes in life apologizes bring people back together after conflict. However other times apologies allow people to move through difficult times. Britney is not trying to get this guy to come back to her. She is acknowledging her own feelings, her own faults and in some ways, this apology is more for herself then the other person. If the other person forgives her it may make her feel better, but it is only through forgiving herself that she can truly move on.

The greatest part of Britney’s performance is not her singing. It’s two breaths that are heard, one after “I need you baby” and the other at the end of the bridge “and this song is my sorry.” When you are close to someone feeling them breathe is like feeling their living soul. Hearing this small breath in followed by a longer breath out we feel the emptiness that is inside of Britney and feel a closeness to her emotions.

In this song, Britney has givens us a tragic figure, a drama we can relate to. This song expresses feeling of defeat and exhaustion more emotional then physical. It speaks deep emotional truths about the challenging in life and how much the mistakes we make can haunt us throughout our lives.

The drama created here is fictional but emotionally real. Yes, it is true that there are photos of Britney Spears driving with her baby on her lap, but the emotion we get out of reading about that story is a shallow reflection of our insecurities as opposed to a meaningful connection to our own feelings.

I know that they way we view our celebrities is not going to change any time soon. People get great joy out of following celebrity’s lives and it’s not really fair for me to stand judgment of what brings joy to people’s lives. This is probably all harmless but maybe it is not. Maybe every time we look into a celebrity’s life and mock it we are bringing darkness into out hearts. It just feels wrong and I challenge you to think about the way we view the people in our lives, celebrities included.

My hope for Britney Spears is my hope for all people.

I hope that she finds happiness in her life.
I hope she has people in her life who she loves and loves her back.
And I hope that every time she tries to fly she soars into the sky.

Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

"Livin' On A Prayer" Music Video

I used to be a music snob.

I came to Northwestern University as a composition major and I thought I had an open mind and a broad knowledge of music. I accepted popular music artists like the Backstreet Boys and the Beatles and I thought I knew everything about popular music there was to know. Then during my sophomore year I met Elizabeth.

I remember one of my first conversations with Elizabeth and her talking about how her favorite musical artists, Bon Jovi and Garth Brooks. I remember trying to be respectful of her taste while thinking that both Bon Jovi and Garth Brooks were not valid musical artists and that it was not really worth my time. The thing was, that she was so open to my music as a composer and the classical musical that I loved that I really wanted to give what she loved a chance. I’m really glad I did.

Bon Jovi and Garth Brooks are incredibly important artists in our popular culture. They have pulled together communities of music lovers in ways that few artists have and they speak to the human experience that draw in people all across the world not through pandering but through genuine expression. I credit Elizabeth with helping develop my love of country music but giver her full credit showing me how much Bon Jovi rocks.

“Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi is one if the most important rock songs of the 1980s. While other artists like U2 were pushing the envelope of rock music, there were bands like Def Leppard, which sat squarely in the middle of the rock genre, later called “hair bands” that spoke directly to people’s tastes. One of the greatest bands to do this, captivating millions and filling up stadiums like never before was a band from New Jersey called Bon Jovi.

Bon Jovi is most known for their second single “Livin’ On A Prayer” from their Slippery When Wet album. There is an art in creating a song that stadiums full of people sing -along with and Bon Jovi were masters of that art. Not only did “Livin’ On A Prayer” have an great melody and irresistible hook but it spoke to the Reagan-era working man who felt the hit of the economic downturn of the time. This song is so effective that over twenty year later it has become an anthem of hope, optimism, possibility and rocking out like you just don’t care.

“Livin’ On A Prayer” starts with a soft synthesized line that brings in the guitar, drums and bass. The guitar line utilizes a “talk-box” which is a technology made famous by Peter Frampton. Instead of having the guitar be amplified through a speaker it’s pumped into a tube that is placed in the mouth. The amp pushes the sound through the tube into the mouth and a microphone picks ups the sound like it would a person singing. The guitar acts as the vocal chords and allows the guitarist to form different vowel shapes to effect the sound. This is how Richie Sambora, the lead guitarist of Bon Jovi created the different sounds and tones of the guitar line in “Livin’ On A Prayer.”

The melody line is simple without being overly repetitive. The melody in the verse outlines the natural rhythms and contour of the lyrics, which makes it easy to remember. The melody in the chorus features sustained high notes, which are hilarious fun to sing. They rise through the chorus and the notes between the high notes become rests for us to prepare for trying to sing the next high note. It quickly becomes a “how high can you sing” competition that we all want to participate in.

Singing the chorus of “Livin’ On A Prayer” is so much fun because you can just scream along with it and it works. It takes NO singing technique to have fun with this song. People know they aren’t going to sing the high notes and sound great which makes it all the more fun to try. The high notes are in a call and response game with the lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi. It is simple to learn, lots of fun to sing, and even though never sounds great when you are doing it feel great to try.

This song tells a hopeful story. There is Tommy and Gina. Tommy lost his jobs on the docks and Gina continues to work and supports both of them. Tommy is so strapped for cash that he puts his guitar in a pawn shop (second verse: “six string in hock”). Gina dreams of running away but they keep it together. In the first verse, Gina comforts Tommy and in the second verse, Tommy comforts Gina. They say the same things to each other reminding each other of hope with some of the most powerful lyrics in rock music.

We’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got
cause it doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not
We’ve got each other and that’s a lot
For love well give it a shot

We’re halfway there
Livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand and well make it - I swear
Livin’ on a prayer

What Tommy and Gina have to hold onto is each other. The idea that it doesn’t matter if they “make it” reflects the fact that they feel in some ways they have already made it in finding each other. It is both an adolescent idea and a mature realization of the importance of finding someone you love. For love, they will work through all their struggles because in each other they have a lot

They are halfway there because they have a dream they share through a prayer. Alcoholics talk about admitting the problem as being half the solution. Tommy and Gina see having the prayer, the hope and dream as being half the journey to “making it.”
This is a powerful idea that harkens back to being a kid and being told that if we dream it, we can it happen. This song is anthem, crafted for people to sing along with in stadiums while embodying not only the struggles but also the hopes of within all of us.

I can still remember Elizabeth telling me about how much she loved Bon Jovi. I remember her eyes. There was a light in her eyes that could only come from true joy and a depth in her look that came from speaking about something that held significant personal meaning. I had a choice, either hold to my stereotypes about music or let her break down my understanding of art and experience the music she loved. I am so glad I chose to share in her music and I am grateful to her for reaching out to me with what she loved.

I hope you have met or will meet someone like Elizabeth in your life. When you do, look into those eyes and make the choice to share in world that they love. You just might be halfway there in making that human connection that brings meaning to our lives.

I promise you will not regret it.