Friday, January 25, 2013
Bryan Colbert: The Influence of music
Music is an art form that has withstood the test of time; evolving daily. Music has no boundaries, no plateau of creativity, no cultural barriers. At birth we are exposed to music; nursery rhymes, learning our ABC's, even elevator music.
Music is perhaps one of the most important aspects of my life. Whether I'm studying, at work, or even in class, 9 times out of 10 I am listening to music. For me music is a therapy for my soul, not just for it's rhythmical melodies but for it's content. Music has the power to express opinions, tell stories and even give people new outlooks on the world.
--Below is a video from my favorite artist J. Cole and his song 2-Face.--
---"Yeah the mental state of a young black genius conflicted...The fast life I done seen on the screen is addictive...Money and clothes I done dreamed about...And all the hoes that I thinked about...Ey tell me am I wrong for visualizing material shit I neva had...Waving gats instead of flags the American dream...Why do we cling to the villians?...Knowing they killin'...My niggas high enough to swaing from the ceiling...Ink from the pen spilling on my notebook...Filled with dreams, this is my whole book...Still the screams from girls shot and killed fill my head on a daily...At times I question God can you blame me they can't tame me?...My voice screech through the street I'm a beast on em...Oh no he will not fold you will not see a priest on him...He will not slip or lose his grip they got them cleats on em...But never will he run unless you call police on em..."---
The content of the first verse (shown above) holds more meaning then some may initially realize. Cole depicts a plethora of things that determine our societies views and many others; Money, Materialistic aspirations, guns, war, death, crime, religion, etc... This is a small example of ways that music can open the eyes of it's listeners and possibly change ideologies. "Why do we cling to the villians, knowing they killin'".
--Below is a video from The Game and J. Cole and their song Pray--
This song is a perfect example of music telling a story. Both the Game and Cole tell stories of women that had impacted their lives while pushing the importance of prayer. Although not everyone believes in religion; prayer is international. Whether you are a Buddhist, Christian, Catholic or Muslim, prayer is something that all religions do and a song like this could support all of those.
Some music is sometimes used as means of more than just expression but of protest. Ab-Soul is a hip-hop artist known too go against the grain and say things that most people either don't understand or want to hear. He is anti-government and a conspiracy theorist. The video below is of song "Terrorist Threats" where artist Ab-Soul
---"Wish I could see out Haile Selassie' eye...Maybe my sovereignty would still be mine...If all the gangs in the world unified...We'd stand a chance against the military tonight...I said we'd stand a chance against the military tonight"---
---"I ain't got no gavel...I ain't tryna fight nobody battle...I-I just wanna be free...I ain't tryna be nobodies chattel"---
---"Dear Barack...I know you just a puppet but I'm giving you props...You lying to the public like it ain't nothing and I just love it, I hope it don't stop"---
This song is very interesting and extremely controversial because of what it suggests. Just by viewing the three quotes i posted above it becomes evident that AB soul is anti-government. The song suggests that in a time where the government tries to become unitary or a single world-wide government, that we as people have the power to fight back. Now some people may have no idea what any of this is about but this song is for those people just as much, if not more, than the people that have these same beliefs. This song is proof of an artist using music to create a movement or make a stand.
Music is used internationally for an abundance of things. Regardless of the circumstance music is an outlet that not only adds to society but defines it. Most of the worlds latest trends, stereotypes, ideologies all stem from what we hear in our music. Music is beautiful yet powerful and is a international art form that will never die.
Music is perhaps one of the most important aspects of my life. Whether I'm studying, at work, or even in class, 9 times out of 10 I am listening to music. For me music is a therapy for my soul, not just for it's rhythmical melodies but for it's content. Music has the power to express opinions, tell stories and even give people new outlooks on the world.
--Below is a video from my favorite artist J. Cole and his song 2-Face.--
---"Yeah the mental state of a young black genius conflicted...The fast life I done seen on the screen is addictive...Money and clothes I done dreamed about...And all the hoes that I thinked about...Ey tell me am I wrong for visualizing material shit I neva had...Waving gats instead of flags the American dream...Why do we cling to the villians?...Knowing they killin'...My niggas high enough to swaing from the ceiling...Ink from the pen spilling on my notebook...Filled with dreams, this is my whole book...Still the screams from girls shot and killed fill my head on a daily...At times I question God can you blame me they can't tame me?...My voice screech through the street I'm a beast on em...Oh no he will not fold you will not see a priest on him...He will not slip or lose his grip they got them cleats on em...But never will he run unless you call police on em..."---
The content of the first verse (shown above) holds more meaning then some may initially realize. Cole depicts a plethora of things that determine our societies views and many others; Money, Materialistic aspirations, guns, war, death, crime, religion, etc... This is a small example of ways that music can open the eyes of it's listeners and possibly change ideologies. "Why do we cling to the villians, knowing they killin'".
--Below is a video from The Game and J. Cole and their song Pray--
This song is a perfect example of music telling a story. Both the Game and Cole tell stories of women that had impacted their lives while pushing the importance of prayer. Although not everyone believes in religion; prayer is international. Whether you are a Buddhist, Christian, Catholic or Muslim, prayer is something that all religions do and a song like this could support all of those.
Some music is sometimes used as means of more than just expression but of protest. Ab-Soul is a hip-hop artist known too go against the grain and say things that most people either don't understand or want to hear. He is anti-government and a conspiracy theorist. The video below is of song "Terrorist Threats" where artist Ab-Soul
---"Wish I could see out Haile Selassie' eye...Maybe my sovereignty would still be mine...If all the gangs in the world unified...We'd stand a chance against the military tonight...I said we'd stand a chance against the military tonight"---
---"I ain't got no gavel...I ain't tryna fight nobody battle...I-I just wanna be free...I ain't tryna be nobodies chattel"---
---"Dear Barack...I know you just a puppet but I'm giving you props...You lying to the public like it ain't nothing and I just love it, I hope it don't stop"---
This song is very interesting and extremely controversial because of what it suggests. Just by viewing the three quotes i posted above it becomes evident that AB soul is anti-government. The song suggests that in a time where the government tries to become unitary or a single world-wide government, that we as people have the power to fight back. Now some people may have no idea what any of this is about but this song is for those people just as much, if not more, than the people that have these same beliefs. This song is proof of an artist using music to create a movement or make a stand.
Music is used internationally for an abundance of things. Regardless of the circumstance music is an outlet that not only adds to society but defines it. Most of the worlds latest trends, stereotypes, ideologies all stem from what we hear in our music. Music is beautiful yet powerful and is a international art form that will never die.
Monday, January 7, 2013
First Blog
My name is Bryan Colbert, I am a Junior Broadcast Journalism major from Fairfield California. This is my third online course I have taken since enrolling into UNL and I hope that this class will be as, if not more, succesful as my previous ones. Living and being born in different countries, I have had the opportunity to see and meet a lot of different types of people. When in other countries like Japan or Germany, where the communication barrier is HUGE, I always found myself wondering the best/most efficient ways to communicate. I am hoping that this class will teach me the best ways to communicate in a world where I will more than likely deal with a vast amount of cultures.
My interests and hobbies center around Football, Basketball, working out, music and of course food. If it doesn't involve one of those things, you probably won't see me participating.
My interests and hobbies center around Football, Basketball, working out, music and of course food. If it doesn't involve one of those things, you probably won't see me participating.
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