Blue Oyster Cult burst onto the scene in the late 60s. By the 70s they were a huge success. Powered by one of the most innovative guitarists to ever live, Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult became one of the biggest bands in the world. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is perhaps their best and well-known songs. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult explains death is not something that needs to feared.
The Reaper is an ancient symbol for death. He is the harvester of souls, and the image of the Grim Reaper has always stricken fear into the hearts of those that see it. Yet, why does man fear death? Death is feared because we do not know what will happen. No one has ever come back to tell us what it was really like. Blue Oyster Cult is telling us that there is really no reason to fear this Reaper. In fact, they are saying that death should be embraced. “Romeo and Juliet/ are together in eternity,” the singer is saying that, in death, we can be with those that we love forever.
The singer makes death sound so much better than life. “40,000 men and women everyday/Redefine happiness,” this line says that the 40,000 people that die everyday are happier than they were than they were when they were alive. “We’ll be able to fly,” in this line the singer is saying that you will be able to do things when you die that you couldn’t while you were alive. By romanticizing death it makes it seem very pleasant, and something much better than what people may perceive.
The music in this song is very quick and upbeat, giving the song a happy fell to it. It is not a scary sounding song for the most part, but during the guitar solo the music speeds up and immediately changes feel. The song is no longer happy. It is terrifying. Then after the solo is over it goes right back to the happy, upbeat song that is was before. In this song, the singer makes an allusion to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” He says, “Romeo and Juliet/Are together in eternity.” There is also a line in this song that is a paradox. “Love of two is one.” This is a contradictory statement, but it does make sense because if two people love each other this is really one love.
Death is referred to as the “Great Unknown,” and people have a tendancy to fear the unknown. It is reassuring that the members of blue Oyster Cult didn’t fear death because everyone dies, and hopefully death isn’t too awful. As one of the most innovative bands in history, Blue Oyster Cult has influenced a lot of modern music and has also influenced how we view death. So remember, when your time comes… “don’t fear the reaper.”
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
November Rain Song Analysis
Guns N’ Roses is possibly the most popular band of the late eighties and early nineties hard rock scene. When you mention Guns N’ Roses most people think of the poster boys of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Yet what most people don’t think of is the sheer musical and lyrical mastery that this band possessed. Axl Rose possesses one of the most recognizable and best voices in rock music today. He could hit the highest notes and hit them louder than anyone ever had. Axl had and amazing talent of portraying his mood through the music of his band, and most importantly through his lyrics. November Rain by Guns N’ Roses uses very simple symbolism to show the message and mood of the singer.
November Rain is really a very simple song about a man who can’t seem to make a lasting relationship. He says, “’Cause nothin’ lasts forever/and we both know hearts can change.” The song goes through cycles of this person’s relationships as they begin and end. The line “its hard to hold a candle/in the cold November rain.” Has symbolism in it. The candle represents a relationship and the rain represents the hardship and misfortune.
This symbol of the November rain is repeated at the end of each verse. Every time this is repeated it signifies the end of yet another relationship. The singer tries to justify being alone by saying, “everybody needs some time on your own.” The singer is attempting to make himself feel better and show that being alone sometimes is a good thing. Yet at the end of the song background singers sing, “everybody needs somebody” which contradicts the other line in the song proving that the singer truly is lonely.
The music to this song really adds so much to the overall feeling of this song because when the singer’s relationships are going well the music is more up beat, and when the singer is going through a tough time the music feels more sad. Toward the end of the song the music changes drastically to have a very sad, almost angry, feeling to it. There are two other small symbols in this song. “And shadows still remain.” The shadows represent the doubt that the other person has about the relationship. “So never mind the darkness.” The darkness represents he bad parts of the relationship.
Guns N’ Roses redefined the rebellious nature of rock music. They blew the doors off of what we thought rock was and even though they are gone we still hear influence and inspiration emanating from this legendary band. Even though they could rock harder than anyone ever had, they also had a soft side that is beautifully heard in November Rain.
November Rain is really a very simple song about a man who can’t seem to make a lasting relationship. He says, “’Cause nothin’ lasts forever/and we both know hearts can change.” The song goes through cycles of this person’s relationships as they begin and end. The line “its hard to hold a candle/in the cold November rain.” Has symbolism in it. The candle represents a relationship and the rain represents the hardship and misfortune.
This symbol of the November rain is repeated at the end of each verse. Every time this is repeated it signifies the end of yet another relationship. The singer tries to justify being alone by saying, “everybody needs some time on your own.” The singer is attempting to make himself feel better and show that being alone sometimes is a good thing. Yet at the end of the song background singers sing, “everybody needs somebody” which contradicts the other line in the song proving that the singer truly is lonely.
The music to this song really adds so much to the overall feeling of this song because when the singer’s relationships are going well the music is more up beat, and when the singer is going through a tough time the music feels more sad. Toward the end of the song the music changes drastically to have a very sad, almost angry, feeling to it. There are two other small symbols in this song. “And shadows still remain.” The shadows represent the doubt that the other person has about the relationship. “So never mind the darkness.” The darkness represents he bad parts of the relationship.
Guns N’ Roses redefined the rebellious nature of rock music. They blew the doors off of what we thought rock was and even though they are gone we still hear influence and inspiration emanating from this legendary band. Even though they could rock harder than anyone ever had, they also had a soft side that is beautifully heard in November Rain.
Monday, March 1, 2010
DECLARATION!!!
I would like to take this opportunity to declare my theme-genre. I have put a lot of careful thought into choosing my specific theme-genre because I really listen to such a huge variety of musical genres that I don't think choosing a specific genre such as punk rock, metal, or oven hard rock would satisfy my taste. I chose rock as my genre because it encompasses many smaller sub genres. Although i listen to reggae, rap, hip-hop, and many other genres, I feel that the genre that I am most passionate about is rock. The theme was equally as difficult to come up with. I wanted to pick a theme that could be found within many aspects of music, literature, and history. The theme that I came up with was symbolism. Symbolism is a widely used tool used by just about everyone on earth. Symbolism is used abundantly throughout music and especially in rock music. I can proudly declare that after much thought I have decided that my theme-genre will be Symbolism in Rock.
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