The Soundtrack of My Life

Bob Carlisle, “Butterfly Kisses”: This song is a classic father-daughter song. It has really powerful lyrics that can make almost anyone cry, even if you do not even have a kid. I see myself as the little girl through out the story in the lyrics. I used to be daddy’s little girl with “ribbons and curls“, too. As I started to grow up, I “switched them for “perfume and make up”. When he sings “walk beside the pony daddy, if you don’t mind…I know the cake looks funny daddy, but I sure tried”, I see those images from my childhood; I relive them in my mind. The chorus gets me the most emotional, because I remember when I was younger and my dad would read to me before bedtime, and then say goodnight. There is also the part in the song where it is “I hope you don’t mind, but I am only going to kiss you on the cheek this time”, because he is dropping her off with her friends and she is older and more “cool” now. However, now as I listen to it again, I now think of my sister at the wedding part of the song since her recent engagement. And now, I am “trying my wings out in this great big world” now, trying to discover who I am, and who I will become. I could see myself just “standing in the dressing room, just staring at her.” This song will always be an important song for me, and my whole family.

Swizzle Tree, “Marc’s Car”: This video is not the greatest. Since it is a live video, there is a lot of “crowd static” through out the whole video. Swizzletree actually does not have any music videos except for their one or two singles. This is because they are a local band from Omaha, Nebraska. But it does not matter that it does not have a music video, because I chose this song for its lyrics. “I will always be your friend…I will always be your friend, and I’ll be the one standing there, be the one that cares…..memories, memories that last forever”. I love these lyrics and the guitar solo that follows it; it is simply an amazing song, especially to hear it live when you are in a huge crowd of people like I was when I saw them at the first River Riot that was put on by 89.7 the River. This song is all about friendship, your core group of friends that spend all their time together or your true friends, the ones you can name on one hand that will always be there for you in thick and thin no matter what happens. These lyrics are great to sing with a best friend just driving around, because your friend and you both know you are singing it for them. You will never let them down, you will always have their back whenever they need you. This song can help bring friends closer together by making memories at a concert or simply sitting in a basement rocking out to this song like you are at the concert.

Sum 41, “Still Waiting”: Sum 41 is the first rock concert I ever went to…and the first concert I ever crowd surfed at…they are just a very important and meaningful band for me. And even though I could name off a bunch of different songs written by Sum 41, I chose “Still Waiting” to help describe me in my autobiography. I fell in love with this song the second I heard it, because I just felt a deep connection with its lyrics and the meaning behind it. The song starts off with “So am I still waiting, for this world to stop hating…”, which I say all the time because of all the problems and issues in the world like poverty, racism, and segregation. This could even have meaning for less major problems like cliques, rumors, and labels in high school. I simply see myself as a back up singer for them, if you will, wanting to just echo all the important lyrics in the song. “Can’t find a, good reason, can’t find hope to believe in” are the lyrics that follow the first line. It explains that people keep looking for reasons or excuses on why the world is the way it is, or maybe even why people never change. The beat of the music with the lyrics just make the entire song so powerful you want to just listen to it over and over again. This song is a great song to help someone, like me, show others how they feel and what exactly they want to say, even though they are not always sure how to express it.





Nickelback, “Far Away”: I have mixed feelings when it comes to this song. When it first came out, I thought it was just alright. Then it became one of those songs that a person listens to over and over again, because it fits exactly what is going on in your life right then and there. Unfortunately, I was going through a pretty bad time and so I started to despise this song with every fiber of my being. When it came on at work, I would automatically switch to a really bad mood, and no one could figure out why. This song just symbolizes a lot about what was going on in my life for over three years. “This time, this place, misused, mistake…” is the first line of the song. It starts off the story in the video of a man having to leave his girl to fight a forest fire, but in my case it was just about a guy becoming some one else, and leaving me behind. “Too long, too late, who was I to make you wait?” describes how I was feeling while all this was going on in my life. “I love you, I loved you, I miss you, from far away for far too long”-these lyrics were exactly what I was feeling back then. It is the words that you always what to get the courage to say to the other person,, but never can get up enough nerve to say them. “I want it, I need it, I need to hear you say...I love you, and I have loved you all along” is what I wanted him to say; I wanted him to realize how he really felt instead of denying the truth. But it took awhile, in fact, he still hasn’t. He did however, apologize, so we could move on like in the song: “I’ll forgive you, for being away for far too long”. I now look back on this song, and I no longer hate it. It actually helps me remember that things are better than they were back then.


Lee Ann Womack, “I Hope You Dance” :This song was one of my favorites as a kid, because I was a dancer for a good eight or nine years. My old dance teacher made us practice turns to this song while it was on repeat over and over again just because she loved it so much. But that is not why I love it; I love it for its lyrics. She just sings to her daughter in the music video, looking out for her. My sister and I have the same type of relationship, because we look out for each other. It is more than just being sisters. The lyrics are telling us “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,……I hope you dance, I hope you dance…………I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean……when one door closes, I hold one more open…….give faith the fighting chance, so you when you get the chance to sit it out or dance….DANCE” These lyrics are partially about dancing, about not being one of those people that just sit at a table while others are dancing around and having fun, but that is not all what it is about. It is about living life. She hopes her daughter never loses her ambitions and passions in life. She doesn’t want them to just give up on life after one failure keep going on. Don’t give up on your dreams. Keep on dancing and living your life. Have no regrets.

Madina Lake, “Here I Stand”: This band is not very well known. Or at least they weren’t until they opened up for Linkin Park this past summer. I remember seeing them in May, before anyone even knew who they were at this little venue in Papillion, Nebraska, called the Rock. It was amazing. It was one of those concerts where there was only twenty other people if that, but you are still rocking out to it, because the music is so damn good. They came out after and gave all of us hugs, pictures, and autographs. It is just great feeling to know that you had a great night of live music with only twenty other people-that is it. “Here I stand, all alone, tonight,….I wish I was anyone but me.” These lyrics show independence, and growing up. It never came out of my CD player in my car for almost the entire month before graduation. It is just addictive, like the song “Island in the Sun” by Weezer. “I wish I was strong enough to breathe, without you, in my life….” explains about that one person that won’t get out of your head no matter what you do. It means they are meant to stay in your life, if you can’t get them out of your head. “There are others like us” is what they have written off and on through out the entire video. They do this to show that no matter how you are feeling or what you are thinking, there is someone else who is just like you. You are not alone.


Kelly Clarkson, “Never Again”: I think you all can figure out why I chose this music video for one of my autobiographical videos. It is about a guy cheating on a girl. She does not want him back, but she does not wish him well with the next girl he has either. She wants to make sure he knows that he made a mistake though, and it is something he will always regret. It is basically a power song for women just like “Man I Feel Like A Woman” by Shania Train or Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”. And even though those songs are great power songs too that I could have used, but I chose “Never Again”. The video just made the song even better. It shows how she was good to him, and he messed up anyway. Then it transitions into her messing with his mind. When he drives or is in the airport, she just will not get out of his head. He starts going crazy, like when he is kissing his new girl and opens his eyes it is Kelly again. “Never again will I hear you, never again will I miss you, Never again will I fall to you, Never…..and Never again will I kiss you, never again will I love you, Never!” She is feeling empowered and tells the cheater off, which is a great feeling to have. “Does it hurt to know I’ll never be there, bet it sucks to see my face everywhere, it was you who chose to end it like you did…” She gets to shove it back in his face for treating her so badly. I have done the same kind of thing with my personal experience. It is great to have closure.



Boys Like Girls, “The Great Escape”: I love this song, I always have and always will. It is just a great song to drive around to. Whether you are by yourself alone in the car rockin’ out to it and having a blast until you are at a red light and the other people at the light look at you. I find it funny, others are embarrassed for some reason. Then there are the times when you are with a group of people having a blast on a road trip or just simply driving around aimlessly just messing around being goofy and what not. “Throw it away, forget yesterday, we’ll make the great escape…” simply explains what I say when I just want to forget about something crappy going on in my life whether it is about a bad test or stupid friend, I just get out of it and drive around. “Tonight will change our lives…..we won’t give up the fight, we will scream out at the top of our lungs….” It just makes me happy. I look forward before going out with friends, because it becomes a night full of endless memories. I have screamed this song out at the top of my lungs a few times with friends. The first time I actually lost my voice, because of it. But it was worth it, because I will never forget that night. The first time my mom heard it on the radio she came running to my room to tell me to listen to it, because she thought of me when she heard it since she knows how much I like to drive around and just bop around to music either by myself or with a bunch of my friends.

Spice Girls!!!

I can not remember the first music video I have seen, but I do remember a music video from when I was a kid. I was not a fan of any of the boy bands like Nsync or Backstreet Boys. But I was a fan of the Spice Girls. All the different outfits and platform shoes. I just loved it. And of course, when they came out with Spice World the movie. The video I remember the most from them is “Say You’ll Be There”. It is just a really catchy tune, and the choreography in the video is actually pretty amusing. Back when I was a kid I thought this video was so cool. Now I can not for the life of me remember why. I think it was because they were all supposedly different characters. They all had like superhero names. But not as I watch the music video again, I just think it is completely horrible and it a entire waste of money. Other videos that I remembered by them was “Mama”, “Stop”, “2 Become 1”, and “Wannabe”. “Say You’ll Be There” is just the one I remember the most from all of them for some reason. I think it is because of the car in the music video. I also love Scary Spice’s (Melanie B) outfit the most. I just thought it just brought out her personality and it showed that she did not care what others thought. She dressed for her, no matter what anyone else thought. Not that I went out and got me a leopard outfit or anything, but I think you understand my point. They are now reunited, and are getting ready for a reunion tour. I am excited for that, and I am totally going if they come to Omaha. haha

David Hasselhoff: Singer, Why?

So there are a lot, and I do mean A LOT, of music videos that are horrible. There are many music videos that should never have been made. There are the hair bands from the 1980s, the modern rockers that just do weird creepy things like Slipknot or Marilyn Manson. Then there is the sappy love ballads from the ‘70s and ‘80s. But the “artists”, if that is what you want to call them, that are the worst are actors (good or bad) that try to be singers. Most people would think of William Shatner after my last statement, but I do not think of him as much as David Hasselhoff. I do not have a clue why he thought he needed to become an artist. But nevertheless he did, and an atrocious one at that-at least in my opinion. He is the painful ballads under his belt in “Wings of Tenderness” and “Looking for Freedom”. He also has the classic song from his show Knightrider, called “Our First Night Together: It is a humorous video with eighty’s outfits and permed hair. Even more odd, is the “Pingu Dance Rap” where there is just a penguin rapping with Hasselhoff’s voice. As weird or crazy all of these videos are, I chose none of them. And I almost chose "Limbo Dance", too but I did not. I chose “Hooked on a Feeling”, which is actually not that bad of a song originally, but Hasselhoff’s version is just a hideous piece of work. It has his cocky personality like he is Rico Suave, but not only that. There are horrible green screens, and special effects. There are unusual choices of wardrobe for Hasselhoff that ranges from a full fur coat to a suit. I have no clue why he thought this would be a good video, but for some reason it was made still. Oh well, just another video to watch and mock joyfully.

Writing Project 2: Omaha

“Omaha” is a music video written by the Counting Crows. This video does not have any famous people in it, or any one at all for that matter, not even any of the band members. It does not have the redundant back up dancers, or band members in black leather pants. It does, however, show various images from around Omaha. The video improves the song, makes it more powerful to the audience. The music video “Omaha” is about making people think about their hometown, and what it exactly means to them.
It shows pictures of the Missouri River down by Eppley Airfield, the airport in Omaha. It has a few pictures of trains at the Union Pacific train station downtown. There are also various shots of the Old Market, the historic part of downtown Omaha. It has brick streets, horse and carriages, nice little shops. It is an amazing place to just walk around at. It has the best homemade ice cream at Ted & Wally’s, which is also a locally owned business that promotes local and underground bands; it is really cool to just sit there and listen to music on the weekends.
The video also has a lot of landscape scenes. There are some of lakes, neighborhoods, plains, and corn, lots of corn. In addition to the landscape images, this video also has a lot of weather-related pictures. It shows Omaha all covered in beautiful snow. There are snows all over the buildings downtown, covering all the parked cars in a white blanket.
It shows drivers driving on busy Dodge street in the snow, too. It has a great picture of Memorial Park, which is located by the University of Nebraska-Omaha. It shows the sign to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, as well as the buildings, also. It shows almost all the places of Omaha that a person should think of when they are asked about Omaha.
The Counting Crows became a band in 1994. They proved that rock and rock was not dead after the late 1980s. Their influences are R.E.M., The Band, and specifically Van Morrison. They have a famous singles are “Doctor Jones” and “Accidentally in Love” which is from the soundtrack of Shrek 2.
The video “Omaha” that I chose shows a few rhetoric strategies. The first one is illustration, because it shows how it can impact a person’s life. It is a perfect example of “home”. Readers can see all the different parts of Omaha. They all can identify with at least one of the images of the city. These pictures remind them of something from back home, wherever that may be. It jogs their memory to something personal, something that hit close to home for each and every person. It is an extremely effective music video.
“Omaha” by the Counting Crows has a different meaning to every single person that sees it. Not only people that are actually from Omaha, but anyone that is no longer living where they grew up: home. The Counting Crows use the rhetoric strategy of narration in their music video. They lyrics tell a story. They talk about an old man, walking on water, walking all over me.
This music video could be even more to a person than just that. “Omaha” also shows the rhetorical strategy of division. It can totally be a part of a larger scheme. This means that while I think the video is just about your feelings towards your hometown, it could be more than that for some one else. If some one else listens to how the lyrics fit in with the images, it could indicate an enormous plethora of other different meanings. One reader could think that its meaning is something completely different than another reader.
Analogy is the fourth strategy used in the video “Omaha”. It is not used in the image part of the video, but in the lyrics of the song. “Omaha somewhere in the middle of America, …” I think the analogy for these lyrics are talking about your hometown-like it is the center of you like Omaha is in the center of the United States. It is what matters the most to you, deep down. Which again, is a range of numerous things for the readers.
Some readers may completely disagree, people from small towns or huge cities may not have any connection with the “Omaha” video. Those readers may just see the video as a bunch of random images that do not mean anything to them, that do not have any effect on them at all. All of the readers should be able to connect in someway or another to this music video, but who knows? Maybe some people do not, that would be a shame.
Out of the three well known rhetorical appeals, pathos is the significant one that stands out in the “Omaha” music video. It is about the emotions that overcome a person; it is very sentimental for people. It makes them think of extremely emotional memories. Some may be sad where others are heart-warming and joyful. It is about what appeals to the audience of the video. They become receptive to the video, and think about how the artist’s message is connected to them on a personal level
Ethos is another on of the rhetorical appeals that is in the “Omaha“ music video. It is connected to the main appeal of pathos through the nostalgia of the video-the reminiscence of home and being homesick in general. The empathy the music video has to each reader is part of this as well. It shows the compassion and understanding of the “home-y” feel that is through out the entire video.
Logos is not strongly used in this music video “Omaha”. But it is used a little bit in the lyrics of the song, if you pay attention to the words during the chorus: “Omaha, somewhere in middle America, get right to the heart of matters, it is the heart that matters more…” This shows the philosophy part of logos. It describes the values of a person’s life, their viewpoint or way of life. It is the logical reason behind the lyrics in this song through out the music video.
The video has several images of Omaha. It shows at least one image for everyone person to connect with, to find home in. One person could connect with the images of Old Market, and its several attractions. Another person could connect with the Missouri River down by the Eppley Airport, remembering their favorite trip. Another person could be connected with the image of Memorial Park, since it is a famous place go sledding at, with all of it covered in snow, as it is in the image during the music video.
“Omaha” is about making people think about their hometown, and what it really means to them. It makes people think of what they miss from home, what childhood memories they will never forget from home. Whether they go back for every holiday, or have not gone back in years, it is still their home. It will always be a part of them, no matter how far away they are from it now. It will always have meaning. It will always have a place in your heart.

Bon Jovi!!!

One of my favorite music videos from the more recent ones anyway, is Jon Bon Jovi’s new song , “You Want Make A Memory”. I have always been a fan of Bon Jovi in general; my older sister still makes fun of me, but I do not even care. I am a loyal fan. I did not get to go to his concert when he was in Omaha last year, unfortunately, but one of my employers got to go and called me during one of his many great songs, so I was happy. Some of his fans have not liked him as much since he switched to more country tunes like when he does the song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?” But I always defended him by saying he always said he was a cowboy at heart jokingly, because of the song “Dead or Alive”. Anyway, I love his most recent single, because it is a great love song. But I did not fall in love with the song, I fell in love with the video. It is a great song to just sit with your loved one with or slow dance. This is, because it tells a story of a husband and wife. It is just a great music video, because it describes this whole relationship and its story with out any dialogue. You can see how he feels about her through every song he sings. You see how she misses him as well when she is looking through their wedding album. All you need is the song and its lyrics to understand. Plus Bon Jovi is just the classic “pretty boy rocker”, and he is still gorgeous after how many years. The ending to this music video is very powerful, too. It shows that during the whole video when he was watching her get ready, and trying to talk to her, he was not really there. She walks right through him, and you can tell by the look on her face that she is having a hard time moving on as well. There are not a lot of songs like that anymore.