Spectrum

It's not the words that create a song, but the lyricist thoughts. It's not the lyrics that hold emotion, but the performance.  It's not the song itself that tops the charts, but the musicians behind it. A perfect example, "Radioactive".  

 

With the original artist bring Imagine Dragons, lead singer Dan Reynolds said, "Radioactive is a powerful-sounding song. There's a personal story behind it, but generally speaking, it's a song about an awakening; kind of waking up one day to do something new, and see life in a fresh way."

 

 

 

However, even with Reynold's goal in mind, doesn't mean the message cannot be conveyed by others.  

 

After reaching a top ranking among the Billboard charts, and being the top 3rd single sold in 2013, "Radioactive" has been covered by numerous other artist. Although, the personality changes from performer to performer, the message is broad enough to reach an abundance of people.  

 

The original version balances elements of dubstep, electronic rock and alternative rock. But the covers hit much more than just a few genres. Variety from a piano set to a gutteral scream, I'm sure whatever music that you listen to, you will be able to find a descent cover to fit your taste.  

 

Violins create the texture with Lindsey Stirling & the accapella of Pentatonix:      

 

 

Daughtry takes a step down from his rock and roll to show vulnerability with the backing of the ivory keys:
      

 

Screams evade the melody with post-hardcore Our Last Night:
  

This comes to show music breaks boundaries within itself. The spectrum is as vast, as wide, as deep as the ocean.  

Who knows what will happen when I eventually cover the song. Maybe I'll add my own spin, change the melody a bit. It's at the hands of the performer to embed their creativity and lend their personality to stand out among the rest.  

That is exactly what Imagine Dragons did. That's what Lindsey Stirling did. That's what Daughtry did. That's what Our Last Night did. That's what I plan on doing.  

It's mine to claim a place in the spectrum that is limitless.

Freedom at its Finest

Yes, obviously there is censorship in music. When is there not? Well, I guess that depends on what music you listen to. But how is “Explicit” defined? Who is to say that a word or phrase is offensive? It’s up to the perception of the audience.

Green Day can attest to that. With their releases of American Idiot in 2004 and 21^st Century Breakdown in 2009, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong  (pictured left) refused to edit their music to reach Wal-Mart’s policy. Therefore, in those years one wouldn’t find any Green Day record on the shelves of any Wal-Mart stores.

“There’s nothing dirty about our record,” Armstrong said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Personally, I don’t think they are being insensitive.  For Armstrong, as I see it, music is a way to publicize his views; especially in American Idiot hitting on the government and the near future of war. He wanted to be vocal. So he was.  Its Armstrong’s way to call the problems of our society to mind.  Its inevitable, no matter how you approach a subject, someone will take offence to another’s opinions. Who is to say we can’t voice personal perspectives on a problem at hand?

According to Armstrong, if you want to censor someone, what does that say about speaking his mind?

I believe it’s a limitation of creativity. If an artist decides upon language and context, that according to society should be censored, it’s their personal choice. No one is forced to listen to the music.

Even with Green Day’s decision of non-censoring to the biggest music retailor, 21^st Century Breakdown reached the top of Billboard 200 in the short span of 3 days.

But in an opposite viewpoint, to relate to a current event, recently an article was written about Philadelphia’s Neshaminy High School's paper, the Playwickian. The students were sent to the principal for being too sensitive . Too sensitive! How? Because their mascot, the Redskins, was seen as offensive by the students. They in turn removed the word “Redskins” from any piece of publication.

This is unfair to the students—being in trouble for the belief of censoring themselves. It was their decision to eliminate the word. And in the recent staff editorial, it states, “Detractors will argue that the word is used with all due respect. But the offensiveness of a word cannot be judged by its intended meaning, but by how it is received.”

By taking into account the audience, rhetoric is in mind. The stance is taken in position to account the perception of the reader. I see no reason why the school is taking offence to the matter.

According to editor-and-chief of the Playwickian Gillian McGoldrick, they are not giving into the pressure of using the word. No one should be forced into saying something they don’t want to.

It’s called freedom of speech. Sometimes the absence is stronger than saying the word. So, is the school breaking the first amendment?

 

I’d say yes. This is not in any way affecting the government negatively, which is the only reason why the first amendment would be suppressed. It is a decision. One made justly. One made thoughtfully.

Constantly we are told to use our voices for positive impact in our social world. But we are hindered by those educators, as shown above, who deemed it wrong to remove a simple word that could obviously be taken as an insult.

 

Home

According to dictionary.com, there are eleven definitions for the noun home. So how do you describe a home?

Is it the place you lived for the majority of your life? Where you have the most memories? Is it the place where your heart is? Somewhere that you feel safe? Where you have friends? Where you are accepted?

I’ve contemplated these questions for the past three years because I don’t know where I stand. Even before I packed my belongings and left the life I knew in St. Louis, I questioned where I would call home. Could I transition? Would I make friends? Would I keep in touch? How many times could I visit "home"? Would I move back?

It was and still is a thread of unending questions.

I hadn’t heard Bon Jovi’s song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” in ages, but on the final drive to Ohio, the radio blasted (which rarely happenes). The old, familiar beat played. Perusal, I sang. But At that time, the lyrics hit home the hardest.

"It doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you go

If it's a million miles away or just a mile up the road

Take it in. Take it with you when you go,

Who says you can't go home?"

In all honesty, compared to most people who have moved away from their hometown, I visit mine quite often. As each Thanksgiving and Christmas come around, there are always family gathering. Weddings are more frequent (as I am one of the younger kids in my family). It seems as if I go home every few months.

Everything seems normal, as it should. I have to be a bit more social with my family than I used to be, but nothing I can’t handle. I just don’t bring a book anymore, or well most times. I still find myself reading a book during the trips, but I have to engage in conversation more often than not. The chatter is about everything. Normal.

My friends and I will meet up to have a sleepover staying up into the night watching movies, eating popcorn and talking about anything that comes to mind. Sometimes I think I haven’t left. But the time always comes when suitcases have to be packed and the drive has to be made back to Ohio.

In the song “That Home” by the group Newsboys, a different aspect of a home is encountered. The chorus describes a safe haven with a platform of love.

 “In that home

We knew we were safe

To be young enough to dream

Find the faith to believe

And in that home

Love, it had no end

It's where we learned to forgive

In that home”

 In essence, this could be anywhere then. This home could be a special sanctuary; a place where you feel most as yourself or somewhere you can be open, honest, truthful. This acceptance is not only with yourself but with others.

It doesn’t have to be a place you live, or even some place you visit daily. This home is personal to you.

Yet another characteristic of what a home is can be found in Carrie Underwood’s song “Temporary Home.” With the slow ballad, the lyrics flow with the meaning that your home is not on this planet. It is the afterlife.

“This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong

 Windows and rooms that I'm passing through

 This was just a stop on the way to where I'm going

 I'm not afraid because I know

 This was my temporary home”

We are all on this planet to live and to leave a legacy behind. But in truth, our destination for life is not here on Earth. We are divine creatures that at some point return to a spiritual world.

♫♫♫♫♫

There is no definitive answer to what is a home. It depends on how you approach the question.

After mulling over countless songs and numerous questions, I still don’t think I’ve settled on an answer, even three years after moving. I think it combines all the messages, really.

For me, narrowing it down, I’d say a home is built off of love, comfort and familiarity. But there is more than just this life. Hereafter holds a new adventure. Yet, we can’t find out that journey, well, until our time comes to pass. It’s waiting. But for now, life is here on earth with people we love. Make the most of it because even if you are uprooted and thrown into a whirlwind of change, you can still return to the place that built you <3

Reconnected

I am definitely the creative writer. I knew that before I even began to write journalistically. I’m always adding little details here and there, descriptive adjectives, varying my verbs. As journalism is becoming implemented into my writing style, I haven’t lost the touch for writing novels, short stories or poems. I’ve just been able to look at my pieces from a different point of view. I will approach a topic differently. And though keeping strait to the point without all the fluff is difficult (or at least for the moment), I thought I’d share a song I wrote.

My inspiration comes from everyday life; from dreams (if I remember them) and internal battles I fight with myself. But this particular composition, “Killing the Clocks”, was inspired by the novel I finished last winter.

In short, I’ve titled the novel Reconnected. It is about a girl, Sephora, who meets international boy band, Imagine Mir, before they became a worldwide phenomenon. Throughout while living in Germany, the four counterparts and Sephora bonded. Four years later it is blatantly obvious Sephora changed; however, Imagine Mir knows nothing of the mistakes and lessons she learned about relationships. Little does Sephora or the boys know that there is a connection between their families to lead Sephora back to Germany to confront her secret. Events following lead to unexpected fallouts, heartbreaks and overwhelming damage. Can the families cope with the outcome? Is there anything else to hold onto, or are relationships sliding on glass?

“Killing the Clocks” is the Imagine Mir’s first single released internationally. It was written for Sephora after she departed ways from Germany.

The first verse explains of the emotion felt when Sephora left. They don’t want time to pass because their life is not the same without the missing piece.

And I'm killing the clocks
So we don't lose time

We're a half a world away 

I don't want to hear the tick, tick, tick
Reminding me you’re not here
For you and me were meant to be
And I kill the clocks
Now and forever

Within the chorus, it conveys time flew by when the five of them were together. With Sephora gone, all they have is a memory. Time is not conceptual. But if they are not aware of the clocks, maybe, memories could be more than just a vision. Maybe the wish of her return will occur to save them from a world that keeps turning without meaning.

Cause eternity is what is left
And that is the time I want to spend
Not alone but with you
You, you, you
I want to be with you
You, you, you
I'm killing the clocks and not the time
Cause in my eyes you are the only one left to save me
From this world that's burning

 

They want to live in a memory, the second verse articulates. Reality is not somewhere that the boys can be expressive anymore. They are shunned from their world and memory is the only escape.

Kill the clocks with me
Let us be one in the same
Find me and together we will be
Lost from reality
Cause without time
We will live forever
In a world that doesn't matter
We can be who we are

And we kill the clocks
Now and forever

After a repeat in the chorus, the third verse proclaims that Sephora was open to their outcast ways. She accepted all four of them for their true colors. Never once did she judge the fact that they were different. Not everyone wants to have conformity in society. All five were unique individuals. 

 Kill the clocks
We won't see the time pass
That all I ask
Cause with our meeting
You changed my outlook
You've changed my perspective

All I want is to see you again
Without the limits of time or space

For you and me were meant to be 

And I kill the clocks

Now and forever
 

In a usual song there is a bridge with the chorus ending with a final repeat. But that isn’t how I composed this piece. With another repeat in the chorus, I end with a few more lines, repeating part of the chorus. 

Killing the clocks to be with you
You and only you
We are killing the clocks together

♫♫♫♫♫ 

As I was writing the lyrics to this song, there was a distinct melody. Normally, the piece begins as a poem and eventually I can pull chords together for the piano. But it was no doubt when I sat down to my beloved instrument that I played a few notes and immediately knew this was what I recalled in my head.

I’ve never written down the composition, come to find out the original sticks. I can pull out the piano bench and know exactly how to play “Killing the Clock”. Every time it changes in minute details to adds characteristic changes.

Nothing’s ever perfect. It’s always a work in progress. 

<3

© 2012 Katie Hermann. All rights reserved.

Relieve Me

Although We the Kings usually catches my attention with their up beat, punk-pop sound, their lyrics from Just Keep Breathing always calms me.

The song is portraying the message that through any situation we can prevail. The emotion is tangible through every note. The words are not forced, but flow together to tell the listener to see life in a new light.

Take breath, after breath—in essence that’s what is moving you forward. That’s how a new day will blossom. Take you life day by day. There should be no reason to stress, if you live for every day. Not necessarily waiting for something good to happen because I believe you should work toward happiness and success. But be appreciative for the miracles that occur.

Every time this song replays through my playlist, I take a step back from my chaotic life. I acknowledge the moment and realize what I have, what I should be grateful for, and what is weighing me down.  I refocus on the important strongholds in my life.

 

The second verse definitely hits home every time.

 

The beginning's just another end

It's not too late to start again

When hope is all too hard to hold

Just take a breath and let it go

Every time I restart obstacles reappear. That’s unavoidable. And when hope is all lost, which happens, take some deep breaths. Come too with a clear head.

This message ties into one of my favorite quotes by Lao Tzu:

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.

If you are anxious you are living in the future.

If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

Sometimes I just have to remind my self not to get caught up in all the drama of life, which might be my own or someone else’s. I have to be consciously aware that I don’t get lost in my own head. My thoughts are always consuming me, which I guess is not the best thing.

It’s songs like Just Keep Breathing that pull me back to the surface when I’m drowning from stress and life in general. It brings me back to reality. I love living in my fictional worlds, but my imagination and thoughts are nott what my life should only consist of. Real people are important too.

It’s time to live day by day; breath by breath. You’ll never know when a moment will be your last. Make the most of what you have.

First Impressions

“No album is complete without a title,” a quote from Highlight Magazine’s September Issue. “Album titles give a glimpse into what the album’s theme will be and what the songs will focus on.”

But in all honestly, a title is the first impression. If the title does not provoke a thought or a feeling in the reader, listener or the audience in general, what do you have?

Nothing. They won’t continue on. 

Yet for Australian band Tonight Alive, they already made their first impression around the world with their debut album What Are You So Scared Of?

For lead singer, Jenna McDougall (pictured center), the inspiration came from everyday life. It was a question she asked herself every day, because as a high school student she was afraid of judgment. However, when she became a counterpart to Tonight Alive, she put her past behind her.

The title track is my anthem. I live by the words:

What are you so scared of?

Judgment’s not unfair.

It's what we've learned to see.

These have helped me to open my eyes and be comfortable in my own skin. I don’t act differently around friends or strangers. Although, I might begin quiet, I’m just becoming used to my surroundings. I’ve accepted the fact that other’s make judgments. It’s not at my expense if someone decides to categorize me. They just don’t get to know me since I am now “labeled”.

Yet, that is not the only reason for my love with the song. There is an acoustic version too. It’s not often you can find a punk-rock band having a soft side. Yes, in all the original compositions there are the drums and electric guitar, but sometimes it’s nice to relax and take life a little slower.

What is even more surprising, they rerecorded What Are You So Scared Of? into a full acoustic album. Start to finish. That is what made me fall in love with them.

 

McDougall’s voice is raw and I always feel her emotional connection. Especially now with their newest release as of September 10^th, 2013 for the United Sates (and September 6^th for those who live in Australia), The Other Side has made an impact.

So what does The Other Side mean?

“The Other Side refers to the realization that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel,” McDougall said. “We originally had the idea of Black and White, or polar opposites, but after all the songs had been written this idea jumped out the most. There is always a light; you just need to find it.”

Life will always be full of struggles. Struggles we face every day. Some people will hide behind a mask. Others will be silent. Yet breaking away from how society has painted the “perfect picture”, McDougall changed. She allowed her experiences to shape her and in the twelve tracked list, not only has her life been exposed, but so has the other four members of Tonight Alive.

“Being able to step out and show the world your scars shows bravery and growth as a person. It’s truly honorable and commendable.”

Tonight Alive conveys a positive message, encouraging all of us.  However, it is up to you, as an individual, to decide how a first impression strikes you and your judgment to continue forward. It may only be by chance that you find a pillar of light in your life, but you have to give a chance for the light to break through the surrounding opaque clouds.

 To read the full article from Highlight Magazine:

http://highlightmagazine.net/2013/09/01/issue19/ 

Catching Your Attention

One liners and lyrics. What an interesting approach to beginning an article.

Mark Motz, a local sports journalist from Cincinnati, brought this to the attention of the Mason High School Chronicle staff.

The statement was an answer to the question of "How do you creatively begin a sports article?"

Motz said he's not an expert at anything, except asking questions. Yet he was pouring out ideas to the Chronicle staff today. He suggested connecting your information to lyrics of a well-known song, history, literature, or biblical references.

For Motz, it’s a different catchy technique that grabs the reader immediately.

And according to Chronicle staff Advisor, Dale Conner, when he reads Motz’s articles, either the lead intrigues him to continue or the lead itself is all that needs to be read because honestly that part is all that needs to be said.

Even now, Motz said, after years of being in the field of journalism field, most of his time invested in writing the lead, for in today’s society people have such a short attention span.

“It may take me an hour or two to write an article,” Motz said, “half the time is spent on the lead, even if it is two words.”

They may not read the full article, but if the lead is strong, and as Conner like to say “Sharp as a knife” that’s your key to keeping the readers’ interest.