Snapshot #4 by Regan Endsley

Music to me, is a way to express yourself, and a chance to relate the story of songs to your own life. Mostly to me music gives me great memories. If I hear a song I know it will bring me back to a flashback of a time when i was listening to that song. An example is when I hear the very old song by Taylor Swift, You Belong With Me when I was younger whenever me and my mom would listen to that song and it says "she wear short shorts, i wear t shirts, she's cheer caption and I'm on the bleachers." My mom would always point at herself for the good thing and point at me for my bad i would do the same to her, its just something i always remember doing when we heard that song. Also the song We Will Rock You by,  by Queen was the intro song when we ran out for volleyball so everything i hear that song I think of my volleyball season. There are many songs that I can listen to and think of a memory, those are just some examples. My favorite kind of music is hip/hop and rap, mostly anything you see on the top 50 charts. My currently favorite musican is Drake, a rapper, I just love his music and the story he raps about in his songs. That is what music is and means to me.

This is Drake, my favorite rapper. His most viewed and popular song is "Hotline Bling"
not personally my favorite mine is probably "Marvin's Room" He is my favorite because i just
like the way he raps and tells a story and me and one of my friends have been obsessing over him since
he first started rapping so the connection just stuck.
 

Snapshot #4 By: Jussett Flores

What Music Means To Me

Music to me means that I can express who I am and that I can escape from reality for a brief moment. I can show people that I’m not just a person in this world, but that I am a unique person with a purpose. It is also a way for me to show some emotion when I need to. The genre that I listen to is alternative music, country, pop music, Christian, Indie. I can not choose which genre mean the most to me because each of these genres have amazing, talented singers that their music speaks to me in different ways and in different situations. Each song that they sing has a different meaning to me.

Britt Nicole is a Christian singer. Britt Nicole songs are like one whose voice was venomed melody every time I listen to her. So this past month which was October to be particular it was October 4th, I was sitting in my English class working as always and after class was over I was heading to my next class. I get on social media as usual and little did I know I lost a friend to cancer. I was listening to this song called “The Sun Is Rising” after the moment I found out, since I know that this song will make me feel better even though I was devastated and crying.

This song actually reminded of another friend that I lost back on February 5th, 2013. I was just a junior in high school and I was just getting ready to go to school and I get on facebook and I found out that she passed away in a house fire with her boyfriend and a classmate of hers. She was my sister and I’s friend and she graduated with my sister in 2012. I could not make it through my first period class without crying because of this tragedy that happened. All day I was emotional and every teacher knew about the tragedy, so they made that day an easy day for every student that it affected. That same day at night it was freezing cold and snowing really hard and there was going to be a candle lighting that night of course my sister and I went to it.

Few days later my heart was breaking and I could not stop crying and my sister told me to listen to this song “The Sun Is Rising”. The lyrics “When life has cut too deep and left you hurting, The future you had hoped for is now burning, And the dreams you held so tight lost their meaning, And you don't know if you'll ever find the healing” spoke to me because I felt lost and I didn’t know what to do because I have lost a friend. Every single word to this song made me stronger. This specific part of the song “Whatever you're facing, If your heart is breaking, There's a promise for the ones who just hold on, Lift up your eyes and see, The sun is rising” this made me cry so hard, but I knew right there and then that I was going to make it through this rough time. This artist and song are important to me because whenever there is a tragedy in my life this song will lift me up and make me feel better and that my life is not over, but that it is getting stronger and that God is always with me.

Britt Nicole is one of my favorite Christian singer. Her most famous song is "The Lost Get Found" Every mission trip I went on I would ask them to play her songs. She is an amazing singer and a follower of God. 

Snapshot #4 by Jordan Kightlinger

Adam Levine is an amazing singer and I love
all of his songs. If I had to choose a favorite
     I believe it would be "Sugar." I watch the voice,
           so I see him work well with others, and try his best
      to help others succeed in their careers for music.
                 Plus, he always wears a sly suit, and they look awesome

      

      People listen to music all of the time. I, myself, do so as well. But what does music mean to me? I have such an undying affection for music because it has a way of conveying feelings that simple words cannot. Isn't music just words with instruments playing? Well yes, sometimes, but tell me. Do you feel more compelled to hug something who says I love you, vs someone who says that while also playing a piano? Throughout history, music has been used as revolutionary tools for healing and reconstruction, while also being used for rallying and cheering. Music is a story that can be expressed without words; a symphony of colors, an aurora of emotions, a best friend to cheer you up when you feel down. Music is all of theses things, and more.
      I love all types of music, and while I find myself not really having a favorite the genre of music I am talking about is pop music. I love these types of songs because I find them to be more catchy, and man, do I love a good love song. There's something so appealing about someone telling the one that they love their true feelings in a symphony of instruments. One time, my sister and I started listening to the song "Barbie Girl." She would be Barbie, and I would be Ken. It was our favorite song, and we performed it in front of our entire family once. I'll never forget the fun we had.

Snapshot Four- Emma Kleinknecht

Snapshot Four

My favorite genre of music is rap. Rap means the most to me because most artists tell a story with incredible lyrics. I also enjoy listening closely to the beats behind the lyrics. Lyrics mean a lot to me because you get to hear powerful stories or lessons. I love meeting new people and hearing where they came from, or what they have done to be who they are today. Rap is like getting to know someone and hearing the high and low points of their lives. Artists also teach important lessons in their lyrics and state them in very clever ways. I love hearing lines that have creative double meanings. One of the most engaging musicians in my opinion is Kanye West. He is an amazing writer and produces all of his songs which is very rare. He is extremely talented and wise which is why I enjoy listening to him. 

My best friend Micah and I were on our way to our friends house on campus last year, listening to all of our favorite songs very loudly. One song came on that had been our go-to for years. We looked at each other and went back and forth reciting the lyrics, getting super into it. When the chorus came we joined together yelling it and dancing intensely like we were front row at a concert. It was so much fun and such an iconic moment. 

My favorite lyrical rapper, Kanye West. Here he is putting emotion into his performance on Jonathan Ross. 

Snapshot Four by Max Balderson

Ever since I was a kid in middle school, I have been listening to rap and rock. They are my favorite genres of music, and you will hardly ever see me listening to anything else. These two music genres are so important to me because of one thing: lyrics. When it comes to music, lyrics are the bread and butter. Sure, a song can have some catchy beat or a cool drum solo, but those are just sounds. When you hear the same sound enough, it can become boring or even annoying. However, if a song has lyrics that mean something to you, it can last a lifetime. For instance one summer when I was 13, someone had shown me the song Handle Bars by Flobots. At first I had only heard it for the sound. I thought it was a catchy song. I actually listened to it a lot, but I grew tired of the song after about a month. It was about a month or two later that someone had showed me the song again. When they showed it to me, they explained the lyrics as it was playing. This made the song light up in a whole new way for me. It wasn't just a boring catchy song anymore. It had transformed into a story of two friends, and a story of how someone can abuse the power given to them. It made the song take on a whole new meaning to me, and I've always listened to music for the lyrics ever since.

A scene from the music video for handlebars. It shows people
in protest against the leader that in narrating the song. The
music video actually played a big role in helping me
understand the meaning of the song.

Snapshot Four by Jack Constantino

Snapshot Four

What Music Means To Me

            The other day I was sitting in English Class. We only had a few minutes until class was over. My English teacher was talking about the new book we have started to read. He then looked at the clock and started rapidly passing out our new assignment so that he had a few minutes to talk to us about it before class was over. He then starting explaining the assignment, telling us that this assignment is about what music means to us individually. I read over the assignment and I started to think of how music was important to me. I then started to wonder what life would be like without music and the thought was too scary so I went back to thinking about what it meant to me.

A few moments later the teacher announced class over. It was music to my ears because I could go home and get something to eat. I get packed and I start walking towards my friend’s car because they said they would give me a ride home. I got into the car and we drove off. My friend and I were listening to Twenty One Pilots, my favorite alternative band. The song “Car Radio” was playing. We were about halfway home and I hear the lyrics

“’Cause somebody stole my car radio / And now I just sit here in silence”      

Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots

I instantly think to myself what if my friend didn’t have a radio in their car. I would feel uncomfortable sitting in the awkward silence.

When I just feel like relaxing I like to listen to Twenty One Pilots. A lot of the things that they sing are about some of the same things that I’ve gone through in life. Their music puts me in a good mood whenever I listen to it. I love to listen to music whenever I can. Whenever I’m happy I like to listen to music because I like to sing and dance to it. I also listen to music when I’m sad because it helps me let out my I’m feeling through the music. After I do that I tend to feel much better which will put me in a better mood. I like to listen to music when I’m in the shower, in the car, and studying. Music is a huge part of my life. It helps me relax when I’m really feeling stressed. Music also gives me confidence like I can do whatever I want in life. So I was listening to another Twenty One Pilots song and a series of lyrics told me what music really meant to me.

“I will make you queen of everything you see / I’ll put you on the map / I’ll cure you of disease” 

House of Gold by Twenty One Pilots

Music gets me to be myself and not care what anyone else thinks of me because I am in my own special world. I call it my happy place.

“There’s some people and I / Who have a tough time getting through this life / so excuse us as we sing to the sky” 

Screen by Twenty One Pilots

Tyler Joseph (right) and Josh Dun (left) are the musical duo who make up the band Twenty One Pilots. They are both from  Northern Columbus. My favorite song by them has to be Car Radio. These two have made music that helps me get through my everyday life.

Brainstorming Exercise for Presentation topics. From Mike Lohre

Please put your three best ideas for Presentations in the Comments feature of this post, so we can see them all here on the same post.

Thanks,

Mike