Alexis' Music Blog

11th Blog Post Song chosen:  Smells Like Teen Spirit  by Nirvana This is such an iconic song, I remember the first time  I listened to it was in the 7th grade, back when I was  listening predominately to One Direction. I obviously couldn't appreciate the absolute brilliance of this very popular single at the time. This song arises feelings of that pubescent teen angst, and I cannot see why this wasn't a popular song at the time of its release in 1991. According to some light research, this song did not chart or do well after its release.  This song is somewhat soft during the verses, and then gets harder during the chorus. Kurt Cobain said he liked the progression of the Pixie's "soft and quiet and then loud and hard" style. It's so cool to me that some of the most famous songs in history were inspired by some songs that the average population wouldn't even know. Nirvana finishes off this song with the loud and hard, with Cobain repeating "A denial...

8th Blog Post Song chosen:  What's Going On  by Marvin Gaye This song feels really genuine to me. The sounds of conversation and laughing in the background feels really raw. Reminds me of songs I've heard with various other sounds of life in the background, like police sirens or voices on a phone call. I love the feeling it gives a song.  Upon a lyrical analysis of this song, it seems to be an anthem about the "hippie movement" of the 1960s. This song was recorded in 1971, while the Vietnam War was still going on. He sings about mothers crying about losing sons, brothers dying. He urges his father (and referring to other men as well) to calm down and not escalate the war. He pushes for love over war and saying others shouldn't judge those of them who have long hair (aka hippies). This song would have been controversial at the time, which makes Gaye pretty brave in my opinion.  The instruments in the background are very mild and calm. A light rhythm in the backgrou...