Cover Song

Released in 2006, Rascal Flatts an American country music band covered the song “Life is a Highway”. They covered the song for the Disney/Pixar animated film cars. The movie was released in June 9th, 2009. The song also sold a large quantity of digital download copies, this lead to a top 10 in the “Hot 100”. The cover was placed on a bonus track for Rascal Flatts album Me and My Gang. The song also won favorite song in a movie at the 33rd People’s Choice Awards. The music in the movie portrays the three members from the band, and the cars that they drive are allusive to, Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, and Mater. The lyrics “Life is a Highway”, Rascal Flatts are singing are relevant for the movie because the movie is about Cars who can talk and are alive. The lyrics mean that life is just like driving on a highway and your life can have ups and downs.
Do you think that Rascal Flatts thought that this song was going to be such a hit? I believe that the cover by Rascal flats throws off the same meaning as the original song writer Tom Cochrane. “Knock me down an' back up again/you’re in my blood/I'm not a lonely man”. The meaning of these lyrics shows how life can knock you down during the rough times but somehow you will get through it. The only different I found between the original and Rascal Flatts version is, Rascal Flatts sound more upbeat and happy, unlike Tom Cochrane he sounds uptight like he doesn’t enjoy life as much as the Rascal Flatts version. Furthermore there are many poetic devices that are found throughout the song. “Life's like a road that you travel on/when there's one day here an' the next day gone”, is an example of a simile, comparing life and a road, also these lyrics show objectification by taking “Life” and treating it as it is a physical object “Road”. Also imagery and local color are seen in the lyrics, “From Mozambique to those Memphis nights/The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights”. “You're in my blood/I'm not a lonely man”, is an example of a metaphor, a comparison devoid of like or as. The song uses abstract and inanimate things and compares them to objects or living human characteristics.
Although Rascal Flatts gets credit for the song and all their hard work, many people do not know that Tom Cochrane is the original song writer. In his album Mad Mad World, the song “Life is a Highway” is Tom Cochrane’s most famous song. It was a number one hit in Canada, and also the song peaked to number 6 on the United States Billboards chart in 1992. Some interesting information on why Cochrane wrote the song was because, he and his family went on a trip to West Africa in the early 1990’s. After his trip it led him to write his next album Mad Mad World which included the hit “Life is a Highway”. Interestingly the song only reached the Top 40 hits in the United States, while in Canada he was selling off the charts with the song. As I said before I do not find much difference in the original and the cover by Rascal Flatts, I only hear a difference in the tone and the mood. Cochrane sounds more upset and sad as he sings the song, which could be from seeing everything during his trip in West Africa. Although Cochrane sounds more upset and sad, Rascal Flatts sounds a lot more upbeat and happy as they sing the song and also a difference in the instruments played.
I really like the song “Life is a Highway”. I give Tom Cochrane the credit for the lyrics and the music, but I like Rascal Flatts version better. I probably like it better because I like country music better than rock music and Cochrane’s version was a rock version more than a country version. Rascal Flatts country twang in the song, makes me more interested in the song, and I really like listening to it. My themed genre, wished and dreams in country music, is seen in a small way throughout the song. The message sent over the song is that “Life” will not always be easy but he wishes that it could be the same for everyone.

Revised Poem. "I Still Wonder"

I Still Wonder….Revised
By: Tim Brown

Some days I wonder
I wonder, Should I give up,
Did I blunder?
Have I done enough, I wonder
Just wonder, Should I put it all under?

When I’m on stage, the adrenaline rushes through me,
Like a blistering wind on a cold winter day.
I work my hardest to fill my dreams,
But what am I missing, to be on my way?

Time never waits for me, time won’t wait for me
Why won’t it wait for me, time never waits for me
Time won’t wait for me, why won’t it wait for me

Some days I wonder
I wonder, Should I give up,
Did I blunder?
Have I done enough, I wonder
Just wonder, Should I put it all under?

I want to see my name on signs,
Reflecting off the metallic blue steal guitar.
A sea of people, surrounding me around the stage.
An ocean of nameless eyes, I can sparkle in their eyes
They’re up one by one, I’m watching people rise.

Time never waits for me, time won’t wait for me
Why won’t it wait for me, time never waits for me
Time won’t wait for me, why won’t it wait for me

I want to make it big, and have a good life,
See my dreams come true,
Have a family and a wife
But I still wonder, I still wonder…

Graduation

I cannot believe that graduation is almost here. Coming into high school I thought to myself, "I can't wait to graduate, but it is going to come so slow". Well I was totally wrong, I still say that I can't wait to graduate, but I am starting to realize I will truly miss high school.

Plagiarism

1. An example of truly plagariarized song that I found was "Do It" by Timbaland. People say that “Do It” is just like the song “Loose” by Nelly Furtado. The artist Timbaland was interviewed on a show called Elliot in the Morning. During the interview Timbaland says that he was playing around and sampling different songs. Also he doesn’t think that sampling is stealing, he thinks that people are making a big deal out of this. He says that people use samples from other artists all the time.

2. I do not believe that the group Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" is an example of plagiarism. The song sounds like Joe Satriani's "If I Could Fly" which was an instrumental piece. I do not believe it was plagiarism because, when I hear the instrumental piece and then “Viva La Vida”, I hear some similarities in the chorus but not enough to think it is plagiarism. The whole song differs from “If I could Fly”, enough to make me believe that it is not plagiarism.

"I Still Wonder"

Some days I wonder
I wonder, Should I give up,
Is it worth it, or did I blunder?
I wonder, have I done enough,
Or should I put it all under?

I wonder why time never waits for me,
Time won’t wait for me…..

When I’m on stage, the adrenaline rushes through me,
Like a blistering wind on a cold winter day.
I work my hardest to fill my dreams,
But what am I missing, am I on my way?

I still wonder,
I wonder, should I give up,
Is it worth it or did I blunder?
Dad says, “You can do what you think is impossible”
But I still wonder, I still wonder

Why won’t time wait for me,
Time please wait for me…..

I want to see my name on signs,
Reflecting off the dark metallic blue steal guitar.
I want a sea of people, surrounding me on stage,
An ocean of nameless eyes.
Standing up one by one,
I’m watching people rise.

I want to make it big, and have a good life,
See my dreams come true, have a family and a wife.
Time never waits for me,
I still wonder, I wonder,
Why time never waits for me.

By : Tim Brown

"Down" by me (Timmy Brown)

As most of you already know, music is a huge part of my life. I sing and also play the piano. The past few years I have found my love for music by singing and playing the piano in front of audiences. While I am performing I love the feeling of being on stage and I love the burst of adrenaline that goes through my body. Music will be a part of me the rest of my life. I am going to work my hardest to peruse a career in performing and sharing my musical talents for and with many people. I hope you like this clip of me performing "Down" by Jay Sean, it is a different arrangement than the regular song.

Song analysis 2

Song analysis 2

Carrie Underwood is a country singer and song writer. She is a very talented multi-platinum selling record artist. Carrie became famous after she won the fourth season of American Idol. Carrie Underwood grew up in the small, of Checotah, Oklahoma, where she was raised by her parents. Carrie did not have much as a kid but she worked all day on their farm singing while she was working. Also she sang at many talent shows and churches, and amazed her audiences with her powerful country twang voice. Carrie Underwood’s song Just a Dream, is very emotional and it shows many literary devices throughout the song.

The song is about a young girl on her wedding day when it say that she had “six pence in her shoe, something borrowed, something blue”, This is suppose to mean good luck for a bride on her wedding day. “all dressed in white, going to the church that night, she heard the trumpets from the military band and the flowers fell out of her hands”. This is ironic because the man she wanted to marry and have a family with is now past away and she is left all alone. The man that she wanted to marry was in the military and he apparently passed away during war before their wedding. Alliteration is also seen when Carrie sings about the congregation and the flag. “all stood up and sang the saddest song that she ever heard”. A simile is comparison of two things using the word like or as and it is seen right before the chorus “then guns rang one last shot and it felt like a bullet in her heart”. Carrie Underwood compares the pain she feels inside as a bullet to her heart, because now she is suffering from heartbreak and she does not know where to run too. “Just a Dream”, is ironic because the song is about a young girl getting ready to marry the man she loves and spend the rest of her life with him.

Just a Dream throws off a very emotional mood. Carrie Underwood is a very talented artist and I hope you would agree. Every time you hear her sing you can’t just listen to one of her songs, you have to listen to all of them. The themed-genre of wishes and dreams in country music is seen in this amazing song as she explains a dream that she wishes will happen someday.