Kam's Blog

For this week's song, I decided to listen to "La Bamba," by Ritchie Valens. This is the first time I have decided to choose a song I didn't quite understand as it's sung by Ritchie Valens in Spanish, however I still enjoy the song! I'm not quite sure I would have said I liked the song a few years ago when I was in high school, but after some time out of the country, I have really learned to love music in different languages even when I don't understand every word. After listening to the song a few times, I decided to look at the translated lyrics and I've come to learn that it's a song about a dance, "the Bamba!" I really like the upbeat tone of the song that makes you want to get up and dance! I'm not much of a dancer but I can't lie when I say this song makes me feel like I can. It's sad that Ritchie Valens died so young, because as discussed in class, you only wonder what else he would have come up with as time went on! I k...

This week I chose to listen to "Nancy" (With the laughing face), by Frank Sinatra or "The Sultan of Swoon." I can say that I'm happy to finally get to some artists that I know and enjoy! I can't say I am too big into older music of this time period but I do enjoy Frank Sinatra! Like we spoke about in class, he combines the crooning style with a more Italian opera-ish feel and that comes out in this song. I enjoy the soft and smooth intro into the song as Frank Sinatra comes in with the vocals. The entire song has a very soft and warm feel to it. It's pretty similar to the feeling that you get when you listen to your classic pre-Christmas music in preparation for the holidays. I feel like I should be listening to this song around a fire with a nice warm blanket and some hot cocoa. I also thing it's interesting that the song itself, as far as the lyrics go, try and emulate those same feeling to "Nancy." Frank speaks about how he (or the subje...

The song I chose to listen to this week was "Gospel Ship," by the Carter Family. This song has a really old feel to it. The cover of the album on Apple music reads: "Country Music's First Family," and when you listen to the song you can tell why! Just as mentioned in class, this song landed in the "sacred" music genre as its a song about the "good news" and the joys that come when they share the message of the gospel. The song was written by A.P. Carter and then performed by the Carter Family. Unlike some of the other songs I have written about over the last few weeks, I can't say I am really inclined to listen to this one over and over. It's a little bland to me and I feel like I'm stuck with one tone. I am a big fan of country music, however I can't say that this is my favorite kind of country music! As everyone knows, most of the time when something new comes out, it kind of sucks and I think that's what happened here. ...

This week I chose to listen to the song “How Deep Is the Ocean,” by Bing Cosby (and composed by Irving Berlin). As we have learned, Bing Cosby was known as a crooner, which made him the perfect candidate to perform this song! As to the meaning and lyrics of the song, it’s a simple and sweet song about a man asking lots of question (aimed towards the love of his life). Bing Crosby’s voice, as soft and soothing as it is, helps bring across an intimate feel as you listen. He asks multiple questions like “how can I tell you what is in my heart?... “how can I tell you how much I love you?” and, “how can I measure just how much I do?” He then refers to the depth of the ocean and the height of the sky to make reference to the grandeur of his love for her! As to the tone of the song, it starts of with sort of a sad-tone but then transitions into a happier tone and note as the song moves along. The music and lyrics intertwine well together as love is a happy thing and that’s why that transiti...

This week I chose to listen to the song "West End Blues" which was performed by Louis Armstrong. I am a big fan of the trumpet, so I enjoy how the song starts out as it transitions into a bit of scatting by Louis. After a while, the trumpet and singing come to a stop and a piano solo comes in to take the lead for a hot minute and then shortly transitions back to the trumpet, going back and forth to the end of the song. The music almost puts me to sleep as it's got a calm tone throughout the song. If I were to put place to song, I would set this song in the night of a south-eastern swamp-land, similar to the setting of The Princess and the Frog. I just imagine listening to this song, floating slower than molasses down a big swampy river under dim light on a wooden raft. As far as music goes, I am not picky in the slightest and really like to listen to all sorts of music. I wouldn’t say that this type of jazz music would be my very first choice, but after listening to it ...