The New Literature

So I realize I’ve been neglecting my blog lately but I’m busy like a bee. That is no excuse though, so here I am straightening my hair, getting ready for class, packing, rocking out with Smashing Pumpkins and writing this blog. See… busy.

I thought I’d run off my last entry for this one and think through a random thought I just had on music and literature. In the past literature was extremely important. It was a major form of entertainment. History was preserved through these great works of art and life lessons learned. Today however, less and less of the population is reading but music is always listened to. Is it possible that musical lyrics will someday take the place of poetry and plays? That our music will carry on our legacy and not our books?

In my high school English class not only did we analyzed poetry we analyzed music. Lyrics are just a form of poetry after all. Music has the almost magical ability to make us happy or sad, to change our emotions. We can relate to them at extremely personal levels at times feeling like they were just written for us. Songs tell stories of the time, for instance “Hero of War” by Rise Against shows a popular view to America’s current situation. Songs also teach us lessons too. “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin (as seen in last entry) teaches us that you shouldn’t let anything ruin your happiness. NAS’s “I Can” teaches kids that they can do anything they want if they work hard. Some songs are just as deep as any book, poem, essay, or blog post. They provoke thought. Two I can think of off the top of my head are Muse’s “Plug in Baby” and Cold play’s “Viva La Vida.” I think that music, instead of being it’s own category of art should perhaps just be a subcategory of literature.

We all have our favorite song. I am sure you have yours. Why is it favorite? What does it mean to you? It is most likely not the same song as when you were little or maybe even a few years ago because as we change our mind, emotions, and taste change. I’m sure you look back and think “Why in the world did I ever listen to that?” I get that feeling about Aaron Carter, although I still jam out to some Spice Girls.