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Personal Style of Music Paper

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Submitted By rerebelle04
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Reagan Rooney English 101 09/16/2015
It has been a few years since I have listened to music just for the pure pleasure of listening to music. As I’ve been racking my brain day in and day out for the past two weeks, I figured out that I did actually used to enjoy listening to music for the following reasons: the lyrics, the vocals and the happy memories that would come rushing back when I would hear a certain song.
There were many songs that I would listen to over and over again because of the lyrics in the song and the message that the song portrayed to me. Christina Aguilera’s song titled “Beautiful”, to me, really portrays an uplifting and powerful message:
You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down....oh no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh, no
So don't you bring me down today... I think that is a really important message for everyone to know. People in this world can be really cruel and hurtful, especially to younger people who may not fit the “perfect body” profile. Another song I love simply because of the lyrics is Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day”. I believe the song’s lyrics can be really helpful to someone during a time of loss:
And I know you're shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we've lost along the way
And I know eventually we'll be together
One sweet day
Another song that I really love just for the lyrics and the simple message that the song portrays is a song that never really got all that popular on the radio by Pink called True Love. It is just a really simple, yet funny song. It fits me and not only my husband perfectly but the relationship with my children and I as well:
At the same time, I wanna hug you
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck
You're an asshole but I love you
And you make me so mad I ask myself
Why I'm still here, or where could I go
You're the only love I've ever known
But I hate you, I really hate you,
So much, I think it must be

True love, true love
It must be true love
Nothing else can break my heart like
True love, true love,
It must be true love
No one else can break my heart like you
I have a wide range of music that I listen to. It usually always varies from day to day depending on my mood.
As with the lyrics, the vocals of the singer themselves was another big reason I chose to listen to the music that I did. There are so many wonderfully talented singers in the world today, but to me there are a few certain voices that really stand out. I remember hearing all these singers on the radio when I was young, but Whitney Houston’s voice happens to be one of the few voices that I could hear and automatically know just who it was. Her songs were so beautifully written and she had such a great soft, and soothing sound that I could probably listen to her for hours on end. Another great talent that I absolutely used to love hearing come on is Celine Dion. As with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, Celine’s vocal range really and truly amazes me. There are certain notes that, coming from someone with no musical talent at all, these ladies are able to sing with such an effortless way about them.
My final and most important reason that I like the kinds of music that I do to, is the sheer happiness that I would feel just hearing that first beat of a familiar song that would automatically transport me back into a certain time in my life. For example any time I happen to stumble upon the song by Queen “Fat Bottom Girls”, my mind quickly goes back to being five years old and on my way to Kindergarten. I remember riding in my dad’s old blue and white Chevy with my chocolate milk and sausage biscuits. It’s one of my most favorite memories out of all. Another big ‘take me back’ song is by Percy Sledge called When a Man Loves a Woman. I remember being eight years old sitting on a bar stool asking my mom for more quarters for the jukebox just so I could play that song one more time. My mom and dad ran the bar in Lexington called Chinoe Pub. That song for me represents a really happy time in my life, before siblings and before divorce. Life was happy then. As I have grown up and had my own life experiences there are numerous other songs that I can relate to different parts of my life, some good and some bad. The song Good Morning Beautiful by Keith Urban will always have a special place in my heart simply because when I hear it’s slow tune I am reminded of the happiness and love I have with my husband and father of my children. We have so much going on in our lives right now that often we don’t take the time we should for us, but this song can come on and I’m still reminded that the love I had for him 15 years ago is still just as strong today.
I’m not exactly sure when or even why, for that matter, that I lost my love for music but I think after writing this paper I may actually try turning off my news radio shows that I’ve become so dependent upon for a few years now. I think I might just have to turn on the 90’s music station and enjoy getting lost in my past again for a while.

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