The connection between a song from the 80's and one of the most legendary American essayists of all time

Ralph Waldo Emerson, revolutionary essayist and inspiration to some of the most influential writers in history, has written many popular pieces of literature. Among them is “Experience,” an essay that discusses the importance of being self-aware. If there were to be a song that could represent some of “Experience”’s key aspects, it would be “Once in a Lifetime,” by the Talking Heads (hence the quotation marks in the terrible joke that is the title). They both give the feeling of being aware of one’s situation and both use rhetorical questions to trigger a sense of analysis in hopes that the listener/reader gains more understanding of their atmosphere.

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One idea that Emerson’s “Experience” brings forth is the outcome of one’s lack of awareness. According to Emerson, “Ghostlike we glide through nature, and should not know our place again,” (page 8). By comparing people who are unaware to a creature that represents silence, death; a spirit trapped in between the afterlife and its own mortality, Emerson establishes the fact that these kinds of people have no idea of what they should do or where they should go, they just go with the flow of nature. The Talking Heads plays with this idea in their first verse by giving many examples of possible outcomes for one’s ignorance and then ending it with “And you may ask yourself, ‘Well...how did I get here?’” (genius.com), clearly demonstrating that there are people who won’t know how or why they do what they do. To further cement the connection between Emerson’s idea of how ignorance forces one to move with nature and how “Once in a Lifetime” shows it, the chorus explicitly describes the flow of water. Not only that, but the chorus goes on to say “let the water hold me down” (genius.com), further showing that the singer is being controlled by the water and the water’s flow, similar to how Emerson wrote about ignorant people gliding through nature.

Mirror Writings: Similar yet different

Mirror writings. They're deceptively similar yet very different. That is one of the instances in which writings are partially similar to each other. They can overlap in terms of style, ideas, scenes, or other things. That happens because a lot of writers draw inspiration from other writers. #Amlitsongs is a hashtag that was started to tweet songs and poems that are similar in a way to specific writings by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The songs and poems could resemble the writings in style, images, and ideas. The following quotes from a song and a writing piece show how two pieces can create the same image. “And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved” (Imagine Dragons) “But this blow was arrested by the hand of my wife. Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demoniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain” (Poe 30). Those writings aren’t a mirror image of each other, but if you read one, it’s similar enough to remind you of the other. That reminds you of twins; they look alike, but have different personalities.

Poe and Queen: An Unlikely Connection

Edgar Allan Poe was a mysterious nineteenth century poet best known for his macabre stories, while Queen was a popular rock band in the 70s. It seems unlikely that their works would share meaning (however, in certain photos Poe could pass off as a band member)

Queen

Poe/Possible Queen Roadie 

but Poe’s “The Black Cat” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” are certainly connected.

Poe's “The Black Cat” is a tragic story of a mild-mannered man who drunkenly kills his wife and cat. Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody” picks up where the pride of Baltimore leaves off--a man has killed someone and is begging for forgiveness.

Both are tragedies, because the characters commit brutal crimes that do not represent their true personalities. Though they are regretful and don’t know what got into them, it’s doubtful that regret will hold up against a twelve-person jury. “The Black Cat” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” are both about death, caused by people who aren’t in their normal state, and the subsequent consequences they will face.

The first verse of “Bohemian Rhapsody” describes a boy running to his mother, frantically explaining that he “Put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger, now he’s dead” (Queen 8).

His fear pours out during the song as he pleas for mercy. The narrator in “The Black Cat” is similarly confused with himself, however he feels more horrific than scared.

The man claims that his violent ways came from “this unfathomable longing of the soul to vex itself--to offer violence to its own nature--to do wrong for wrongs sake only” (Poe 27).

That quote will likely get him committed to a psych ward, because the pointless violence cannot be explained, it is sudden and unexpected. He goes into demonic states of rage, and inexplicably murders, just like our friend from “Bohemian Rhapsody.” These two clearly have some problems, but it’s still hard to see apparently normal people have lapses in judgement that will ruin their lives.

For more on Bohemian Rhapsody: https://genius.com/Queen-bohemian-rhapsody-lyrics

For more on Edgar "the show" Poe: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe

Lil Uzi Vert and Edgar Allan Poe share a common message?

http://tauology.com/lil-uzi-vert-you-was-right-2/

Have you ever considered the similarities the work done by a nineteenth century poet and a modern day hip hop artist?

Well, neither have I. 

This all changed when reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat.” For those of you who don’t indulge in dark romantic literature of the 19th century, the short story essentially speaks of a psychotic heavy drinker who obsesses over his black cat and later proceeds to kill his cat. Pretty dark right?  Well it gets better(worse), the protagonist of the story finds another cat that reveals a shocking similarity to his old one( which really is just a figment of his imagination). As the protagonist’s drinking problem takes over him, he become delusional and swings an axe to the head of his wife as she tries to defend him from striking the imaginary cat.

To any of you who are familiar with the artist Lil Uzi Vert, you probably have already made the connection to his song “XO TOUR Llif3”.  Lil Uzi explores a notion of substance abuse and relationship issues with his significant other, much similar to the motif of Poe’s “The Black Cat.”

Although Poe and Lil Uzi were under the influence of different substances, ultimately they both showed to exhibit the same violent nature. “Xanny, help the pain, yeah please, Xanny, make it go away”(Lil Uzi Vert).  Lil Uzi demonstrates his reliance of Xanax, a commonly accessible drug to treat panic disorders. Poe, although being influenced by alcohol, shares a comparable dependence. “My disease grew upon me-for what disease is like Alcohol!”( Poe 25) Such dependence in substances is what lead Poe and Lil Uzi to neglect and moreover, harm their significant others.

So if by chance, you happen to stumble upon literature of a different century or even just a different time period, perhaps you will find joy in relating that modern music of your choice.

Whose Side are you on? Eminem Or Dr. Dre?

http://www.capitalxtra.com/artists/dr-dre/lists/facts/eminem-white/ 

We all battle two consciences, Eminem and Dr. Dre, and Edgar Allen Poe’s is clearly on Eminem’s side. In Edgar’s “The Black Cat,” and Em’s “Guilty Conscience,” characters struggle with their consciences while committing a crime. The main character in “The Black Cat” kills his cat and his wife—the second, Eminem’s alter ego, Slim Shady (and at the end of the song Dre can too) can understand, but killing a cat, c'mon man—and reasonably  has reservations and a conscious haunting him for days and weeks after the fact. This conscience eats away at his soul, making it more and more painful as time goes on—oh, the agony. The three main characters in Shady’s “Guilty Conscience” are split two to one, bad decisions to good. Dr. Dre convinces Eddie, the first guy, to not rob a liquor store, but Em sways the second, Stan, to rape a fifteen year old girl, I mean, it goes with his Slim Shady alter ego. In the end, Em and Dre both agree that Grady, the third man, should kill his cheating wife and her partner. All of these characters struggle with their consciences, showing that Poe’s ideals, about how a conscience can affect decision, still hold true to this day. Eminem and Dr. Dre’s “Guilty Conscience” is the modern day version of “The Black Cat” because it shows the prominence of consciences in moral decisions.

https://prezi.com/zw8cblnlmxww/the-black-cat-byedgar-allan-poe/ 

All the characters hear their consciences speaking moments before committing a crime, for the most part the characters commit crimes and Dr. Dre’s voice, the moral one, is often left angry afterwards, a clear example of how the man in “The Black Cat” felt after killing his cat and his wife. In the case of Stan, the rapist in “Guilty Conscience” and the murder of the first black cat, Poe’s character states that he is remorseful, “When reason returned with the morning...I experienced a sentiment half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty” (Poe The Black Cat), and Dr. Dre is clearly upset by Stan’s decision to side with Eminem and rape the girl, “Shit, you wanna get hauled off to jail” (Dr. Dre Guilty Conscience)The two quotes above show that both Edgar Allen Poe’s character and Eminem and Dr. Dre’s characters struggled with the conscience speaking to them in their minds about the crimes committed, murder and rape, respectively. But it’s literature, so it's up to you.

Stand Up to the Government with Rappers and Transcendalists

Hey guys! So I was listening to my some of my favorite songs the other day and I realized something. I realized that many of the songs I was listening to share similarities with some famous transcendentalist and dark-romantic essays. What I noticed was that both the songs and the essays expressed that our own experiences play an important role in developing our personal emotions. It is my understand that these experiences, and therefore emotions, are unavoidable. This is because such experiences occur in all different settings and environments, whether that be socially, politically, physically, or even mentally. There is a number of examples of songs and an essays sharing that same base setting or environment and in turn invoking very similar emotions. The most obvious instance of this idea is with the 80s rap song “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy and the essay “Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. I noticed in his essay, Thoreau outlines a bunch of different ways the government unjustly intrudes into his own life and freedom. Public Enemy also addresses the government, specifically on how the government has a restrictive and limiting attitude towards race. Both of the works discuss detrimental government progress, and their respective authors are overcome by strong emotions. These strong emotion drive both authors to call for action. Thoreau expressed that “Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them”, and Public Enemy outright states the “We've got to fight the powers that be”. The similarity between Public Enemy’s song and Henry David Thoreau’s essay is obvious: the entire sequence from setting to emotion to response for both the rap song and the essay share the same basic themes. 

See you soon and don't forget to FIGHT THE POWER!

Inside The Mind of Satanic Killers

Inside The Mind of Satanic Killers

    

Have you ever killed? Have you killed a human? Maybe a dog? Or that fly that is annoying the shit out of you? What motivated you to kill?  Eminem’s song “Kill You” and “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe reveal the differences of the minds of murderers, and their satanic thoughts that provoke them to take another living thing’s life. In the song “Kill You”, Eminem spits violent, aggressive lines about the public’s visions and expectations of Slim Shady.  Edgar Allan Poe’s story of “The Black Cat” makes you feel as killing is the daily norm, although the descriptions in the way he kills may haunt your dreams. Both pieces of work will grab your attention, and make you realize the sanity and craziness that roams through a killer’s mind.

“I invited violence, you vile venomous volatile vicious / Vain  Vicodin vrin vrin vrin! / Texas Chainsaw, left his brains all / Danglin’ from his neck while his head barely hangs on”.

These lyrics capture the listener making you wonder how the hell someone can have these thoughts. But at the same time the song captures you with the aggressive tone, and makes you feel like you have a dark side just like Eminem. The lyrics have a purpose though, as Eminem uses these lyrics to express his disgust of the media and the public’s perception, views, and opinions on him. “The Black Cat” doesn’t express as much anger as Eminem does, but instead makes killing feel casual which can be perceived even crazier than Eminem’s song “Kill You”.

Jimi Hendrix and Nathaniel Hawthorne are pretty similar

Hey readers! I was listening Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of All Along The Watchtower, and I thought to myself, “Wow the society he describes resembles the society in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil.” The wording in All Along The Watchtower closely resembles that of “The Minister’s Black Veil.” It seems to me that these two works of art share a deeper connection. That connection is the confusion that arises in the societies that both artists describe. For The Minister’s Black Veil it is the confusion over why the minister is wearing the veil, but for All Along The Watchtower the confusion comes from a general confusion of society and a revolution stems from it. Through this connection, a deeper exploration of both the song and the short story is needed.

The reactions of the many people in the town of Milford in “The Minister’s Black Veil,” are of confusion. The minister is going against social norms and is receiving a lot of negative feedback for it. “‘But what has good Parson Hooper got upon his face?’ cried the sexton in astonishment” (link to book line 2). The confusion the sexton displays is one of disgust and astonishment as he can simply not believe what Parson Hooper is wearing on his face. This simple act of wearing a black veil upon one’s head goes so far as to cause great unrest within the small town of Milford. Jimi Hendrix perfectly captures this unrest in the lyric: “There's too much confusion / I can't get no relief” (genius lines 3-4). It is unclear who is saying that they cannot get relief from the confusion, I believe that the “I” is a metaphor for the society and Jimi Hendrix is embodying that when he sings these words.

More to come as delve further into the rabbit hole

- Alex

How Much Can Love Really do?

How Much Can Love Really do?

The iconic lyrics, “When you kiss me heaven sighs/ And though I close my eyes/I see la vie en rose”, depict the most sought after feeling in the world: Love. Love is the feeling that transforms all. Love can make the world seem different- beauty and light may shine through even the most mundane of texts.

Now, the connection between a song played in the Disney animated movie, Wall-E , may not seem the most obvious of connections, but bare with me.

“Experience”, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the song “La Vie en Rose” by Daniela Andrade are connected as they both describe the heavy impact of different perspectives in life.

Emerson describes “Life is a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue, and each shows only what lies in its focus.” Excerpt From: “Transcendentalist Readings.” iBooks.

And in “La Vie en Rose”, the Pilaf, and in Louis Armstrong’s rendition himself, and in Daniela Andrade’s rendition herself (this song is sure covered a lot). They are  madly in love- extremely in Love. And when they are in love, everything is beautiful.

Similar to Pilaf’s lyrics in “La Vie en Rose”, Emerson shows how a specific event can affect one’s perspective, providing color, a hue, light and may even shield one from the dark and ugly in the world.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

July 14, 1789, morning. 954 people crowded outside of a prison in downtown Paris, shouting at the 82 jailers, urging them to stop resisting. The jailers refused. The crowded brought two cannons and fired at the jail. Unsurprisingly the 954 people beat the 82 jailers. They swarmed into the jail, took over the control, and officially started arguably one of the most significant revolution in human history: the French Revolution. Yes, this event is remembered as the Storm of Bastille.

Sixty years later, in New Hampshire, a man named Henry wrote an essay regarding civil disobedience in his two-day sojourn in prison. He was imprisoned because he refused to pay tax as he was concerned that the tax would be used in the American-Mexican War. His essay eventually became one of the most influential one regarding revolution in human history, influencing revolution leaders from other nations in the future. Yes, this Henry has middle name David and last name Thoreau.

Another thirteen years later, in 1862, Victor Hugo published his epic work Les Miserables, celebrating the history of France and French Revolution. In 2012, the book was adapted to a romantic musical film to dramatize the Jean Val Jean’s exodus from prison and Javert’s moral atonement. This accolade-winning features powerful music that echoed in my mind the first time I listened to it when I was thirteen. The song was so full of emotion that even I wanted to join the front line of the rebel and kick some French aristocratic asses.

If Thoreau would be part of the French revolution, would he approve what Jean Val Jean was doing? I highly doubt so. Although both advocating for changes in the existing regime, Thoreau supported more nonviolent resistance, accepted flaws of the regime, and preferred a government that exercises minimal control. He made his position clear in his civil disobedience essay that he did not pursue drastic changes of the regime:

“I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in but to live in it, be it good or bad”

What an emotional line! What was more impressive was that Thoreau managed to maintain calmness and sangfroid in his protest even though he put enough passion in his protest against the American government’s move to invading Mexico.

The crowd in the French revolution violently did not want to do the same thing. They attacked the authority, outrageously refused to embrace the existing regime, and ecstatically attemptd to seize control of the government. Listen to the iconic song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in Les Miserables:

“When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums  

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!”

Anything else to say? It’s all about emotion!

One final question to consider: what if the French fellows used Thoreau’s methodology in attempt to overthrow Louis XVI? Probably there would have been fewer mistakes and casualties in the revolution, but would the revolution have been successful? In other words, what does a revolution mean to achieve? Is it all about civil disobedience?