Alex Extra Credit Assignment

The main things that I generally use to "judge" or more so connect to a piece of music are whether I think it's original, heartfelt, thoughtful, expressive, but more importantly do I feel like I can relate to it or just the way that it makes me feel as a result. I also suppose it depends on the song. I know that it's a really cliche' answer but that really means a lot to me. I love it when artists are true to themselves. That doesn't mean at all that I love every forms of music in the known free world either but it does mean that I can appreciate it for what it is and what it stands for. But there has to be that fine line in between. For example you have Rebecca Black and a majority of all those pretentious Disney Channel teen stars where their music is just processed out of Pro Tools and Auto tune and is completely unthoughtful and basically used as a commercial appeal and no value for anything else. And one of funniest things about music to me it is that the way I view it and base my reflections on can be something radically different to someone else. For example I'm going to go into a song from one of my all time favorite albums. This is sort of an extreme example but bear with me a little. "I'm a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm. I'm the runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb. I am a world's forgotten boy, the one who searches and destroys." those are the first lines that spewed out of Iggy Pop and meant a revolution to me. It didn't even feel like a song to me. I didn't know what I thought of it. I didn't fully understand it but for some strange reason I knew I wanted it. It brought me the true meaning of punk rock and the symbol of a great beginning that I never want to end. Everyone in the world has some sort of feeling of insecurity and this song stood out when I was feeling at my worst. Whenever I listen to this song I feel like I can do anything. It makes me believe that people can take their limits and basically give them the finger. But the crazy part is that the same song can mean jack-shit to someone else. It could be shot off as idiotic rambling and shouting. As far as my criteria for actual lyrics it really depends once again. But once again I'm going with originality and creativity and just the overall attitude. If I feel that the lyrics fit with what the overall tone of the music is going for then it works. For example "Holy Diver" by Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.) has some of the cheesiest lyrics I have ever heard in my life but at the same they're awesome because they blend a story behind them that fits with the mood of the lyrics. And as far as just concerning lyrics my aesthetic is based on the overall play between the words and melodies. Musicians I think are more geared towards every part of the song and some others might just pay attention to the lyrics and catchiness of the lyrics. That doesn't mean at all that I'm saying you have to be a musician to appreciate all aspects of a song. It really depends on who is listening and how they react to it. The bottom line is that everyone is different.