eliselanderson25

I’ve always been drawn to songs that seek to inspire or build the listener because I feel it’s so needed in our seriously stressed society. This is one of the reasons that I became a Fun. fan as of late. My guess is that “We Are Youngâ€, FUN.'s latest hit off their “Some Nights†album would ring a bell with music listeners instantly, but there’s another song that I would urge you to play. “Carry On†"Let your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground." This is one of the greatest lines I have ever heard in a song in my entire life. It spoke to me immediately, and it has dramatically reshaped the way I look at life. It takes courage and inner strength to overcome obstacles, and that’s not a cliché, that’s just truth. It talks about the ability to just keep going even when things are challenging. You might fall many times but you can still always get back up and start again. This song communicates that message well. Even with this one line, I see the whole picture. “Carry On†also brings a sense of community as it shows we as individuals are not alone. Everyone struggles, but within us, each one of us, there is a power and even on the worst day of our life, we will find the strength to rise above, and we’ll do it together. “Cause' we are, we are shining stars, we are invincible, we are who we are. On our darkest day, when we’re miles away, we will come we will find our way home.†Aside from its motivational message, “Carry On†is filled with unique lyrics from start to finish that perfectly illustrate an inner hope, that although not rational, still make some form of sense. An example of this would be the second verse, which talks about the inevitable death of everyone you know. “But I’d like to think, I could cheat it all, to make up for the times I’ve been cheated on.†This song also has a “bar†feel to it, similar to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’â€, I can imagine a group of friends singing this after a rough day, and after having a few. Definitely give this one a listen, and check out lead singer Nate Ruess’ impressive vocal range [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVRb6bu7V4 Also, check out FUN.'s recent opening performance of "We Are Young" at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards. http://www.mtv.com/v...html#id=1686022

Life.

I thought I would make a post about my journey as a singer-songwriter. I don't recall the exact moment I knew I wanted to pursue music for a living but I guarantee it happened when I was still a child. I used to put on a CD and lip-sych in front of my mirror with my hair brush...aka microphone... for hours. Nothing made me happier than to lock myself in my room for hours on end practicing my singing or putting on a "performance" for my stuffed animals. It is the same love I feel now. I wrote my first song when I was 7 years old. "Give Me One More Chance" which was probably the cheesiest pop song you could even fathom today, but to me back then it was gold. But with lyrics like... "we both got back together in such beautiful weather, how happy it made us both feel"... couldn't really use that today could I? haha but don't judge me too bad, remember I was only 7. That was my first song, which was followed my many more, all POP and all rhymed although for a young pre-teen I did come up with some great work too, some songs I still use today. For the most part, my songs then were about love, although I had absolutely no idea what that was like at that age, I must have gotten my concept of it through movies/tv. As I grew older the content changed. When I hit middle school, I still wrote about love but having actually experienced heartbreak my lyrics became more realistic. In high school however, my songwriting skyrocketed as I began to write from true experience of bad relationships, issues with friends, and of course unrequited love, amongst other things. This continued throughout my college years, but the quality of my lyrics matured in content as did my songwriting ability. While 90% of my songwriting inspiration is derived from my personal experiences, the other 10% was inspired through ideas/feelings I had about life in general. After college I looked back on this notebook of songs that summarized my entire life and decided it was time that I actually put them out for people to hear. So I created a youtube channel where I would post songs I had written, some a cappella, others with piano accompaniment that I had arranged myself. The channel gave me a great sense of self-worth because up til then I felt that I wasn't pursuing my dream because I was just accumulating song after song yet never doing anything with it once I finished writing the last word. Now that I am busy with non music career-related work, it brings me happiness/peace to see the progress I have made from that girl standing in front of that mirror 17 years ago to being that girl that has recently performed one of her original songs for an audience. My life would feel worthless and empty if I didn't continue to dream that someday I'll be able to do what I love. As the saying goes, when you love what you do you never work a day in your life, and I'm so looking forward to that!

I guess there are two ways for music to impact a songwriter, in my opinion: through creating lyrics that resonate with the listener’s personal experiences, that’s a given. The other is through creating a stroke of genius that the songwriter can then look at as a guide for their own writing capability. In regards to the second option, The Belle Brigade’s “I Didn’t Mean It†does just that. When I first heard this song, I had to play it a few more times right off the bat. The first verse alone (featured below) stopped me dead in my tracks. “I drove a nail in the bottom of my walking boot So I wail every time I hit the floor I’m dragging and I'm bleeding I'm begging and I'm pleading cause I thought you had another and you cannot have another lover “ My interpretation of this story is that the lead singer is in a state of desperation over what she has just done. She cheated on her partner because she thought they were cheating on her, but surprise…they never cheated on her. I love how you can feel the weight of the singer’s conscience through the music, through the words, through the tempo. The best thing about this song is that the artist never blatantly says that she cheated on her partner, she just inferences it throughout the song by saying, “I Didn’t Mean It†over and over again. Part of me questions if she is saying "I Didn't Mean It" to deny that she did anything, but that is subject to opinion. I highly recommend you listen to this song (check out link below), and not just for the lyrics, everything about this song is incredible, and the singer is phenomenal! [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr09Tbl8pgI P.S. The song is featured on the Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 soundtrack, which is how I found it. Definitely recommend buying it, the CD is really great.

You may have read my previous two blog entries , or heck, even looked at the title of my blog and said to yourself...LyrKICKS? No, no need to rush to your dictionary, and if you "Google it" all it will do is ask you if you meant "lyrics". So don't do any of that, just keep reading. An excerpt from the Elise Anderson dictionary: LyrKICKS: also referred to by the phrase "music that leaves its mark", is shown to be defined as the following: Musical writing that figuratively kicks the listener in the following ways: - To move the listener to action - To emotionally resonate with the listener Now enough of that. Taking away my self-crafted jargon, I define LyrKICKS as the following: LyrKICKS are simply lyrics that move the listener. But NOT in the way songs may be known to be "touching" or cause the listener to pause. No. It says "KICKS" for a reason. They are the lyrics that... caused you to follow your dream and leave the job you hate, gave you the courage to fall in love (again), pulled you out of the black hole a.k.a. your life, caused you to believe in good, made you love, trust, hate, cry, scream, rejoice, laugh, etc... LyrKICKS are lyrics that KICK you when nothing else matters. That, my friends, is the definition of LyrKICKS. Now, I've discussed some of mine, but I'm interested in hearing some of yours, so leave a comment!

Great article! I will definitely be checking out Anthony's website.

Thanks so much John.

Stuck between your fear of staying exactly where you are and your fear of the unknown you will find Idina Menzel's song "Brave." This song is the anthem for breaking away from today to go live tomorrow. "Brave" encompasses the wide array of emotions and thoughts involved in one's defining moment or turning point. "If this is the moment, I stand here all alone. If this is my right of passage, that somehow leads me home. I might be afraid, but it's my turn to be brave." Brave. Ms. Menzel sings about standing on her own two feet instead of dangling on someone else's, but her lyrics convey the essence of what the next step can really mean. Discuss sadness or excitement for the future just like the songs they play at high school graduations and weddings. Sure. But don't leave out the utter confusion, endless second-guessing and reassuring, along with the walk on egg shells that comes with it. "Brave" helped me develop the courage to finally pull myself from the toxic quicksand I was beginning to swallow. "If this is the last time before we say goodbye, at least it's the first day of the rest of my life..." Listen to this song and tell me then what you're finally prepared to do.

Sitting, still a tad nervous but already comfortable on the dark blue carpet of my then - new boyfriend, now - love of my life's apartment. My heart, recently stomped on, crushed, grinded. Failure. Loss. He turns to me. "I want to play a song for you." "Sure." Instrumental starts, then a gravelly voice. "There comes a time, a time in everyone's life, where nothing seems to go your way, where nothing seems to turn out right." I wince. Now paralyzed. It was everything he needed to say. It has led to everything since. "When it's a friend you need, let it be me." Let it be me. The four unconventional words that translated to three. The song played through, and then I spoke.