Liberation:
Eddie Vedder, "Society," Folk, 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRUGvArWXLk
U2, "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," Rock n' Roll, 1987.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb1XXs7e7ac&feature=related
Bob Dylan, "The Times They are a Changin'," Folk, 1964.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiRQypcldG8&feature=related
City High, "What Would You Do?" Hip Hop, 2001.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zLsbbafdgg
Queen, "I Want to Break Free," Rock. 1984.
Success:
Notorious B.I.G. "Mo Money, Mo Problems," Rap. 1987.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twkh0YiInPM
Jennifer Lopez, "Jenny From the Block," Hip Hop, 2002.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dly6p4Fu5TE
Kanye West, "Stronger," Hip Hop, 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO6ZnUZI0g
Everclear, "Like a California King," Rock, 1992.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA1lWA-MpVA
Weezer, "The Greatest Man that Ever Lived," Rock, 2008.
I actually had a lot of fun looking for songs about liberation. Of course the first song that I thought of was Queen's super hit "I want to Break Free." The song is obvious in its focus on breaking free - breaking out of the cycle. This is the intention in Hinduism. Hindus want out of the wheel of Samsara - the repetitive cycle of death and rebirth and death and rebirth... reincarnation.
Eddie Vedder's song from the movie "Into the Wild" spoke a lot about liberation. Vedder's song talks about liberation from society - awesome song. I thought about the idea of leaving society and thought, What are they looking for?
Of course U2's hit popped into my mind... this song could be a bit of a stretch. However, this also agrees with the Hindu philosophy found in the Upanishads where people would become ascetics and live in the woods. Overall, I really enjoy all of these songs - the idea of getting away, or escape has always interested me. Where do you find that escape? How can you find liberation? Are there situations that are too big for an escape?
I also really enjoyed checking out songs about success. I first thought about Muhammad Ali, saying "I AM THE GREATEST!" That's success - being the greatest. Kanye West samples Daft Punk's hit "Stronger." Then, Jennifer Lopez talks about her success in her song "Jenny From the Block."
However, success is not always about being the greatest or being the strongest or being the richest. Sometimes it's about being the California King - where Everclear tears someone down to find their success and also questions what success is - "What makes you think you are so special? What makes you think you are unique?"
B.I.G. steps in and points out that success means, "Mo Money Mo Problems." What a mentality... You think that money is the solution - it'll answer everything. No, it's the problem. I ended with the song, "I am the Greatest Man that Ever Lived." Weezer takes a Protestant hymn and shakes it up with a variation and the lyrics - "I'm the best that you've ever had." Success is a great thing in Hinduism, however, that's not the solution ultimately in Hinduism. You will always want more. It'll never be enough. The ultimate success in Hinduism is liberation from samsara.
Jennifer Lopez "Jenny From the Block" hahaha I was waiting for someone to put that one! You have a great assortment of songs on here Ben. Liberation songs are the best ones when it comes to finding that hidden message or meaning behind them. Mo Money Mo Problems is a perfect example of how success has its downfalls. I was going to choose that as one of my songs, but figured I'd let you have it instead. The belief in Hinduism about success never being enough can probably relate to people in American culture too. We all strive to be the best we can be and the greatest.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned liberation from society. I don't know if my songs are specifically about that but I was thinking the same thing when picking liberation songs. Society in American can be really overwhelming and if your anything like me it often hard to relate to so many materialistic people living around here. Because its so true there is no liberation in that. You get something and you just want more more more. You are never satisfied because these things can't make people happy. Anyway a little bit off topic but I like where you took that and I also think the pick Jenny from the block is hilarious! good song!
ReplyDeleteBen-
ReplyDeleteI really like how you incorporated Hindu terms into your response. You made some really great points. Your strongest point was based on your findings related to liberation. You pointed out that "Hindus want out of the wheel of Samsara - the repetitive cycle of death and rebirth and death and rebirth... reincarnation." By being liberated, Hindus finally feel a sense of contentment, thanks to Moksha. Your song choices represented the aims very well. It is clear that songs about liberation are always attractive for listeners. Great job!
I really enjoyed reading your post, I think you've picked some really interesting songs and I liked that you were able to connect it to to Hinduism. I lreally liked that you chose the song "What Would You Do?" by City High, I never even thought of it as a song for liberation but it really is. It just goes to show that liberation in American culture really can come from anything, anything that you feel "sets you free" which in turn, is an interesting contrast to what liberation really means in Hinduisim, like you mentioned. I also that thought picking Jenny From the Block was a great, fun song to show success. It just goes to show that people define success in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed listening to the songs you chose for the liberation aim. I understand the essence of liberation you wished to achieve in your choice of music. In both cases, liberation and success, the aims were expressed differently showing how these aims can be interpreted differently between individuals. Really nice choice of songs!!!
ReplyDelete