Popular music in America_Shihui Hu

Lady My song of choice this week is "Lady" by Kenny Rogers. When I heard the prelude to this song in class today, I already fell in love with it. I stopped my note-taking pen, listened carefully to the song, and watched the video. I have to admit, I searched for this song when getting out of class was over, and it kept looping. The prelude to this song feels familiar to me, but I can't put it into words. It's a slow, lyrical love song, and the chorus is paired with Kenny Rogers' raspy voice for a high-spirited vibe. This song I thought had two parts at first, at about two minutes, I thought the song was over, but it wasn't, and that's what I thought made it different. My favorite part of the song is "Lady, For so many years, I thought I'd never find you, You have come into my life and, Made me whole". I like this passage not only for its lyrics, but also for its accompaniment, and the combination of the two gives me a poignant feeling. All in...

  Psycho Killer My song of choice this week is "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads. When I watched the video of the song in class, I was drawn to its melody, with the lyrics having many repetitive parts. “Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, better, Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away, oh, oh, oh, oh, Ay-ya- ya-ya-ya-ya, ooh." These three lines use onomatopoeia, which makes me feel that this song is different, and also allows the audience to better remember the melody and lyrics, and make it catchy, Very good to sing. The singer's timbre is the second reason why I like this song. The deep voice, combined with the lyrics of Psycho Killer, can't help but give people a sense of mood. Originally written and performed as a ballad, "Psycho Killer" became what AllMusic called "a funky-looking new wave/no wave song" with a "sticky rhythm and one of rock's most memorable basslines.". After checking the background of the song, although the band...

HOTEL CALIFORNIA My pick for this week is "Hotel California" by The Eagles. The song describes the scene of young people driving along American highways and staying overnight in hotels in California. The rhythm of the song is lively and the melody is beautiful. In particular, the opening guitar ensemble is cited as a classic. This song also exists in my playlist, it is a very classic song. When I hear it, it gives me a sense of relaxation, plus I love California, so I love this song even more. My favorite lyric is 'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'. My understanding is that for young people, California described in the lyrics has another meaning, maybe a dream, maybe a yearning for an ideal life. It could be heaven or it could be hell. "You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!" This is another lyric that I like, and it is also a kind of mapping, the meaning is more than the surface meaning of the lyrics. Overall, I like this so...

 Walk On By My song of choice this week is "Walk on By" Dionne Warwick. When I heard this song in class today, I was fascinated by her voice. The singer's voice is deep, and when I understand the lyrics, I realize that this is a love story, although it is sad. The song title Walk on by also appears several times in the lyrics, sublimating the theme. My understanding is that every time a girl sees a boy on the street, she will be privately sad, but she still wants to go through it all, persuade herself to let go of this past, get over it, and don't stop. Among them, my favorite lyrics are "Foolish pride, That's all that I have left, So let me hide, The tears and the sadness you gave me, When you said goodbye". Here describes the sadness after losing love, the only pride left is stupid, the denial of oneself, and the psychology of wanting to escape. I like the whole song very much, I like the use of instruments in the background music, it brings jazz an...