Snapshot 4- Nick Gurtler

 Music is not something that I would consider to be a major impact in my life. However when I do listen to music it has to speaks to me and send a message and meaning. I feel every song has meaning and there's a message inside. As well as being to find an escape through it and the possibilities to be very therapeutic.

    One of my favorite band is Linkin Park. My favorite song being Castle Of Glass. Just by the title of the song they are putting together something brittle and indestructible. Glass is easily broken while castles are notorious for quite the opposite. The song encompasses a very big picture. I feel the title refers to how fragile we are individuals and how easily we can be broken. When they say, “'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass”. I see the crack as something that is on the surface and doesn’t have much of an impact at the moment but eventually it may lead to a break in the castle of glass and lead to a change. Hopefully for the better.

    I find this to be my favorite and most powerful song that I listen to. It shows how fragile people are and how they are affected by everything and everyone around them and how eventually there comes a breaking point and people change, remolding them as a new person. Each crack is like a snag or tear in your clothes, over time and with each step forward that small snag or tear turns into something much bigger leading into change. In my life I have experienced many cracks which eventually lead to a change in person.

A fragile Castle Of Glass.

    

The Getaway from Miguel

The Getaway

            Music is amazing. I have always found music as a fantastic getaway when life brings you bumps in the road. Most music unless you listen to current ©rap tell stories of their own. I think an artist that is amazing at this is Daft Punk. They released an album called Discovery, along with the album they released music videos with each song depicting the story of an alien band being kidnapped by a corporation on earth and being forced to sing for humans. The music has so much emotion and just listening to it you can feel what they sing about. I recommend everyone watch the videos in order just to understand the story.

            I think the moment I remember most where music helped me was a day in Iraq. That night I had gone to sleep at two AM after getting off the phone with my wife. My headphones in my ears. You learn overtime to find ways to overcome all the noise of inbound airplanes and helicopters through the night. Mine was sleeping with my headphones playing quietly in my ears through the night. Three hours later came the longest half hour that I’ve ever experienced. The sirens signaling incoming indirect fires blared. “Incoming, Incoming, Incoming!” The alarm screams our response at the time to get shelter in the nearest bunker. This happened as we were closing Iraq down for good. I got into my bunker and normally one or two rockets are generally launched when they would shoot at us. This was a different day. For thirty minutes rockets came in. During the first five minutes I heard every rocket scream like a banshee as it went overhead. Ten minutes in they continuously fell and I realized I had my iPod in the bunker with me. I put those headphones in and blared “Too Long”. Daft Punk let me live somewhere else for a little while. Music saved my sanity that day. I love them for that and they will always be my go to music.

“I waited for so long outside myself
You see I was pretending to be someone else”

That verse describes how I felt for the rest of the time that we were being attacked.

The robotic duo Daft Punk

Snapshot 4 - Music - Alyssa

This is Asking Alexandria.
 From left to right there's;
Cameron Liddell (rhythm guitar)
Sam Bettley (bass guitar)
 Denis Stoff (Vocal)
 Ben Bruce (my future husband, I mean lead guitar)
and James Cassells (drums).
Ben is the one that does most of the writing.

When I started my freshman year of high school I listened to a lot of pop and electronic music. Halfway through the year, my best friend introduced me to Asking Alexandria. That was when everything changed. It was like I was the magnet and the metal was pulling me in. To this day, they are still my favorite band. I've stayed by their side since I first heard a prophecy, and even through the switch of lead singers. The lead was originally Danny Worsnop, now it's Denis Stoof. Denis is great, but Danny will always hold a special spot in my heart. In December of 2014, I saw them live (before Denis took the lead) at Newport. Oh, that was a magical day. I felt like I was free and with my own people. I met several new friends that day (some I still talk to today).

When someone asks why I like metal, I never know how to answer them. Part of the reason is because I don't listen to much of other genres. These metal bands I fell in love with have some amazing lyrics behind them, some do not. It's so hard to generalize all of these bands I listen to. There are some metal bands I don't really like. Especially since the music in every band I listen to has a different meaning behind them and therefore, a different reason why I love them.

One of my all time favorite songs is a prophecy. As soon as I heard the words "how stubborn are the scars when they won't fade away? or just a gentle reminder that now are better days?" I was sold. To me, these words have a double meaning. For one; when someone goes through a really rough time or something emotionally tough it really does scar them. When I explained that, I'm sure something popped up in your mind, as it does to me. It's something that someone can pull up in just a second. I think everyone can relate to this. Another meaning it holds for me is the physical scars. I have many scars that I look at, that reminds me of a specific day or a specific feeling. This music was something that helped me get through some of my roughest times.

Later in A Prophecy, the lyrics are; "I should've known the tides were getting higher. We can still survive. They think we're drowning but our heads are still above the waves, Above the waves." This is one of the most powerful lyrics to me. It just reminds me to keep on fighting even when to myself and probably many other people that I've already lost the battle. It's far too easy to have friends that will give up on you when times get tough. But these lyrics remind me to prove these people wrong and prove to them that I can still do better and that I'm determined to do better. This song gives me both motivation and reassurance. It motivates me to continue through rough times but it also reassures me that I'm not alone. 

The Power of Music by Kendell Miller

Music is like therapy to me. It’s a way for me to express how I’m feeling. Music is a way to convey emotions and a way to relate to other people. When I listen to a song that I can relate to it makes me feel understood. Whether it be through a slow song or an upbeat one. I view music as a way to escape, a way to forget about what’s going on in my life even if its just for a short amount of time.  I don’t have specific type of music that means more to me than another type. I mainly like music that has meaning rather than a song that’s just words thrown together with a beat.

One song in particular has a deep personal meaning to me is “3am” by Matchbox Twenty. The song itself has a meaningful story behind it. The lead singer of Matchbox Twenty wrote “3am” about his mother and how he took care of her when she was sick with cancer. Although this song was released the year before I was born I remember it playing in many moments of my childhood. When I was little my mom would play music as she cleaned and “3am” was a song that always came on. It’s one of my mom’s favorite songs, it’s a song that all of my siblings know. This song is like home for me. Oddly enough it’s a song that makes me think of where I come from. As far as songs go I know that there’s songs that are better and more meaningful but none of them come close to the meaning that this song has to me. Its something that my mom and I share. Even now at 18 whenever this song comes on the radio and I’m with my mom we always blast it and sing loudly, and quite horribly, along with it.

My personal favorite lyrics from the song are the opening lyrics, “She says it’s cold outside and she hands me my raincoat. She’s always worried about things like that.” I also love the lyrics that show up later in the song. “And the clock on the wall has been stuck at 3 for days, and days. She thinks that happiness is the mat that sits on her doorway.”

This is a photo of the band Matchbox Twenty. The song 3am meant a lot for
the band because it proved that they weren't a one hit wonder.

Snapshot 4 Music By Tiff

When I was growing up music was a part of my life because I knew I could express myself a lot better than though language like all types of music but the one that means the most to me is the band 3 Doors Down I can always feel the drum beat though it. I have listen to 3 doors down since I was 10 years old the first song I heard on the radio was called "Kryptonite" ever since I have heard this song it has always been one of my favorite songs it makes me think about what life brings to us if we just take a walk and breath everything will work out in the end. So now every time I hear this song in the car I always turn it up because it one of my favorite songs

A couple lines in the song Kryptonite I think are important are.

“I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind”

“You stumbled in and bumped your head
If not for me then you'd be dead
I picked you up and put you back on solid ground “

These lines say a lot about what we can do to ourselves if we need just to relax the perfect way to do that and I do it a lot is go walk outside and reflect on what just happened and how you want to change it. It also says what we can do to help other people if their down stand with them put them up off the ground so they can start fresh again. When I was young I went through a lot at this age this was the only song that got me thought it.

                                                  3 doors down very first album 

Sound of music from Austin

Music- Vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. This sounds like a very healthy term to me, Music is very important to people in our world, as it should be. This art can be a cure for a bad day, or the motivation to success. I listen to music everyday many times a day. I can't stress enough about how much music can take your mind off of situations and feelings you don't want to feel and just give you time to relax. Music is full of emotions and i believe its a very healthy art to involve in your life. I prefer rap/ hip-hop music, I've always listened to this genre my whole life. Probably being around sports and things of that nature gravitated me toward it. My favorite artist would hands down be Drake, i feel like drake is very versatile and can do almost any kind of song he wants. As a listener you want that, because it gives you more situations to relate too, and also it gives you a different feeling depending on the theme of his songs.

 My favorite Drake song right now would have to be "Thank me now" because i feel like this song relates to ambition and other aspects of life, as well as him talking to fans from afar. This song is from his Album Thank me later, Drake has a lot of great lines in this song but a few i always remember from this song have the most meaning. As people on this earth we have to have the want and the desire to be successful "I'm in a world where things are taken never given" this line to me makes me want to work harder for things in life that i want, because the only way you'll get where you want is by going and taking it. You have to be hungry like a tiger hunting its prey. Because society will never hold your hand.
Drake is known by people all over the world. You could probably make the argument that Drake is the lebron of music. I would say he is the most loved artist as of right now. He has won a single Grammy, six BET awards, he has set several significant billboard charts records. He also has the most number one singles on the billboard hot rap songs chart. This man has been very successful throughout his young career, Drizzy is still only 29, he has many years left to keep making some of the best music today.

This is the ever so successful Drake, he's my favorite artist, and probably many others favorite as well.

SnapShot #4- John Hunter Bayer

A lot of people can say that music has made an impact in their lives, from having favorite songs or genres of music, to having lyrics giving them a strong sense of understanding or feeling. Music is big all across the world, bringing people together and sharing experiences and stories who enjoy the lyrical beauty that comes from the lips of artist for as long human nature has been around. When it comes to music myself, I listen to music that somewhat moves you without really needing to say word.

The music i listen to normally consists of the music with little or none lyrics. I use music to mostly relax, chill out and enjoy the moments happening around me. It is the simple things in life that i enjoy, and this music really brings it out. The music genre can range from electronic to orchestral, or even a combination of both. Listening to the music lets me think clearly about things in my and gives me sense of how I feel about things. Its the beauty of music without speaking that drives the imagination and spirit of one's self.

One song I have gone back to over and over is called "UnderTale". It is a song composed by a man named Toby Fox. It comes from his new and highly popular video game UnderTale. The music of that game is simply beautiful and this specific song is just breathtaking to hear I highly recommend to many people to hear this song.

The UnderTale Title, created by Toby Fox