My main concern is I wasn't very specific about anything when explaining why "NY State of Mind" was a great song, but if anyone finds anything else let me know. Thanks!
"To begin, my favorite book series would have to be the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques. It is a fictional depiction of medieval times, only the characters are woodland creatures (mice, ferrets, badgers, etc.) rather than humans. What makes the series so entertaining are several things: the anthropomorphism, the unique characterization he creates for different animals through differing dialects, and the huge fight scenes.
As far as what makes anthropomorphism so effective to me, it's simple: the thought of talking, warrior-like animals is hilarious! As for the dialects he creates, Jacques writes his dialogue in a very detailed manner, and makes sure he emphasizes the speech tendencies of the animals through the use of apostrophes, different spellings to create different pronunciations (i.e., Laird MacTalon instead of Lord) and catch phrases that are characteristic of different species (i.e., a lot of the hares in the series say, "Wot wot!" at the end of their sentences). And the fight scenes, though simplistic and predictable, are still riveting because Jacques does such a good job detailing them.
As far as music goes, I end up gravitating towards genres with more variability in themes and ideas because they're reflective of societal values (which ties in to various social sciences that I might major in). Rock and pop are great, but my favorite genre would have to be hip-hop, and my favorite song being "NY State of Mind" by Nas.
From a non-hip-hop fan's perspective, a track like "NY State of Mind" sounds violent for the sake of being violent. What made "NY State of Mind" a great song was the gruesome, vulgar telling of street life, but Nas's ability to understand inner-city New York, as well as criticize the community from the outside looking in, is overlooked by the casual listener who happens to hear something like, "I think of crime, when I'm in a New York state of mind!"
He starts by taking the listener through a typical day by describing bullet-ridden doors and the helpless cocaine addicts on the block. He doesn't stop and transition his thoughts structurally, instead he challenges the listener to follow his train of thought and he plunges into a story about how "they" (probably a rival drug dealing clique) catches him off guard. He reaches for a gun and starts shooting until he hears women scream. Even in a tumultuous event such as the gun fight he's in, he can't help but feel nervous about the safety of bystanders; "heard a few chicks scream, my arm shook, couldn't look." After detailing how he got out of the situation, he reflects on how much worse his neighborhood has become as a result of people (especially kids) asserting themselves through senseless violence.
The second verse is much the same, with a narrative, a critique and a conclusion to the tales of his home. No one was, or is, able to depict inner-city life with as much skill and empathy as Nas. Where most rappers stop at anger-filled tracks, Nas provides the same first-person view along with insight in a very intelligent way. His lyrical display and complex understanding of his community are what make the song spectacular."
"To begin, my favorite book series would have to be the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques. It is a fictional depiction of medieval times, only the characters are woodland creatures (mice, ferrets, badgers, etc.) rather than humans. What makes the series so entertaining are several things: the anthropomorphism, the unique characterization he creates for different animals through differing dialects, and the huge fight scenes.
As far as what makes anthropomorphism so effective to me, it's simple: the thought of talking, warrior-like animals is hilarious! As for the dialects he creates, Jacques writes his dialogue in a very detailed manner, and makes sure he emphasizes the speech tendencies of the animals through the use of apostrophes, different spellings to create different pronunciations (i.e., Laird MacTalon instead of Lord) and catch phrases that are characteristic of different species (i.e., a lot of the hares in the series say, "Wot wot!" at the end of their sentences). And the fight scenes, though simplistic and predictable, are still riveting because Jacques does such a good job detailing them.
As far as music goes, I end up gravitating towards genres with more variability in themes and ideas because they're reflective of societal values (which ties in to various social sciences that I might major in). Rock and pop are great, but my favorite genre would have to be hip-hop, and my favorite song being "NY State of Mind" by Nas.
From a non-hip-hop fan's perspective, a track like "NY State of Mind" sounds violent for the sake of being violent. What made "NY State of Mind" a great song was the gruesome, vulgar telling of street life, but Nas's ability to understand inner-city New York, as well as criticize the community from the outside looking in, is overlooked by the casual listener who happens to hear something like, "I think of crime, when I'm in a New York state of mind!"
He starts by taking the listener through a typical day by describing bullet-ridden doors and the helpless cocaine addicts on the block. He doesn't stop and transition his thoughts structurally, instead he challenges the listener to follow his train of thought and he plunges into a story about how "they" (probably a rival drug dealing clique) catches him off guard. He reaches for a gun and starts shooting until he hears women scream. Even in a tumultuous event such as the gun fight he's in, he can't help but feel nervous about the safety of bystanders; "heard a few chicks scream, my arm shook, couldn't look." After detailing how he got out of the situation, he reflects on how much worse his neighborhood has become as a result of people (especially kids) asserting themselves through senseless violence.
The second verse is much the same, with a narrative, a critique and a conclusion to the tales of his home. No one was, or is, able to depict inner-city life with as much skill and empathy as Nas. Where most rappers stop at anger-filled tracks, Nas provides the same first-person view along with insight in a very intelligent way. His lyrical display and complex understanding of his community are what make the song spectacular."
