For
me, music is an escape from reality. I could spend hours with my
headphones over my ears and not feel as if I’m isolated but simply
listening to messages through a more creative outlet of lyrics or instruments and attributing
those messages to situations in life.
A
recent release from artist Jack White with contribution by Ruby Amanfu
caught my attention with the simplicity of its instruments and the
seemingly contradictory character of its lyrics. “Love Interruption,”
for me, is an impressive interpretation of the powerful emotion of love
and how much influence it can have over all other emotions and the
actions, positive and negative, it can evoke from people. The music in
this song is simple and complementary of the powerful lyrics, which I
feel is unique and attractive. Here’s the official video:
Jack White performed this song at the 2013 Grammy Awards along with the song, "Freedom at 21", which are both songs on his most recently released album, "Blunderbuss". White's performance was well received; according to an article from the New York Daily News, though he didn't win any awards, sales for "Blunderbuss" showed a 123% increase the week after the event.
According to Wikipedia, White has been a part of many musical projects since the early 1990's; the first of his own being the band, "The White Stripes", started in 1997, in which he sang and played guitar and piano while his (former) wife, Meg White, played the drums. They released six albums and many popular notable songs before ending the band in 2011, including "Seven Nation Army", and "Icky Thump", as shown in the following video:
"Love Interruption" is vastly different in style from "Icky Thump". First, the role of instruments in each song are opposing; The lyrics are meant to stand out, only complemented by the subtlety of instruments in "Love Interruption", while the use of instruments are much more powerful in "Icky Thump". I listen to "Icky Thump" for the rhythm and "Love Interruption" for the lyrics. Music is defined by Dictionary.com as "anartofsoundintimethatexpressesideasandemotionsinsignificantformsthroughtheelementsofrhythm,melody,harmony,andcolor." The music of "Love Interruption" is faint and the rhythm is almost non-existent, with no drums, these characteristics help to express the seriousness of the topic of the song; love and its sometimes extreme effects on people's other emotions and actions.
I feel that music is important in our culture because it helps us express those ideas and emotions in a new and creative way and also allows us to identify our feelings with those evoked in music and lyrics. As I stated in my introduction, I apply the messages of music to situations in my life; creating a personal soundtrack to my reality and to my dreams. Music also inspires me to create new dreams and goals. I am not alone in this, Psychology Today summarizes that music is used by many people to spur creativity, increase energy levels, and increase motivation.
The lyrics of "Love Interruption" reflect the trend of increasing the expression of emotion in our culture. Today we seem to be more comfortable with expressing our emotions and are encouraged to do so. Emotion, specifically dramatic emotion has become a form of entertainment; the "drama" or sometimes, "reality" genres in movies and television and various music genres are often associated with various emotions. I feel that "Love Interruption" is targeted towards the younger generation, whom are more comfortable with expressing themselves. One stereotype that some people may find offensive in White's song is the generalization that love can lead to pessimism and spite. However each person defines love differently as their experiences differ, so I don't feel that any real judgement can be made about the meaning of the song.
Weaknesses of White's song are the lack of instrumental presence, but audiences who are listening for the lyrics would find this to be a strength. In my opinion, the song is good and memorable because it delivers a clear message. I have not listened to a lot of Jack White's music, but this song caught my attention because of its simplicity and it has inspired me to look into more of his recent releases. In contrast, the music he produced with "The White Stripes" and even a song from his most current album "Freedom at 21" have more of an instrumental presence and are memorable because of that strong presence. Metacritic.comfeaturing critics from "The Guardian", Billboard.com and "Rolling Stone" give "Blunderbuss" an average rating of 83 out of 100, also noting the intensity of many of the lyrics.
I purchased "Love Interruption" on iTunes a couple of months ago, after looking into more of the history of Jack White and his diverse music career I am planning to purchase the rest of the album and share it with friends whom I feel would find the lyrics meaningful and relevant.
Jack White is a man who has accomplished many things during his music career, he is powerful in presence with his lyrics and instruments, and has become an addition to my personal music collection and will continue to be part of it. Writing this review has inspired me to further research other artists in my personal collection to add to the respect I have for their talent in writing and/or producing music.
When people ask me about myself; what I'm passionate about and what my hobbies are, I always share with them that I'm a runner, because its something that I have enjoyed for many years of my life. However when I tell people this, they always respond with questions about competition; they want to know how many races I've competed in and how many miles I do every day. These questions make me feel like I'm not living up to the "title" of being a runner and make me wonder if I should be doing more miles, tracking my times and sharing my "success" with everyone, even though that isn't the reason I run. I run to feel good and there's no certain amount of miles that can be tracked and linked to the exact moment when I feel the sense of achievement and happiness.This ad campaign for Nike, called "Find Your Greatness", summarizes why I run perfectly; my personal definition of achievement. In this one-minute "Find Your Greatness" ad, the camera is aimed looking down a rural road in London, Ohio. It is a quiet, early morning and all you can hear is the distant shuffle of a young boy's feet as he is running towards the camera. As he moves closer the narrator begins talking about "Greatness" and how we have made the word out to be something its not; "a gift", as the narrator puts it, that only some people have, forcing the rest of us to only be spectators of great athletes. The boy draws closer and you can see the sweat soaking his hair and t-shirt. The narrator then goes on to express that greatness is not only found in some, comparing the act of being great to breathing; all people are capable of finding their greatness. As the ad ends the boy is now close to the camera, with a look of determination and achievement.
The "Find your Greatness" ads are not necessarily persuading their audience to buy a specific product. The message is to
get yourself to a state of "greatness" or personal achievement through
physical activity. Everyone's definition of greatness is different as
are their paths to greatness; this could be considered plain folks pitch as it is an encouraging message to everyone. Additionally it could be interpreted that the bandwagon effect was being used because the ad was out out during a time when many people were watching the Olympic games, which may have further motivated them to get active. I think this ad shows a story or "myth" visually. As the boy starts far away as the narrator describes our skewed view of greatness, and turns the message from negative to positive as the boy draws closer to our view.
"Find Your Greatness" is an ad campaign which appealed to my emotions by reminding me of why I strive to stay physically active; it keeps me happy and gives me a sense of achievement that only I can gauge. This type of advertising; creating an emotional connection through a brand was brought up in "The Persuaders." Nike is not selling a particular product in this ad; its selling its brand's connection to the feelings of motivation, willpower, focus and achievement to all types of audiences. There is a stereotype in this ad, which has caused some controversy about its message. The boy in the commercial is clearly over-weight, but this is part of the message; "anyone" can achieve greatness even those who may have a longer journey to it. I feel that in this ad the subject's physical fitness level only further enforces the message. TIME magazine speculates on the ad's possible exploitation of overweight people in the following article: http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/13/does-nikes-greatness-ad-featuring-an-obese-boy-exploit-fat-people/. The overall consensus from the article was that the ad is inspiring, not offensive, and I agree.
"Find Your Greatness" is an effective ad because of the time it was released and the simple but clear message it conveys. The simplicity; no music, no props, no complicated plot line, makes this ad stand out while still reaching its audience and leaving them feeling motivated, as it did for me.
Nike has a huge social media following. Though this campaign was launched back in July, you can still find regular inspirational tweets under #findyourgreatness on Twitter. If the ad motivates you to "Find Your Greatness," Nike has an online platform called Nike+, where users can measure and track their progress through using Nike accessories, share their progress with friends and more. Earlier I emphasized that I don't feel the need to track my miles, or share my "greatness" with others. However after analyzing the message of this ad and doing further research on the ad campaign, it makes me feel prouder to call myself a runner and I might consider using Nike+ to track my progress, in case I ever feel the need to take my running from the recreational level to the competitive level. I would also recommend this ad to others as a medium of motivation. The "Find Your Greatness," campaign has taught me the power of inspiration that advertisements can have, and reinforces the idea that an ad can create an emotional bond with its brand. I have been a consumer of Nike products and this ad encourages me to continue to be a consumer, along with sharing its message of inspiring to be "great."
