Angelica's 2fer Revision

Whether listening or playing an instrument, music is an outlet for teenagers to get feelings off of their chest. Teenagers today go through so many obstacles such as self harm and rape and sometimes they need a getaway escape. Self expression is very important when it comes to teenagers because now a days everyone wants to “fit in” and be apart of the crowd. Since teenagers want to fit it, they struggle with being themselves which mutes their voices. Music is a source of inspiration and a voice for teenagers who feels as though their identity has been stripped away by traumatic experiences.

As a teenager, the now singer Demi Lovato used to self harm and as a result she uses her experiences with self harm as a base for her songs. She has  numerous songs about her being depressed and self harming. One of her most famous songs “Skyscraper” tells a powerful story. In the song lyrics, she says “Would it make you feel better to watch me bleed? All my windows are still broken but i’m standing on my feet”. Demi is using her past experiences as a teenager to portray the hurt and pain she has been through. Another part of the song that is used in the chorus of the song “you can take everything I have, You can break everything I am, like i’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper, Go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground, Like a skyscraper”. This is one of the most powerful parts in the whole song. She is trying to encourage teenagers that the situations they may be going through are just temporary and that they will eventually get through. When the music artists puts out talks about their personal experiences, it gives teenagers a place to go if they are going through something.

Another singer that tells powerful stories in her music is Pink. While singing Pink’s “perfect” on America’s got talent, 14 years old Mara Justine shedded tears during it. When she sung the chorus “Pretty pretty please don’t you ever ever feel like you're less than, less than perfect”, she had a lot of passion. The passion that Mara shows is that there was a deeper meaning to why she chose that particular song. When the audience looked in her eyes, they saw the tears run down her face. Teenagers tend to choose songs based on their feelings at the moment and since they are discovering themselves, the moments don’t last long.

The group, My Chemical Romance tells different stories in a variety of ways. One of their songs “I’m not okay” talks about people giving them dirty looks for who they are. Some of the lyrics to the song are “I’m not okay, I’m not okay I promise, To be a joke and look, forget about the dirty looks, you said you read me like a book but the pages all are torn and frayed”. These lyrics are indicating that no one is perfect and the dirty looks you give people can come off as something else. It’s saying that people will make fun of you and stare at you but you know who you are and that you can tell if I am okay but in reality, I’m not that important to you because I am ripped and hurting inside and no one can see that. This is important because the way you act around people can tell them everything they need to know. You never know what someone is going through so don’t treat them any different than how you would want to be treated. If you have music to push you through those tough times, it is easier to handle those things.

In today’s society homosexuality is a huge topic, especially with teenagers. Homosexuals in society now a days do not have much of a voice. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis has a song entitled “Same love” that is to show that is okay to like the same sex and to be proud of that. In the song he says “you can be cured with some treatment and religion….god loves all his children is somehow forgotten but we paraphrase a book that was written 35 hundred years ago”. In the bible it is to be thought that homosexuality is a sin. Because of what the bible says about Adam being made for Eve and not Adam and Steve homosexuals especially in the christian religion feel as though they have to be quiet about their liking of the same sex. Societies views of homosexuality in a way that homosexuals are not equal and they feel as though they are an outcast. Being an outcast, homosexuals learn to separate themselves from certain people who do not accept them and they express themselves freely. Homosexuals uses this song as a way to speak out for all in the community so they can have their voice heard even if it is from the singer.

Teenagers often feel like they don’t have a say in the world. Music portrays all of the emotions and different views about things that teenagers feel like they don’t have a say about such as homosexuality. Teenagers music taste is very diverse in the way they think and the way they interact with the world. Music such as pop, rap and reggae has an affect on how teenagers express themselves. Depending on the music they are listening to, they act a certain way or are more enjoyable. Music can make teenagers be more expressive in other ways as well.

Sources:

"Skyscraper Lyrics." Archive -. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

""Same Love" Lyrics." MACKLEMORE LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

"Mara Justine: Emotional Cover of Pink's "Perfect"- America's Got Talent 2014." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDYz9_M9DEk>.