The Poetics of Popular Music Essays (640 words) - Pharrell Williams

The Poetics of Popular Music Essays (640 words) - Pharrell Williams 1247555 The Poetics of Popular Music November 25, 2014 Oral presentation I suggest the song "Happy", from Pharrell Williams to be added in the course pack. It was released on November 21, 2013. It was written, produced and performed by American singer and producer Pharrell Williams, for the "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack. This album sold over 5.6 million copies in the Unites States and with a worldwide sale of 10 million copies. The song was nominated for the Academic Award, in category for Best Original song, but lost against Let it go, from Frozen. After the more sinister sounding song from the first Despicable Me film, Pharrell was told by the creators of the film to give this track a more soulful sound. The writer described this track by saying it is coming from a much happier place. His intention was to make the listener feel a whole lot better when theyre feeling sad, by listening to the track. In other words, I think this song should be in the course pack because, not like most of the songs that are about love, breakup or hard times, this one is abou t happiness: something that can uplift your mood and also it reminds you to stay always happy. It was hard to find a song in the course pack that was similar to Happy but the song Beautiful by Linda Perry would be the closest one to compare to it, because they portray a positive vibe throughout the song. Also the lyrics used in both songs are quite similar. Like in Beautiful, the speaker uses the line No matter what they say/Words cant bring me down (9-10) and Bring me down/Cant nothing/Bring me down (21-23) from Happy have an identical meaning. Theyre saying that they wont let the negativity around them bring their mood down, as well. By reading this song you will feel more joyful and it will inspire you to have a positive outlook about life, considering the fact that as a student, youre always stressed about your education, and for that reason the narrator is telling you to be happy no matter what fate occurs to you. And my question to you guys is being happy just a matter of deci ding to be? At the end of the presentation I think I did pretty well in my oral presentation because I had good arguments, but at the same time I was kind of nervous when I was presenting, therefore I was talking too fast and tripping on my words. Word count: 393 words Lyrics [Verse 1:] It might seem crazy what I'm about to say Sunshine she's here, you can take a break I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space With the air, like I don't care baby by the way {Uh} [Chorus:] Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth Because I'm happy Clap along if you know what happiness is to you Because I'm happy Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do [Verse 2:] Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah, Well, give me all you got, and don't hold it back, yeah, Well, I should probably warn you I'll be just fine, yeah, No offense to you, don't waste your time Here's why [Chorus] {Hey Go Uh} [Bridge:] (Happy) Bring me down Can't nothing Bring me down My level's too high Bring me down Can't nothing Bring me down I said (let me tell you now) Bring me down Can't nothing Bring me down My level's too high Bring me down Can't nothing Bring me down I said [Chorus x2] {Hey Go Uh} (Happy) [repeats] Bring me down... can't nothing... Bring me down... my level's too high... Bring me down... can't nothing... Bring me down, I said (let me tell you now) [Chorus x2] {Hey C'mon}