Before I start, let me briefly explain what the whole "first impressions" is all about. So before I decided to start the blog for my senior project, we all (students) needed some kind of mentor to guide us. After I found my mentor (Dr. P), he hopped on board with my project and we decided to do a writing exchange. This whole idea is where he would share a song I've never heard about, write about it, and then give him a song back in exchange so he can write about it. Rules are we can't do any kind of background research before we listen to the song.
If you don't know who Stevie Wonder is by now, then you are really missing out a good chunk of important influential music. We have all heard his famous tracks once in while like "Superstition" and "Sir Duke", but we sometimes forget about some of his other beautiful work. For a man who has sold 100 million records worldwide, you must dive in into some of his amazing work.
Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" starts off with a beautiful violin orchestra riff that sets up the tone and sound for the whole song. Shortly Stevie Wonder comes in with what I almost recall a perfect introduction line, "Would you like to go with me?" His voice basically a package of bliss, no need for any corrections or 21st century autotune. The song continues with him telling us the story on the village ghetto land and the horrors of it. What surprises me is how beautiful the song is, full of well orchestrated violins and Stevie's beautiful voice, but the lyrics giving off a horrible scene. Lines like, "Families buying dog food now" and "Starvation roams the street" give the listener almost a knot in the gut by just thinking about it.
Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" starts off with a beautiful violin orchestra riff that sets up the tone and sound for the whole song. Shortly Stevie Wonder comes in with what I almost recall a perfect introduction line, "Would you like to go with me?" His voice basically a package of bliss, no need for any corrections or 21st century autotune. The song continues with him telling us the story on the village ghetto land and the horrors of it. What surprises me is how beautiful the song is, full of well orchestrated violins and Stevie's beautiful voice, but the lyrics giving off a horrible scene. Lines like, "Families buying dog food now" and "Starvation roams the street" give the listener almost a knot in the gut by just thinking about it.
I've never heard Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land", but there is no hesitation on how it holds a complex beauty to it. The song really reminds me of The Beatles "Because", holding the same beautiful instruments and voice together. Knowing a little background information on Stevie Wonder, this song truly adds a extra punch as the activist he still is. The lyrics he sings bring us a unfortunate scene of many cities, towns, and neighborhoods full of violence and despair that are still relevant today. It almost bothers me how much I really like this song and how beautiful I think it is. It's surely one of those tracks I think that gives off an important message, especially in the current time were in.
After doing a little bit of research on Stevie Wonder, it really shocks me how much detail the man manages to sing knowing the fact that he's blind. It's no wonder why he's listed in the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artist to celebrate in the United States. Apart from that it's amazing how great of a musician he has manage to be and also an activist, noted for his campaign for making Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. It's another remainder that Stevie Wonder manages to leave his musical legacy no matter how old he keeps getting.
You can listen to Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" part of Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" album on Youtube.
After doing a little bit of research on Stevie Wonder, it really shocks me how much detail the man manages to sing knowing the fact that he's blind. It's no wonder why he's listed in the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artist to celebrate in the United States. Apart from that it's amazing how great of a musician he has manage to be and also an activist, noted for his campaign for making Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. It's another remainder that Stevie Wonder manages to leave his musical legacy no matter how old he keeps getting.
You can listen to Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" part of Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" album on Youtube.
My track exchange for this week was New Order's "Age Of Consent." This song I honestly pay a tribute for my little bother and how he's manage to take the right path in music. I did the honors of introducing him to Joy Division and all the great songs they manage to create in a short period of time. My little brother was very skeptical about how good they were, but was hooked on their sounds after a couple of weeks. Now he listens to them non-stop and has follow the timeline of the remaining musicians of Joy Division after the death of Ian Curtis. He showed this song by New Order one morning as we were getting ready to go to school and became hook on the song. I did my very best to find the track and manage to find it with almost no hassle. To me "Age Of Consent" is what set the tone for almost every indie band there is currently. It's to me, such an amazing track!
My next track: The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
My next track: The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual