E12: Music Analysis

1. E12: Music Analysis Reminders and Example (2013)

2. Aspect #1: Background • Background to the song • Name of the artist or group • Title of the song (in quotation marks) • Name of the album or collection (italicized) • Publishing date • Style of music • Any additional relevant or interesting information

3. Introductory Paragraph Sometimes, listeners of popular music misunderstand the tone and message being expressed by a musical artist. These people fail to notice the sarcasm and irony in a song’s lyrics. A good example of a commonly misunderstood song is 1987’s “The One I Love” by R.E.M, an indie rock band that made it big in the 90s, but recently disbanded. This song comes from the band’s breakthrough album Document, which was released the same year I graduated from high school. I became interested in R.E.M during my college years. They were very popular with the college crowd until they released their hit single “Losing my Religion” in 1991, hit the pop charts, and lost their “hipness.” I actually saw them perform live while I was dating my wife. R.E.M’s “The One I Love” is often dedicated to loved ones, but its message is anything but romantic, and it makes me think of a time in my life that was more carefree.

4. Aspect #2: Analysis • Analyze the song • Consider the lyrics a poem • Analyze for literary features and devices (diction, imagery, symbol, personification, metaphor, and theme) • Include a minimum of three quoted lines from the song

5. Body Many listeners believe “The One I Love” to be a love song, but a careful analysis of the lyrics reveals the songwriter, Michael Stipe, is being sarcastic and ironic in his message. The song begins with a sentimental dedication: “This one goes out to the one I love. This one goes out to the one I left behind.” Looking exclusively at these lyrics, listeners might believe the core message of the song to be about a bittersweet break-up and regret on the part of the speaker. However, the following lines indicate otherwise: “A simple prop to occupy my time.” An example of diction in this line, “prop,” is meant to symbolize the “one I love” in the title and refrain of the song. A “prop” merely occupies time, much like a toy, videogame, cellphone, or similar object provides a minor diversion from life’s greater purpose. In essence, the song is actually “anti-love;” to the speaker, love is merely a “prop” to occupy time, not a heartfelt, sincere emotion. This irony is further developed in a later line in the song that reads, “Another prop has occupied my time,” demonstrating that the “one I love” in the title of the song is easily replaced.

6. Aspect #3: Reflection • A detailed moment in your life that the song brings to mind • Use imagery • Connect the song to the moment

7. Concluding Paragraph Although I fell in and out of love several times while listening to the music of R.E.M, this song actually reminds me of an event during my college years that does not include love at all. My roommate and best friend was a Communications major, and he was making a student film. His project was an action film with lots of fake guns and violence. We were actually “shooting” at the Cal Poly mansion on top of the hill overlooking the campus. We filmed from early in the morning until late in the evening for two straight days, and during that time I “died” many times to fake gunfire. It was a great deal of fun, and, reflecting back, I didn’t realize at the time how full of the sense of freedom my college days were. During that time in my life, I could do just about anything, provided I still completed my coursework. The reason I relate this song to this moment in my life is because we had the album Document playing in the background while we filmed. Whenever I hear “The One I Love,” I think of how much fun we had making that silly movie, and then I expand that feeling to include all of the years I spent in college. It was a good time.