Blog 5, Option #2

Ntzake Shange's excerpts and poems bring forth questions of identity and one's self-discovery in the world, more particularly, American society. Self-realization and discovery is key to finding one's identity and sense of place in society. Each one of Shange's poems reflect different aspects and differences that exist among people (i.e. skin color, age, gender, etc.) and are written through different points of view that give us a new way of looking at things. For each specific poem, I felt that there was a song that I knew of that would compliment the words of the poem.

As soon as I read "For colored girls that have considered suicide/the rainbow is enuf", Lupe Fiasco's "Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)" came into my head. It is a song about suicide and how our minds go through a battlefield within itself, with our emotions on one side and reasoning fighting against it. It is a very powerful song and I feel that the notions made in this particular poem really resonated with the lyrics and message of this particular song. WARNING: Contains explicit lyrics which may be offensive.

"I Live in Music" is a poem that comes to me as a way of describing the way one feels when a particular song or genre of music really resonates with them and puts them in a state of escape and carefree feeling. An ability to listen to a song and forget about all the pains and hardships of life. I also feel that this could represent how each one of us enjoys different types of music and how music can make us feel differently. Also, the words explaining how each individual in the poem plays a part in music reminds me of how each instrument or sound plays a role in creating a musical masterpiece. For this poem, I felt that "Technicolor" by Madeon was a great choice. Although there are no words, there are many aspects of music (percussion, synthesis, keys, pitches) that all build up to lead towards a song that really comes together, much like the poem.

"An ol fashioned lady" was a tough poem for me to interpret, however, I feel that I have gotten it down. To me, the "old fashioned lady" may not be the best looking woman around, nor is she the best dressed, but none of that matters to her because in her head, there is a song that is keeping her moving and dancing. She isn't afraid to speak to other people and continue her moves, as long as she can keep dancing. For this poem, I felt that "Happy" by Pharrell Williams was an excellent choice because it makes me want to dance every time I hear it. Also, the music video promotes dancing and smiling, being happy...just like the old fashioned lady was.

Much like the previous poem, "Senses of heritage" was a difficult poem for me to interpret, however I believe that Shange was trying to explain how no matter what others tell you about life, race, culture, etc., life is for you to figure out and discover on your own. I see this when Shange mentions that no one said anything about the moon and how it still surprises them. In terms of a song, "Going On" by Gnarls Barkley was a suitable choice, I felt, since the song reflects on how the singer (Cee-Lo Green) wants to discover his own path and figure out life on his own...no matter what anyone else tells him. He leaves everything behind to find the fascinations of life.

Finally, "the old men" reminded me of an old country town somewhere in the south, where old men would meet at the saloon or local bar and talk about days past and memories so sweet. The younger generations may not understand everything they're saying, but the memories remain and their traditions live on. For this song, "Sweet Southern Comfort" by Buddy Jewell came to my head. I, myself, am not a huge country fan, but whenever I read this poem, the images in my head reminded me of the scenes I see in this music video. Deep southern traditions with sweet memories.