"What Are Words For?"
Searching "What Are Words For?" on Spotify should turn up a playlist by the same name that I created. You might wonder why I'm talking about a playlist on a blog about books and writing, but the theme of this playlist is the power of words and language. Some of the songs obviously refer to this, although I've imposed my own interpretation upon a few. Anyway, I wanted to share this with you because I found it relevant to topics I discuss here - plus, we need good tunes to survive these times. Actually, I'll also give you a list of the songs on the playlist right here, and for the more confusing ones, explain my choices.
"Words" - Missing Persons
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - The Police
"Enjoy the Silence" - Depeche Mode
"More Than Words" - Extreme
"Don't Speak" - No Doubt
"Shout" - Tears for Fears
"Shut Up and Dance" - WALK THE MOON (one of those rare songs on modern pop radio that I actually like, probably because it sounds so much like '80s pop)
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - The Animals
"Tell Me Baby" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera
"In Bloom" - Nirvana (formerly "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but I recently changed it because this one's lyrics are more obviously linked to the meaning of lyrics)
"Call Me Maybe" - Carly Rae Jepsen (I just couldn't resist putting this one right next to the one listed above. Also, though, the cheesiness of its lyrics can cause one to wonder about the relationship between pop hits and the meaning of language)
"The Truth" - Kris Allen, Pat Monahan
"Speak to a Girl" - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
"I Am the Walrus" - The Beatles (Reportedly, John Lennon wrote this song just to give people who analyze lyrics a hard time. Keep that in mind)
"Talkin' Bout a Revolution" - Tracy Chapman
"Don't You Want Me" - The Human League (A distinct story is told here from two perspectives. Plus, the guy won't shut up.)
"Come Together" - The Beatles (These lyrics make more sense than "I Am the Walrus," but are still bizarre and confusing)
"The Sound of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" - U2 ("You're telling me and anyone you're hard enough." Yeah, from here on out most of the connections get vaguer)
"Revolution" - The Beatles ("You say you want a revolution" is repeated throughout the song)
"For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield (Extremely socially conscious. Plus, there's the line that sticks out most to me: "Young people speakin' their minds/Gettin' so much resistance from behind")
"Imagine" - John Lennon ("You say I'm a dreamer")
"Give Peace a Chance" - The Plastic Ono Band (The verses start with "Everybody's talkin' about..." and the chorus goes "All we are saying is give peace a chance")
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin ("All I'm askin'/Is for a little respect...")
"All I Want Is You" - U2 ("You say you want...")
"Let's Hear It For the Boy" - Deniece Williams ("My baby, he don't talk sweet/He don't got much to say:" Although this song discusses the subject in only a few lines rather than the entire song, it bears similarity to "More Than Words" in the concept that love is more than words)
"I'll Stand by You" - The Pretenders ("Come on and talk to me now")
"I Say a Little Prayer" - Dionne Warwick
"My Generation" - The Who ("Talkin' bout my generation")
"Talking in Your Sleep" - The Romantics
"Message in a Bottle" - The Police
"Words" - Missing Persons
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - The Police
"Enjoy the Silence" - Depeche Mode
"More Than Words" - Extreme
"Don't Speak" - No Doubt
"Shout" - Tears for Fears
"Shut Up and Dance" - WALK THE MOON (one of those rare songs on modern pop radio that I actually like, probably because it sounds so much like '80s pop)
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - The Animals
"Tell Me Baby" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Beautiful" - Christina Aguilera
"In Bloom" - Nirvana (formerly "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but I recently changed it because this one's lyrics are more obviously linked to the meaning of lyrics)
"Call Me Maybe" - Carly Rae Jepsen (I just couldn't resist putting this one right next to the one listed above. Also, though, the cheesiness of its lyrics can cause one to wonder about the relationship between pop hits and the meaning of language)
"The Truth" - Kris Allen, Pat Monahan
"Speak to a Girl" - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
"I Am the Walrus" - The Beatles (Reportedly, John Lennon wrote this song just to give people who analyze lyrics a hard time. Keep that in mind)
"Talkin' Bout a Revolution" - Tracy Chapman
"Don't You Want Me" - The Human League (A distinct story is told here from two perspectives. Plus, the guy won't shut up.)
"Come Together" - The Beatles (These lyrics make more sense than "I Am the Walrus," but are still bizarre and confusing)
"The Sound of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" - U2 ("You're telling me and anyone you're hard enough." Yeah, from here on out most of the connections get vaguer)
"Revolution" - The Beatles ("You say you want a revolution" is repeated throughout the song)
"For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield (Extremely socially conscious. Plus, there's the line that sticks out most to me: "Young people speakin' their minds/Gettin' so much resistance from behind")
"Imagine" - John Lennon ("You say I'm a dreamer")
"Give Peace a Chance" - The Plastic Ono Band (The verses start with "Everybody's talkin' about..." and the chorus goes "All we are saying is give peace a chance")
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin ("All I'm askin'/Is for a little respect...")
"All I Want Is You" - U2 ("You say you want...")
"Let's Hear It For the Boy" - Deniece Williams ("My baby, he don't talk sweet/He don't got much to say:" Although this song discusses the subject in only a few lines rather than the entire song, it bears similarity to "More Than Words" in the concept that love is more than words)
"I'll Stand by You" - The Pretenders ("Come on and talk to me now")
"I Say a Little Prayer" - Dionne Warwick
"My Generation" - The Who ("Talkin' bout my generation")
"Talking in Your Sleep" - The Romantics
"Message in a Bottle" - The Police
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