I personally am listening to music 24/7. it has become my background noise that I sometimes forget is even on. Even when new songs play, it sometimes does not faze me that these lyrics and songs portray a message. Music can reach a broad audience and it is interesting how emotions can be expressed through lyrics and how the works are presents such as if they are stretched out or said fast, or their could be a key change, so much can happen in a song that you can go on a roller coaster with your emotions. One song that I remember vividly on how I could feel the emotions that were being expressed by the singer was Dolly Parton singing Coat of Many Colors. The story was sung in a way where when I was listening to the lyrics I could feel the emotions Dolly Parton had written in the song and portrayed for the listeners. I highly recommend that video if you have not seen it already!
It was my first time watching the Beyoncé music video. As I watched the music video, it made me realize the props and settings can influence how the lyrics and emotions are interpreted by the listener. So I wonder how I would have interpreted the music if her presentation in the video would have been different. It was definitely not what I was expecting but it was very interesting and a lot was going on in the video as different scenes were being rotated and flashed all throughout the video. One question I have is that when an artist switches their vibe or song genre/ what they sing usually about, how different could the message be interpreted or would there be a reaction to the change regardless of the message presented to the listener and audience?
Often times we do not listen to the words of a song and when we find out what the lyrics are we are surprised. I have found that even when I have listened to the lyrics, and know them well enough to sing along sometimes the music video for the song changes the meaning/gives even more context. Does this mean my initial understanding of a song is not correct (meaning we need to listen to the song, read the lyrics, and watch the music video)? Or just that there are alternative understandings?
I am also listening to music 24/7, and some of my favorite songs are the ones where you can feel and hear the emotion coming through the song. The right lyrics and right artists can make a song incredibly emotional, especially if they are singing about hardships in life or social issues that need to be brought to light. I also think it’s interesting how you pointed out that maybe you would have interpreted Beyonce’s lyrics differently if her presentation was different, and I agree with you. Sometimes, the lyrics might be saying one thing, but the music video is saying something completely different, and they often both need to align to make the entire story work.