Category: Unit Three

             If you give back to the community should you look out for a reward? “On Ebro in the Morning, DJ Peter Rosenberg called the video into question explicitly, arguing that Drake’s charity seemed to serve him a little too much, which didn’t line up with their shared tenets of Judaism”, (Lily Puckett) which seems like Drake gave back to the community just to be in the spotlight. I disagree with DJ Peter Rosenberg because Drake could of easily spend the money on a fancy music video with expensive cars, clothes, and jewelry like every other rapper. But he wanted to spread joy and happiness to his fans by giving to people who don’t really have that much. I think DJ Peter Rosenberg feels that way because rappers in this generation are prone to show off the diamonds in their chains, watches, and the grills in their mouth instead of spreading positivity and giving for a change. When people see someone they know giving back and doing something for the community that brings positivity they feel offended because they know that’s the right thing to do but they waited  on someone else to make the first move. When Drake was ether taking people shopping or giving someone money for their college tuition you could see the sincerity in his eyes and the tears of joy in his fans. It doesn’t matter the way you give back but it matters how you do it. For example, Drake meets everyone in person to give them the money in their hand with a big hug which shows his real character because he could of easily donated the money and be free of the hassle.

 

Citation:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thefader.com/2018/02/23/drake-gods-plan-religion-leaders/amp

An online review of “The Breakup Song” by Francesca Battistelli states that it is “A song about identity and boldness in Jesus that produces the confidence to shine for Him, live for God, and tell the world the truth about the salvation that is available for all. This is a song with heart and strength”. Even though the song does not mention Jesus or God, I agree with the reviewer’s opinion because of the artist’s background and beliefs. Francesca Battistelli is a popular Christian pop artist who has written other songs such as “Lead Me To The Cross” and “Run To Jesus”. Almost all of her songs showcase her faith which is Christianity. This leads me to believe that even the songs that she doesn’t mention Jesus were inspired by her beliefs. “The Breakup Song” talks about breaking up with fear and fear not being welcome in our lives. In the Bible it states, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, King James Version). This verse makes me think that the song was inspired by this. By getting rid of fear we are pleasing God which is a Christian’s main purpose in life. Francesca would most likely want to please God by breaking up with her fear and living her best life possible.

Britney Lilly
Dr. Hall
1101
4.13.19

Vincent van Gogh wasn’t just the man who decided to chop his left ear off because he wanted to give it to his love. Vincent Van Gogh was a man of many faces, all of which turned into a life of unexpected twists, turns, and emotional turmoil. Though Vincent Van Gogh was thought of as a tortured soul, the life he lived and the roles he played created the artist we revere today. Just like many of people nowadays, Vincent van Gogh clearly struggled with mental disabilities along with some physical ones throughout his life. He has been commonly believed to eat his yellow paint in the hopes that its color would brighten his demeanor. Though in reality while he did eat his paints it was found by Dr. Peyron to have been attempts of suicide through poisoning “The medical notes of Dr Peyron, Vincent’s physician, reveal that Vincent wanted to poison himself by eating paint and drinking turpentine. That’s probably why he wasn’t allowed into his studio while he was suffering from his attacks”(VanGoghmuseum) .Vincent van Gogh also had the habit of consuming absinthe while falling into a fit of emotions that lasted for the remainder of his life. He later admitted himself to an asylum after one of his fits caused him to chase his roommate painter Paul Gauguin around with a razor in hand. That evening ended in the severing of Vincent Van Gogh’s left ear (which he handed to the brothel owner in which he frequented) though no one really knows if it was by him or Gauguins’. When Vincent Van Gogh arrived back home, this is when he shot himself in the stomach in a wheat field where later his brother Theo had found him bleeding. Vincent Van Gogh died a few days later from internal damage, and his brother Theo followed after six months, leaving many to think Theo unable to live his life without his brother. In his death, Van Goghs’ fame rose quickly, causing many doctors to attempt in diagnosing this plagued artist. He is commonly thought to have suffered from psychosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, epilepsy, borderline personality disorder, severe depression, and paralyzing anxiety. No matter what they tried to diagnose him with, Van Gogh was a man with much sorrow, who tried to work through his pain with his paintbrushes. And because of this he created beautiful and emotionally driven paintings that can be seen and felt throughout the art world. When Vincent Van Gogh admitted himself into the asylum in Saint-Rémy. It was 1889 and he was placed himself there after a nervous breakdown, but there he found he could “paint en plein air” (French for outdoors), it is here that he pained many of his masterpieces. The scene of A Starry Night was the view he had from his window trough his mind’s eye. While in the asylum Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother “I feel a tremendous need for religion, so I go outside at night to paint that stars.” (Theartpostblog). In his search for self discovery and healing, he found that the sky, the nature, the starry nights satisfied his desire for infinity. (Theartpostblog). I recall when I was hospitalized, like Vincent Van Gogh I placed myself in willingly after a mental breakdown. It was there I met a nurse who would paint replications of certain artists’ paintings, with Vincent Van Gogh is being on of them. There was where I found my love for his artwork. Watching her as she painted with practice strokes and concentrated face what she saw Vincent Van Goghs’ painting to be through her mind’s interpretation . That along with the telling of his life’s tale I soon saw how I could relate to such a beautifully broken mind. Through my own turmoil just as he had his, he inspired me. I believe everything can be beautiful if you just try to see it through another’s eyes. Many people have seen a picture of A Starry Night either in a museum or on the internet and felt the power his brush strokes create in their soul. I myself have gotten lost in this painting many times. The connection that is felt inside myself when I view A Starry Night I become at ease. It is as though the world around me has melted away where the colors start becoming one. In my personal episodes of depression, anxiety, mental breakdowns, this painting has brought me to places of solace. The calming blues, swirling whites mixed with yellow, the speckles of stars, and the sleepy town below is a place I wish I could be. A constant place of steadiness created from a mind that was in constant Disarray . People always seem to ask, but why? Why should I care? For me people like that, have a tendency to close themselves off when a new world is offered to them. Those types of people are afraid to step out of the confinement’s of their personal bubble. Everything that is created and made are made with emotion and care. You don’t have to necessarily like something to understand the emotion behind it. That is what art is, the emotion that brought that image, sound or story to life. When people have their mind set or their mind is already in a place of pain and misery, there is not much we can do for that person in terms of reliving their sorrow. When dealing with manic depression, if it is not handled properly, what that person has been at that point is an alley them, even though their judgment is seen as askew. If someone is going to commit suicide such as Vincent Van Gogh, then they have readily convinced themselves that they are no longer needed in this world. Letting go is the easy part, it’s finding subnational reason to hold on that is hard.

 

 

 

Works Cited
-Popova, Maria. “Gauguin’s Stirring First-Hand Account of What Actually Happened the Night Van Gogh Cut off His Own Ear.” Brain Pickings, 27 Aug. 2017, www.brainpickings.org/2017/08/23/gauguin-van-gogh-ear/.
– “#63/125 Did Van Gogh Eat Yellow Paint Thinking That It Would Raise His Spirits?” Van Gogh Museum, www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/125-questions/questions-and-answers/question-63-of-125?fbclid=IwAR2oZa0GI0vXi0T3BtyocuqvgZ9bDKHFYQyLCRxlm_MvV4VHQziDK6slPUk&v=1.
– “The Starry Night by Van Gogh: What It Represents.” The Art Post Blog | Art and Artists Italian Blog, 14 Mar. 2019, www.theartpostblog.com/en/the-starry-night-by-van-gogh-what-it-represents/.

Kalissa Ortiz

 

XXXTentacion:

Album:  “SKINS”

Song: “TRAIN FOOD”

  

XXXTentacion album “SKINS” released December 7, 2018 months after his death in middle June. He was shot in Deerfield Beach by Dedrick D. Williams and shortly after died on the way to the hospital. When “SKINS” was released it showed lots of deep symbolism and dark themes in his lyrics. The lyrics can be disturbing to read and analyze but also listening to his sound in music can be hard to listen too. But analyzing further it’s interesting to know what kind of message he was trying to send overall to listeners.  

 

I remember I had walked home that day

Content with all my misery

Told my self it’d get better, no clue what there was next to me

(Kept telling himself it will get better, but it just all got worse from there)

Remember there was people, walkin’, talkin’ in the distance

I was dressed for winter weather

But the summer rays were kissing me

I, I was lost

So I took a different path, in the distance he awaited me

Had no weapon, I’m guessing his hands were just enough for me

Was no question, I’m guessing he laughed just at the sight of me

I was lost

(This could mean his history with drugs and gang violence)

I remember I had walked home that day

Content with all my misery

Told my self it’d get better, no clue what there was next to me

Remember there was people, walkin’, talkin’ in the distance

I was dressed for winter weather

But the summer rays were kissing me

I, I was lost

And there he was, his presence was alarming

As he approaches casual, we talk ’bout self-harming

He told me “kid, you shouldn’t be walkin’ on your own”

He smiled and laughed, and pat my back

He said, “how far are you from home?”

I said, “maybe 30 minutes”

His frequency distorted quick, I seen it in his image

I should’ve run right fucking there, I-

(I think he may be talking about death here, the conversation he is having is with death. In a lot of his songs he always talks about death, and i think all along he always knew he would die very young)

You ever woke up on a train track

With no motherfuckin’ clothes on?

Death before your eyes, you prayin’ to God, but ain’t no response

Trying to scream for hope, just a shoulder that you can lean on

But ain’t nobody coming, so you scream on

And scream on and scream on

While this evil fuck laugh at you?

Train getting closer, you still surprised that he battered you

Tears falling harder and harder, minutes get minuscule

Could’ve had a son or a daughter, now what you finna do?

You finna die here on this train track

‘Cause clearly after death, ain’t no way you can find your way back

Thinking ’bout your previous memories, going way back

All them fucking dreams ’bout the diamond chain and the Maybach

Now your time finally up

Ask yourself the final question, is you going down or up?

Recollectin’ all the moments that you never gave a fuck

Now it’s here, death has now arrived, time’s finally up

 

(Reading this is very dark and just shows how all along he knew death was coming and in fact he’d been faced with it many times before. He’s been so close with death almost like he can touch it, but finally it’s got him)

For Tuesday, please fill out the SOAPStone worksheet for your song/video or other artwork (I handed this out in class, but I’m also attaching it below if you lost it.)

Please fill this out thoroughly– a few sentences for each question!

Also remember, we will (really) have the Sonny’s Blues quiz on Tuesday.

Who is the SPEAKER_ What do we know about this person_ How do we know it_