Today/Homework: Complete Your Songlist for Monday. Bring hard copies of both the McCandless playlist and your own.
1. Kanye West – Lost in the World (ft. Bon Iver)
1. Kanye West – Lost in the World (ft. Bon Iver)
In the song the featured artist,
Bon Iver, begins the song with a dreamy, spaced out intro. The dreamy, spaced out feel reminded me of an
open mind and thinking a lot. And being
in the forest of Alaska, alone, I’d assume McCandless did a lot of thinking. The intro itself says, “I’m up in the woods,
I’m down on my mind. I’m building a
still to slow down the time,” In a way, Bon Iver’s intro and McCandless’ trip
to Alaska are parallels, Bon Iver says he’s up in the woods, and Chris was also
up in the woods (Alaska). Even if Bon
Iver meant it metaphorically, to represent that maybe he was distant from
others, Chris would also fit into that meaning as well. “I’m down on my mind,” simply relates
to how Chris was trying to find a deeper meaning with himself. Chris wasn’t building a still like Bon Iver
was, but taking this trip rather then being a part of “normal” life makes him
seem like he is trying to slow down the time, if you will.
Gimme Some Truth John Lennon
The
overall idea of Gimme Some Truth by
John Lennon relates really well to Chris McCandless. The song depicts
rejection of authority through the lines “I’ve had enough of reading things/by
neurotic psychotic pigheaded politicians” (Lennon 4-5). Although Chris is not
quite as brash, he does begin to disobey the government and live by his own
rules and those of a higher order. The tone of the song is slightly callous
and disdainful. The song is direct and shows a real yearning for the truth. The
line “all I want is the truth, just give me some truth” (Lennon 6) draws a direct
parallel to Chris who wanted to find some truth and meaning in his life. His
grand journey was to find some truth and showed eagerness. The mood of the song
is determined because of the strong need for truth conveyed.
River Ibeyi
The
song, River by Ibeyi has a theme of
purity which can also be found in the ideals of Chris McCandless. Chris lives
by strong morals and takes those morals and his purity seriously. The lyrics
“sink my pains and complains/ let the river take them, river drown them” (Ibeyi
12-13) demonstrate a sort of healing provided by nature. Similarly,
Chris went into the natural world to address his own beliefs and possible
pains. Nature was supposed to provide a sort of understanding and resolution.
The tone of the song is sincere, the singers possess honesty and a sort
of sweetness to what they’re saying. The mood is calm, reflecting the
theme of nature and purity. The song overall contains the theme of nature and
cleansing which was also found in McCandless’ everyday life and journey to
Alaska.
I
Don’t Want To Be- Gavin DeGraw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gFCW3PHBws
“Part
of where I'm going, is knowing where I'm coming from”
“I
don't want to be
Anything
other than what I've been trying to be lately
All
I have to do
Is
think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm
tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering
what I've got to do
Or
who I'm supposed to be
I
don't want to be anything other than me
I'm
surrounded by liars everywhere I turn
I'm
surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn”
“Am I the
only one who noticed?
I can't be the
only one who's learned!”
“I came from
the mountain
The crust of
creation
My whole
situation-made from clay to stone
And now I'm
telling everybody”
“I Don’t Want
To Be” by Gavin DeGraw identifies with Chris McCandless very well. The chorus
“I don’t want to be anything other than I’ve been trying to be lately” demonstrates
Chris’ individuality, stubbornness, and strength in his moral values because
Chris was well aware of the person he was trying to be by entering the wild,
and did not care what other people around him thought of him because in his
mind he was right. Another relation to
Chris has to do with the lyric “I’m surrounded by liars everywhere I turn...I’m
surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn” which underscores Chris’
discontent with his demanding father after he learned of Walt’s own youthful
mistakes and lies. Chris was deeply
affected by this, and the frustrated tone of the song depicts Chris’
frustration and anger with his father.
The passionate and assertive tone of the song also relates
to Chris’ stubbornness and determination to do things his way and be himself.
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