The two songs I am considering for the Podcast Anthem Assignment are “Imagine” (a cover) by Peter Hollens and “Born This Way” By Lady Gaga. 

“Imagine” is one of my all time favorite songs. I’ve grown up listening to it because my father is an avid John Lennon fan and I always heard this song but I’ve just recently come to understand the meaning behind it. I chose a cover version of this song because I felt as though this song had so much meaning today that it did back in the 70’s. This song intrigues me as I get older because Lennon was trying to have the listener imagine what the world would be like if there was no divides between us like money, religion, job security, and racial discrimination. This topic often comes about in my head as I think about the issues going on in today’s world. Oftentimes we are so caught up in the problems of our world that we never truly step back and think about how things would really be if we were undivided. At first, this song comes across as a beautiful ballad but when you research and look into the lyrics, it’s much more than that. I believe that John Lennon, and the cover artist Peter Hollens, wanted his listeners to clearly understand his message but also wanted them to truly escape to a place with the idea of a unified world. 

Below is Peter Hollens rendition of “Imagine.”

 

 

Below is John Lennon’s version of “Imagine.”

Back in the 70’s, the Vietnam war was going on. Lennon wrote this song as a protest against the harshness that the world was dealing with. Now, I find this song particularly relevant, if not more so, because we have very strong issues going on today. This song is so important to me because the idea never seems to die out but only seems to grow in relevancy. Because his theme of peace was so broad, I feel like this can open up many other ideas and bring other songs to light as I continue with this project throughout the semester. In certain ways the meaning of this song comes across in an easy to understand way, but when you dive into the meaning of his writing and what was going on during the time it was written, it becomes more up to your own interpretation and more complex because of that. This song is something that I would live to delve more deeply into.

 

“Born This Way” is a song written by Lady Gaga which encompasses the idea of being who you are no matter what your race, religion, skin color, and sexuality is. I think this is one of those songs that changed the course of songs from the 2000’s era. This song intrigues me because even though it came out in 2011, it is used as a symbol for the gay community to stand up and be proud of who they are no matter what their sexuality is. I would say that the subject and meaning of this song is fairly clear as soon as you listen to the upbeatness of it and the lyrics. I think a lot of young people that are coming out as gay can use this song as empowerment to be who they are and love themselves for it. 

Below is Lady Gage’s “Born This way Music Video.”

I think Lady Gaga made a very impactful statement when she released this song because at the time, not many people were doing things like this. They were staying very mainstream pop type songs with relatively the same meanings such as love, heart break, friendship, things of that nature. She decided to step up and spread a message to all about the idea that it is okay to be who you truly are and that you do not have to hide behind the walls because of it. I think this song and the artist is something that will lead me into other songs that center around the same kinds of ideas. This song came out at a time where there were major steps in the LGBTQ+ community. Gay marriage became legal. This was a huge moment in history because for so long, these people’s relationships and love lives were diminished since it was not considered “legal” to marry someone of the same sex. To me, this song means that everyone is becoming more unified and equal. I want others to have the same equalities and rights that I do living in America because after all, this is the “land of the free.”

I am fairly comfortable with this project and all that it entails but I do have a few concerns about the completion of it. I need to make sure that I stay on top of all my assignments so that I don’t get far behind and cram at the last minute. I also want to make sure I get other people’s perspectives on the song I chose so that I have more of a well rounded understanding. Overall, I feel as though this project will be rewarding and fun as we go throughout the next 10 weeks.