Dire Straits Go Shakespearean

Firstly, I would like to tell everyone that, unfortunately I will not be going ahead with my battle of the bands idea which I discussed in my post's "Thinking Aloud" and "The Cosby Show Goes Shakespearean".  Due to the lack of time left in the semester, I have been forced to cancel it.  While the battle of the bands might not be happening anymore, the idea is still up for grabs. So, if anyone has any future classes that require a creative idea, feel free to use it!

As for this post, it will be my last post on Shakespearean references in pop music (the previous posts can be found here, here and here). 

Once again, I have found another reference to Romeo and Juliet in pop music.  In the song "Romeo and Juliet," by Dire Striats, the singer sings a love song about two lovers who have drifted apart.  As the song starts, Romeo is standing on a street corner looking up at Juliet.  The song says the following:

A love-struck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made.
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, "You and me babe, how about it?"

Juliet says, "Hey, it's Romeo, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
He's underneath the window, she's singing, "Hey la, my boyfriend's back.
You shouldn't come around here singing up to people like that...
Anyway, what you gonna do about it?"

The song tells us the story that is not identical to the story of Romeo and Juliet, but is definitely inspired by Shakespeare's play.  As the song progresses we learn of how the two have grown apart and have begun to miss each other.

I like Dire Straits' referencing of Shakespeare in this song, because it shows how Shakespeare's ideas and themes can be adapted to modern settings.  This shows us that Shakespeare is still relevant today, despite the fact that his work is hundreds of years old.

Here is the video to the song: 

Lastly, I found another reference to Shakespeare in an Elton John song entitled "The King Must Die."  Here he speaks heavily of jesters and Shakespeare. I think this might be of interest to Whitney C. 

Sorry for the shortness of this post... I am currently working on a 9 page paper!

The Cosby Show Gets Shakespearean

So I am taking a break from my analysis of Shakespearean references in pop music (you can find my three previous posts here, here and here). 

With this post, I wanted to explore the idea of a Shakespearean battle of the bands, which I blogged about in an earlier post entitled "Thinking Aloud." The idea has been somewhat revised since then, so listen up. 

What I want to do now is get two bands to record songs using parts of Mark Anthony and Brutus' speeches from Act 3 Scene 2 of Julius Caesar.  After these two bands record their songs, I want to post them on Facebook so that we can have a little competition between the songs.  The judging will be done by the number of likes each song gets.  By doing this, the bands will get some exposure on Facebook, as well as some "street cred" with the Shakespearean crowd. 

Now this may seem like an easy task, but I need some help finding a band that would be willing to participate!  Liana has found a band that seems to be interested, so hopefully that works out, but we need to find a second band!  So now, everyone who knows someone who is in a band, contact them and ask if they would be willing to participate.  It should be really cool.

Here is a model, taken from the Cosby show, that is similar to what I want to do.  Here, Theo and his pal devise a rap based on Julius Caesar.  Their song is cool because they explain the story of Julius Caesar, but what I am looking for is a song that has lyrics directly from Brutus and Mark Anthony's speech.  However, check this video out as a reference point.

Don't Fear the Reaper... Literally

First I would like to make a comment about last Friday's forum with Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg. For those of you who did not go, you missed out! It was really cool to hear what he had to say about education and the internet. He seemed pretty optimistic that the internet and Facebook would continue to be an important part of the learning process for all students, young and old. I was secretly hoping that Senator Orin Hatch would ask him about how his feelings towards the use of blogs for educational purposes but, sadly, he didn't. I saw Max there, so I know at least one other person went!

Now I will be continuing my posts on modern music and Shakespeare (you can find my two prior posts here and here). For those of you who are not familiar with the Blue Oyster Cult song, "Don't Fear the Reaper," there are some pretty overt Shakespearean references in the song. This song, like the other two I have blogged about, also makes reference to Romeo and Juliet (the fact that I am finding so many modern day songs with references to Romeo and Juliet makes me wonder, what is it that appeals to modern day musicians about Romeo and Juliet? Is it the fact that it is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays and that is the only one they have read or is there something else? Give me your insight!). I am not particularly fond of this song, but I find it relevant for my blogging purposes (here is a link to the focus of my blog)

Rush's "Limelight" and Shakespeare

This is a continuation of a series of posts talking about and analyzing Shakespearean references in modern day songs. With this theme for my upcoming posts, I hope to show that Shakespeare is still relevant in pop culture, specifically in modern day music. You can find my first post, an analysis of Bob Dylan's song "Desolation Row," here.

For this post, I would like to analyze the Rush classic, "Limelight." For those of you not familiar with Rush's music, they are a Canadian band formed in 1968 whose music is very progressive in nature. They are one of the most talented rock groups in rock music and have received much critical acclaim. As cited on Wikipedia,"as a group, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. Rush's sales statistics place them third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 79th in U.S. album sales with 25 million units."

Now that we have a little background information on the group, we can analyze the song!

Modern Day Song References to Shakespeare

Now that I have concluded my analysis on the music used in movie adaptations of Hamlet, I am now going to do a series of posts talking about and analyzing Shakespearean references in modern day songs. I plan to do at least three posts on the subject. With this theme for my upcoming posts, I hope to show that Shakespeare is still relevant in pop culture, specifically in modern day music.

The first song I would like to talk about is called "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan. This song has two Shakespearean references, one about Romeo and another about Ophelia. The song mentions many characters who are undergoing unfavorable situations. Here is the stanza in which Romeo is mentioned:

And in comes Romeo, he’s moaning

“You Belong to Me I Believe”

And someone says, “You’re in the wrong place my friend

You better leave”

And the only sound that’s left

After the ambulances go

Is Cinderella sweeping up

On Desolation Row

Hub Post #1

I have now concluded my analysis on the music used in movie adaptations of Hamlet and thought I would make a hub post so people can easily find my research and insights.

Here are links to all of my posts related to movie adaptations of Hamlet:

• Scoring Hamlet: An analysis of Laurence Olivier's Hamlet
• Kosinsev and Hamlet: An analysis of Kosinsev's 1964 film
• Two Comparisons of the Music Used in Hamlet Movie Trailers: A comparison of Zeffirelli and Almereyda's films
• The Use of Music and the Lack Thereof: A study of the differences betweew Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film and Laurence Olivier's film.

I have other posts that are related to my main theme, Shakespeare's influence on music, which I will link back to in a later hub post.

As to the future of my blog, I plan on making my studies more specific. Future posts that I have in mind are as follows: Modern day musicians talk Shakespeare, songs that reference Shakespeare and playing the songs of Shakespeare's plays. These ideas are all tentative and depend on how much information I can find on each subject (meaning I better get researching soon!). I am open for suggestions, so If you have any ideas, help a fellow classmate out!

The Use of Music and the Lack Thereof

This will be my last post, in a series of 4, (the previous posts you can find here, here and here) speaking about the music used in movie adaptations of Hamlet.


The last film I would like to talk about is the 1996 Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet. This film is considered to be one of the best interpretations of Shakespeare's masterpiece. It is rather long, considering it lasts for more than four hours, but stays close to the original text in almost every aspect. In the scene that I am going to post below, the music is very subtle. At times, it is hard to even recognize its presence. By not letting the music become overpowering, Branagh shows that what is said is more important in our interpreting of the scene than the music. As I have previously mentioned, the music used in movies often helps determine our perception of the emotions in a specific scene. Here, the scene is more open to interpretation than others in which the music is extremely over powering.

Lastly, I would like to post a video from Olivier's film on Hamlet. Here, there is no music used.

As always, which one do you like better? Do you think having subtle music is better than having no music whatsoever? Why?

"Friends, Romans, Classmates, lend me your comments!!!"