First Checkpoint:

Analysis: The original Toxic is laden with fast beats, Britney Spears' high "sexy baby" voice and insinuation. It evokes a frenzied head bob to the motif that reoccurs throughout the song. The song is sung from the perspective of a self-prescribed vixen, a girl who is in control of her own desire and is using her sultry lyrics to lure in her figurative prey. 

My version is slower, more about love than the original. The original begs a conversation of sex. My version creates an atmosphere of almost unwilling attraction. However, although the meaning significantly changes, there is no doubt about the supreme confidence of the persona singing the lyrics, which gives both versions a common trait. 

ISP #1: "Toxic" Smoke

Second Checkpoint:

Analysis: Although the original Creep contains the melancholy desire that elevates the song to a classic, my version seems more "showy", evoking a dimly lit room, a single microphone, and cigar smoke. My version is more public, rather than Radiohead's private lament. 

In regard to Hamlet, the play by William Shakespeare we are dissecting currently, this song's protagonist is Claudius before he gained his title. It is Claudius before Gertrude loved him, it is Claudius begging her to notice him. It is the prelude to Hamlet, more so in the original than in my brassy, jazzy cover. 

ISP #2: Vintage "Creep"

Third Checkpoint:

Analysis: Nina Simone's original song The Other Woman is dated by its straightforward, clear melody and style. It is reminiscent of the 1950s and the music that accompanied that era. Lana del Rey's cover and my subsequent cover are more modern in their styles. 

Interestingly enough, the style in which I have crafted this version of The Other Woman is rooted in how I perceive the 1950s and 1960s. The discrepancy is not supposed to exist but there is a gap in the perception and reality of that musical period. 

Scratchy and full-throated like my version or clear and pure like Nina Simone's, The Other Woman is beautiful in its unique perspective and its realization of the trade off as a result of desire. 

ISP #3: The Other Side of "The Other Woman"

Everyone has heard the upbeat, carefree tune of Pharrell's Happy, a fun song that urges the listener to bounce up and down, even though he or she has probably heard the song a million times on the radio. 

My rendition of Happy is the complete opposite of the original. It's defeatist, it evokes a tired persona, completely different from the acrobatic dancers in the original music video. "I'm happy" is not so much a declaration as it is a plea to be so. My cover is the musical version of "I'm happy, right?"

ISP #4: Melancholy "Happy"-ness

The lyrics by Marina and The Diamonds have its own double entendre. The way Marina sings it evokes a satirical, "little girl" vision of the world. "I can't help that I need it all." She has a flighty, more glib rendition but the listeners know what the truth is. I love (love) the original. 

My version is more directly related to the lyrics. It is sad, it doesn't pretend or evoke any other feeling, which makes it an infinitely more simple song. The song is already self aware by the time it is over. The character gets everything, but "not because I'm really that deserving of it."

It is a homage to the aging of a beauty queen, to the maturation of a little girl, the transition from "all about me" to not. 

In my opinion, all girls go through this revelation, this ultimate realization that they have to act a certain way, even be a certain way. Maybe it isn't that confining. It is more like we have to NOT act a certain way or be a certain way, not childish or petty or demanding.

This song is about a girl who grew up suddenly, unwillingly, but is still clinging to her past. This song is about Daisy Buchanan. The Great Gatsby speaks to this false persona, this childish behavior. Like when Daisy moved away and didn't call Gatsby or come to the funeral. Like when Daisy was first attracted to Gatsby. Like when Daisy married Tom. The book is a series of terrible decisions rooted in opinionated beliefs that are absolute truth to their owners. 

Daisy is a primadonna girl. After all, all she ever wanted was the world. 



ISP #5: Lachrymose "Primadonna"

The traditional version of Once Upon A Dream, from the Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, derives its beauty from its elegance, its cheery background music and the sweetness of the female vocalist. It is the perfect theme to a movie about a cursed, yet beautiful princess, living in the forest with her three fairy godmothers, avoiding her fate for as long as possible. 

My version, needless to say, does not evoke images of woodland animals playing dress up with Prince Philip's clothing. Inspired by Maleficent, a film that explores "Sleeping Beauty" from the view of the villain, and Lana del Rey, my version is slow, deep and a little creepy. The song becomes less about romance, and more about obsession. 



ISP #6: Deep Throat "Dream"

Excitingly enough, I write songs sometimes and I feel so good about this one that I'm willing to put aside my crippling self-doubt and upload it. 

This song drips with satire. As a self-proclaimed feminist and progressive thinker, I believe that the woman's place is literally anywhere she wants to be. In "Shadow", I inhabit the persona of someone who hates herself so much that she changes to fit the needs of her boyfriend/lover/partner. She is someone only in regards to him. It's really a loss when a woman has had someone tell her that she means nothing enough times that she believes it. It's an outrage. And the cloaking sweetness of this track is masking that crime against the soul. 

ISP # 8: Shadow (Original)

Drake's Headlines signaled his comeback. His comeback to fame, the fame that is still propelling him upward, to the point where he is one of the most known and beloved rappers today. My cover is not at all like the original because it's slower. It's  less cocky, as my voice lends itself to ideas of regret. My cover cannot be confused with the original, yet the lyrics are the same. This is the most I have changed a song, and the meaning HAS changed. As I reach the end of this project, I realize how much melody matters, how much the meaning of the lyrics depend on the way we hear them. 

In the battle between melody and lyrics, melody wins every time.  

TheKumar