Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack

I have decided to do a fun little project where I tell the story of Romeo and Juliet through Indie Pop songs. I have not finalized by line notes or playlist but here is what I have so far. Check back later for more updates on this!!

 I am choosing to soundtrack Romeo and Juliet. Going into my thought process for choosing a play to adapt, I knew I wanted to tell the story of whichever play I chose through Indi pop songs. This is my favorite genre of music and the lyrics that are used in these songs are very deep and emotional. I knew that artists such as Bon Ivar, Taylor Swift, Birdy, and Lana Del Rae would be able to tell the story of any of Shakespeare’s plays with their deep lyrics, and intense, dramatic acoustics.  With that being said, I wasn’t sure which play would work best with the genre of music I chose.

So, I went on to Spotify and listened to my playlist of Indi Pop Songs and intently listened to the lyrics to see if any particular storyline popped out at me.  At first, I considered writing about Hamlet, but as I looked deeper into the music genre I wanted to use, I realized that Romeo and Juliet worked best. The majority of Indi Pop songs revolve around love. Whether that is falling in or out of love, these songs discuss the intense emotional roller coaster that goes along with love and relationships. When I was listening to my playlist, I was able to visualize the scenes of Romeo and Juliet because it is one of the most tragic love stories every told, and the emotions that coincide with the storyline go perfectly with this specific genre of music. 

As of right now, I am looking to include Act 1 Scene 2 where Romeo is wandering around town, sad about Rosaline. For this Scene I wanted to choose a song that best portrayed Romeo’s emotions as he is thinking about Rosaline and wanting to be with her.  The songs High by Young Rising Sons, and Dark Blue by Jack’s Mannequin best portray this emotion.  Next, I wanted to use Love Story and Enchanted by Taylor Swift to show the love at first sight, swept away feeling, that Romeo and Juliet have when the first kiss at the party in Act 1 Scene 5. Both of these songs have some subtle sexual elements to them which corresponds with the subtle sexiness in Juliet’s language. Obviously, since I am choosing Romeo and Juliet, I must do the Balcony scene. For this scene I thought Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran, an Always by Albert Oberst would work best. Then, I wanted to use Act 3 Scene 4 when Romeo and Juliet have their wedding night before Romeo has to go away, but I have not decided on a song that would best portray those emotions yet. Then I will use St. Christopher by Michael Logen and I Know Places by Taylor Swift for Act 3 Scene 5 when Romeo and Juliet are trying to solve their predicament. For Act 5 Scene 3 when Romeo kills himself, I want to use Skinny Love by Bon Ivar. Then, when Juliet kills herself in this same scene, I will use Dark Paradise by Lana Del Rae.  For the final moment when Capulet and Montague are brought together by the deaths of their children, in Act 5 Scene 3, I will use Infinity by Albert Oberst.

I was on Good Morning Kentucky! St. Jude Dream Home

Mixing Cultures

Even though I have been on the road and traveling from city to city for the past 6 years, I have never been able to fully experience the variety of cultures that exist in those various locations. It is an interesting idea that in a country where we founded ourselves on unity, and one nation under God, that we can be so diverse and different. When going from one coast to another, it is comparable traveling to a different country. The culture that one experiences by traveling to these locations is far different than the culture they experience in their hometown. 

In my previous article, The Facades of Southern Society, I touched on the culture in the south and how the way I was treated by some people were representative of what their cultural upbringing was. While since writing that article I have realized that not all people in the south, put up acts to hide their true emotions and personality. While their are some who take this idea of southern gentleman ship to a whole new level and completely embody the person I described, not all southern people represent the facade. However, that is not to say that I still don't recognize the drastic cultural differences between my culture that I grew up in, and the one that I am currently attending college in. 

This past week, I traveled home to Orange County, CA with two girls who also attend Transylvania University. One of these girls is form New Mexico and the other is from Louisville, Kentucky. Both of them come from different backgrounds than I, but I did not fully realize the extent of our differences until I offered up my home to them and allowed them to stay in my guest house for the duration of the week. 

The sweet fun loving girls that I invited from Kentucky, were not the girls that showed up at my home. I do not think it was anything they did on purpose, it was simply a difference of culture that made them stick out like a sore thumb. A common courtesy and classiness that I expected of them was not received. Instead I encountered entitled, ungrateful attitudes that simply mooched off of everything in my home. In addition, the girls did not take care of my things and left a lot of damage that will now need to be fixed. It was as if they expected to be treated like I was a hotel and not a friend they were coming to visit. After multiple home cooked meals, gas money, and trips to expensive tourist locations that I would otherwise not be attending if it were not for them, I received ungrateful and entitled attitudes, and no offer to pay for gas, parking, or buy me a meal. Now I am not saying that I expected them to reimburse me for the things I offered to them. That was my treat, and as a courtesy to them, if they had offered to pay anything, I would not have accepted it. However, a respectful, gracious person would offer to treat their host to something, at least thats how I was taught to treat hosts in my culture. 

In the end, I realized that they don't come from the same place I do and I did not realize that certain aspects of my culture are not practiced in other parts of the country. I am not saying that this is like all people in the south, but I definitely see the differences in their upbringing after their visit to my hometown.  It is interesting. Culture is not a generalization because every parent brings up their child differently. However, the people around them and the common courtesies expected of people in specific cultures vary greatly. I am still learning how to adapt to this culture change. 

While on campus I feel I have learned how to fit in with my new culture, but I did not anticipate that my friends would come to my home and act so drastically different from the way they act on campus. I suppose when I arrived home I fell back in to the ways of my hometown and my visitors obviously  did not understand the culture or adapt well to it. They stuck out like a sore thumb and honestly, it bothered me. I do not think they realized how they were acting because it was a totally new ball game for them, but I was simply shocked and dissapointed at their behavior. I will put this one down in the books as a learning experience and learn to be more selective with the people I wish to treat to things. I think that generosity can sometimes get taken advantage of and it is something I need to be careful about in the future.