The following is a soundtrack that tells the story of Romeo and Juliet via Indie Alternative and 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 Michael Logen, Taylor Swift, Young Rising Sons and Lana Del Ray would be able to tell the story of any of Shakespeare’s plays with their deep lyrics, and intense, dramatic acoustics. 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. The focus of this playlist is on the emotions and thoughts of Romeo and Juliet as they go through their relationship. These songs will focus on how they feel rather than touching on the feud, or the thoughts of other characters in the play.

High- Young Rising Sons

Act 1 Scene 1

At the beginning of the play, Romeo is depressed and wandering around the city wishing that he was in this perfect relationship with Rosaline. At this point of the play, Benvolio comes up to Romeo to discuss his emotions and why he has been acting so depressed. Romeo states that he is in love with Rosaline but that he feels so much pain because there is uncertainty about where her heart lies and what she feels. Romeo wants to be in love, but he is unable to find the right person. This song by the Young Rising Sons touches on a similar idea. The lyrics show that they are in a low point in their lives, but they are searching for something better, they are searching for the “high” that will make their lives feel complete. Romeo realizes that he is in a low point and he doesn’t want to be, but he is deeply searching for someone to love and in order to make his life whole. This song perfectly describes Romeo’s mental state and thought process as he mourns Rosaline and is eager to find the love of his life.

One lyric says, “ Inside my heart there is an empty nest, a heavy head and a hollow chest, soft spoken like a disease, but there is no way for you to complete me”. This perfectly describes Romeo’s situation with Rosaline just before he meets Juliet.

Enchanted-Taylor Swift

Act 1 Scene 5

Enchanted is a song about a girl who sees a guy at party and immediately feels a connection with him. Throughout the entire song, she is wishing and hoping for the guy to like her, and to not be involved with someone else. This song tells the story of the party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet. Part of the song is about how the girl is lonely and bored with the same routine, while at the party, until her eyes lock with the boy she immediately falls for. Juliet is in this same state of mind until she sees Romeo. Her parents want her to mingle with Paris and to eventually marry him, but Juliet is not content with Paris. The songs lyrics perfectly describe the beginning sparks of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. When they first meet, both of their minds are elsewhere. However, when they see each other, they forget everything else and immediately fall for one another. The Lyrics say,

“There I was again tonight

Forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired lonely place

Walls of insincerity,

Shifting eyes and vacancy

Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you” (Enchanted Taylor Swift).

In addition at the end of the song, after the couple has had a lovely night together, the girl goes home wondering if the boy felt the same way, and if she will ever see him again. When Romeo and Juliet leave each other, they both want to see each other again and they never want to leave each other’s sides. This hope is not only represented by the music and lyrics of Taylor Swift’s Enchanted, but it is also the perfect transition into the Balcony Scene.

3. Tenerife Sea- Ed Sheeran

Act 2 Scene 2

The Balcony scene is the most commemorated scene from Romeo and Juliet. The scene revolves around Romeo and Juliet professing their love for one another. This is also the scene where Juliet basically proposes to Romeo. The song Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran describes Romeo’s point of view. There is also some light and dark imagery in the lyrics, which is also seen in the play. In the song, the lyrics say,

“You look so beautiful in this light

Your silhouette over me

The way it brings out the blue in your eyes

Is the Tenerife Sea

And all of the voices surrounding us here

They just fade out when you take a breath

Just say the word and I will disappear

Into the wilderness” (Tenerife Sea, Ed Sheeran)

To start with, the light imagery in the song is representative of the light imagery used by Romeo when he is speaking to Juliet on the Balcony. Second, it touches on the idea that they both know they are not supposed to be together, but they want to be anyways. However, they don’t care and choose to get married anyways. The lyric, “voices surrounding us fade out when you take a breath,” demonstrates this idea from the play. On the balcony, Romeo and Juliet decide to be together and get married despite the issues with their families. They know that they are meant to be together and they are so in love they don’t care about anything else. The emotions expressed in this song, portray the emotions of Romeo as he decides he is going to be with Juliet no matter what the consequences. He is so in love that he doesn’t care if he dies the next day. It foreshadows the end of the play, while representing the entirety of Romeo’s emotions.

4. Ride- Somo

Act 2 Scene 4

This is a part of the play that is often misinterpreted by readers. In this scene, Juliet is anxiously waiting for her nurse to return with Romeo so that they can consummate their marriage. Even though Juliet is painted as the innocent girl falling in love, this is not really the case. Juliet uses some subtle sexual language throughout the play, but especially in this scene when she is waiting anxiously for Romeo to come up to her room. So it is only logical for the song that represents Juliet’s emotions, to be a song by Somo. Somo is known for writing sexy songs that describe a night that one spends making love with someone. This particular song, Ride, is describing what Juliet is imagining and wanting when she is waiting for Romeo to come up to her room. It is a very sexy song and encompasses the sexual nature of this scene perfectly. Many people misread this scene and don’t realize the sexual elements that are incorporated into the language. In this contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, I wanted to ensure that this idea was not misinterpreted and that it was evident to my listener that one, Romeo and Juliet do consummate their marriage, and two, Juliet is not as innocent as she seems. This song does not allow for any questioning about what actually occurs in this scene. It explicitly states that Romeo and Juliet have sex and demonstrates the mental attitude of Juliet leading up to the consummation of their marriage.

5. St. Christopher – Michael Logen

Act 3 Scene 5

Romeo has been banished for the killing of Tybalt, but he decides to spend the night with Juliet regardless of his banishment. In the morning, when Romeo must leave, he swears that they will see each other again. Once Romeo leaves, Juliet frantically tries to figure out a way to escape her predicament and to be with Romeo. Juliet did not like the advice from the Nurse to go ahead and marry Paris. Desperate for an answer, Juliet decides to go to Friar Lawrence for help. St. Christopher is the perfect song to express Juliet’s desperation for help in order to be able to be with Romeo. The music in this song is dark, with a soft piano. This represents the pain that Juliet feels having to be faced with this decision to either lose the love of her life, and to kill herself if she does, or to try and figure out a way to reunite with Romeo. The lyrics are also very telling in regard to Juliet’s thought process as she is in this initial state of desperation before she figures out how to handle the situation. The song says,

“Gonna need some help tonight

For the long, dark road ahead

On my way back to the light

'Cause the path is so unclear

And I'm not sure who to be

All I know is I can't stay here”

As Juliet goes to see Friar Lawrence, she knows that whatever is to come, is going to be difficult no matter what. She is either going to kill herself without Romeo, or she will have to go through some drastic measures in order to ensure that she can be with Romeo. The song is desperate, sad, and emotional, and perfectly encompasses Juliet’s mental state.

6. I Know Places by Taylor Swift

Act 4 Scene 3

Juliet has consented to marry Paris, with the plan to take the sleeping potion the night before so that she will be presumed dead in the morning. I know Places is an intense song about having a plan, and knowing the dangers surrounding the situation but decides to go through with it because she doesn’t want her love story to end. The song says,

Something happens when everybody finds out 

See the vultures circling in dark cloud 

Love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out It could burn out

cause they got their cages, they got their boxes, and guns,

they are the hunters, we are the foxes and we run

  Baby I know places we won't be found

and they'll be chasing their tails tryin' to track us down 

Cause I, I know places we can hide, I know places (Taylor Swift I Know Places).

Instead giving up on Romeo, Juliet decides to do something crazy in order to attempt to be with him. She realizes the danger surrounding the situation, but she is still willing to go through with the plan because she doesn’t want to lose the love of her life. This song has an edgy tone to it, which expresses the intensity of the situation.

7. Dark Paradise-Lana del Ray

Act 5 Scene 3

The song, Dark Paradise is the epitome of the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. In the song, a woman is depressed and suicidal because her lover is dead and she no longer wants to live because he is not with her anymore. These are the exact emotions that led Romeo and Juliet to kill themselves. When Romeo hears of Juliet’s death, he goes to the tomb and takes poison in order to be able to be with her in eternity. When Juliet awakes from the sleeping potion, she sees Romeo lying dead next to her. Her heart breaks and stabs herself so she does not have to live without him. It is a dark and depressing love story. The lyrics describe the situation perfectly.

“And there's no remedy

For memory

Your face is like a melody,

It won't leave my head

Your soul is haunting me

And telling me

That everything is fine

But I wish I was dead

dead like you” (Lana Del Ray).

The music is dark and depressing in addition to the story that the lyrics tell. The music and lyrics of Dark Paradise illustrate this scene in Romeo and Juliet perfectly because it describes the emotions of both Romeo and Juliet just before they kill themselves.

8. Infinity-Albert Oberst

Act 5 Scene 3

After Friar Lawrence retells the story of Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage, and how the feud between the two families was the ultimate cause of their death, Capulet and Montague end their feud. This song is soft, and beautiful, in part summarizing a love story that ended because of death, but it also comments on how the love story lives on in the stars. It also says the memory of the lovers’ lives on forever and will bring people together for infinity. It is a slow tempo, acoustic song that creates the ideal end to this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. This song coincides with the famous last line,“ There was never a tale of more woe, than of Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.309.). Infinity is the music version of the last line that sums up the entire love story.

A Wandering Conscience

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

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Monday, April 13, 2015

Romeo and Juliet: A Contemporary Rendition told through Indie Alternative Music