Inspirations

Here's another song that starts a discussion. The lyrics are abstract, about feelings whose cause is never specified in the song. In one way, that could make it a song…

What makes powerful songs so powerful? I love listening to covers of great songs because I love to hear how many interpretations of the lyrics other singers can find. Cyndi…

Here's a classic about relationships. Cyndi sings about breaking up with a guy she doesn't completely want to break up with. She still cares about him, and she knows he…

Here's an anthem of the modern feminist movement. It has 1.6 billion views now. A lot of them are mine. I guess I'm not the only one who's been looking…

Do we hate the United States, or are we trying to reimagine it? Activist movements face that question all the time. Some people get so caught up in feeling angry…

How do musicians' decision making environments affect their music? Who are they trying to reach, and what are they trying to get them to feel? Here's another classic activist song.…

This song is about the dark side of country life. Bobbie calls it unintentional cruelty. The movie based on the song tells that story in a lot more detail. A…

This is a country song about morals and domestic violence. I've seen a lot of reaction videos by people trying to understand it. It's a very well written song and…

This song is essentially the national anthem of country music. It's about rural working class White people. The people you see in this video are rural middle class people. They're…

This is the theme song to Dangerous Minds, a movie about a new high school English teacher who's given a class of inner city kids. The song spells out, and…