The task was to listen to two Madonna singles and, from them, initiate my learning about the concept of ‘the diva’ , attempt to develop close listening skills and serve as my introduction to some technical language used to describe and discuss music.
So, imagine my surprise and delight when I heard “Life is a mis-story”, “everyone must stand alone”, “I feel you call my name and it feels like – home.” Only one little mystery there, easily corrected. Isn’t Madonna Australian, must be her accent.
Did I mention I imported the piece into Audacity? Nice free bit of software, I used it for the German module. So now I know what Madonna’s voice looks like. We are at the first gap on the left. Can you anticipate that some loud, noisy, rhythmic instrument is just about to join us for the first chorus? Yes, it’s the start of the lively drums.
Drum, drum a drum, “When you call my name, just a little bear ...” then some more that almost but not quite makes sense, this isn’t Faustus, it’s pop music after all. But bears, surely not. If it wasn’t repeated “just like a bear you know I’ll take you there.” The AA100 module material reminds us that ‘Song lyrics too can have multiple meanings, chiefly depending on how they are received and understood.’ So, bears it is then.