“It’s a girl” the doctor exclaimed, as his face lit up in joy…
“Finally my own little Stevie.”
Ok, so I ended up not being named Stevie Nicks as my dad intended, but it seems as though he saw the change she would make in this world before most, and wanted to instill that passion in his baby girl.
"In Your Dreams" is Stevie Nicks 7th Studio
Release & hit stores May 3rd
(photo: lonelyfriday.org)
Stevie Nicks, front woman of Fleetwood Mac and perennial solo songstress, is a week into her latest solo album release and is taking the world by storm. She has won over the heart of the difficult interviewer Oprah, not to mention her millions of listeners with “In Your Dreams,” an album that is sure to touch your soul.
This is one of her first ventures in collaborating on many levels with other well renowned artists and notes that “my eyes instantly opened and I understood why Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote together—because each had something the other didn’t have.” This is a lesson not to be taken lightly by the masses by encouraging collaboration and finding the good in our counterparts.
Nicks, now 62, remains vulnerable and nervous on her latest venture. This album is like an open journal entry and encompasses her entire self. She opens up about her struggles with drug addiction, eight years lost to poor doctor’s prescriptions, lost love and overall growth as an artist and a woman. And even though the 140 million record seller is popularly believed to be in no position to be nervous, she exclaims, “it is huge pressure, but I needed to make a record, I needed to write songs and be the artist that I have always told everybody I am…” In my humble opinions, that is a musician of great inspiration; one that creates an art form not driven by the money or fame, but to drive the passions of her listeners, tell her story and hope that it touches someone.
My parents may have compromised in naming me Lindsay (the female spelling) after Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, but from the moment he heard her sing, my daddy knew Stevie Nicks would make a difference—and if you ask me, she has just begun.
“In Your Dreams” hit stores May 3rd and is only the beginning of a second leg for Nicks. What’s next for Stevie? “I have no idea, but I do know the music will continue.”
California is a state of great diversity. It’s also a state that has struggled to produce a strong public education system for many years...
I currently hang my hat in America’s most sought out city—San Diego. However, I hail from the small streets of Moreno Valley, California, a city with a population in the 200 thousands but an appeal of small town suburbs where everyone knows everyone and Starbucks is a brand new venture.
I grew up with Music as a major influence in my life. My uncle, brother and myself dabble in instruments and vinyl is a collecting habit of the Young family. My brother and I joined the band programs as young as elementary school and found it to be the link behind our social world, passion, creative thinking, and dedication. That being said, I wanted to take a closer look into the idea that Music has the potential to increase education and enhance learning.
Karl Glenn claimed music as one of the great art forms--one in which could mature creativity and enhance education (Glenn, 1992).
Just listening to music has the capability to enhance spatial task performance, design and procedure, and the study of music can produce higher creative and learning functions (Shaw, Rauscher, & Ky, 1994).
Moreno Valley High School has the lowest academic performances of individuals (API) within Moreno Valley Unified School District.
Education Statistics of California Data Set
As an alumnus from Moreno Valley High School, I also know that our music program was folded in 2004 due to budget cuts. Is there a direct correlation between the two? Well, looking at a comparison to MVHS’s rival high school Valley View, which to this day has a growing music program that produces CDs for a changing band (as students graduate the band changes) by the name of The Raspberry Blues, we can see the API for VVHS is much higher than that of MVHS.
Education Statistics of California Data Set
Continuing the comparison of Moreno Valley High and Valley View High, we can see that with a statewide poll of educational ranking, Valley View ranks far higher than that of Moreno Valley.
Education Statistics of California Data Set
Although the data is not with direct evaluation of a music program, other studies have shown that the inclusion of a music curriculum can increase the way in which teens approach their education. According to Cohen-Taylor, when teachers include popular song lyrics into their reading materials, students approached other printed materials in a positive manner; whereas, students, without a learning through lyrics curriculum approached other reading materials with apathy. Furthermore, a study by McTeer and Bailey found that students improved their attitude towards history and subject matter when correlated with popular music (Eady, & Wilson, 2007).
Needless to say, I am an advocate of combining educational efforts with the inspiration of music. The idea that creativity alone can be increased, just through a set of headphones and a musician from one of the greatest art forms, inclines me to believe that success is driven through great music. Many, if not all career paths have some sort of creative influence to be the best, most cutting edge and influential within a respective field of work. With music comes creativity… why question that?
A song that has had great influence on my life…
The Spill Canvas - Appreciation and the Bomb
If there's one thing I've learned // it's that we never feel the heat until we get burned // but we try so hard not to die // sometimes we forget to appreciate life
Eady, I.L., & Wilson, J.D. (2007). Restructuring music's role in the middle school curriculum. College Student Journal
Glenn, K. (1992). The benefits of music education--now and in the future. NASSP Bulletin, 76(544), 1-4.
Shaw, G.L., Rauscher, F.H., & Ky, K.N. (1994). Music and spatial task performance: a casual relationship. Proceedings of the American psychological association 102nd annual convention (pp. 365-611). Los Angeles: http://www.burchschool.com/musicstf.html.
Some people would call me crazy to say that music has saved my life. I mean, I can barely play the guitar and I can only dream to write a song someone might play someday…but when someone writes and performs the words I can’t muster up the courage to say myself, it gives me this rekindled faith that we are not alone in this world. A hope that no matter how much this life takes from me, and so far it has taken just about everything, I will survive through the spoken motivation accompanied by a guitar.
That being said I wanted to take a minute to highlight how music really can save lives. Catastrophe has stricken our universe with overwhelming strife as of late, most notably the 8.9 earthquake (among many others to follow suit) that created a devastating tsunami washing out the tiny country of Japan. People from around the world are directly and indirectly affected by this tragedy and have sprung up many ways to give to the Japan Relief Fund. We've all heard how The American Red Cross steps up in time of need with their texting campaign amongst many others but did you know how the music industry is giving back? Universal Music Group has released a 38 song album, available on iTunes, for an astronomically low price of $9.99 to aid in Japan Relief. The album consists of major recording artists as John Lennon, U2, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele and Kings of Leon. All of the songs chosen have very positive and uplifting lyrics to not only raise funds but lift spirits in this time of tragedy. Other bands not involved with the "Songs for Japan" have conjured up other ways to show their support for the rebuilding of a country and it's people. Blink 182 and New Found Glory, both known for their "crappy punk rock" styles and cult followings have designed t-shirts for sale through many outlets, with all proceeds going to the Japan Relief Fund.
One of my favorite bands Paramore has gotten very creative in their Relief Fund. For the past couple weeks they have hosted an online "yard sale," where fans can place bids on clothing, accessories, memorabilia, etc. previously owned by the members of Paramore. The highest bidder upon auction completion gets the item and all proceeds are sent to a Japan relief fund. Some items have sold for thousands of dollars. Not only is this creative at best, but has been very successful and has given fans, like myself, the opportunity to own things once used/worn by their idols.
Speaking of Paramore, Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, who had Paramore as an opening act on their last tour donated 1 million dollars to Save The Children to directly benefit the Japanese children in need. She states, "I've been inspired by Japan for many years and have a true love, appreciation and respect for the Japanese people and their culture. The disaster in Japan is beyond heartbreaking and I want to do anything I can to help. I would never be able to make a gesture like this without the love and support of all the fans over all these years."
Lyrics have the ability to speak the words in which we cannot say. Often times, as a listener, we feel like the musicians really connect with our every day lives. In personal experience I have found an hour with a set of headphones to be the most comforting time in my days. Certain songs have changed my outlook on life and really pulled me out of bed from situations that have broken my spirit. So in a sense, Music really has saved my life. A warming sensation comes over me when I read of musicians not only using their words through song to influence our daily lives, but their prominence and financial backing to literally 'save lives.'
Check out these other ways you can donate to Japan Relief... Times are only getting harder in the far East!
“When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.”
The American Red Cross has set up a special designation for disaster relief efforts in Japan. To donate,click here, or text REDCROSS to 90999 to instantly donate $10.
International Medical Corpssaysit is putting together relief teams and supplies to aid Japan “and other affected countries.”Donate here.
