Fast Car Reading Log

Title: Fast Car     

Author/Composer: Tracy Chapman
Published/Released: Original- 1988, Remix (Jonas Blue)- 2015
Text Type: Song lyrics    Date Read: Saturday 30th April



Plot Summary
This song is about a girl who is struggling, working hard just to get by each day and hoping that sometime in the future, her life will get better. This is a very inspirational and moving song and if you read the lyrics they actually have some real meaning, rather than just talking about her last boyfriend who broke her heart,or some rude song about a certain girls backside.

Personal Response 1- My Interpretation of the Lyrics
These lyrics made me think about my life and how good it is compared to her life, but it also made me think about how she was always so optimistic and hopeful for the future, even her life looks like it is heading in the wrong direction. I think a few of us could take something from this song. They explain how she had to drop out of school to look after her dad and how she wanted to escape her old life to build a new one. I like this song also because it has no swear words and no insensitive or rude comments. Each verse actually has a emotional/deep meaning. 
She is hoping that life will get better, she wants a better life for her and her boyfriend. Shows how hard it must be for some people. In the first verse it says " Any place is better, Starting from zero, got nothing to lose." This gives you a glimpse into what her life must have been like. Showing that she must have had nothing and that her upbringing must have been a pretty hard time and she struggled/is still struggling. It also mentions things about how her father was an alcoholic and she had to quit school to look after him.
They describe what she is doing to try and get a better life, pull herself out of her old/previous hard life,and how she works hard to get there. Throughout the lyrics there is a theme of hope, eg."We won't have to drive too far, just across the border and into the city"and in some verses things look like they are starting to go bad but she thinks positive and is hopeful, eg."You still ain't got a job, and I work in the market as a checkout girl. I know things will get better, you'll find work and I'll get promoted". This I think makes the song more happy and positive than depressing, even though some of the lyrics may be kind of sad, they are balanced out with her optimistic thinking.  I think the significance of repeating the line "You got a fast car" at the start of each verse, is showing that she is thinking about her freedom, being free from her old life and starting a new one. You can relate cars with freedom, because when you have a car you are able to go anywhere, move away. (As long as you have petrol). This song also gives you an insight into the world/community Tracy Chapman lived in.

Personal Response 2- Lyrics Relation to the Music Video (Jonas Blue Version)
The music video starts off with a lady riding through an old derelict town, with run down houses on a dirt bike. I think this is a good setting for the song because it shows her in, what looks like a poorer area and that is what the song is mainly talking about how they are trying to get out of a place like that. The two people in this video both have fast modes of transport, the lady has a dirt bike and the man has a horse. But I think the lady's dirt bike is what they are trying to relate fast car to in this video. I think that the guy/cowboy is representing the person Tracy Chapman is talking about, because it shows him doing the things mentioned in the lyrics, such as when the man is leaving town it shows him nodding to the guys from the convenience store and it goes with the lyric" I've been working at the convenience store, managed to save just a little bit of money". And also as I said before the lady has the "fast" car.
The lyrics also match other parts in the video such as - When it says "leave tonight or die this way", he is dragged away by the convenience store workers, who I personally think did not want him to leave his old hard life because they still had to live in the same way. And at the end when she finds him in the convenience store at the checkout and gives him back the charm the lyric "And I, I had a feeling that I belonged, and I, I had a feeling that I could be someone" Is her saying that he let her down that she thought she could trust and that they could've been something. Also in the lyrics when it says "I said, somebody's got to take care of him, so I quit school and that's what I did" He is watching her, I think it is that he wants to take care of her give her a better life. That he has taken it into his hands to give her a better life. I personally think that the video conveys the lyrics well but in different way, rather than just trying to copy exactly what the say and then reflect it in the video, they managed to find a kind of unique and interesting way to do it.

Personal Response 3- Music (Jonas Blue Version)
The music itself makes you really stop and want to listen carefully. I personally think it is an easy and nice song to listen to and has a nice gentle tune that is calming and relaxing. I think this is because it sounds like it is made with real instruments, not just harsh computer generated beats that make you wince or sound like a dying cat if you put the music up too loud. The woman's voice itself is actually very unique, kind of husky, and is not the usual cliche pop-star voice that has been changed using auto-tune.
This music feels, to me, motivational, like I could be listening to it while I am doing a run to keep me pushing myself. It makes you want to keep on going. It also has a good beat so it would be good for, from my point of view and my experience, a dance or gymnastics routine. This is shown between verses and during the chorus the beat is fast and upbeat, kind of a techno beat. But they also use drums and people clapping at the start, then they use a nice, quiet subtle tune and piano behind the woman's vocals, and the occasional jingle of bells. This provides a charge in tune, so it is not the same beat throughout the song and repeating what I have said above, makes the song nice to listen to. 

Recommendations-
I personally would recommend this song to people of all ages. It sends out a good positive message about working hard and never to stop believing. And for smaller children who won't be able to understand the lyrics, it has a nice calming tune to it, that is nice to listen to.

Lyrics

You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere Any place is better Starting from zero, got nothing to lose Maybe we'll make something Me, myself, I got nothing to prove You got a fast car And I got a plan to get us out of here I've been working at a convenience store Managed to save just a little bit of money We won't have to drive too far Just across the border and into the city You and I can both get jobs And finally see what it means to be living You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away? We gotta make a decision We leave tonight or live and die this way So I remember we were driving, driving in your car The speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I, I had a feeling that I belonged And I, I had a feeling that I could be someone Had a feeling that I could be someone You see, my old man's got a problem He lives with the bottle, that's the way it is He says his body's too old for working His body's too young to look like his My mama went off and left him She wanted more from life than he could give I said, somebody's got to take care of him So I quit school and that's what I did You got a fast car And we go cruising to entertain ourselves You still ain't got a job And I work in a market as a checkout girl I know things will get better You'll find work and I'll get promoted We'll move out of the shelter Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away? You gotta make a decision We leave tonight or live and die this way So I remember we were driving, driving in your car The speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I, I had a feeling that I belonged And I, I had a feeling that I could be someone Had a feeling that I could be someone

The Blue Umbrella

Title: The Blue Umbrella          Author: Saschka Unseld 

Published: 21 June 2013        Text type: Short Film, Animation

Date Read: Thursday 3rd March

This film is set in the middle of New York City on a rainy day. As it starts to rain, the city comes to life. A blue umbrella pops up and so does a red umbrella, and soon fall in love. They get torn apart but find each other in the end, making it a happy ending to the film.   

The music in the blue umbrella animation was very happy and calming, setting, what I felt, was a nice vibe throughout the film. The film starts off with the footsteps of pedestrians, making it feel more realistic, then going into the drops of rain which slowly build up into a beat. I personally thought this was really cool and smart.. As the rain is falling, objects around the city come alive and make sounds such as; the creaking of the mailbox and the squeaking of screws turning. This makes the film feel fun and adds more effect. In the scene when the blue umbrella is spilt apart from the other umbrella, they use string instruments to make it more dramatic. i also noticed that no where in the film did they use a voiceover and that the happy music was percussion instruments and a lady singing a melody. This is so you focused mainly on the characters. The music also conveys many feelings in different parts of the film. Such as at the start you feel happy and relaxed but when it gets more dramatic you all of a sudden feel anxious and nervous.

The blue umbrella is a very cute character who I personally thought lit up the film. You are able to feel a connection with him because of his human like facial features and expressions. We also form a special connection with him through his behaviour, e.g when he flips inside out in front of the girl and he gets all embarrassed, you can relate to having that feeling or a similar experience. In the film another umbrella pops up but in this case she is a female. This red female umbrella is very similar to the blue umbrella in terms of attitude, which makes them a great fit, and makes the film even cuter. She conveys a feeling of kindness and happiness and is a little bit timid, just like the blue umbrella. You almost forgot that there were people underneath the umbrellas because they seemed so lifelike and in control of what they were doing. Also not to forget all the street objects, which bring the city of New York to life. I felt that they were very cleverly put together and each played an important part in the film, such as when the blue umbrella flew on the road, they all helped to try and save him. 

Even though this film is animated, it feels very realistic because of the way they seamlessly went from  the real life streets of New York, to the animated version at the start. You are also pulled into the film because of the way they carefully cut from object to object at a fast pace. At the start of the film they used slow motion to make you focus on the rain falling on different things and also when the blue umbrella was floating around to find the girl, they used it to create suspense. They also used fade to black when he got hit by the truck to when he was on the road, to convey a feeling of sadness. Throughout the film they used a lot of two shots when filming  the blue umbrella and red umbrella which adds a sense of romance between them and makes you feel closer to whats happening. Also I thought that it was really smart how they used  special effects to bring things in he street, that you never give a second thought about, to life.

Recommendations: I would recommend this for the Junior English students who are into cute love stories and don't mind watching something that is a bit childlike. But from my opinion, I thought it was really clever, cute and fun.