Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Insignificant

Please read the lyrics to the song "Insignificant" by the Counting Crows, then respond to the questions that follow (we will listen to the music tomorrow in class; please do NOT listen to the music yet):

Can you see me
Up on a building
From down on the pavement
Or out in the crowd?

Can you see me
Through the glare of the lamp post?
I am walking a tightrope
Into the moon

I don't wanna feel so different
But I don't wanna be insignificant
And I don't know how to see
The same thing's different now

Oh, can you see me?
I am one in a million
I am Icarus falling
Out of the sun

Could you see me falling a line of
Spotlights and jackknife
Through night black as a bedroom
And white as a lie?

I don't wanna feel so different
But I don't wanna be insignificant
And I don't know how to see
The same thing's different now

Diving through the dark
While the night turns blue
And you wear your intentions
As I wear my intentions so clear

If you see me
Wading through water
Oh, come drown in the river
Right in front of the world

You can wash your face and hands
In the stream of my anger
It's as bright as white paper
As dark as a girl

I don't wanna feel so different
But I don't wanna be insignificant
And I don't know how to see
The same thing's different now

I don't wanna feel so different
But I don't wanna be insignificant
I don't know how to see
The same thing's different now, now, now

http://www.metrolyrics.com/insignificant-lyrics-counting-crows.html#ixzz25WOejDUk
Copied from MetroLyrics.com 

1. Which words and phrases (or "clues") in the song stand out to you the most and why?

2. How would you describe this song's mood? What kind of music would best fit these lyrics? Explain your answers.

3. What bigger picture emerges from the words and phrases in this song?  In other words, what themes arise from this song?

Please remember to abide by our class blogging policies and to read others' responses before posting your own.

31 comments:

  1. I would say the word insignificant is a very significant word int the story and also some clues such as how you don't want to be very different but then you also don't want to be insignificant so its hare to be noticed without being very drastic. The mood of this story would seem to be more dreary and down because just some of the ways it is phrased it is very depressing and not in a up beat story. The bigger picture seems to be about Icarus and his fall and how it almost seemed that he wanted to be noticed but not to different but him being different ended up being hie demise so the bigger picture is that being different can be different but it can change who you are.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The line "I am one in a million" and "I don't wanna be insignificant" to me stands out the most because it explains how she wants to be known, not just a normal person. These lines are also clues for how she feels about being insignificant or unnoticed from the world. Another clue would be the line "I am Icarus falling,Out of the sun" which referee to the painting that draws everything away from Icarus's dreadful day. The tone she had made her sound sad and angry because the songwriter wrote " I don't wanna be insignificant" many time in this song, meaning that she is sad that no one knows her and "In the stream of my anger" make her sound angry for not being notice. I would say this song should be slow with low notes of a piano to show what she is trying to express about what she feels.
    To me the words of this song shows me the bigger picture which is This person wants to be noticed, wants to be different from others like Icarus. He wanted to fly higher, sore farther then any human even though his father told him not to. He faced the consequences and no one even noticed him. So i'm guessing that This person has tried to be noticeable or different from everyone else but she doesn't feel like it has.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think that the words "I don't want to feel insignificant" and the phrase "I am Icarus falling out of the sun" are some of the most important things that stand out to me because we are learning about the whole Icarus story and the "I don't want to feel insignificant" phrase really sets the mood of being a bit heavy. The mood seems heavy to me because he is using words like "drowning in my anger" and he is also comparing things by saying they are white as this yet as black as that. I believe that the music that should be put to this would have a decently slow tempo and the singer would have a bit of sadness to his voice. This song definitely should not be upbeat and happy because the words tell a sad and deep story and there isn't a light to the song. When I read this song, I see a guy that is in a rainy state who is standing on a building that overlooks a body of water on a rainy night. This guy would be wanting to prove something to the people that made him feel inferior. He wants the whole world to look as he takes the jump into the water and wants people to think how they could have made this man jump and he wants them to emotionally eat themselves away as he drowns in the river. In a less literal translation, the writer is probably trying to convey how he believes that people who make other people feel inferior should feel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The phrases that stood out the most to me would be, "But I don't wanna be insignificant" and, "And you wear your intentions As I wear my intentions so clear." I thought that these lines were important to me because it is showing how Icarus knows he cannot live up to his fathers standards. He wants to feel important from his own actions and not being judged by his father. He is also stating that he is going his own way and is very prideful about his decision.

    I believe that the mood of this song is more solemn and serious. The lyrics of this song suggest that he is unhappy with his situation because he does not feel like he is appreciated by his father. I think that the music would be an acoustic song because that would be the most serious.

    Some themes that arise from this song are standing out by choosing your own path, and thinking for yourself and not what others want you to think. I can tell that the artist is really trying to portray this message because the chorus of the song is, "I don't wanna feel so different. But I don't wanna be insignificant. And I don't know how to see the same thing's different now."

    ReplyDelete
  5. The biggest "clues" that stand out to me in the song lyrics is the repeated line "Can you see me..." as well as the lines "I don't wanna feel so different, But I don't wanna be insignificant" and "I wear my intentions so clear." These are the most important lines in the song because they show the struggle between the artist's wanting to be somebody special, but at the same time not wanting to stand out from the rest, similar to the story of Icarus in a sense.

    To me, this song is very honest. It conveys a tone of clarity of the artist's aspirations as a person, which makes the song more serious. Some of the comparisons that the makes between light and dark also suggest that the song is supposed to be more serious.

    The main theme that I think the author was trying to portray the most was that a person has to make his/her own choice. In the song, the author is trying to make the choice between standing out from a crowd or blending in with it. The personal choice of the author is also very apparent in the line "I wear my intentions so clear" because it shows that a person must make their own choice, not have others choose for them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The line that stands out the most to me is "oh, can you see me?". This is because he thinks hes so insignificant and worthless and no one knows about him. Just like how almost no one in our class had heard of Icarus before.

    I think the mood of this song is sad because this person is putting themselves down saying to themselves that there worthless.

    You always want to fit in and be noticed but you never wanna be too different than everyone else.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In this song, many things stand out to me but right off the bat the phrase "Can you see me up on a building from down on the pavement" really catches my attetion. I think this was a good strategy by the author to get the listener hooked because to me it sounds like a man is standing on the top of a building, being watched by a crowd. Let me say this situation to me sounds like no good. Along with the sections that are repeated "I don't want to feel so different" this sounds like a person wanting to jump off a building for being different.
    The mood of this song is not really anything you would celebrate to. It sounds like someone spilling emotions and slow deep music would fit this.
    The big picture of this song is that there are unhappy people in this world and they want to be known. It shows obviously there are negative emotions by saying "In the strea of my anger". It asks if saomeone can see them through a crowd which implies that there are people that are unhappy everywhere and there happen to be more than we would ever think, we just can't pick them out from the crowd.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The phrase that stands out the most to me is "I don't want to feel so different" and "Can you see me?" The reason why those two phrases stand to me is because it's like he is wanting to know if he fits in with the society he lives in. It's also saying that no one knows who he is and what he stands for just like nobody in our English class knew what the story of Icarus was.

    These lyrics are kind of a sad and depressing mood because it's talking about the guy wanting people to notice him and him wanting to fit in. The kind of music that would go with these lyrics would be a slowed paced song because of how depressing the lyrics are.

    The bigger picture in these lyrics I believe is that this person is trying to emerge from being an outcast and start to blend into society. The person is trying to get people to notice him and for him to actually rise up and become what he has wanted to be and get noticed for that reason.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The phrases I take the most notice to are, "Can you see me?" and "But I don't want to be insignificant." The phrase, "Can you see me?" stands out because is repeated often and the line, "But I don't want to be insignificant." also stands out because it shows how he is taken for granted.

    I would describe the mood as calming but sad. A guitar and a slow rhythm would fit this song very well. I think that because the lyrics are slow and sad and they seem kinda caring and want someone.

    The bigger picture I get is to stand out and be yourself but also don't take things for granted. The theme that stands out is to care for others and be at your best.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The; lines that that out to me the most are,"Oh, come drown in the river Right in front of the world" because this is such in depth detail about how he feels like he wants to stand out to this person who he feels like he is insignificant to and despite how much he truly wants to be seen by her.

    I think that the mood of the song is sorrowful. He talks about feeling insignificant but he is trying to break free but he keeps putting himself down.

    I feel like the theme of this song is that he wants to fit in to society and be heard on some levels but then on other levels he wants to stand out so much.

    ReplyDelete
  12. In this song there are a few key words or phrases that catch my eyes. An example of this is "I dont want to feel so different" or "I am one in a million". These stand out to me because it is about a person a person that feels left out but at the same time he knows that he is special. This song I think is a slower song. With the mood being relaxing it would be alternative or slow rock. The bigger picture of this song is it is about a person who is a lot different from everyone else and he does not like that and wants it to change. At the same time he knows he is cool in his own unique way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1. A few key phrases that stand out to me are "I don't wanna feel so different" "But I don't wanna be insignificant" "I don't know how to see". These stand out most because they i believe are the words describing his actions.

    2. The songs mood is mellow and kinda sad it almost at the start sounded like a suicide note. The best kind of music to go with this would be slow jazz.


    3. The theme that arises from with in the song are that Icarus just wanted to be noticed and remembered when he fell from the sky he didn't want to just be forgotten. He wanted to be "Gone but not forgotten."

    ReplyDelete
  14. The most signifigant lines that stand out to me are "But I don't wann be insignificant" and "Im one in a million" because people want to stand out no matter what and be one in a million. I think that people think they are just in a crowd but really they are one in a million and they should be happy for who they are. I also connect this to Icarus' and like Austin said how Icarus can not live up t his fathers standards.

    I think that thiis songs mood is very serious and is trying to prove a point. The lyrics show how he does not like his situation and wants to be better.

    The bigger picture of this song is to be happy with who you are and be your own person. That means that you are just living and not trying to impress people on how good your life is and how important you are.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 1.The phrase, "I am walking a tightrope-Into the moon" was really cool too me. It just put an interesting image in my head. It made me think about how he might be referring to a big risk, or challenge he is having. And he is referring to that risk in a creative way.

    2. To me, these lyrics give out a grieving tone. A sad song, a slow song, and a song with deep lyrics that speak to a large audience. I say this because, trying to picture these lyrics with a fast up beat song just doesn't fly with me. Maybe because of all the up beat music are more happy and uplifting lyrics, these lyrics cant qualify.

    3. This song was obviously written by a man in a low point in life. However we have all been there, feeling insignificant. It is a common thing. I believe in the bigger picture of this song, someone might be struggling with a girl. He refers to her several times. It looks to me like he is going through a very common thing in life, and feeling not worthy of this girl.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The phrases that stand out to me in this song are, "I don't want to feel so different" and "I don't wanna be insignificant." These stand out because it shows how Icarus is having mixed feelings. While he feels embarrassed by what he did and does not want to stand out too much, he also wants recognition to know that people care about him.

    I think a very sad song would fit these lyrics perfectly because it would show how Icarus is feeling sadness and regret from what he did. I think if it was a slower song along with these lyrics it could really create a sad, mournful mood.

    I think this song is trying to portray how Icarus is feeling a lot of different emotions regarding his fall. Although he is very regretful and is ashamed of what he did, he still wants recognition to know that people care about him, and will still remember him not for his fall, but his legendary flight.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The phrases that stand out to me the most are, "oh, can you see me?" and "i dont wanna feel so different". These phrases stand out to me the most because they are repeated throughout the song. I think since they are repeated the probably have a greater meaning to them. I also think that these lines stick out the most because they compare to the story of Icarus because icarus just wanted to feel important by his father, and in this song he says he doesnt want to feel so different and he just wants to feel important.

    The mood of this song is sad and depressing because of the lyrics that are portreyed. It is depressing because he just wants to be himself and he feels like he is different from everyone else and that he should probably just blend in with the crowd.

    The main theme that arises from this song is to be yourself and to follow your own path and not someone elses even if they want you to. I feel that the bigger picture is that this person wants to be noticed and wants to be himself but he feels like he is not important. In the song it talks about him standing over a crowd so i think that he is trying to descide whether to fit in or whether to be himself and different from everyone else.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The phrase that caught my attention from the beginning was " I don't wanna feel so different, But I don't wanna be insignificant." It's discussing how every human has a desire to be like one another but at the same time wants to be their own individual person. He wishes he could conform to society and be normal while at the same time be someone who stands out from the crowd.

    The mood of this song could be described as sad and trapped. This person has all of these feelings he wishes to express, but feels ignored by all. The music for this song wouldn't be as up beat as some may like, but perhaps a slow piano trying to convey this mans story as well as possible.

    The theme that comes to my mind when I read this song is trying to fit in will get you no where. No matter how hard you try to stand out or what drastic measures you go to for attention, if your not being yourself it will come back to bite you in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What really stood out to me when reading this song was when they mentioned "I am Icarus falling" and "I am walking a tight rope". The reason why these two quotes stood out to me is because reading where it says who he is I had no idea. I had a completely different view on what was going on in the story until they mentioned his name. When it says I am walking on a tight rope it is a metaphor for he is about to break. He is losing hope and can;t hold on to reality much longer.

    This is a very sad and depressing song from the lyrics. That is the tricky thing about songs though, as we learned today with a good beat completely down songs can sound happy with a good beat. I feel as it will be played with acoustic, and a solo male singer. May even end up being country.

    They are trying to connect this story that happened oh so long ago to modern times. Before hearing Ikarus in the song I thought that it would be about someone committing suicide because how he felt and the place he was in. It stated how different he felt and wondering if anyone even noticed him.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The frases that really stick out to me are "I dont want to feel diffrent" and "I dont want to feel so insignificant" because I feel like they are big parts of the song. They are repeated alot in many verses of the song and must be important. This person doesnt want to stand out alot but he also doesnt want to be an ordinary person. He wants to do something important but not stand out to much.

    The mood of this song feels like it is a calm and serious song. It might have a calming beat in the background that might be a little faster than a slow beat. The person keeps wondering if he stands out or blends in making the mood calm. I also think that because there are alot of lyrics that the song wont be very slow.

    The message that comes out of this song is to have a balance between being normal and outstanding. He is saying dont be very famous but dont also be just a normal person. Stand out in a small way. Dont try to be someone diffrent to get lots of attention but also be yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 1. The phrase that stuck out to me is "I don't wanna feel so different, But I don't wanna be insignificant" because this whole song is about this phrase that this person does not want to stick out but he does not want to be unseen.

    2. This song seems like it is calm, sad, and serious and I think it would have a calm slow beat. But the song could be upbeat and might feel happy I think it depends a lot on the beat of the song and how it is sung.

    3. The big picture to the song is he just wants to be in the middle of being noticed. He does not want to be invisible and not stick out a lot. He is having a hard time trying to figure out what to do and he needs to make his own path.

    ReplyDelete
  22. To me the word or phrase that sticks out the most is can you see me like he feels like he is so differnet he is almost invisable and then the other word is insgnifagent in a way i think everyone wants to feel sepcial no one likes feel like there not significant.

    The mood of the song is as if the person who is singing it really hates there life and they feel ingsignificant. Kind of a sad song maybe the beat or melody will be really slow.

    The bigger picture for me and im not 100 percent if this is right but hes standing on the edge of a building or something and he see's people staring at him and wonders do they thing im different alot about being different even though not one person si the same to me being labed as differnet or weird just means your being yourself and you dont care who labels you, you just live life the way you want to but we all want to feel like were wanted.




    ReplyDelete
  23. The lines "I don't wanna feel so different But I don't wanna be insignificant" really stands out to me, because they are saying he doesnt want to be diffrent from anyone else so he wants to be the same but he doesnt want to feel insignificant so he wants to be them self he just wants everyone else view him as the same as all the other people.

    The mood of this song is happy and calming because they sing about how they want to be viewed as but the keep it smooth and chilled out. It could be slower and it would give it a whole siffrent story behind it.

    The big meaning of this song is that he wasnt to be noticed but not to noticed and not to unnoticed, so in the middle of it all. So his goal is not to be invisable but not visible to every person.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The lines "falling like icarus" stood out to me because he is falling or he way be down, but icarus fell out of the sky because he went to high.

    The mood of the song seems like it is happy with a bit of cheer, but some calming parts as well. i think if it was sung at a different pace it could possibly change the whole understanding of the song.

    I think that he is noticing other people but they arent noticing him back, and that bothers him. so he is trying to find a way to be noticed!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Th line "I want to be so different but not insignificant" stood out the most to me because its speaks how you try to be different then the norm however this can push you away from the people you care for and your freinds.

    Thsi song seems to have a mood of sorrowfullness but also a side of explanation for what he feels.

    The bigger picture of this story is that when you fall from the sky you appear different but once you hit the ground you are insignifcant

    ReplyDelete
  26. In th Counting Crows "Insignificant", words or phrases that stood out to me were, "I am Icarus falling". This stood out to me because this phrases tells what the song is about in a whole. The mood of this song I think would be calm, or mellow. I think that this would be played at a poetry slam or a drive in in the car. The bigger picture in this song to me is Icarus beginning his flight, and the vivid description of "The Fall of Icarus."

    ReplyDelete
  27. I felt the writer was talking about dying so the world can watch was the biggest part. I think this true because it is the most extreme statement.

    I think the mood the song would be slow and depressing. It has very depressing lyrics.

    I think the theme of the myth of Icarus is most evident.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think the phrase "I wanna be different, but I don't wanna be insignificant" stood out to me because it describes trying to fit in. It says that to be the best you can be, you have to be different, but not so different that nobody can relate to you. The mood of these lyrics seems sad and depressed. The lyrics suggest that the author is unhappy with the way his life is going, and therefore the song is probably a sad one. Because of this, I think the most fitting music to this song would be guitar, or piano played slowly and with a depressing tone. The bigger picture of this song is being noticed. The song is about feeling insignificant, and lyrics like "I wanna be different, but I don't wanna be insignificant" suggest that the author is looking for the happy medium that will make him feel the most significant.

    ReplyDelete
  29. 1: "I don't want to be insignificant" Says to me that he wants to stand out in the crowd/doesn't want to be the same as everyone else.

    2: This songs mood is portrayed as sorrowful kind of because the guy sounds sad about not standing out in the crowd.

    3: As i listen to this song the bigger picture that comes to mind is that this guy wants attention. Just like Icarus in the greek myth he wants to theoretically soar higher and become greater like Icarus wanted to fly higher.

    -Matt Myers.

    ReplyDelete
  30. In the song insignificant by counting crows, the word or phrase that stood out to me Was I don't wanna feel so different, but I don't wanna be insignificant. This stood out to me mostly because it's says that everybody wants to be able too look at life and say I accomplished my goals by being me, or doing what I wanted. Yet at the same time it says that we are usually rid culled for our belifs and we as people don't want that. To be pedicured that is. The theme from this song is standing out and being singled out by people because you arent conforming to their standards or belifs.

    ReplyDelete
  31. 1. I would say the tight rope walking to the moon, stood out to me because it made me picture me hanging on to this tight rope.

    2. I would describe it as a dark mood and I think they would use metal or rock.

    3. Everyone is different in their own way, but some people hate being different in that matter, that they can be depressed because of it.

    ReplyDelete