Rodney Atkins, “Watching you”: Throughout the scenes of Rodney Atkins singing there are clips of interactions between him and his son. The clips all vary from each other but they all represent things that he and his son have in common and they also represent things that he has taught his boy. One clip in particular represents the way his boy dresses just like his father and how he wants to be just like him. Each has on their camouflage pants, cowboy boots and yellow shirts on. Matching perfectly. Growing up, I was very close to my father. I spent most of my time trying to be just like him. I can remember the feeling of how his boots fit over my shoes loosely making it nearly impossible to walk. But it was his bee veil that he wore every day that sagged over my eyes making it tough for me to see that really made me feel just like my father. I remember the smell of the smoker lingering in the fabric of the veil, the feeling of the straw hat scratching slightly at my scalp and the sticky strings that tied loosely around my waist. Dressing in his work cloths made it possible for me to feel like I was on top of the world, a man, just like my dad, strong enough to work in the bee yards. While wearing his boots, shirt, and vale I could fall away into my imagination, working hard in the backyard on my hollow hives. After viewing this video and listening to this song it becomes clear that the connection between my father and I is felt by many sons and their fathers. Thinking back on those days where I would dress like him and mimic his every move he performed in the bee yard, I hope that I can be as good a man that he is.
Alan Jackson, “Remember When”: While Alan Jackson plays his guitar and sings this song he is surrounded by pictures that go through his life. Pictures of himself and his wife when they were younger and all sorts of events up to where they are in their life right now. There is one clip that is shown in the video that is recognizable to anyone who has a relationship with their grandfather. The picture is of a grandson and his grandfather. Together they sit on an old wooden dock and fish the day away. As far back as I can remember I can picture fishing with my grandfather at the lake three miles outside of town. The old wooden dock that we sat on used to seem like it was miles long and reached into the middle of the lack. We would sit their together casting out into the lack and reeling in slowly, waiting for that slight tug on the other end. My grandfather would sit and teach me the tricks of the trade. “Reel it faster, O.K. now let it sink, now reel it in a little more, good, good, keep it up.” It always seemed that these fishing hints would turn into stories and I would learn something new about him that I never knew every time. Time seemed to slow down when we would sit there on the dock hanging out feet over the edge and fishing the entire day. It never got old and I would have done it every day of the year. I was lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of time with my grandfather on the lake and I was able to learn life lessons that I would have never gotten from anyone else.
Public Enemy, “He Got Game”: In the background of this entire video, made as the sound track for the movie He Got Game, clips of basketball players, basketball courts and hoops fade in and out. The ball faded out from overuse and the nets hanging from the rim barley holding on. The scenes of the basketball and the courts no doubt are recognizable anyone who spent time playing ball on the courts in their home town. When I was younger I spent countless hours, sometimes all day, outside playing basketball on my court in my back yard on a rim that could be lowered to about eight feet. That hoop allowed me and my best friends throughout the neighborhood to become the stars that played on T.V., we would lose track of time and play until we had no energy left to expand. When the sun went down and the rim and ball were no longer visible we would climb into the tree by the court and rig up the lights to shine over our court and extend our playing time. The game would last until my mom’s voice would cut through the air and end the game. From watching the video it became clear that basketball plays a big role in the lives of lots of kids not just for me and my friends. Basketball can unite friends and build memories.
Kenny Chesney, “No shoes, No Shirt, No problems”: In this music video Kenny Chesney preaches his motto no shoes, no shirt, no problems. The video is a combination of different scenes on an island where he has no worries and lets everything else go. He spends the day on boats and on the beach wearing no shoes and no shirt and having no worries. During the summer, before I got a job, I spent almost every day out on the lake or at the river riding on our boat and on our jet skies. The black an yellow paint blends together perfectly and glistens from the droplets of water that cleng on to the side of the Jet Ski. The seats leather becomes scorchingly hot, but never hot enough to keep me off. It always seemed like nothing else mattered but how long we could stretch the day out to be. The boats were like home for those long days in the sun, the water was the only thing that mattered. No worries about school or jobs just the water, friends and family. I would be found either out on the water or lying in the sand. I did not have any other things on my mind other than having fun in the sun. Those days seem to be far and in between now, but without them I would be missing many great memories that will be with me forever. Those are the good times that shape what kind of person you turn out to be. Without those good times and those times spent with family and friends I do not think my life would be as complete as it is today, making relationships that will last forever out there on the water and sitting on the beach.
Jason Aldean, “Amarillo Sky”: While the song Amarillo Sky plays throughout the entire video, Jason Aldean is shown singing in fields and playing his guitar. The majority of the video however is not the artist singing or dancing but young men my age and displaying their role on their family farms. The pictures and video of the young men are very recognizable to anyone that is from a rule, farming community. As I grew up I a rule community in small town Nebraska I spend endless amount of hours driving tractors across golden wheat fields, stirring up dust and taking on the hot, golden sun. The big green frame of the tractor pumping out a consistant loud roar from the engine. Its tires stand taller than I and the climb to the driver’s seat seems impossible the green ladder covered in mud and grime. But what I remember the most was the hard tractor seat, boucing up and down on its four worn out springs and how it was home for the summer. It is all that a majority of young men just like me and my friends know during the long summer days. I remember how the roar of the engine would fade away as the day went on and my mind would take over, I would look over the edge of the tractor, down at the dry land and the endless clouds of dust billow out from behind the tractor, hoping and praying for rain the next day. But always, no matter what, whether the rain came or the summer ground stayed cracked and dry I would turn the tractor around and make another round through the field. The music video from Jason Aldean and the song that he wrote connects to an enormous number of people throughout the mid west. I believe that this type of work and way of life has really shaped me into the person I am--someone who is not scared to work hard and be completely dedicated to something in life.
Poison, “Ride the Wind”: In this song by Poison the lead singer of the band begins the song by singing the words, “Hearts of fire, Streets of stone, Modern warriors, Saddle iron horses of chrome.” The song that he sings is about riding motorcycles and it connects with anyone who has owned a motorcycle and tasted the open road. The opening words that the lead singer sings makes my mind shoot back to summer days when I would spend long hours washing and shinning my motorcycle until it gleamed from front to back. The silver paint on the gas tank sparkled brightly as sunlight beamed down on it and every inch of the fifty cubic inch chrome motor shined perfectly, so perfectly that my reflection appeared almost flawless. Each of the chrome five spokes in the wheels shot rays of light in every direction. On each side of the bike ran a long, four inch, round exhaust pipe. Both cleaned to perfection and shinning just like the rest of the bike. No nicks or scratches were visible just smooth, shinny, sparkling chrome. The seats black leather would grow warmer each second it sat in the gleaming sun. Even the dark black leather saddle bags that sat near the back of the bike packed full of gear gleamed with perfection. I am sure that the singers of the song “Ride the Wind” have felt the same feeling I did when I stepped back and saw every gleaming, sparkling inch of the chrome horse. As I go back in time to those summer days in my mind I pray for summer to come fast and think about how much fun times I have had while being on my bike.
Kenny Chesney, “I Go Back”: Between clips of Kenny Chesney singing his song “I Go Back” on an old gym floor and hallways of a high school images from his past show up throughout the video. There are images of himself as a kid, himself in high school taking girls on dates and images of his family and him together. Throughout the video there is a specific style of photos that seem to be popping up frequently. It was those photos of him in his football uniform and his teammates from high school that really made a connection to me and I am sure connects to anyone else that played a sport in their years of high school. As I have graduated from high school now and moved on to college I find myself looking back at the times I had on Friday nights playing football with my best friends in my life. The red jersey with a white five posted on the front below the word PLAINVIEW and RUTLEDGE posted above the number five on the back fit tightly over the hard plastic shoulder pads. Scattered, different colored nicks and scars of other team’s helmets littered each shoulder of the jersey. I remember that feeling of the pads slipping over my head easily and the feeling of synching them up tight around my chest. My best friends beside me perform the same tasks, preparing for battle on the gridiron of high school football. It is obvious that Kenny Chesney still holds the memories of his teammates and football career tightly just like I do. Those are the memories that stick with me forever and memories that always make me smile.
Kenny Chesney, “There Goes My Life”: This video displays the life of two young high school kids and how much their lives can change. In the video the kids’ life changes from a simple life to one that will be filled with hardships because they are going to have a baby. At the beginning of the video the two kids are scared but as the video goes on the young kids turn into parents. By the time the video nears the end the baby girl is heading off to college and the mother and father are saying goodbye. I know that everyone in this class can connect very closely to this video. Each one of us can remember the day we left for college, the day we left our family, our homes, and headed off to pave a new path in our lives. I remember the day exactly. My red car was clean and shining brightly. The backseat was piled high with cloths and things to make my room feel more like home. There were many things in the trunk, making it hard to close and the front seat was filled with food from my mother (incase I got homesick). I looked back at my parents standing there watching me back out of the driveway, tears rolled down my mother’s face and my father was trying to stay strong. I was off, off to write a new chapter in my book of life. The first chapter of the new edition is coming close to the end, but I will never forget the feelings that I experienced with my parents on that specific day. It was these feelings that allow me to feel like I have support and will have the support forever. Nothing is more important than family, and I am glad I went through something like this to allow me to understand that.
