I came up with this: "I Would Do Anything for Love: Why Good Pop Music is Good Writing". (You can read it right there if you like.)
This experience was the first time that the words "aspiring cultural critic" have been appended to my name anywhere outside of my own head, and I will always remember that. I am happy with the way it went.
I'll also always remember that, before giving a talk, it's not a good idea to try to put on a new pair of tights in the bathroom of the bar. So, you live, you learn!
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I chose this song as the hook in to my essay even though I didn't actually end up writing about it, which is just one of those things that happens sometimes.
The "that" in the chorus "I would do anything for love but I won't do that" refers to the negative emotional statements made in the verse. ("I'll never forget the way you feel right now, oh no, no way, I would do anything for love but I won't do that." So really it should be "AND I won't do that", but hey. What's a preposition between friends.)
Yes, it's completely unclear and yes to say that it's "overblown" is an understatement, but aww. It's a representation of a Romantic ideal of love, as evidenced by this quote from its writer Jim Steinman:
"It is sort of a little puzzle and I guess it goes by – but they’re all great things.
‘I won’t stop doing beautiful things and I won’t do bad things.’
I’m very proud of that song because it’s very much like out of the world of Excalibur.
The song: Meatloaf, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That); 1993
And I guess I'm just a sucker for that kind of clueless yet extremely pure passion. "Out of the world of Excalibur", right. Why not?
Yrs,
AW
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