Amy Ballard

ECI 306
Multimedia Reading Project
Song: First Day of My Life
Artist: Bright Eyes
Album: Im Wide Awake, Its Morning
Date: 2005
Roy is at a pivotal point in his life where he has to figure out who he is and what he
wants to do. This song is about a man who is talking about the first day of his life, but not the
day he was born. He is marking the first day of his life as the day he met someone. This indicates
that the day he met this person was the first day of his new life. He at one point says Now I
dont know where I am. I dont know where Ive been. But I know where I want to go. This
section of the lyrics reveals that there is a lot he does not know, but he has figured out what he
wants and that will help him to figure out the rest of it. Similar to this, Roy still has a lot of
questions but he has figured out what he wants (to save the owls and have a positive impact on
the world) and so everything else will coincide with that.
Song: Hungry Heart
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Album: The River
Date: 1980
The final verse of this song is probably most relevant to Roy. It says, Everybody needs a
place to rest. Everybody wants to have a home. Don't make no difference what nobody says.
Ain't nobody like to be alone. Roy has just moved to a new town where he wants to make
friends. This is difficult, though, because as people grow up the ability to make friends becomes
more complicated.
Song: Lucky
Artist: Britney Spears
Album: oops! I Did it Again
Date: 2000
This song is about a girl who has a perfect life but isnt happy. It suggests that the
material things and status are not the most important things in life saying If there's nothing
missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night. Roy also discovers this as he fights
against a man who only seeks wealth.

Song: Only the Good Die Young

Artist: Billy Joel
Album: The Stranger
Date: 1977
Once Roy finds out that the owls are not going to be saved by following the rules he has
to throw caution to the wind, and that is what this song is about. This is another part of growing
up for most people. He takes a big chance and it pays off for him. The lyric, they never told you
the price that you pay for things that you might have done is representative of Roys realization
that he will pay a greater price for not doing something than he will for doing something hes not
suppose to.
Song: Paranoia in B flat major
Artist: The Avett Brothers
Album: Emotionalism
Date: 2007
This song deals partially with the reality that having relationships of any kind puts
pressure on a person. It also points out that You can't make everybody happy all of the time.
As Roy makes the decision to save the owls, he too has to come to decide who and what to make
happy.
Song: Still Fighting It
Artist: Ben Folds
Album: Out of the Band
Date: 2002
Roy really grows up over the course of this book. This song is written from a father to a
son explaining that everybody knows It hurts to grow up And everybody does. Roy learns a lot
of difficult lessons as he grows up, and sometimes it hurts. In some ways he fights growing up,
as the song talks about it, but inevitably he does make adult decisions.
Song: Damnit
Artist: Blink-182
Album: Dude Ranch
Date: 1997
This song also is about the hardships of growing up. The line repeated over and over at
the end of the song is Well, I guess this is growing up. It doesnt present growing up as
entirely bad, though, as the lyrics I'll turn to a friend. Someone that understands. Sees through
the master plan is also repeated. Roy also learns to seek out friends for stability as he grows up.

Song: Stop This Train

Artist: John Mayer
Album: Continuum
Date: 2006
This song is about growing up and the feeling that it happens to fast. So scared of
getting older. I'm only good at being young. This relates to Roys experience in that he
struggles somewhat with the daunting task of responsibility.
Song: I Believe I Can Fly
Artist: R. Kelly
Album: R.
Date: 1998
When Roy makes the decision to save the owls and succeeds he gains a great deal of
confidence. He also gains a sense of purpose despite how impossible it felt to stand up to adults
as a young person. This song matches that with the theme that you can do anything if you set
your mind to it. This theme is made most obvious by the lyrics If I can see it, then I can do it. If
I just believe it, there's nothing to it.
Song: Mmmbop
Artist: Hanson
Album: Middle of Nowhere
Date: 1996
By the end of the book, Roy has done a lot of growing up and has gained some lasting
friends. Friendship and the importance of genuine friends is exactly what this song is about. So
hold on to the ones who really care. In the end they'll be the only ones there, is a portion of the
song repeated before the chorus that really gets this point across.

Rubric
Points

15
20
10
15
25
5
10

Criteria
Turning in all materials:
10-12 songs
Annotated song list
CD
Case with Cover art
Minimum of 3 Sentences per
annotation
Song title, artist, album, and
year included
Lyrics are quoted at least once
per annotation
Song annotation makes clear
reference to the book
Turned in on time
Album cover is creative

My Points