Poetry of American Soundscapes

Eva Struewing
Ball State University
HONR 199: Contemporary American Civilization
December 2nd, 2025

TikTok Music
In August of 2018, popular online app Musical.ly was converted and rebranded under a name that is popular on every person’s mobile phone today, TikTok. TikTok music has a great influence simply because it revolves around very catchy and easily recognizable sounds that attract people’s attention in a matter of seconds. Short, sharp beats, repetitive hooks, and a strong rhythmic drop that makes a song easy to dance, lip-sync, or pair with a trend are what the platform is most inclined towards. Musician, author, and scholar Dr Bojana Radovanović explained in a research journal that the platform “sets forth the sonic component of the audio-visual material in ways which have been unexplored in the social media realm on a global scale before” (Abstract). TikTok is changing the way people view music, and it is only going to get bigger from here on out. As a result of users hearing the same song repeatedly in a great number of videos, those tunes become the most memorized is what happens to people, thus leading the songs to be very popular in the mainstream. Also, the way TikTok loops audio is such that it focuses on the most addictive moment of a song, so even the smallest snippets get huge in a viral way. Some songs that are notable as TikTok music are “Beggin” by Maneskin (Chosen) and “I Love You So” by The Walters (Songs for Dads). Both of these songs have gone beyond viral over the past few years and have a lot of influential power on our youth. These two songs are not only remarkable because they are catchy tunes but also because they evoke emotions in listeners. “Beggin'” is about a desperate begging for love and attention, and “I Love You So” is a less loud, more sensitive type of love, like the fear of losing someone. The emotional situations become even stronger when they are repeated in thousands of TikTok videos. These songs are the best illustrations of how TikTok can be a vehicle for turning the themes of love, longing, and vulnerability into huge cultural moments.
TikTok Poem
“Echoes on the For You Page”

Very quickly, a beat drops, a spark of light,
a hook that grabs in a single, thrilling bite.
Small loops become loud and strong,
a five-second clip is turning into a song.

Through dances, trends, and love on display—
shouted or whispered, it finds its way.
Begging, longing, hearts that break,
echoing in every video we make.

TikTok makes sound a thing that people share,
a feeling that is borrowed and is floating in the air.
And if we decide to close the page,
the chorus stays, forever an endless stage.

Gospel Music
“The term ‘gospel’ refers to the good news Jesus lived,” Nate Glasper writes in an article about the meaning behind Gospel music. As for the gospel itself, it revolves around the main points of the Bible. Themes like Jesus as the Messiah, hope, salvation, faith, and release are present in this music as it connects both the personal experience and the desire for freedom, invincibility, and spirituality. This music was derived from the tradition of spirituals, hymns, and work songs, mainly among the enslaved people of African descent in America. It combines the rhythmic and musical aspects of Africa and the traditional Christian hymnody. Usually, its defining features are the strong choir harmonies, the use of a choir to accompany a lead singer, the use of hands or feet to produce sound, and the addition of instruments. With the gospel having its primary influence from blues, jazz, and soul, the most common instruments used in today’s Gospel music are the piano, organ, and drums. Moreover, the gospel has become the communal expression of the people’s endurance, identity, and solidarity. It tells the story of the history of the sufferers and underrepresented. It represents the faith and strength that has been handed down from generation to generation through gospel. Today, Gospel music is still changing, but it keeps its origin and influences different modern genres and artists. This music means a lot to people: for example, one academic journal relays that gospel hymns, “… function as a ritual technology, a resource many African American Christians use to experience with their bodies what they believe in their hearts.” Essentially, gospel music is not just a vehicle for the African American cultural past, but it also serves as a way for their legacy of hope, faith, love, and resistance to continue impacting people from all walks of life.

Gospel Poem
“When Voices Rise”

Gospel came into the world through tears,
It carried a bright and hopeful cry.
Mixing hymns with rhythm from the drum,
Its sound had morphed through many years,
Turning hard times much less dry.
The tune carried removing each thorn from the thumb.

Voices strike like thunder as the energy goes up,
It is the art of healing-tired lives.
Blues and soul in every single part,
History shines through, so abrupt,
The brave song is sung and thrives.
It’s the force that touches people’s hearts.

References
Glasper, N. (2024, April 10). Gospel: The message behind the music. Samford University Worship Arts. www.samford.edu/worship-arts/blog/2024/Gospel-The-Message- Behind-the- Music Samford University

Måneskin. (2021). Beggin’ [Song]. On Chosen [EP]. Spotify.
open.spotify.com/track/3Wrj m47oTz2sjIgck11l5e

Radovanović, B. (2022). TikTok and sound: Changing the ways of creating, promoting, distributing and listening to music. INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology, (9), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.51191/issn.2637-1898.2022.5.9.51

Shelley, B. D. (2019). Analyzing gospel. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 72(1), 181–243. doi.org/10.1525/jams.2019.72.1.181

The Walters. (2014). I love you so [Song]. On Songs for Dads [EP]. Spotify.
open.spotify.com/track/4SqWKzw0CbA05TGszDgMlc