Well, this is different. But different is good, right? Different is thinking outside the box. Different is what keeps things interesting. Different is what drives evolution. Different is the way forward.
Music has many purposes. It can be throwaway fun. It can be deep and meaningful. It can be earnest and devotional. It can be the soundtrack to a great night out. But, perhaps one of its most essential functions, often overlooked in this world of pop celebrities and chasing fame, is as an educational tool. It is well documented that we remember song lyrics to a greater degree than most other information, so music is the perfect learning device.
Aware of this, Dennis Nowicki has been releasing a series of singles based on the lives of the most famous presidents of the USA. And these are nothing if not factual deliveries. To cram a two-and-a-half-minute song full of all the critical information of lives lived long and eventful takes some doing, but Nowicki manages it with eloquence and deftness.
The point of the songs is information, the facts are critical, and although the music that drives things is well-crafted, it plays second fiddle to the lyrics, and it is easy to see the importance of such a style. With the imparting of information as the whole point, what he has done is created a musical history book, each single a chapter and this album a volume in a sort of encyclopedia musica. If you find searching for information from the dusty tomes in the public library hard work, imagine how much more fun it would be to find the information by learning to sing along to such an album or at least just via a set of headphones whilst lying on your bed. It would hardly seem like learning at all. And that is the point.
So, the album is a musical blast through history, from Washington to Reagan, stopping off at all the most influential personnel – Jefferson, Lincoln, a couple of Roosevelts, Eisenhower, Kennedy and many more – and key events from wars to policy to assassinations to births and deaths and everything in between.
You often associate musical learning with the very young, but this proves that it is a device that works for more dense information and for all ages. Whether you are a teen learning this for the first time or are just looking for a way to retain crucial historical details later in life, for fun or study, The Presidents is perfect. It’s like learning…only fun!
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