Saturday, October 30, 2010

One Likes to Believe in the Freedom of Music

I can never seem to stay attentive with only one thing going on. It's rare that I can. I love to sit and listen to music, but I google games to play, and play whatever boring arcade game I can with it's sound muted. I just need something to take up a little more of my brain space I guess. Unless something really demands my full attention because it's particularly interesting or difficult, I'll lose track of it if I don't have something else going on too, which seems odd. There are times when all I want to do is sit and listen to music. Times like now, where the music is just hitting me, songs that just go straight to an emotional level. Tonight there have been a few.

"You're Going Down" by Sick Puppies
"Fall To Pieces" - Velvet Revolver
"Wasting My Time" - Default
And pretty much anything by Bullet for My Valentine, especially off of the album "Fever."

For some reason Rush's "Red Barchetta" has been getting to me off and on lately. It took me a little while to figure out why. I mean, besides the fact that it's a beautiful song, which it is. It's a song about a car. Which seems like it would be typical pop-rock fluff. Girls and cars, booze, yeah sure whatever. It's not though.

In a society where motor vehicles are banned (which today is eerily realistic) and "eyes" are watching everywhere (again, frightening.) A man eludes the cameras, hops the turbine freight and heads to his Uncles place, which used to be a farm, before the motor law. Where his uncle has preserved for him an old car, from "a better, vanished time."

So he takes this old car out, races through the countryside. He doesn't just take any car, though, he takes a brilliant red Ferrari Barchetta. And if anyone can paint a picture with lyrics, it's Neil Peart.

Wind
In my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge...

Well-weathered leather,

Hot metal and oil,
The scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome,
The blur of the landscape,
Every nerve aware.



The man is eventually approached by a "Gleaming alloy air-car," an Orwellian police vehicle, 2-lanes wide, shooting towards him.


Suddenly ahead of me
Across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide.
I spin around with shrieking tires
To run the deadly race
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase.


While screaming through the valley the man is "Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan." And he leaves the "giants" stranded as he crosses a 1 lane bridge over the river, and returns to drink with his uncle by the fire side.

It took me a while, to think about it, and figure out why I'm loving this song right now. Sometimes I'd think of it, but choose another song because I wanted something I could explicitly connect with, lyrically. Silly me. But I do LOVE the fact that I really had to think about it. I love the fact that it's metaphor, and it is also a literal story. That's part of the reason I hate pop music. It's too easy, it's too simple, like they assume I'm stupid, and I need to be spoon fed. Case in point, I've looked up some music I used to listen to. It is pedestrian. I've found two songs, about basically the same thing, and the contrast is stark.

Here's how pop music says it:


To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life


It's too easy. It comes off like whiny little kids. It makes them seem stupid and me feel stupid for listening to it. I can't connect with that. Here's how Metallica says it:

Where do I take this pain of mine?
I run but it stays right by my side

So tear me open and pour me out

There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me until it sleeps

Just like the curse, just like the stray

You feed it once and now it stays
Now it stays

So tear me open but beware

There's things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me until I'm clean



There's SO much more meaning in those words. The image of pain as a stray, something you allow in once, you let yourself dwell on and "feed" one time and now it stays. Something deep inside, something that can't be easily let out, something that requires you to be TORN open, something that stays inside and screams and shouts at you. And if someone else is going to try and help they have to watch out because those things inside don't care for them either. THAT is music. That has meaning. That has power. It's the beauty of vague and metaphorical lyrics. I can listen to a song James Hetfield wrote about the death of his mother to cancer, and I can hear it singing about whatever I'm dealing with.


This is why I love "Red Barchetta." Because it's about freedom. In every sense. It's about escaping an oppressive tyranny and it's about escaping yourself. It doesn't make your problems go away but it leaves them behind for a time. He escapes and tears through the mountainside and the valley at high speed. He doesn't just take a small black sedan. No, he takes a gleaming, bright RED Ferrari. He takes a car that is the essence of luxury. Something that in it's nature and even in it's color screams defiance. It screams defiance of the motor law and it screams defiance of his troubles. He takes something that is forbidden to him and runs with it, for no reason other than his own selfish pleasure. You can smell the well-weathered leather, the hot metal and oil and the country air. The escape, the freedom of driving, and driving that car that fast. Even when he's confronted by the huge, bulking air-cars, that surely mean imprisonment and probably death, he laughs, he laughs in defiance of what they are and their inability to ever touch him. He laughs because the air-cars, his troubles, whatever he is running from can never catch him. That feeling of just driving, the wind in your face and hair, and the idea of "every nerve aware" is incredible. Even when he's being chased, the feeling of freedom and happiness remains.


Sometimes it almost seems like cheating to use these lyrics here, so often like I do. Because then I don't have to think of the words, they're already there. I do it because I really can't say it any better myself. They already have, and the medium that they've done it in is much more powerful than my rambling. It would be cool if I could (and I probably can I'm just lazy) post the music too, and get the full impact.  So if English teachers want to nail me and say THIS is why poetry is important then fine. They just picked the wrong ones for us to study. When the music, the vocals, the lyrics, all come together and create an emotion and a message, that is a great song. I don't care if they swear, I don't care if they scream, I don't care if they are straight up 4/4 every song or hitting the weirdest time signatures in my collection. I care about the emotion.

Even if it weren't for this kind of connection I get with songs in my headphones, music is still outrageously important. I don't think there is one single decision that has influenced my life more than joining band. I challenge anyone to find one that's affected more. A lot of the other big decisions were consequences of that one. Not even what decision I made but the fact that whatever it was even came up, probably was the result, however removed and indirectly, of that decision. It's especially the people in it, it always is with anything. That's why I jumped up and down in the stands at the IU game today and wanted to hug somebody when Goshen got 2nd at State. That's why I still care how well they do. I mean, I literally can't think of something that would definitely be the same if I hadn't joined band. I mean, all the people I know closely, which shapes who I am, and even the utter shit that I've been dealing with for a while is the result of band. That sounds like a complaint, but it isn't. It's because of the good that I deal with crap, sort of. And so much of the good, separate of this situation is the result of band. Even when times are difficult it's even harder, for me at least, to wish things had gone differently, or to think about changing a long ago, far reaching decision. Because who knows where you'd be? And eventually I have to think that it is going to be good.

This turned out a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would. I just started writing, ironically, as a distraction while I listened to music, because I got tired of the games I was playing. So I'm going to continue posting lyrics in these, because there's power in them, and they're often much better with words than I am. Every once in a while, too, you get the perfect song, to sum everything up. Even a song about music:

Begin the day with a friendly voice,
A companion unobtrusive
Plays the song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood.

Off on your way, hit the open road,

There is magic at your fingers
For the Spirit ever lingers,
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude.

Chorus

Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free

All this machinery making modern music

Can still be open-hearted.
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah,
Your honesty.
One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity.

Chorus


"For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall,
Concert hall
And echoes with the sounds of salesmen, of salesmen, of salesmen!"
"The Spirit of the Radio" - Rush

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Right Here, Waiting

Hmm, what to talk about without being repetitive . . .  I've been a one-track record for long enough I'm even starting to annoy myself.

Indiana's football season is all but over, with a pathetic skin of our teeth victory over Arkansas State, followed by a beat down courtesy of Illinois, we're best case scenario going 2-3 the rest of the season. The only teams we have a shot at beating are Northwestern and Purdue, and those aren't certain at all. So best case scenario we end the season 6-6. Hopefully basketball goes a little bit better than that.

This weekend is going to be busy. Exam today, not sure how I did. Exam tomorrow at 8am, class till 12, Hundred at 4, then "Night of the Living Red" basketball scrimmage at 7:30 that band has to play at. Which means that it will likely be a late night, followed by an early morning for the Northwestern game.

Election Tuesday, and I'm not even sold on voting. Any election I'm registered to vote in isn't even going to be close anyway, none of the important ones. I wouldn't vote for anyone who has a shot anyway. I would vote straight Libertarian except for the lack of qualified candidates. I suppose, to be fair, it's not as though they really have opportunity to become qualified through experience since they can't win. I'm not going to vote for someone just because they're the lesser of a slew of evils and I'm not going to endorse someone with my vote unless I actually think they'd do well.

Ron Paul was great. He's the real deal. He actually believes in liberty, in smaller government, he is not a typical Republican. He is definitely a libertarian. I probably go even farther than he does. I was very encouraged by the response he received in the auditorium. Maybe there is hope, but one thing is certain, this election is not going to change anything. The Republicans don't believe in liberty, generally, much more than the Democrats. They just want to control different things. At first anyway because eventually they'll want to control everything regardless of where they start.

Let's see, I tried another chinese place, Fortune Cookie, which was quite good, maybe a little expensive, but take out orders are always more expensive than a buffet. I'm very proud of Goshen Marching Band, I really wish I could be there Saturday. They better do well because I've put up with some trash talk and I've got a 'friendly' wager on them to beat Jasper. They'd better pull it off.

This week has been a little stressful, 2 papers due, 2 exams and another on Monday, basketball gig and football game for band, in addition to general homework for classes daily. Plus still trying to connect with people.

With regards to that I just feel like I'm treading water. Which becomes exhausting and unsatisfying. I've found people that I like, yes, but not even in the same building to the people I had before. I've found people that I like but not people that I connect with. I'm finding people who are largely defined by X or Y and I know them or connect with them on just that one level, but not beyond it. Certainly people have been extremely supportive and I've met a lot of really great people, but that doesn't mean I'm going to connect with any of them.

It is going to be difficult to find any kind of group like I had before, because we were all different in many ways and yet the same. I didn't find that group by joining this or that and knowing them through that. The people I've met are defined by things that I don't define myself by. I don't want it to be this way, I don't want to change myself and I'm not going to be satisfied with pseudo and half-way friendships. I'm not going to really be satisfied until I find something like what I had before. The only problem is that there's no where to look for that. The closest place I could go to specifically look for that is over 100 miles to the Northeast.


So I guess for now all I can really do is keep treading water. There's not really anything else to do. It's not been bad I guess, just a level of indifference. Bland is probably a pretty close word. Bland. Just, whatever, bored.

This week has been busy so I guess it's been moving at a decent speed. I'm still just looking forward without excitement. I think breaks are going to be difficult too, or at best just extremely rapid breaths of air. I'm sure it will be fulfilling eventually but right now I'm still just waiting. Waiting for breaks, waiting for answers, waiting for results. But I'm also aware that that is all I can do. I can't change where I'm at, where I'm going, or most importantly, what I want. So I just have to wait and eventually those things will either be fulfilled or will change.

Maybe tomorrow I'll go buy a couple Bullet for My Valentine CD's or something. Maybe I'll get a 360. I don't know. Nothing seems particularly exciting.

The hardest part this troubled heart
Has ever yet been through now
Was heal the scars that got their start
Inside someone like you now

For had I known or I been shown

Back when, how long it'd take me
To break the charms that brought me harm
And all but would erase me

I never won or thought I could

No matter what you'd pay me
Replay the part, you stole my heart
I should have known you're crazy

If all I knew was that with you

I'd want someone to save me
It'd be enough, but just my luck
I fell in love and maybe

All that I wanted was


Now I know you better

You know, I know better
Now I know you better

So bittersweet, this tragedy

Won't ask for absolution
This melody inside of me
Still searches for solution

A twist of faith
a change of heart
Cures my infatuation
A broken heart provides the spark
For my determination

"Better" - Guns N' Roses

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hearts Burst Into Fire

Waiting sucks. Waiting Sucks Waiting SUCKS.

Waiting for things to get better is particularly hard. And the longer the waiting goes the harder it gets. The rate at which it gets harder increases too. It's one thing to have a problem you can tackle, something to face, rather than something to sit and take. Something to be endured, not beaten.

The last 2 weeks have been tough. I've talked to so many people, and I think Joel put it well, in that I don't have stability with anything. I don't have stability with faith, I don't have stability in relationships, I don't have stability in school and I'm disconnected from the things that I do have stability with, just by space.

The fact that I've been having problems has lead to some solutions, however.

For one thing, with certain things there needs to be a concrete end with the old before a different beginning. Being on the edge of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion finally pushed me enough to make that happen.

Having problems made me seek help from people here, which made connections. In the absolute worst part of it, being at the lowest point emotionally while on a public bus, I eventually was lead to meet people. In asking for support from literally everyone I could, in a way I never ever saw myself doing, I was lead to meet with Nancy and Joel for lunch. And Joel seemed to be able to connect to what I was going through. It also lead to meeting more people, from getting together to watch House, to a poker night, to Bible Study and then hanging out at an apartment. I just now realized I've been out every night this week. So I met a few guys who do that who I like, and we'll see how that goes. And that in one way or another is going to help explore the stability with faith.

School, I still don't enjoy my classes enough to encourage me that I've picked the right things. But I do still have the skill set to be a lawyer. And I have the intelligence and the capacity for discussion that there is something that I want to do, I just have to find out exactly how to shape my courses around that. Maybe just be more aggressive and have more fun with my classes.

Of course they're little things that just add to it, but eventually they don't add up to much and they go away.

Then there's the big issue. Ugh. That's the part where waiting is hard. Because I can put too much into it, I can put to much stress on it and make it worse. It's hard to hear about, and it's insanely hard to have to watch. But I REALLY have to be patient or I make things worse. I have to back off a little, which is freakin hard  but in the long run does more good. I also can't demand too much, or get over bearing. And for my own sake I have to calm down or I'll just drag myself down and never be satisfied. I still don't know if the weekend was good for it. I found out that I can put too much pressure. But at least we're back to what we were before, really close and happy with each other. Because it is definitely better to be that than to be awkward, upset and distant.

Joel put things well about this too. And I don't remember exactly what he said, other than generally speaking. That that issue is the one I'm focusing all my attention on and seems more important than anything else and has the most bearing on everything else too. But Nick (new Nick, just met him today, I mean yesterday, ugh it's almost 1) said something at the study that I  really really really need to remember and definitely be reminded of when I forget. He said it stream of consciousness, so I had to think of a succinct way to put it, he basically said:

 "Without the struggle and the trials, the reward wouldn't mean as much. The goal at the end is made more valuable for the chase."

I just have to focus on that when I think about the big one. That if/when the struggle is finally over it'll be all the more valuable for it. And I suppose if it doesn't then it'll be because something else took over.

Things have been looking up the last 3 days, (after the pit that was Sunday night that's really not saying much, however.) But history has shown me that does not mean it's over, or close to over. And I'm certain that I'm still going to be down some days, maybe go lower, I can't say that it's over because I thought things were getting better a while ago and then it got even harder.

And it's still not like I'm happy about the issue. I mean, how could I be? And I'm pretty sure that's still gonna be a tough pill to swallow daily, and I'm still gonna be really melancholy about it. Music helps, and hurts. Because I can relate to it and it connects on an emotional level, but on the other hand it's not a great emotional level so I'm connecting with something that makes me conscious of the pain. But sometimes I hear a song and go "Damn! This is exactly, to a T, 100% where I'm at. Every. Single. Lyric."

I'm coming home
I've been gone for far too long
Do you remember me at all?
I'm leaving
Have I fucked things up again?
I'm dreaming
Too much time without you spent,

It hurts

Wounds so sore
Now I'm torn, now I'm torn
I've been far away
When I see your face my
Heart's burst into fire
Heart's burst into fire

You're not alone

I know I'm far from home
Do you remember me at all?
I'm leaving
Do you wait for me again?
I'm screaming
No more days without you spent

It hurts

Wounds so sore
Now I'm torn, now I'm torn
I've been far away
When I see your face my
Heart's burst into fire
Heart's burst into fire

My beds so cold, so lonely

No arms, just sheets to hold me
Has this world stopped turning?
Are we forever to be apart?
Forever to be apart,

It hurts

Wounds so sore
Now I'm torn, now I'm sore
I've been far away
When I see your face my
Heart's burst into fire
Heart's burst into fire

(I'm coming home)

I've been gone for far too long
(I'm coming home)
Do you remember me at all?

Do you remember me at all?


I'm leaving

I'm screaming
I'm dreaming
When hearts burst into fire


"Hearts Burst Into Fire" - Bullet for My Valentine.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Santa Claus vs the Martians!

Let's see,


On Friday a bunch of us went to Emily's dorm room to hang out. That was the first thing I've really done since I met the Objectivist people Sunday. We watched several episodes of MXC, which was great. Especially because Libby had a bottle of "water" and her reaction to the show was funnier than the show itself several times. We played Mega Bomberman, which is always extremely fun. For some reason I sucked it UP that night, Victor got a little annoyed when we were on a team, ha. But with Emily and Nick as my witnesses I WAS good at that game before!

Then Emily, Nick and I stayed up until 1 watching Mystery Space Time Theater 3000 does "Santa Claus vs the Martians." Which is where they take the absolute worst possible movies they can find and make fun of them.

sample; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbfUklQmjUg&p=0D1959F8FD1E205C&playnext=1&index=3


I'm really glad we did that. I was tired but now I can say I stayed up till 1 doing something obscure like watching MST3K. The night before an exam too, (I did fine) That just seems like something you should do at least once in college.

Akron game was fun. I played on the field with over 1000 people, which was new. The music was mediocre at best, because most of those 1000 people were from HS bands, and there is a reason they didn't go to competitions on Saturday. 

I'm going to drop my philosophy minor. It is an utter waste of time. The Philosophy course I'm in is for complete novices to philosophy. And I've been thinking about this stuff for years. It's insanity. I want to talk about epistemology and metaphysics and morality and we're not anywhere near that stuff. I read essays I would've failed had I gotten them from middle school students. It's pathetic. I think a lot of my classes are just jokes. I should be further ahead.

This week has been going fine, 3rd and (for now) last exam tomorrow. I'm a little anxious, but not too much, I'll do fine. Classes are just classes, nothing to say on them.

Game went well, besides the obvious. Crowd was INSANE, and I've never yelled so much during a football game.

Thus ends the recap. I feel like I need something more pointed, but that's all I have for now. Just felt I should post something since it has been over a week.

I'm outta luck, outta love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Passion killer, you're too much
You're the only one I wanna touch
 

I see your face every time I dream
On every page, every magazine
So wild so free so far from me
You're all I want, my fantasy

Oh, look what you've done to this rock 'n' roll clown
Oh Oh, look what you've done

Photograph - I don't want your
Photograph - I don't need your
Photograph - All I've got is a photograph
But it's not enough

I'd be your lover, if you were there
Put your hurt on me, if you dare
Such a woman, you got style
You make every man feel like a child
 

You got some kinda hold on me
You're all wrapped up in mystery
So wild so free so far from me
You're all I want, my fantasy

Oh, Look what you've done to this rock'n'roll clown
Oh Oh, Look what you've done

You've gone straight to my head 


"Photograph" - Def Leppard
(awesome cover by Carlos Santana and Chris Daughtry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjCn70d6iA )