The beauty of love as it was made to be

 I love songs that are true. Songs that tell you about partying, glamor, and degrading you based on your social status ("she's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers": BARF) are so unrealistic. Not only could I have written them hanging from a tree making loud monkey noises, but they don't mean anything. They sing about the world we think we live in, the one that is an illusion. Take these lyrics, for example. I reckon they took experience, spirit, and heart to write them, not adolescent hormones.

 Love it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment, a cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be.

This is so true, and everyone feels this cry from their heart to see the beauty he sings of. The only difference, is those who are patient, and those who are not. Friends of mine -- and others I know -- have already been through three, four, even five relationships. How long did they last? A few months if they were lucky. They are feeling this cry, but instead of letting it take its course, they are shoving it through their system, and looking for the love. As a result, they have multiple shattered friendships behind them and still the alignment is out of whack. Humans don't finish developing until their early twenties, not our teens people.
And what about me? How many boys have I held hands with? The answer is none. Is it because I'm a nerd? I doubt it. Maybe I'm socially awkward? Sure hope not. It's because I'm waiting for the cry. I have not yet felt its lusty tug, nor gone in search of it, and though I may not know how to write a breakup letter, I am better off than most of my peers. I am whole and undamaged, having not felt the loss of one whose affections I thought would never leave. Patience truly is a virtue.

These lyrics were from "Sigh No More" by Mumford & Sons

Now I know you'll be listening.....

They may not be your favorite band in the world, but you know without any doubt, that they are the best band that you will ever hear. Do you think you know who I'm talking about? You probably didn't think it was Wilco. This band can do anything. They do everything. And they do everything better than everyone else. You want a rock song? Try Heavy Metal Drummer. A slow song? She's A Jar is one of many. "Upper" songs? ELT does the job. How about country? Just look at their album titled "A.M."  But do you want to hear the best piece of music in the world? Impossible Germany. Just look at what it has to say-

This was still new to me,
I wouldn't understand.
Impossible Germany,
Unlikely Japan.
This is what love is for,
To be out of place.
Gorgeous and alone,
Face to face.

With no larger problems,
That need to be erased.
Nothing more important,
Than to know someone's listening,
Now I know you'll be listening....

How do you interpret these? There are so many things these can mean. I believe they are telling us, that people can find love in such unexpected places. In World War II, Germany and Japan were allies. Please set aside for a moment the atrocities they committed and look at it this way -- two countries that were as different and foreign to one another as they can be saw something in the other. They joined forces.
Is this not like two people, different as can be, finding love together? A doctor and a janitor; a 25-year-old and a 40-year-old; a black woman and a Chinese man; you name it. I see this song telling you to keep your mind open, because "this is what love is for, to be out of place." This song also preaches of two lovers listening to one another, because what the other has to say is very important, thus the jam in the second half. It represents all the communication that passes between two people, and how powerful is that? Every time I hear this song, it nearly brings me to tears. I hope you too will see how amazing this band is, and that they are right about everything.

"Impossible Germany" by Wilco

E A D G B E

Today, I learned how to play guitar. Well, sort of. Rock stars make it look easy, but let me tell you; it's a rough start. To begin, let's make sure we have our terminology right- frets the spaces between the shiny metal bars where you push down, the neck is the long, narrow part where the frets are, and the body is the peanut shaped bottom that makes the sound. There's more, but let's go easy on us beginners. To strum, you run your thumb down the strings over the string hole, putting the same amount of pressure on each string to get an even, blended sound. Then, to play a chord, you need to place the right fingers over the right string in the right place on the right fret and strum on the right strings with your other hand. And not only that, but you have to make sure that your fingers aren't accidentally muting any other strings, pushing down hard enough, and in the correct form. PHEW! I'm done already! Why should I even play this thing in the first place? Well, everything we listen to these days has a guitar it it. Whether it be acoustic, electric, base (or is it bass....?) has guitar in it, so since I listen to music constantly in my life, I figured it a good idea to learn. I'll be playing rock songs in no time! Right. After about an hour, I have four chords down. Some involve one finger, two fingers, and all the way up to three and four. The strings have letters too, in the order of EADGBE. It's tough to keep them all straight, and I better get used to Mary Had a Little Lamb for a while here. But hey, Jimmie Hendrix isn't worshiped for playing a kazoo.

Today, I'll leave you with the comforting guitar of Ryan Adams with "Magnolia Mountain." (please notice that this link has an incorrect artist name)

Just the way you are....

I know- it's a top ten song, so it's gotta stink, right? But I think this guy is special. Granted, I am a teenage girl and gullible to "feel good" songs, but maybe it's not such a bad idea to preach to teenage girls that they do look okay, and that they don't need to change themselves. With all of this shit going around with anorexia, drinking, teenage suicides and the whole lot, someone needs to be telling us that we're beautiful (No thanks, Snoop Dog, sorry we "can't all be California girls"). Too often these days, I see people trying to be someone they're not. It gets them to the better parties, the cooler friends, the whole nine yards. You don't need to do any of that to find your niche. This is what Mr. Mars is telling us (even if it is for the million dollar paycheck that will roll in), and he's darn right. His other song, "Count On Me," is a comforting tune for us emotional teenagers.

Stop telling us to change for you -- accept us for who we are, because that's what we need to hear. Media is all about telling the customer what we need to hear, but those things are changing every day. There is so much peer pressure to shop at these stores, to hang out with these people, to be people we're not. I'm thankful that there is someone out there who knows the right thing to be feeding us. Everyone else needs to learn the same thing.

Featured song: "Just The Way You Are" (but "Count On Me" is better) by Bruno Mars

Kings of Leon just keep changing my life.

There are some bands out there who can have such a profound affect on your life. First you feel melancholy. Then the thoughts come on hard. Songs like Radioactive, Manhattan, and (yes, I know) Knocked Up open the floodgates to new thoughts and ideas whenever they come on the radio. Granted, some of the lyrics may not reflect the aura they cast, but listen to them. They make you want to change your life and make a difference.
It's strange how much music can affect your life. These songs make you feel deep; sad almost. It takes such depth and experience to write these things, but it also takes hard, raw, soul. If you listen to Caleb Followill's voice, you may notice that it's not groundbreaking. But the way he uses it can bring you to tears. He sings with so much feeling and emotion, and whenever a song of his comes on, people unconsciously stop talking and listen to it. They inspire people to reflect on things, and think deeper than your normal fleeting thoughts. So today, I'll post three songs instead of just one. Please take some time right now to listen to them -- they change my life every time I hear them.


Songs of today: "Radioactive", "Knocked Up", and "Manhattan" by Kings of Leon

So Alive

I have some issues with my parents. Most teens do, or at least think they do. I don't have huge reasons, like she abuses me or anything, but they are existent nonetheless. The problem is that I grew up too fast. I've been self functioning since second grade. She never saw any of my homework or read any of my stories, because they were already done. With this behavior, came lots of freedom. I could watch TV most whenever I wanted, and I liked to spend a lot of time on the computer on pen pal sites and things like that. By middle school, she stopped checking on me before bedtime, and at first, this was awesome - I was a big kid now! But soon after, it became difficult, for she never presented herself to talk about important things, like friends, stress, or emotions. Whenever I felt impelled to approach her about any of these things, it always appeared that she was either too busy, too tired, or already taken by my (high maintenance) younger brother. So I kept these things bottled up and let them out on my friends, which I didn't have very much of, by the way. But my mom didn't know; we had never talked about it.
So through middle school, I had to grow and develop myself without parental guidance. Whether by nurture or just pure luck, I think it worked, and it makes me the person I now am today. She still doesn't talk about things, though I do try sometimes. Days like today though, get me worried that there is something wrong, or that maybe she is depressed. I'm learning how to drive, you see. We had to drive an hour away and an hour back for a function of mine today, and the whole way, she showed no sign of emotion. I like to keep a commentary going about the cars around me and what kind of moron they all are. She neither contributed to the conversation, nor reacted to it. If I were a parent, I think two hours in general isolation would seem a great time to discuss things, but no such things ever occur to her. Sometimes, it's like she's dead inside, and all she thinks she's here for is to feed our greedy mouths and clothe our ungrateful backs, but I need more from her. You may think this would exhaust her, but I think it would please her. If only she'd make herself available.... Parents: you are never too old to tuck your child in at night! I wish so bad that mine would once in a while.

Song of the day: "So Alive" by Ryan Adams (I'm trying new links and methods of making my songs available, so if this one doesn't work, go ahead and use the good ole Project Playlist version)

The high road is hard to find....

Cause they know, and so do I
The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life
Tell all of your friends goodbye....



What is the "High Road"? Today this question occurred to me many times as this song flitted through my head. Does it mean riches? Does it mean a life of excellent morals? High school may give this phrase different meaning than the rest of the world, so you older bodies may disagree;


The High Road, is for people who know how to be themselves. Sound shallow? It's actually a very hard thing to do at this age. I get up every morning and as I'm picking out my clothes, I automatically think "do people think I look stupid in this?" and every morning I catch myself and efface such thoughts. I'll wear what I like, thank you very much. I see people around me, who do not have this correctional mechanism; they like to shop where everyone else shops, and to wear what everyone else  does. They are not expressing their personality, but rather reflecting everyone's around them. That is the easy road to take, but the high road is hard to find....


So if you are on "the easy road," blending in with your friends and submitting to the peer pressure to be like everyone else, take the next exit and begin driving towards The High Road. Stop befriending those who want you to be normal; Tell all of your friends goodbye....


A detour to your new life is staring at you. Right here, right now. Are you on board? Can you find The High Road?


Song of the day: "The High Road" by Broken Bells