Love, Life, Music, and Video Game Analogies

Hmm.... haven't been on here in a while. Apologies.

So this song has been pretty much the chorus of my life over the last, oh, month or so. Thought I'd share it with the big wide world of the Internet. The name of the song is "You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic" (which sounds rather silly, but on second glance is actually quite metaphorical as it relates to the meaning of the song.) by A Day To Remember. Here's the link and the lyrics. Instead of having them in typical listed format, I've organized them into some semblance of grammatical coherency. (Incidentally, I've found I tend to use more terse and articulate language when I'm pissed off or frustrated. Again, my apologies.)

"I’m a mess, that's the best way to describe it. Having no time to myself is the only way I can fight it... when I'm alone it's like I'm staring into a mirror, don't know the person inside it and that's never been any clearer."

"I miss your family and I miss all our friends... if you had it to do over would you do it over again? 'Cause I would, this meant something more to me... There's a hole in my heart where you used to be."

"I still wish you the best of luck, baby, and don't go thinking this was a waste of time: I couldn't forget you if I tried."

"You killed what was left of the good in me, I'm tired so let me be broken. Look down at the mess that's in front of me, no other words need be spoken. I've got nobody else to blame though I tried- kept all of our past mistakes held inside... I’ll live with regret for my whole life."

"I confess that I brought this all on myself, condemned to suffer alone, like there's nobody else.
When you're gone, it's like a whole part of me’s missing, so I'll keep living the lie and just hope that you're listening."

"I tried to make us a life here but our foundation was built on sand. No time to run until the damage was done, and I’ve never had the upper hand."

"All the things you love are all the things I hate... how did we get here in the first place?"

"I play it cool but it's hard to be... all my trust is slowly burning inside of me. Over what? There can't be anymore progress, I know our fate... the only thing that can heal this is time and space."

One Fist in Ten Thousand

I've been experimenting a lot musically lately, trying to broaden my horizons and sample a wide variety of sounds. Now, as a general rule, my tastes in music are widely varied. There are very few bands I genuinely dislike, and I'm always open to new genres or styles. I love music in all of its aspects (See The Trichotomy of Music for more). My music library has several days worth of listening in almost every genre imaginable. From Swedish techno to Southern rock, from Bach to the Beatles and beyond, I have a LOT of music. Yet there are a few select songs that always, without fail, get my head bobbing and my toes tapping. Here's a few:

"Supermassive Black Hole" -Muse
"Skin" -Breaking Benjamin
"The War" -Angels and Airwaves
"Holiday" -Green Day
"I Don't Care" -Apocalyptica
"Hey Jude" -The Beatles
"Sonne" -Rammstein
"Coming Undone" -KoRn
"Mr. Jones" -Counting Crows
"Bring Me To Life" -Evanescence
"Swing Life Away" -Rise Against
"Soldier" -Eminem
"Dota" -Basshunter
"Witchcraft" -Pendulum
"Blood Red Summer" -Coheed and Cambria
"Higher" -Creed
"Parallels" -As I Lay Dying
"Grace Like Rain" -Todd Agnew
"Last Resort" -Papa Roach


That's just a sampling, there are many, many more. Generally when I listen to an album from a band I like, I'll enjoy most of the songs except for one or two that just don't click with me for some reason. Without fail, every album I've ever heard has had one or two, sometimes even four or five songs that I just don't really connect with, except one: Ten Thousands Fists by a band called Disturbed.

I recently rediscovered my love for Disturbed after rifling through my CD collection and listening to this album in its entirety for the first time in a few years. Now, I've always been a huge fan of Disturbed, from about ninth grade onward. Their gritty yet smooth style, powerful vocals and complex, driving beats have eternally marked them as unique in mind. Their lyrics are strong and often emotional, compelling the listener to break free and empower themselves. The band is very outspoken against the government and the injustice and corruption inherent within, yet they support the US military with a passion that surprises even me.

I think I connected with Disturbed's music so well because I started listening to it at a really hard time in my life. Entering ninth grade with few friends and a shy personality was a tough experience for me, even though the school I attended was pretty small. I carpooled to and from school with several families in my area. The twenty minute ride to school and back gave me ample opportunity to relax and listen to music.

(Side note: now, at the time, my music tastes were heavily influenced by my brother Jon, who introduced me to such bands as Creed, Trapt, Breaking Benjamin, and Sevendust. As a result, I ended up listening to a lot of hard rock and metal, and still do to this day.)

Flash back to the carpooling for a second. I had bought Disturbed's (then) latest album Ten Thousand Fists during summer 2007 and was instantly enraptured by it. David Draiman's coarse vocals and caustic lyrics, combined with Dan Donegan's incredible guitar skills and Mike Wengren's syncopated, rhythmic drumming formed a perfect combination in my mind. Every day, without fail, when I saw the parking lot of my school approaching, I would switch to the song "Deify" by Disturbed and crank the volume as loud as possible, jamming out the whole way into school. It gave me the strength to face the day and imbued me with a sense of authority that I previously had felt I'd lacked. Disturbed was my life jacket in the turbulence of entering high school.

For that reason, to this day, I can listen to any track off that album and completely lose myself in the music. It's the type of thing that no matter where I am, whenever I hear a Disturbed song off that album, it instantly gets to me and I just want to let loose and start headbanging. I love it.

The Trichotomy of Music

Ever have a sudden flash of insight or inspiration in the middle of a completely otherwise mundane situation? That happened to me in class today. There I was, sitting in my chair, semi-following the discussion (something about Lady Gaga, jazz and Jesus... or something) when it hit me. Someone mentioned music, and that single word sparked off a concept in my mind that ignited and spread like wildfire... for all of a minute. But after it had burned itself out, I was left with the embers of a singularly thought-provoking idea: why do I listen to music?

Now, I love music. I mean, I LOVE music. Playing, writing, listening, recording, experimenting, I enjoy every aspect of music. I think it's one of God's greatest gifts to mankind. I listen to pretty much every genre or style of music, and if there's one that I haven't heard yet I am more than willing to try it out. I listen to screamo, hip hop, hardcore, classical, country, pop, rock, gangsta rap, opera, techno, industrial, foreign, indie, acoustic... you get the picture. That said, with this idea in my head blazing away, I took a step back and asked myself, "Why do I listen to this? What am I getting out of this?"

Having the incredibly analytical and logical mind that I do (thanks, Mom!), naturally I broke music down into three separate categories, each with specific requirements and characteristics. So here's why I listen to music.

1. Emotion
I listen to music because certain songs, bands, and genres make me feel a certain way. If I listen to upbeat pop or punk rock, it'll make me feel happy, alive, and energetic. If I listen to classical and techno, it makes me feel sophisticated and smart. If I listen to screamo (not even good screamo, like just complete aural garbage), it's probably because I'm in a bad mood. One of music's strongest qualities is that it has the power to move our hearts and make us feel. Another sub-genre that ties into this segment is entertainment. I listen to some music because it's entertaining, that is, it keeps my attention and makes me feel a certain way. A lot of songs and artists in today's culture play off the concept of shock value. For example, check out these people. Or this person. Or this one. . See what I'm getting at? These artists all play off the idea that they are crazy, quirky, dangerously original people. They play off their fans emotions.

2. Meaning

The second reason I listen to music is for it's meaning. One of the biggest problems that I have with a lot of our culture's artists today is that while their music is sound, well-made, even catchy, it has no meaning. So much music today is so shallow and pointless. I enjoy listening to music that makes me think. I like my music to be thought-provoking, to question and even break societal, cultural, or religious boundaries. On the flip side, I also find meaning in the complexity of music, in figuring out how a particular artist created a particular sound. Meaning can be found not only in lyrical content, but also in the musical quality of a song as well.

3. Worship
Last, but certainly not least, I listen to (and perform) music in order to praise, glorify, and reflect upon my God. One of the most endearing aspects of music for me is it's ability to bring us as mere humans a step closer to God. Music has the innate quality of being just a little bit otherworldly... it's almost magical at times. And in that magic, in that otherworldliness, I find God.

So, there you have it. The Trichotomy of Music, according to me, your humble host. Hope you enjoyed it.

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

My apologies, loyal readers. I took a vacation this week and didn't post anything. To make up for it, A Day In The Life Of An Average Guy (henceforth known as ADITLOAAG) will have not one, but two posts today. The first is serious, the second... not so much.

Let's begin.

One of my all-time favorite bands is Coheed and Cambria. They're an extremely interesting and talented group, and I highly recommend them. I enjoy their music for a variety of reasons; the backstory behind it, their distinctive sound, the melodies and rhythms. I was recently listening to a Coheed song called "When Skeletons Live", when one line of the lyrics struck me. It said, "The truth is relevant, but not for long." It really got me thinking a lot about truth, what we see as true, and what actually is true. Think about that statement a little bit. On the one hand, there are certain physical, inherent truths. Take gravity for instance. What comes up, must come down. It is the way that things are. It is true. Yet on the other hand, there are things that people have long believed to be true that turned out to be false (the concept of the Sun revolving around the Earth, for example). Now to bring it closer to home, in this day and age we are surrounded, permeated by, and bombarded with all sorts of "truths". Some are true, some are partly true, some are blatantly false. Think about the world of advertising. If every single ad that you saw on television or in a magazine portrayed the truth, companies would lose a ton of money on their products. Why? Because we as Americans don't want the truth. We'd rather have the "great American Dream". You know what I'm talking about: nice job, fast car, beautiful wife/handsome husband, two and a half kids, suburban house with a white picket fence. It's what everybody wants, right? We deserve it.

Or do we? Let me float a rather radical idea past you. We don't deserve much of anything. Actually, according to Bible, what we do deserve is death. So I think we should be thankful for not getting what we deserve. (but that's a different story).

Back to the main idea: life is not always handed to us on a silver platter. In order to discover what is true and what is false in this world, we have to have a standard to compare it to. Do you know how banks train tellers to find counterfeit money? They have them handle the real thing, over and over, until they can almost instantly tell the difference between a true bill and a false one. I propose that we take the same approach to life. In a world filled with half-truths and even outright lies, it can sometimes be a little hard to tell what is good and pure, and what isn't. Fortunately, we have a standard to compare everything to. God's Word. If you are a Christian, then you believe that every word printed in the Bible is inherently and unfailingly true. If that is correct, then we can take what we learn and read, and apply it to our daily lives. In order to find our way to the truth in this world, we need to spend time in God's Word. Read it. Pray about it. Think about it. Talk to people about it. The more time you spend in the truth, the easier it will become to spot what is false.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Today's food for thought is on a topic near and dear to my heart-music. Music has the unique and uncompromising ability to affect life (my life at least) in so many different areas. For example, how many people have had the urge to pump your fists in the air when you hear that unforgettable song on a hot summer's day? Or perhaps your whole day has been crushed after hearing a few stanzas of a simple tune, just because it reminds you of someone or something you'd rather not think about? On a brighter note, maybe you've felt your heart soar along with the lyrics of that one special song you shared with someone long ago. From a musician's standpoint, maybe you've felt that incredible sense of accomplishment and strength when you perfectly nail that really hard song that you've been trying to figure how to play for just about forever? Or perhaps the nervous butterflies-in-the-stomach right before you play or sing at your very first show.

Think about it. What is music? A collection of notes organized into a specific pattern, coordinating with other instruments and vocals? Is it a primeval urge to express ourselves? Simply a means of artistic endeavour? What is music?

To me, music is several things. Music is when I stand in front of a crowd, and simply let myself go. When I can feel the bass reverberate from my toes up my spine into my very brain. When I can see my hands playing, but I don't even know what notes or chords they're forming. When all I am is pure, joyous sound.

Maybe you've never experienced that. Maybe you've felt it, just the barest glimmerings on the edge of consciousness, the merest glimpse of something unspoken and unknown.

To me, music is when I realize that the song is over, when my fingers are chapped, or perhaps even bleeding, when my back is aching from the weight of the guitar, or when my wrists are numb from crashing cymbals. When I realize that I have no recollection of the past ten minutes, twenty minutes, two hours. When I acknowledge that there is no more music, no more sound, that I have to return to the real world of cars and politics and arguments and deadlines.

Music to me is something special, something unique. It's different for all of us. I've known people who have felt the hand of God through music. I know people who have wanted to end their life because of a song. Music is powerful, more so than most people realize. It has a strength and an intelligence all it's own. Regardless of genre, band, instrument, or record label, music has retained an indelible, yet almost invisible mark on all of us, whether in a large way or small. To me, there is no difference between a multi-million dollar rock concert and an eight-year old boy banging on a drum. Music is music.

Music is beautiful, and deadly. How many lives have been taken to a dark and lonely tune? How many children have been conceived to another? How many soldiers have listened to its ebb and flow before going to war? How many babies have fallen asleep to their mother's lullabies?

Music is a force, a power all its own. It can change things, for good or for worse. It can help heal, and it can be used to open existing wounds even further. It has the unique, and uncompromising ability to affect the very fabric of life itself.

How has music affected your life?