Sunday 29 December 2013

Never Be The Same


“And we are not what we seem
So we are all coming clean
All we have are broken dreams with no direction

Why are we always on the run
From the monster we’ve become
Who are we to change the way we used to be
We’ll never be the same again”

Never Be The Same – The Latest Fallout 

It is a few days out from New Years and, amongst the plans for partying and countdowns, are the thoughts of New Year’s resolutions. These are those plans, those goals, those idealisations which you make at the beginning of January because you think a new year will bring a new you. While this is not such a practical thought I do actually believe in New Year’s resolutions, but I think not many people do them quite right. I see them as a chance to revisit who are you and make some changes. I hate goals like losing so much weight or only watching so many hours of YouTube a week, as I would rather see someone changing a mindset then an appearance. 

Over the last few months I have listen to Never Be The Same over and over again trying to figure out exactly what is going on in the song. It was a week or so ago I came to a conclusion over what I thought this song was going on about, and I think it fits perfectly into a New Year’s resolution. Let me break down three of the points.

1.   In the song it seems the narrator going through some kind of change. Change can be good or bad, but mostly it can be scary and something you are never quite sure you should go through with. This song really emphasises the idea there could be very bad consequences if you make a change you were not supposed to do, but you might really need to do that change.

2.       Say you go through with this change. Here’s the thing about change – it is pretty damn permanent. So if you change whether it is good or bad, you have to live with never going back to who you were.


3.       And most importantly, change or no change, you need to understand exactly who you are and be that person. You need to be honest, you need not to run away from who you are and you need to figure out why your dreams are so broken. 

To sum up, these three points are exactly what a New Year’s resolution should be about. If you want to turn a new leaf and make yourself a better or even new person, you should consider what Never Be The Same talks about. You can’t be a new person without being completely honest with who you are and what you need in your life, and you cannot run away from a person you might become. My goal this New Year’s is to follow my advice I have just written because I know perfectly well I do not always practise these points. But I think if I do I can become a better person, and to be a better person must mean you get to lead a better life.



Also, if you New Year’s resolution is to get into more New Zealand bands (great resolution by the way) check out The Latest Fallout. They’re a pop / rock / punk band from Hamilton and Never Be The Same is a single of their debut album set to drop in the first half of 2014. Check out their work below – the Still Into You cover is one of my favourite covers I've heard! 



Sunday 22 December 2013

Stardust


“But it doesn’t matter what it takes
You gotta keep believing
Cause we are stardust
Shining so bright
Lighting up
As we ignite” 

Stardust – Hurricane Kids

A few weeks I was in yoga class lying in Shavasana corpse pose and listening to the instructor’s words of relaxation. For anyone not familiar with this pose it is one of the final positions you assume during yoga and is the time of inner reflection after all the previous exercises. As I lay in corpse pose the instructor said something along the lines of think of one thing you are grateful for which you can take away from today’s class. My first thought, without a moment of hesitation, was music. And from that moment instead of emptying my mind I repeated the lyrics of Stardust over and over in my head until the end of the class, because right now this song is my jam. 

You may think it was a bit inappropriate to think of music as the thing I am most grateful for, and for a little while after yoga class I was a bit confused with myself too, until I realised why I had thought of music and not my family, friends or good health. It is because music can be all around us and is a integrated part of all our social settings. With my friends and with my family I have music and musical experiences; it has bonded me with many people far beyond what any other social environment could have done. And as for good health – well, I blog on every week how much music has helped my spirit and helped guide me through life. Don’t get me wrong, I am most definitely grateful for all those things, but I am also grateful for music because it has helped me in many other parts of my life. 

I have deliberately bought up the topic of gratefulness now as it is a week out from Christmas, which to me is a time to be grateful. I was speaking to a friend from work who said they hated Christmas time because it is commercial rubbish and people spend too much money on presents for others who don’t really need them. But to me this isn’t what Christmas should be about and if you feel pressure then you are doing Christmas wrong. Christmas is about sharing, caring and showing people you appreciate them and their efforts.  It’s a time for reflection and remembering what is important. And this Christmas I encourage you to be grateful. Be grateful for your family, for your friends, and for any gifts you receive – because it means someone else is thinking of you. 

And most of all this Christmas be grateful for yourself. This time of year we are giving so much time and energy to others we forget to think back on the year we had and reflect on our personal achievements.  This year I have come much farther than I imagined possible last December, and I am grateful for my personal strength and commitment throughout a tough but immensely rewarding year. This festive season be grateful, and see yourself as someone who can ignite and shine so bright. 


Monday 16 December 2013

Sky


“I have done terrible things
I must pay for my sins I've done
And now my world is in pieces
I got lost down in the blazing fire
Traded my soul for a minute of pleasure
And now I must pay for the worthless treasure

I just wanted to see the sky
Open the one last time
I just wanted to feel the wind
Welcome the virgin snow
Before it's my time to go”

Sky – The Rasmus 

We face choices nearly every day of our lives. Most of the time it seems easy enough to tell which is the right choice for you, and this is the one you make. But sometimes what seems to be the wrong choice holds the most temptations and has something which you want. It creates a tough position: do you do what is right and miss out on something you want or need, or do you do what is wrong to require a fulfilment but in doing so create fatal relationships?

I have listened to Sky so many times and it puts me on two sides of the fence. I can see the character in the song has done something terrible which has gone on to affect the ones he loved, but they felt they needed to. The lines traded my soul for a minute of pleasure / And now I must pay for the worthless treasure stand out as the lines which sum up the whole song: should you trade everything you have for the one moment which might mean the most to you? No, of course not, because I don’t think we should be stronger than to throw away life for one need. But I also feel sorry for this character – how must it feel to want to something which is so terrible so much you would risk everything? And how sad is it to have to venture into risky areas outside of your everyday life just to experience a moment of pleasure? 

I realise I am throwing out a lot of questions without specifying an example, but there could be so many which fit within these emotions and it would be different for everything. I think you know what tests your limits and what could tempt you into doing something you shouldn’t. And as you go through life I think you will find this temptation change. Rather, the question I pose is whether you will give in to this feeling? It’s risky because you could lose everything for a venture which turns out not to be worthwhile, and personally, I’m not one to risk my current and future life. I think for now it is enough to listen to Sky and see what became of someone who stained their hands with blood and is paying for their sins just because they wanted to see the sky to know sometimes it is best to view the sky from the ground. 


Sunday 8 December 2013

Something I Need


“And I had the week that came from hell
And yes I know that you can tell
But you're like the net under the ledge
But I go flying off the edge
You go flying off as well
You got something I need
In this world full of people there's one killing me
And if we only die once I wanna die with you”

Something I Need – OneRepublic 

When I reflect about how everything I’ve done in my life, or contemplate what might happen in the future, I only think about in terms of living. It makes sense: you only get one life to live so not only should you make the most of it, you should think about it in “living” as much as you can. We are told to strive for success and challenge ourselves so get the best out of our one chance on earth (as most of us believe we are given).

Upon hearing Something I Need I thought about how clever it was to reverse the thought of only living once. Not only do we only get one chance at our life, we will only die once. There’s an old saying “there are only two things in life which are guaranteed: taxes and dying”. We will inevitably die, and yet death is one of the most common fears amongst us. It’s a hard topic for many to talk about and no one really likes to think about. I like how OneRepublic have kind of grabbed the idea of dying and said what we are often too afraid to talk about: on my deathbed I want you with me. 

I don’t fear dying – I do not believe we should fear something that is eventually guaranteed to happen. But I do fear not living in this wonderful world while I have the opportunity to. Let’s see what music tells us about how we should live our lives. As I write this blog I am alternating between listening to Something I Need and We Own The Night by The Wanted, who say to become a legend we should go to a party which never died and seize the night with our hearts and drinks full. Alanis Morissette recommends to have your heart broken, take risks and swallow life like a jagged little pill until You Learn. Miley Cyrus tells us to keep your head held high and be less concerned about what’s on the other side, because it’s about The Climb. And OneRepublic tells us we should find someone to not only experience life next to but to die next to.
I used music as the example above because I believe music can teach us about subjects which we aren’t always comfortable talking about. The lyrics in Something I Need aren’t pretty – death, alcoholism, a lack of self belief – and writing about it isn’t easy. As always I leave you with the song below, and I encourage you to listen to it again. It’ll make you think and maybe help you understand thoughts of death you struggle with – because it did for me. 

And finally, as you go on with your internet browsing after reading my blog, remember this:
“Do not pity the dead Harry.  Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” – Albus Dumbledore.