Song of Myself (Except Not)

Have you ever had a song that you felt defined your life? If it's a song by Arcade Fire, you're a hipster douchebag. I'm kidding, of course. You're not a hipster. But hey, I've been there. I get so down sometimes that I have to turn to music written by someone else to really get in touch with how I feel. I just don't want to sort through three minutes of poetic bullshit to get there, so indie bands aren't quite my cup of coffee. I'd say "tea," but I hate tea. It's for hipsters and "singers."

But we've all hit those moments where it seems like there's nobody in our lives we can turn to, so who better to understand our pain and turmoil than famous billionaire musicians who have everything they've ever wanted?

                                "Naw man, I totally feel ya. Want some? I got tons of it."

I think there is a serious danger in connecting too well to music, though. See, I was down one summer, and so I listened continually to the Pink Floyd album The Wall. I mean, I had also just seen it in concert, so that was also a reason. But anyways, it's a concept album that tells the story of a rock star named Pink who grew up without a father figure and an overbearing mother, develops a hatred for authority after awful experiences in school, has a failed marriage, and eventually builds a metaphoric (or is it?) wall around himself so that he can separate himself from the world that had treated him so badly. I listened to this long album and found myself identifying with some of the lyrics, so much so that I started to feel like my life was being sang to me. Here's the thing: I am nothing like the character Pink, and share almost no qualities with the crazy bastard. As a whole the album is bleak and saddening, but that shouldn't make you feel like your life is too. Sure, the lyrics to "Nobody Home" have some resonance, but only in certain parts, not the entire song. Just because I can emotionally connect with it doesn't mean Roger Waters is singing about my life, and that was a trick I almost fell for.

                                                It's like a painting of my childhood.

Another famous concept album I took to listening to when I was feeling lousy was Green Day's American Idiot. Sure, there was a lot I could relate to in those songs, particularly "Wake Me Up When September Ends," but I can never say (well, never again say) that the album was "the soundtrack to my life." I don't recall moving from the suburbs to the big city and developing an alternate personality and hooking up with a girl who's name I don't even remember. I mean, not that I remember, at least. Certain lyrics here and there, however, do hit home with me. Can I say they define me? No, that's stupid. Nobody can define you but yourself, and certainly not Billie Joe Armstrong.

                                              A man who knows how to read people.

I realized that I felt sympathetic with those songs because they were telling sad and heartbreaking stories, not because my own life was a reflection of those characters. Your friend who cries every time "Hallelujah" comes on the radio will tell you he identifies with the song, but try asking him what the song's about and watch him say nothing. If you're a girl, however, he's just faking it to show he can be sensitive. It's okay to think he's a pussy, there's sensitive and then there's that.

I'm saying all of this to disprove those friends we have who will say "This is my song OMG!!!" or "This song is my LIFE!!!". Good to know their lives can be summed up in 3-4 minutes, they must be proud. It's perfectly alright to post song lyrics on Facebook that reflect what you're feeling, I do that. You know, just make sure you know what the song's actually about and that it's not about incest or anything. Also, is it just me or is it only the sad songs that people say are about their lives? Nobody's ever told me that "Call Me Maybe" was about themselves, but I get plenty of that about Adele songs. Maybe if her and Taylor Swift weren't such fucking buzzkills they'd have those relationships they always say they want, and so would their fans who "identify with them."

                                 "Let me sing to you about all my exes, then LOVE ME!"

Don't worry, I'm not bashing Adele or Taylor Swift. I have nothing but respect for Adele as a singer, and Taylor Swift...is also a musician. It will be a sad day when they finally find the love they always wanted, 'cause what the hell would they sing about then? We as a people need songs like those ones in order to let us know we're not alone in how we feel. Yes, coming back to my main point, it is good to identify with a song, but it is not okay to say it defines you. You listen to a Pink Floyd or a Green Day or an Adele song and you move on. What you do not do is play it on loop while you try and cut your wrists with a nail filer. Song lyrics do not tell us what we're feeling, we do that ourselves when we hear them. Only we can tell ourselves what's really going on. If we let another person's words influence us on our feelings and beliefs, then it may as well be one of Hitler's speeches.

                                           "California gurls are UNFORGETTABLE!"

The only exception to this is, of course, "Firework" by Katy Perry. That song is magic. And with that said, beware of those songs you say are about you. You just might sound like an asshole.

Keep on rockin' in Mid-World,
Tyler

P.S. Sorry for all the cat pics on Instagram.

New Year's Resolution:

Convince friends to all wear leather jackets.