Born in a Diamond Mine
So, I woke up with Arcade Fire's Creature Comfort playing over and over in my head; and I felt like sharing some thoughts I have about a few Arcade Fire songs: what they mean to me and how they make me feel.
Through my journey with Arcade Fire, I've learned to appreciate that while their music is great, their message is most important. I've found that the music becomes even more enjoyable after I've realized the powerful message of each song. This is the case with each song I'm discussing today.
Over the course of this year, Arcade Fire has released several new hits, along with a new album, that have messages deeply corresponding with the song in many peoples' hearts, these days. Political unrest, feeling trapped and helpless, the want for change. The first song I want to talk about covers all these bases in splendid simplicity: I Give You Power, featuring Mavis Staples. This song was released in perfect timing, just as Trump was taking office. In fact, I remember a moment of madness shared with T in which we both jammed to this song in full goofy fashion to cope with our uncertain futures. I guess that's the magic of Arcade Fire.
This song is a strong reminder that the power is in the hands of the people; we just need to understand how to take it back when it is less deserved by those (we placed) in power. We have the ability to take our personal power back, it's really all a matter of making a head shift and conquering a little bit of strategy. It's a cool song with a fantastic, rumbling beat that always gets me dancing weird in a matter of moments.
The next new song of theirs that came out this year was Everything Now. The first impressions I got from this song were feelings of exhilaration and nostalgia. It's one of those songs I swear I've always heard and known, even when I know it's new, logically speaking. This song flows like a disco river, showering me with warm Arcade Fire wisdom. It's a jam, for sure.
The message I get from this song is the danger of staying within one's comfort zone. We tend to only dream what we can comprehend, what makes us comfortable; and, sometimes, we just take what we're given in life without thinking too much about the implications of living in a society that's so fear-based. The idea is that we become complacent and over-confident after so long of living in a situation just comfortable enough--not ideal, just enough to not be too miserable all the time--and begin closing off our minds to cope with the fact that the world isn't as open to us as we initially thought, creating that warm, safe mental haven that allows us to start believing that we have everything we could possibly want. But it's not enough because a consumerist society is always hungry, never quite sated, even after impulse buys, binges on shitty but yummy foods or drinks, and one-night stands. We know in our guts that something is missing, that this isn't quite right; but it's really hard to step out of that comfort box we've created in our heads. Suddenly, everything's a risk.
Everything Now packs a serious punch musically and lyrically. This song represents what I love about Arcade Fire: their ability to get me thinking on a deeper level, tracing back emotions and thoughts, and finding a new way of thinking based on how I view each concept. Well, and their music is fun to dance and sing with.
Finally, I'd like to talk about the song I referenced at the top: Creature Comfort. When I first heard this song, I had anxiety because it touched a lot of raw emotions. I've dealt with depression for over a decade, now, and a lot of it comes from feeling like I don't have a place in this world. I have a hard time putting my finger down on something I want to spend my life doing to earn money for survival. I also have a hard time accepting jobs that a trained monkey could do because I feel I have more value to the world than a job like that. I'm always willing to jump, but my ever-lasting question is, "Where to?"
This song describes how some people cope with feelings like this: escaping into consumerism, attempting to make a distorted, more well-liked image of yourself for the world to see, and slowly drowning in that abyss, whether self-actualized or not. Some people want to just kill themselves, but others show their discomfort through drugging themselves or painting their faces or starving themselves. Pain shows in a multitude of ways; and, right now, a lot of people are hurting a lot. And, god, we just want it to be painless, if just for a moment. It's not the pain that's to blame, but the ways in which we cope.
This song features classic Arcade Fire layering of sounds and instruments to create a room-filling, dancey beat. Despite the darker lyrical undertone, I always find myself bopping around to it almost subconsciously. The cheerful music makes the painful pill of the message easier to swallow.
I think I'm done writing for today, though I would like to talk more about music stuff in the future. When it comes down to it, music is my greatest passion. I connect to it more than most things in life; and I'd like to share some of my musical experiences. Maybe I'll convert someone to a great band?
Through my journey with Arcade Fire, I've learned to appreciate that while their music is great, their message is most important. I've found that the music becomes even more enjoyable after I've realized the powerful message of each song. This is the case with each song I'm discussing today.
Over the course of this year, Arcade Fire has released several new hits, along with a new album, that have messages deeply corresponding with the song in many peoples' hearts, these days. Political unrest, feeling trapped and helpless, the want for change. The first song I want to talk about covers all these bases in splendid simplicity: I Give You Power, featuring Mavis Staples. This song was released in perfect timing, just as Trump was taking office. In fact, I remember a moment of madness shared with T in which we both jammed to this song in full goofy fashion to cope with our uncertain futures. I guess that's the magic of Arcade Fire.
This song is a strong reminder that the power is in the hands of the people; we just need to understand how to take it back when it is less deserved by those (we placed) in power. We have the ability to take our personal power back, it's really all a matter of making a head shift and conquering a little bit of strategy. It's a cool song with a fantastic, rumbling beat that always gets me dancing weird in a matter of moments.
The next new song of theirs that came out this year was Everything Now. The first impressions I got from this song were feelings of exhilaration and nostalgia. It's one of those songs I swear I've always heard and known, even when I know it's new, logically speaking. This song flows like a disco river, showering me with warm Arcade Fire wisdom. It's a jam, for sure.
The message I get from this song is the danger of staying within one's comfort zone. We tend to only dream what we can comprehend, what makes us comfortable; and, sometimes, we just take what we're given in life without thinking too much about the implications of living in a society that's so fear-based. The idea is that we become complacent and over-confident after so long of living in a situation just comfortable enough--not ideal, just enough to not be too miserable all the time--and begin closing off our minds to cope with the fact that the world isn't as open to us as we initially thought, creating that warm, safe mental haven that allows us to start believing that we have everything we could possibly want. But it's not enough because a consumerist society is always hungry, never quite sated, even after impulse buys, binges on shitty but yummy foods or drinks, and one-night stands. We know in our guts that something is missing, that this isn't quite right; but it's really hard to step out of that comfort box we've created in our heads. Suddenly, everything's a risk.
Everything Now packs a serious punch musically and lyrically. This song represents what I love about Arcade Fire: their ability to get me thinking on a deeper level, tracing back emotions and thoughts, and finding a new way of thinking based on how I view each concept. Well, and their music is fun to dance and sing with.
Finally, I'd like to talk about the song I referenced at the top: Creature Comfort. When I first heard this song, I had anxiety because it touched a lot of raw emotions. I've dealt with depression for over a decade, now, and a lot of it comes from feeling like I don't have a place in this world. I have a hard time putting my finger down on something I want to spend my life doing to earn money for survival. I also have a hard time accepting jobs that a trained monkey could do because I feel I have more value to the world than a job like that. I'm always willing to jump, but my ever-lasting question is, "Where to?"
This song describes how some people cope with feelings like this: escaping into consumerism, attempting to make a distorted, more well-liked image of yourself for the world to see, and slowly drowning in that abyss, whether self-actualized or not. Some people want to just kill themselves, but others show their discomfort through drugging themselves or painting their faces or starving themselves. Pain shows in a multitude of ways; and, right now, a lot of people are hurting a lot. And, god, we just want it to be painless, if just for a moment. It's not the pain that's to blame, but the ways in which we cope.
This song features classic Arcade Fire layering of sounds and instruments to create a room-filling, dancey beat. Despite the darker lyrical undertone, I always find myself bopping around to it almost subconsciously. The cheerful music makes the painful pill of the message easier to swallow.
I think I'm done writing for today, though I would like to talk more about music stuff in the future. When it comes down to it, music is my greatest passion. I connect to it more than most things in life; and I'd like to share some of my musical experiences. Maybe I'll convert someone to a great band?
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