Friday, October 31, 2008

You Clicked Your Heels and Wished for Me



This video came out today and I really love it. So simple. And the black and white is a nice touch. Though this video has a very different effect on me, I can't help but mention it here.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

I Fear the Mosh

As you may (or may not) have read, I went to a Hawthorne Heights concert a little over a week ago. The show was amazing and I had a great time, but one part of it that has continued to haunt me each day after. The mosh pit. Through out the night I was smacked around as if I was a tennis ball in Wimbledon. It started during the Tickle Me Pink set. (A Mile After played first, but I missed them, so this is where my night started.) At this point, there was about a three row crowd. The first and second rows stood looking up towards the stage, while the third row hastily pushed each other around. Every now and then someone would slam into my back. Causing me to slam into the person in front of me. Causing them to jut their backside into me in a violent attempt to make their own space bubble. After this had happened around four or five times, I firmly planted my feet into the ground and held tightly to my camera in fear that in the next few moments it would become something of the past. This didn't work at all. After about five more times of being slammed into the person in front of me, a guy standing near by grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me in front of him. This was the best shove of the night. His helpful push pushed me into the group of people more interested in the music, and not in beating the crap out of each other. I turned around, looked him right into his eyes, and mouthed the only two words I could think to say. "Thank you." After Tickle Me Pink, The Color Fred came on. No moshing here. After the Color Fred, Emery came on. Too much moshing here. This was probably the worst part of the night for me. The crowd went crazy trying to push each other, as well as push themselves up towards the front in an attempt to get a feel of their screamer's hand. A few minutes into the set, their screamer (I have no idea what his name is) walked out to the edge of the stage, only to then continue to step onto the barricade and step out onto the crowd. He thought that this crowd of teenagers was going to be able to hold him up and that he was going to be able to balance. This made me extremely noticed. I stood shaking looking up at his long and lanky body as he tried to keep his balance. After several very close calls, he decide to step off the crowd and back onto the stage. I found this a good idea, since I couldn't get the image of his six foot tall body teetering over and crashing down on me out of my head. The set ended about ten minutes later. Only after a girl screamed obscenities into my ear as she tried to get her opinion of Hawthorne Heights out in the open. I got the feeling that she didn't come to see them. But I did, and they were up next. The mosh was pretty much the same as before, but with more crowd surfers. The same guy from the Tickle Me Pink set grabbed me and pushed me towards the front. This helped a lot since he pushed me all the way to the barricade and I was now surrounded by the people like me, who just wanted to see them play. Here I was able to avoid the mosh for the most part, until the last song. When JT Woodruff sung the first few words of "Ohio is for Lovers" the crowd went crazy. Besides the few people near me, everyone was moshing. I was holding tightly to the barricade in hopes to not get pulled off and pushed in. I was very scared that this would happen when a guy tried to jump onto my shoulders in an attempt to make it past the barricade. Luckily before he could make it very high the bouncer rushed over picked him up by his shoulders and sent him on his marry way. Over all the concert was awesome and I had a great time. But it'll be nice to rest a little while before I get out there again.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Zeppelin - Plant = FAIL

I just read that there's the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion, only without Robert Plant. I'm not trying to say that he's the most talented member or anything. Zeppelin is an extremely talented band, but without a lead singer, I'm not sure how great they would be. Most any band is somewhat identified by the lead singer's voice and with out that it is impossible to sound the same. I love Led Zeppelin and I would love to seem them live, but this is not what I had in mind. Anyone whose heard recent Queen will agree.

Everyone has a Black Veil

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Minister's Blake Veil, Parson Hooper begins to wear a black veil over his face. Even though he continues to be kind to others and continues his job just as well as he had before, the congregation begins to fear him in a way. His life begins to be very lonely. No one talks to him, his wife leaves him, and the congregation gossip amongst each other trying to find out the purpose of his black veil. At the end of the story, Hooper is asked to take the veil off. He refuses, saying that he does not understand why people avoid him only because of his black veil.

I believe that this story is written in agreement with Puritan England. Hooper believes that he, as well as everyone else in the congregation, has done wrong and covers his face because of this. When the congregation turns a cold shoulder to him, Hooper does not understand why. He believes that everyone should hide their face from the world because of the wrongs they have done. This brings us back to the Puritan ideas. You could not enjoy anything and most everything was a sin. Hooper believed that everyone was a sinner and no one deserved to show their face in public.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Old Post

I was just looking through the archive of my other blog and I found this.

It made me laugh. I am a silly little girl and I like my Bill Becketts with long hair.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I've Now Heard Two Emo Anthemns Live



Every Friday, I have a reason to be happy. Not because it's the last day of school before the weekend. Not because I don't have to do homework that night, and I can hang out with my friends instead. But because the Masquerade Message arrives every midmorning every Friday in my inbox. Here I can see who is coming to one of my favorite venues in Atlanta, and when the tickets go on sale. Last Friday when this e-mail came, I was disappointed to see that I wasn't very enthusiastic about any of the shows they announced. Remembering that I had answered the trivia question in this e-mail I scrolled down just to see if I had gotten it right. I had, and with that right answer came two Hawthorne Heights tickets. I had never participated in this contest before, but I was so happy I had. After much persuasion and lots of promises, my dad agreed to drive me to Atlanta and take me to see one of my favorite bands. And that's what I was doing last night.

When we got to the venue The Mile After had just finished their set, but we were there just in time for Tickle Me Pink. They sounded great and played an awesome cover of "Paradise City." Always a crowd pleaser. Next up was The Color Fred. If I could marry a band, Fred would be at the top of my list of possible spouses. They played a great set and they all really looked like they were having a great time. I was able to meet Fred Mascherino after the show and he was extremely down to earth and so sweet. After Fred, Emery played. I didn't know very much of their stuff and they were probably my least favorite. It may also have to do with the live experience, because I don't like moshing and there was lots of it. Once they were done playing, it was finally time for Hawthorne Heights.

I'll be the first to tell you that the first Hawthorne Heights song I ever heard was "Ohio is for Lovers," and it was after it got big. (I haven't been a Fall Out Boy fan since the "Take This to Your Grave" era either.) I liked the song, but I never really made an effort to try and listen to any of their other music. Once "Fragile Future," I listened to much more of their music, new and old. I regret not listening to more the first time I heard "Ohio is for Lovers," because I've found that I love it. Hawthorne Heights cease to amaze. After the passing of their guitarist, Casey Calvert, last November Heights was able to remain strong while recording a new album and now going on tour.

Their set sounded amazing and they played a few acoustic songs. I met J.T. Woodruff after the show, and he couldn't have been any nicer. All in all, it was a great night.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

What is Greatness?

"To be great is to be misunderstood." I can not help, but agree with this quote. Right off, it may not make a ton of sense. Webster's dictionary says that to be misunderstood is "to interpret incorrectly" and to be great is to "remarkably skilled." It does not make since at all that someone who is unable to interpret something correctly is also remarkably skilled, but that is not the way that these words are described when Ralph Waldo Emerson used them in his Essay on Self-Reliance. Emerson knew what he was talking about, even if it did not make perfect sense.

I believe that Emerson's description of being "great" is very much like the Webster dictionary definition. Someone who is great is looked upon by many as someone who knows what his or her job is and is able to do it to the fullest. While this definition is so dead on, I think that Emerson's definition of "misunderstood" is very different from Webster's. The great person is the one who is misunderstood, but not by his oneself, by the other people observing him. He may be doing something great, but the people around him don't understand that and really have to think about it. If they didn't have to think so much about him, not as many people would discuss him with other people which just makes him more well known. This causes him to be even greater.

I've Been Caught

I'm in love with the new Fall Out Boy song, "What a Catch, Donnie." The song is really different from their past music. This only song I can think of that is a little close to it is "Golden" of their last album, "Infinity on High." Both songs show off Patrick Stump's melodic voice, but this time there are many more instruments than just a piano. Not to mention more voices than just Patrick's. Towards the end the song is greatly built up and then slows down so that almost all you can hear is Elvis Costello singing "Headfirst Sliding into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet." The song then picks back up and as Patrick continues to sing, in the background you can hear the voices of singers from different Fueled by Ramen bands singing the choruses of older Fall Out Boy songs. These include Gabe Saporta, Travis McCoy, Brendon Urie, Alex Deleon, Dough Neumann, and William Beckett. Even if you're someone who doesn't like Fall Out Boy I really think that you could enjoy this song. I just hope the rest of the album is this good.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Bill and Trav's Bogus Journey


Last Thursday, I was able to go to the Masquerade and experience an amazing concert. I was mainly going to see The Academy Is... but when I heard the rest of the acts I became even more excited. I had never heard of anything by Hey Monday or Carolina Liar, but with a quick myspace search I realized I liked both of them as well. I had first heard of the other co-headlining band, We the Kings, when I saw them last year when they opened for Cobra Starship on the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour. They had played a good show and I was very excited to see them again. I must say, their set this year was equally as good if not better. They were able to play a lot more than last year and they played an awesome cover of The Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc." The Academy Is... played an amazing set and sounded incredible live. William Beckett is a born performer, which can be seen as he struts across the stage.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

That Way the Impact Will be Much Better

I was recently listening to The Academy Is... song, "Down and Out." While a truly heart breaking song, I can't help but love it. The story of an mistreated girl taking control of her life gets me every time. The line, "Why do you wear sunglasses in the home when the sun went down about an hour ago?," at first made me think of someone being abused and trying to cover up the marks. When I thought about this some more I realized that it also showed that she was hiding from herself behind something. The song does not signify who the abuser is (boyfriend, parent?) but it is still just as powerful. "Always up or down," could be describing the relationship. It is either extremely happy or much more sad. I think that "You dream of demons while you sleep that make you stutter when you speak" shows that the girl worries about what will happen in the relationship. This could cause her to have nightmares and/or worry about and become hesitant of the things she does. "Speak now or forever hold your peace in pieces" describes her need to tell someone, but she hesitates to because she worries about what will happen if she does.