Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Good Morning! Revival!

Okay guys, so I know I touched on my tastes in music for the last post, but I just had to do it again becuz I don't know if you knew this or not, but Good Charlotte just released a new album "Good Morning Revival" and I must say, its really really good I would say probably the best of their incredible influental career in my opinion I don't know about you. Its a little early to say but I think that its probably going to be up there for album of the year at the end of the year.

First I want to start with their soon to be number one mega-hit "ALL BLACK". It's amazing to be blunt which you know Im not usually. It deals with really serious issues that are probably really inspiring to its listeners which is probably what GC was aiming for IMO. It also reference the Rolling Stones which gives them credibility and also shows where there primary influence stems from which I thought was really clever and emotional. It starts with the lyrics:

" Take a look at my life, all black
Take a look at my clothes, all black
Like Johnny Cash, all black
Like the Rolling Stones wanna paint it black..."

Really powerful stuff man. But don't worry, it only gets better. Rster 15 who is regarded as a big fan of GC was quoted saying "Contrary to what people believe you don't have to cut your wrists to listen to Good Charlotte. I know I don't". I think Rster 15 makes a really strong point here and Good Charlotte tries there best to not let him down and they suceed marvelously. For example, on theyre bound to be number one mega smash single "Beautiful Place" I think Joel madden, theyre lead singer makes a really good point when he makes sure his listeners/readers know he lives in a beautiful place, but that he still has darkness in his heart which the band "Third Eye Blind" also adress in their hit "Jumper" which I guess you could say influenced GC:

"We live in a beautiful place
Let love take away all this pain
We live in a beautiful place
We wasted so many black days
Our hearts are as dark as the rain
We live in a beautiful place"

Of course, those are just my two personal favorites on the CD and there are many more mega-hits just waiting to be found if a listener becomes a miner and digs out the gems. On their super-catchy song "Dance Floor Anthem" GC makes a serious statement. not to be outclassed by there younger peers GC channells "FALL OUT BOY" by making a song that some people could say would be played on the dance floor as an anthem in response to "FOBs" "This isnt a scene its an arms race" or even "Dance Dance". It has really cool pianos and keyboreds and also it is really fun to dance too I would say its a masterpiece.

"The(random)" is quoted saying "GC=Life, need I say more?" and I think he makes a really valid point. on the song "Broken Hearts Parade" its almost like Good Charlotte is answering there younger peers MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and there album "The Black Parade" and sort of letting them know who the real kings of punk are.

"And the broken hearts parade
and I'm putting my heart out on display there's no,
masquerade, just a funeral march for love today
the band strikes up and they're playing our song
Dressed in black and we're singing along, to the
broken hearts parade and I've never been better then I am today"

In here Joel sings with a lot of heart which is a word they repeat over and over in their album which is good because I think it re-enforces how serious GC is about there heartbreak which is a really serious issue on this album. Also when you think about it their lyrics really focus around three words those being "march" (as in "march on") "hearts" and also "black" (as in wearing all black or painting it black.) I think those three words appear in every song and make many appearances in the titles too. Joel really strains his voice which is reassuring because it lets us know hes serious about singing for his fans, like in his song; "March On".

"Like soldiers
March on
If we can make it through the night will see the sun
March on, march on "

Another brilliant song on the album is the track called "Something Else". It not only pays homage to the Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin who are inferior but highly influential by calling there song the same name but also it deals with a really serious issue. That serious issue is people who come from different backrounds but still want to fall in love with each other becuase they feel it.

" She is a diamond I am a stone
I come from nowhere she’s been to Rome
Her daddy’s a lawyer and mines not around
She has good manners I'm rough all around"

That part of the song is how the song starts and its really good because it shows how the guys from GC are really down to earth and had problems like there dad not being around and how it was rough for them. I also like how they used the same word to rhyme (around) because it helps the listener know that they are down to earth and don't have very good vocabularys like me or you. They go on to describe how there not like the people they talk about in "THE LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS";

"We all want something else
We all want something we can’t have
We all want something else
We all want something strange to us
Maybe a roll in the dirt or it’s a seat in first class
We all want something we can’t have"

In those lines Joel lets us know that its not just me who wants to sit in first class and roll in the mud but that everyone likes to do it too but maybe not everyone can because its hard to be down to earth and rich at the same time. Joel madden is down to earth and not rich and I like that.

The next track I want to talk about recalls there old mega-smash hits like "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" where they talked about rich people and how we should rob them if they "don't stop complaining to the Rolling Stone" which is a valid point I really agree with since I get tired of them complaining since they couldn't fit in my shoes and I could sure fit in theres. Who doesn't like boats and caviar? The track is "Break Apart Her Heart" which again has heart in the title which is really nice because it lets the listener know there serious about there message which is broken hearts and heartbreak. Blogger "Don't Change" is quoted saying "This song shares remarkable resembalance to "Dance Floor Anthem" and gave it a 10/10 for being "I'll put it flat out this song is a masterpiece". Singer Joel madden is talking about people who break your heart and you have to rise up and fight back against them;

"Can you see what you've done?
What I've become, what i've become
Can you see?
I don't understand this cruelty
I don't understand but now I see
I don't understand this cruelty
I don't understand it's just not me
I don't understand this cruelty
But now I see"

and also he talks about how she treated him badly which really helps us feel bad for him;

" When you call she doesn't answer, when you write she doesn't answer
You go out you see him with her, she told you she was sick at home
The ring you gave her thrown away with all the letters
And when you see him with her, he doesn't even care at all
And she follows him around like you follow her around
And he doesn't even care and your figuring out
The only way your gonna keep somebody around
Well i'm about to let you know"

And he does. The song is really inspiring.

GC breaks new territory on this album since they talk about a variety of topics like Marching, black, and hearts. I think that Joel madden did a really good job making songs that a lot of people can relate to and the songs are really really good on this album. Sometimes people talk about how GC sounds the same on every song or that even there songs dont really have very good lyrics or that there singer Joel Madden makes you laugh with how terrible and serious his voice is or there shitty instrumentals that really just make people laugh at how awful it is but i disagree. I think Joel madden and company did a really good job at making a smart album that helps people deal with really serious problems. I think its said best by good charlotte fan "Hopeless Heartz" when they said "You either hate GC or you love them. Doesn't matter what music they make you either hate them or love them. I haven't met too many people who said GC was OK. On another note I love them they are my life and the guitar is great too."

Well said Hopeless Heartz, well said indeed.


Track Listing:
1. Good Morning Revival
2. Misery
3. The River (featuring M.Shadows and Synyster Gates)
4. Dance Floor Anthem
5. Keep Your Hands Off My Girl
6. Victims of Love
7. Where Would We Be Now.
8. Break Apart Her Heart
9. All Black
10. Beautiful Place
11. Something Else
12. Broken Hearts Parade
13. March On

-BL-

"This Is Why I'm Hot"

"This is why I'm hot I'm hot cuz Im fly ur not cuz ur not! u aint hot!"

Y R U not hot!?


Because you're not! L0L!

I'm just playing guys, you guys are all hot. But I also really like Mims, and he says why he is hot repeatedly in his song, which is really good, but it worries me because it tackles its listeners selfesteem. Some people think that the notorious BIG is the best rapper from New York otherwise known as Biggie Smalls, but I think they should all give MIMS a listen and theyll probably change theyre opinion of who is the king of NY rap or maybe just rap in general becuz MIMS is entering new territory. I don't like negative music, but I can't help it when Mims is so catchy and makes me want to dance alot in circles, and I like to dance to it because booty music is fun. I like the word booty music and I also like to spell my name in cursive with my booty which is fun because it promotes selfesteem and also can be alot of fun to dance to catchy music sometimes which is commonly defined as "booty dancing". But seriously today I want to talk about a serious issue that I realized is pretty serious and it affects all of us I think.

This issue is Pornographie in music.

I recently was told by a very good friend of mine today that there was a band called the "New Pornographers" and it made me really sad to see that pornographie has found its way into the world of musical expression, which is defined by www.googledefine.com as "expressing yourself, which is good because it allows for people to tell their feelings on all kinds of things like Britney Spears, or your boyfriend(s) or your girlfriend(s) who you think are cute, or give you a good feeling to talk about and put into expression outside of words, through music". I think it's importnat that I say I copy and pasted that so I don't get caut for plagarizm. I really get mad when someone takes what I say and uses it without telling people that they copy and pasted it from my work because I feel it gives them credit for something I did that would be along the lines of musical expression. Fergie has been rumored to say "I think musical expression is really important for people who have things they need to express through music" and I would 1000% agree, because Fergie is a musical pioneer, and is what experts would call a athority on music, since her latest hit "Fergalisious" is a number 1 hit single on the radio that people listen to if they want to here musical expression, which is important I believe.

Pornography in music is not the only problem that the world of music is under attack by now a days. There also is a violent streak in music that can be described as just plain being a bully. The band I'm talking about is the band "MY BLOODY VALENTINE" and its really upestting that they would call themselves, because it tells the story of their Valentine, which is a holiday created by the St. Valentine that is supposed to be about sending cards and candy, which is usually chocolate I believe, to your Valentine, not having a Bloody One. I also am sad that they're CD "Loveles" is about being loved less, because I think it promotes negative feelings in musical expression, which should be about musical expression, not being a bully. Take a page out of Fergie's book, who is a real athority on music, and stop being a bully.

I think the new song "Lips of A Angel" is really good, and its by a band named "HINDER" I really like that they promote the positive message of having lips like angels since Angles have lips that serve God and I guess you could sort of say God is why were all here. But I am also sad because of theyre name "HINDER" which makes people hinder themselves when they listen to theyre music. I guess you could say that it stops people from reaching theyre full potential, which I think is really sad sometimes. But I also am thankful on Thanksgiving which is a holiday that is commonly defined as a day where we all celebrate how thankful we are for things like the mega number one hits like Fergalisius and Hinder.

For example, I also dont like Nirvana, because they are bullies to. there hit number one single "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT" is negative and promotes Lucifer otherwise known as aka "the Devil" and I think that they are straying away from musical expression and into being what teachers would define as "School-yard Bulies" and that is not musical expression. I wish I could change the world sometimes but for now I just have to hope that the world changes for a little bit better of a place, and that we elect a good president to lead us into the future and I also like what George Bush is doing for the Country. I think its great that he allows people from all over to come into the Country to work because it means were sharing our wealth with poor people which means that we are doing what teachers would define as "sharing" which is good.

Thank you for listening, I know that I talked about something that some people may find distrurbing but someone has to let the public know because its really important that we prevent music from turning into a bullys playgroud.

-BL-

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I Wish People Would Stop Beating People Black and Blue Sometimes.

Hey guys, it's me again.

This time, I have a little bit more of a sad story to tell you guys this time. I actually have a really really sad story, now that I think about it.

It's the story of Rodney King.

Mr. King (not Dr. King Jr.!) was born on April 2nd, 1965 in a little known town called Sacramento, which sometimes is mistaken for a really good movie called Memento, which is a metaphor about a moment in time that was frozen forever. I learned about metaphors in my English class today, when my teacher made fun of me for not using them in the way William Shakespeare intended them to be used. Sometimes metaphors can be used to tell people something in code but there was nothing secret code about how he made me feel that day in English so I guess you could say he didnt use any metaphors to tell me what he thought about my metaphors. He made me feel really badly about myself, and he also ridiculed a girl whom I call Rodney King, but that was for different reasons. She wrote a paper that didn't follow the assignment he gave out in class, and he made her feel really badly. It was a day of bad feelings in English today. Both Me, Rodney, and Rodney King, were all made fun of for serious issues in our community like the color of our skin and metaphors.

:-(

Rodney king wasn't beaten for his bad using of metaphors though, he was beaten by the color of his skin. Beating someone for the color of his skin is wrong. I guess you could say they beat Rodney King Black and Blue, which is wrong, because they beat him based on the color of his skin, which is black. Rodney is a champion of strength, and it was rumored that he screamed "People I just want to say can't we all get along sometimes and not beat eachother black and blue based ont he color of our skin?!" which was thought to inspire the widely famous line from the number one hit movie in America about Greeks fighting the Asians, "300", in which the warlord screams; "This is sparta and I will not let you beat my people black and blue because there are 300 of us here to fight you!". It's a really powerful moment in the movie, except for one thing. He kicks a man who is black into a eternal well, which is wrong, because you shouldn't kick a man into an eternal well if he is black, because of the color of his skin. I notice these things, and it makes me sad racism still exists in hollywood, but I guess I'm still waiting on the world to change.

That's a song by John Mayer, off of his new hit album "Continuim". It's really good, and should be nominated for 8 grammys, I think any less would be a crime, which is often defined as "beating someone black and blue" which is a crime to. Besides that it is really really good, Rodney King is rumored to rank "Continuim" as one of his favorite albums of all time. It's reported that Rodney King said ""Continuim" is a really good album, because it teaches us not to beat people for the color of theyre skin and actually helps us fight rasicm in hollywood sometimes I believe and I think it should win at least 8 grammys." Rodney King and I might not agree on how many awards it should win because I think it should win around 9 or 10 because of its positive messages in musical expression but at least we don't beat each other over the color of our skin, and we can learn to agree, but disagree at the same time, which I personally find inspiring, I don't know about you.

In conclusion, I think that Rodney King was a hero, and that he taught us all a lesson when he got beaten Black and Blue. Thank you Rodney King, I think your sacrifice taught us all a very valuable lesson, and inspired the hit box-office movie, "300".

:-)

-BL-

Today, in Africa.

Today, I would like to talk about Africa,

Today, in my African politics class (where we study Africa, and it's politics,) I decided to take notes, but during that time I also discovered a serious problem in Africa which would commonly be defined as "AIDS" and also "Children Soldiers". I am joining the fight against Child Soldiers.

Now, don't get me wrong. When I was a child (I'm now 19 which means I am a teenager and not a tween okay!?) I always wanted to be a soldier like GI Joe or something so you would think that being a "Children Soldier" would be kids just living theyre dream right? Turns out the answer is "no way jose" because often times these kids are too young to fight against the serious issues that often make Africa a bad place like "AIDS" and other stuff like that.

When I thought about it more, it all sort of started to make sense. My Dad is a soldier, which means he is what would be commonly defined as a "Adult Soldier" which means he is at least 20 years old (which is the year after being a teenager, which is not an adult) and fights in the army, which consists of soldiers from all different backrounds, but all share one thing in common that is theyre not child soldiers. This binds them together to fight against problems that would face theyre Country, and though our Country doesnt have to fight against "AIDS" like Africa does sometimes we have to fight against a lot more evil things like terorists which is really serious issue that some people would say plauge our Country. Anyways let me get back to "Child Soldeirs".

"Children Soldiers" sometimes are used to fight against problems that plague the country, but when you think about it, there to small to fight! I mean think about a kid fighting in a war! Its silly seriously guys come on! So basically its a problem because they arent going to win fights especially against epidemics like "The AIDS" and somtimes itjust makes me really sad that countrys don't see things like I do or else they would stop using "Children Soldiers" and just start using "Adult Soldiers" like we do in our Country. Then maybe they could fight against aids in Africa better because theyre army would be old enough to fight. As fun as it might seem to be GI Joe when you are a kid sometimes you are just not ready for it and should leave things to adults and someone needs to tell Africa that. Join the fight against child soldiers like I did and also if you want you can help the fight against and eliminate child soldiers at:

www.killandeliminateallchildsoldierssotherewontbeanymorechildsoldierproblems.org

So, that was the end of my notes for African politics. Pretty good right? I thought it was a fun way of learning, and I think that I could do a great deal of good for Africa if I could just go over there and talk to the kids. Sometimes I feel bad for Africa, until I remember the fun times listening to their lectures can inspire and sometimes I think that people should work on telling kids in Africa that they all cant be GI Joe. I wrote a letter and Ive turned it into the LEB (Lion Entertainment Board) to be turned into a musical all students at Penn State can enjoy and hopefully everyone around the world someday and inspire them to learn about Africa.

Some day, I would like to go to Kenya.

-BL-