An Appreciation for Some Music Lyrics--Mad World
Dr. Spacks and I had a conversation about the relationships between poetry and song-writing. Song-writing and vocal performance can very easily drown out and compromise the lyrics. Which means, more times than not, the lyrics do not stand as a very strong, naked (music-absent) poem, simply because implicit meanings are added through the layers of music performance. I think "Mad World" by Gary Jules might be able to stand uniquely as a poem, independent of the ghostly beautiful music performance. We also discussed the notions of "cycles" and "flipping hamburgers." The Flipping Hamburger University is just doing it in test-tubes, and it's kind of sad you need some big shot credential to do that. I emphasized though, that life is full of cycles, it's just a matter of some cycles hardly changing, slowly evolving, and other cycles are open to innovation--small baby steps and huge leaps of innovation. I think in poetry there can be several baby steps made. But Dr. Spacks also made this wonderful analogy that "a poem is a living organism. You are to foster it, build it, let it evolve. You never know where the poem will take you." I followed it up with "No wonder why I write most of my poetry in the car--because that is the only time I have free space and time to let something just spontaneously evolve!" Chryss Yost (prominent poet in Santa Barbara) emphasized that "poetry is a craft. You are building a system," which made me think why poems don't start at the bottom of the pages, since you are building something bottom-up. Hmmm. Good idea!
"Mad World" by Gary Jules
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out facesDr. Spacks and I had a conversation about the relationships between poetry and song-writing. Song-writing and vocal performance can very easily drown out and compromise the lyrics. Which means, more times than not, the lyrics do not stand as a very strong, naked (music-absent) poem, simply because implicit meanings are added through the layers of music performance. I think "Mad World" by Gary Jules might be able to stand uniquely as a poem, independent of the ghostly beautiful music performance. We also discussed the notions of "cycles" and "flipping hamburgers." The Flipping Hamburger University is just doing it in test-tubes, and it's kind of sad you need some big shot credential to do that. I emphasized though, that life is full of cycles, it's just a matter of some cycles hardly changing, slowly evolving, and other cycles are open to innovation--small baby steps and huge leaps of innovation. I think in poetry there can be several baby steps made. But Dr. Spacks also made this wonderful analogy that "a poem is a living organism. You are to foster it, build it, let it evolve. You never know where the poem will take you." I followed it up with "No wonder why I write most of my poetry in the car--because that is the only time I have free space and time to let something just spontaneously evolve!" Chryss Yost (prominent poet in Santa Barbara) emphasized that "poetry is a craft. You are building a system," which made me think why poems don't start at the bottom of the pages, since you are building something bottom-up. Hmmm. Good idea!
"Mad World" by Gary Jules
All around me are familiar faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhereTheir tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expressionHide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrowAnd I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell youI find it hard to take
When people run in circlesIt's a very, very mad world mad world
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy BirthdayAnd I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listenWent to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew meHello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through meAnd I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell youI find it hard to take
When people run in circlesIt's a very, very mad world ... mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world
After listening to Pandora for about two or three days, only subscribed to two streams--one being Daftpunk and the other being Gorillaz (though I should add Bjork and Regina Spektor and Nick Drake, for sure)--I have come to realize that my tastes in music are very idea-based music with VERY pure melodies. Nick Drake-esque. And if it becomes layered, then it becomes tribal, classical symphonic Rite of Spring Bjorkesque. For example, here are some songs that have given me pricked ears and teary eyes: the song above "Mad World" by Gary Jules, "We're Going to be Friends" by White Stripes, "Fall Line" by Jack Johnson, "In the Waiting Line" By Zero 7, "I'm Happy / Feeling Glad / Got Sunshine in a Bag" by Gorillaz, "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkeley. I am becoming even more musically predictable to myself!
My housemate Kyle converted me... got me addicted to Pandora.... It's scary to think that Pandora perhaps knows my musical tastes better than I know my own!
My housemate Kyle converted me... got me addicted to Pandora.... It's scary to think that Pandora perhaps knows my musical tastes better than I know my own!
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