Wake

Welcome one and all to the show.

Today's post is the first post in a while where I just talk. If you haven't read any of the older posts, I encourage you to go through the archives and check em out; it's interesting to see how the blog itself has evolved as well as how I have progressed through the past year or so.

Looking back, its been a year since I started (a little more than a year)! Crazy to see how time flies.

Quick update: I've been trying to make this page much more appealing and easy to navigate... more organized if you will. Blogger however is stupid and either I can't for the life of me figure it out or the options simply do not exist. I'll continue to pursue this, for you the reader.

Exams are in a week and a bit, so this post will be the last until right before Christmas.
Also, tell me how im doing with the blog. Look at my reviews, my previous posts, and of course tell me how im doing with this post. I'm always open to constructive criticism, praise, whatever you got.

Prelude: I am going to tell you right now that this post will not have much structure at all. I haven't done this in a while so the little structure that it had before is gone.

Lets get into the nothing.

Do any of you wake up and think, "why am I awake?" I mean, who do you wake up for, why do you wake up, what encourages you to face the day. Maybe I am just thinking too much into things like usual, but honestly it's been bugging me for a while. We wake up, get ready, get on with the day. Why? Where's the encouragement? Do you wake up for yourself? Do you wake up to do something in particular? Do you wake up at the very thought of someone? Do you wake up and get out of bed just for the slight chance that your special someone will encounter you that day? Thinking to yourself, "Maybe today is the day that it happens; maybe today is the day that my life takes a turn for the better."

I guess what I am getting at is, what moves the floor that is beneath you? Just an idea to think about, as I get into the content of the blog.

I've found that the past two or three years, I have been waking up and asking myself those questions. Before that, I didn't question it. Maybe it just comes with age, maybe it's just part of the transition phase to adulthood, I don't know. About a quarter of my life is through, and to be honest I am anxious to see what life has in store for me. I've found that with age I have awoken a different, more brutal Tony. I'm now much more political, my thoughts are much darker in complexity and I've grown accustomed to small talk with other adults. Not only that, In class I find myself taking things from a more logical point of view, rather than the creative side I used to take things from. I don't know whats happened.

Maybe I just woke up.

Am I a better person for it? Probably not. It can be reflected in my poetry. I encourage you to look back in my archives and find the poetry, (again, ill try to categorize and organize everything later) and see how naive it is compared to the piece I am about to post (this week some time). I'm not saying that this new piece is going to be a work of art or anything, not in the slightest. I'm just saying the perspective and tone of the poetry has changed, at least when I look at them.

Thinking about it, I am going to compare this growth and change just as Linkin Park did. First two albums, sick. Really heavy music. Everything was stable. Then they changed, they got into this transition stage with Minutes to Midnight. Then after that they got into the completely different A Thousand Suns and Living Things. Maybe I am just in that Minutes to Midnight phase, where I am not sure whats happening, where I came from, or where I am going. Just a piece of work that has no real direction. That could be it. Who knows, that could be why I wake up and ask those questions.

This post is actually based off the first track on Minutes to Midnight, which I will review during Christmas Break. Wake, just an instrumental. Maybe that's it. No lyrics to my song, just direction. Lyrics come later, when I have something to write about. The journey is more important than the end or the start, and maybe that's where the lyrics come from. Maybe your song doesn't need lyrics

What will your song be? Your story? Your journey?

Will your song march to the beat of its own drum? Its own rhythm? Will your song even have lyrics, or will you let the music do the talking?
Will you be different, unique, what will your song portray about you? Will you let your actions define who you are, or will you tell everyone who you are? Maybe you will use lyrics to make your story a little more intricate.
Or maybe you will just wear a snap-back like every single other person and talk about sex, money, drugs, partying, and sexuality in your song. Sell out, your song becomes a hit. Your story. A hit. Really, it is just like many other songs out there. Everyone's song can be unique in its own way, but you refuse to show any diversity. You say compassion's a fault, and you'll never let it show. Maybe you have done this your entire life, just try to get by. Make your song appealing, and nothing more. I say, make your song different, from the heart. If no one likes it, so be it. Fact is, someone will though. There are people out there who appreciate diversity in opinion. Being different is something that rewards others more than yourself, but its rewards are plentiful.

On a side note, did anyone see the 100th Grey Cup halftime show yesterday? They were literally playing the song in the background so the artists could sing along to it. Why??? Not only that, the misrepresentation of Canadian music was atrocious. We as Canadians do not base our music around what all of those artists do. Beiber? Are you serious? Where's Rush(as much as I hate them, I can respect them), Billy Talent? That represents true Canadian Rock. Bieber represents the pop-industry. Which represents the same thing over and over again. See where the problem is? Not only that, anyone else see him meeting the Prime-Minister? Where does he get off disrespecting the Prime Minster and the rest of our generation by dressing like that? He is not above everyone else, he should have dressed professionally, at least a dress shirt and pants. Come on, its not that hard bro. Show some respect and maturity. You're my age, and frankly its embarrassing..

Back in the saddle.

Make your song sound different, make it controversial. Haters hate, its just the way it is.

Taking a different perspective on things, maybe it's a good thing that a lot of people act the same. In reality, it just makes the crop even sweeter, don't you think so? When you find people that are different, it makes them that much more awesome than they already are. I'm not claiming to be different, because In reality I know that I conform to some social norms. But I think I am being different enough by writing this post. By listening to what I listen to. By acting the way I act. Maybe that's why I have been stuck in this transition phase for a while, because I have been trying to find a balance between what is perceived to be "normal" and who I really am. Maybe you, the reader, are the same way.

In the end, this post was about waking up. Finding yourself, what your drive is, what your song is, how you will compose that song and how much risk you are willing to take to be different.
I know that there wasn't much structure, but I regret nothing. Look forward to the next post, which will be a poem. This week, probably...



Song of the day is by 30 Seconds to Mars off their Self-Title Album. Capricorn (A Brand New Name) is weird. And that's why I'm sharing it with you. Its a weird post, and such a weird post deserves a weird song.

Blame it on the broken heart.

Until next time,

Tony.