So I got this idea to try to have a song break-down sesh in blog format. I really am a person who believes in the wonders of music mediation; and because of that, I can talk with people about music and songs because for me a particular song can easily turn into an obsession, and it is always so easy to talk about your obsessions. So because I appreciate theme and mood based music conversation, I'd like to blog an example of the kind of thinking one might use to feel like they understand a song.
This blog's song choice: Ben Folds - Best Imitation of Myself
Background of Song Relevance in my Life: So I never really got into Ben Folds until Ben Folds Five had actually already broken up. My nerdy debate coach would play Ben Folds Live on our long car rides to and from debate tournaments. I think I was obsessed with this girl at the time, so Ben's positioning of himself as an unworthy love puppy, who sings because he would never get the girl anyway, really connected with me, and his music soon sunk into my preferences. The feeling emitted by the song I picked to dissect today blazes with the high spirits of a thriving independence. This high feeling (as opposed to low) song overpowers much of lonely gruff Ben Folds listeners are often exposed to.
So you can listen to the song before you read my thoughts on it, I placed it on the internet here for you to download.
I guess we can just go through it together. Sound fun?
Pretense: So this break down method isn't a way to try and prove the once and forever secret messages hidden within lyrics artists have left for their fans to forever ponder. It's just my thinking as Ben is singing his song, telling me his story. I'm just trying to see if I understand what the song is about, see if I can make it make sense to me. And I think the best way of doing that has to be listening to the words being sung and paying attentions to the kind of expressions involved.
Here is what I think:
Bold = lyrics
I feel like a quote out of context
Withholding the rest
So I can be free what you want to see
So far we have someone (I always assume it's a man because Ben is singing) who is out of their element and definitely doesn't have any people who really know him around to police his character. He makes the choice to let people believe whatever they want to believe about him, which allows him to act however he wants, do whatever he thinks will work.
I got the gesture and sound
Got the timing down
It's uncanny, yeah, you think it was me
He's been faking his way around enough to become good at it.
Do you think I should take a class
To lose my southern accent
He's willing to try hard to get rid of the things that give him away. It could also be a joke, however.
Did I make me up, or make the face till it stuck
I do the best imitation of myself
He can be fake a lot, to the point where he is fake a majority of the time, but in a good, exciting sort of way.
The "problem with you" speech
You gave me was fine
I liked the theories about my little stage
He realizes that putting on a show can be stupid.
And I swore I was listening
But I started drifting
Around the part about me acting my age
He's not really going to change a damn thing.
Now if it's all the same
I've people to entertain
I juggle one handed
Do some magic tricks and
The best imitation of myself
I'm a really cool entertainer and I love it because I am exceptional.
Maybe I'm thinking myself in a hole
Wondering, who I am when I ought to know
He thinks about whether or not he should be thinking about what he is thinking about.
Straighten up now time to go
Fool somebody else, fool somebody else
Zing! Now it's time be to awesome again.
Last night I was east with them
And west within
Trying to be for you what you wanna see
He sometimes puts on a facade of artificial coast allegiance as a way to make people like him.
But I can't help it with you
The good and bad comes through
Don't want you hanging out with
No one but me
He knows she knows what's wrong with him and that she loves him anyway, but he doesn't want her to reveal what she knows to anyone, he's sensitive.
Now if it's all the same
It comes from the same place
And if my mind's somewhere else
You won't be able to tell
I do the best imitation of myself
Yes it's uncanny to see
You'd really think it was me
The best imitation of myself
The best imitation of myself
But really he is purely confident is being awesome.
So I'd love to hear peoples opinions of this song or maybe their opinion of whether or not they think they figure out songs like I have figured this one out.
Hello Washington. I'm so happy that, just before the setting of this 'summer of the red sun', we are grouping together some amazing people, whom I am going to miss, into an adventurous web community!! Our best men down at the Wandy Teeth Goof Factory have been pondering ways to more boldly smear the spirit behind our typed word across the internet.
And, while on the enormously underdiscussed subject of the internet, I think one of those super exciting revelation/pipedream lightning bolts zapped in my head within the last day or so. I'm doing writing stuff at school and since I use the internet to live and breath, what if, WHAT IF, a destined career of mine would involve unleashing my opinions on inquisitive readers of the internet. I would enjoy writing about anything I have an opinion about and I'm sure I'd feel comfortable with the probable effort/profit tradeoff.
In the fashion world, I am stacked with marvelous footwear and have been picking up good garbs from J Sizzy's store. I have something like 6 pink shirts now, which is getting a little redic, but after all, I should get to wear the color if I helped start the trend. My misplaced glasses are causing me stress problems. I need them to drive at night sometimes and I know I will need them for a lot of classes at school, but I've never been serious about wearing glasses and I don't really want to ask for new ones. I think I will end up writing a note and leaving the issue to my parents.
Now more than ever I'd like to express my appreciation that I have the internet as a place to drain all of my thoughts, no matter what they sound like. Read this article: http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/bg1806.cfm
In the second biggest country in the world, you cannot dissent from the ruling political ideology while playing in the cyber world without going to jail.
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