I think the music you listen to, and your words are a testament to the life you live.

The titles of this blog was not thought up by me. It was actually on a christian blog site where people were debating on whether a certain artist was a christian or not. This particular artist has made a couple albums and is a fairly popular artist. And so these people were arguing back and forth about this artist, quoting some of the sketchier lyrics (which was the norm for this particular musician). Finally I came across this quote.

I think the music you listen to, and your words are a testament to the life you live.

and it just hit me very hard. That sentiment was just a statement on a blog. People continued the "discussion" and nothing seemed to change as a whole. Still, my heart had been imprinted. I believe this but it took me awhile to get there. I didn't just wake up and realize that I needed to be more careful with what I put on my playlist. It took me a while to get to this point but that is a story for another day.

The fact is that I believe that if you listen to a certain type of music whether it be a song or an album, that says something. Actions speak louder than words as they say. My friends will tell you that this is my soapbox. And it kind of is. Its not popular but here goes. If you are listening to music that disrespects women and describes them as just objects for pleasure, then that is going to speak something about you. I know I know. You like the beat right? Thats great. I am guilty of liking a song purely for its sound. Its a difficult battle finding the music you like. But the fact is that if you have standards and the music you listen to doesn't, what does that say about your character? Lets take for example one of these new songs to hit the airwaves. One of my fav songs to critique "Right Round" by Flo Rida. This song is more or less a cover of the song You Spin Me Right Round" By Dead or Alive. Yeah its a really loose cover. Flo Rida took a classic 80's song and made it into a song about strippers. Lets take a look at a sample of these "classy" lyrics.

You spin my head right round, right round
When you go down, when you go down down

Now I know thats just the chorus it could mean anything!
How about this?

From the top of the pole I watch her go [down]
She got me throwin my money a[round]

Time to get paid, it’s maximum wage
That body belong on a poster

Now even if you aren't a Christian thats a song that is only good for one thing. The sound. Theres no deep lyrics, no underlying meaning. This rapper just loves strippers. Flip back to my original point. If you are a role model (which you most likely are no matter who you are, Someone looks up to you.) and lets say you are christian. If you have people who watch what you do and how you do it, What kind of message does it send if you listen to a song like that? "Its just a catchy song" Yeah it is but the core message of the song is about strippers. Thats a fact. And please understand. This is not me sitting up on my pedestal telling you what songs are bad and what are good. I have been there ok? I like catchy songs. I just am telling you where I went wrong. I used to listen to music with a "I like it so I listen to it" mindset. And it didn't work out too well. I realized one day that my actions in that area of my life were contradicting who I was. So this is to just to let you all know that it doesn't matter if its music, how you talk, how you treat others, or who you chose to hang out with, Your actions tell others what kind of a person you are, whether or not thats the real deal.

Song Review: 1st Issue

So I am going to let you guys in on a secret that is so well known it probably is not a secret. I love music. I love it to a ridiculous extent. Also, I looove lyrics and to an even more ridiculous extent. So I thought it would be cool to review a song a week. It can be a review of a popular song or a review of a song I just found. DISCLAIMER: Just because I say something about a song, regardless of whether its good or bad, does NOT mean you HAVE TO agree with me. Its just my opinion. So I will start with a song from My collection. Its called "I Will Not Take My Love Away" by Matt Wertz. I am gonna post a playlist so you can listen if you so please. Hopefully it will work :) Here are the lyrics then the reviewing will commence!! (Note: I might make mention of the actual sound of the song but I will mostly center on the lyrics since I believe that is the meat of the song)

I Will Not Take My Love Away

I will not take my love away
When praises cease and seasons change
while the whole world turns the other way
I will not take my love away
I will not leave you all alone
When striving leads you far from home
And there's no yield for what you've sown
I will not leave you all alone
I will give you what you need
In plenty or in poverty
Forever, always, look to me
And I will give you what you need
I will not take my love away

I just love this song. I just found it recently. Tonight actually. I was planning on using A Change Of Pace song but reconsidered when I saw these lyrics. Like I stated before, I love lyrics. Its gotten be into trouble too but I will save that story for another day. Maybe a follow up post.
This song is unique because these lyrics are the definition of love. The radio is flooded with songs about how attracted a guy is to a girl or vice versa. And most songs on the radio use attraction and chemistry interchangeably with the word "love". I am sure some of you have heard me talk about what love really means. I will keep it short. My defintion of "true love" is not funny butterflies in the stomach. It is doing what is best for the other person. Even if that means you might be hurt or embarassed. If you love them you will do what is best. In this song, the singer promises to be there for them, to provide for them, to love them no matter what. When life isn't sunny, when the world turns away, When everything is crashing down, I will not stop loving you. Such a beautiful message. And a beautiful song to go with it. These precious words are laid atop a soft bed of an acoustic guitar and Wertz's unique voice. And as you know, I am christian. In this song I see a parallel love song sung by my savior. It may not have been the intetntion of the songwriter and thats fine. But I hear Jesus when I hear this song. So Lemme know what you think! Love it? Hate It? And why?

Wake me up when April Ends

You know that song by Green Day? Wake me up when september ends. Its pretty rad. I like it. But I was thinking about it a little too deeply recently (I do that often). I get what Billy is saying, all of us seem to hate September at some point. Whether its a new start for school or whatever. But In my current frame of mind, September is a piece of cake. I mean you just had three months of awesome summer. You are ready for September. You may not want to be but you are. Its April that is killing me. I mean the end of a spring semester shouldn't be that hard. It should be relieving. But its not really. Its not hard either its just...painstakingly slow and full of things that just wear me down. Maybe its the fact that I am going to the beach in May. Maybe its alot of things. But please just wake me up when April ends.

Twilight. Hmm..

Okay so after hearing months of people talking about this movie Twilight, I finally sat down and watched it.
For those of you who are not familiar with Twilight (You must live under a rock you lucky person you), here is a hard and fast review.
Twilight is a movie based on the Twilight books by Stephanie Myer (No I have not read them.)
These books and the movie follow the saga of two teenagers in love, Edward and Bella. Same old, same old, Right? Well...with one difference. Edward is a vampire.

In the movie, Bella has come to live with her dad for a bit while her mom (they are divorced) goes off to chill with her new hubby. Bella makes some preliminary friends but seems to find a certain boy very odd in an interesting sort of way. Edward Cullen. He seems to have a problem with her but seems to be drawn to her in an odd sort of way. He tells her vague ominous things, tells her they shouldn't know each other. But Bella refuses to back down and they fall in love. But falling in love with Edward has its price. See Edward is a vampire. He lives with other vampires. They all seem to be good guys. the problem is that not all vampires are good like Edward. Take James for instance. James likes to eat people. James catches wind of Bella (literally) and begins to hunt her. Its a thrill for him. And no one will be able to stop him. Except for Edward and his vamp buddies. They bond together to protect Bella from James. They do and it all ends with Edward promising to stay with Bella. I know. I suck at recapping. Just go watch the movie. Now, if you are sensitive to Twilight bashing, I apologize. I have my reasons though. Let us count them!

(These are in no particular order.)
The Acting. Aside from Edward and Carlisle, the acting in this movie lacks ALOT. The girl who plays Bella seems to have a lack of any emotion except hysteria and pain. Patterson (edward) isn't all that good but he just has that creepy vibe down.

The Plot
The plot just seemed kind of lacking. Since I have not read the books I do not know if its merely the interpretation of the books that is lacking or if Myers isn't that great of an author. (I have a hunch its a mixture of both). The plot seemed tired and forced. It moved so fast, refusing to slow down for any real character development. It felt like the directors/ writers were saying "Heres the characters, take em or leave em". I felt no real attachment to any of the characters.

The Eddy/Bella Relationship
I think this is more my issue with the actual relationship of these two characters. I don't know, maybe the book establishes why they love each other in a better way than the movie did. Let me make this clear. I am not a feminist who hates all chick flicks. I love them actually. I am a girl after all. So this is not me bashing this movie for being a love movie. I have an issue with the fact that the Ed/Bell relationship is not a loving one. I know I might get flack for that but its how I feel. Their relationship was an abrupt one, they seemed to be "In love" in a matter of minutes. Really for a while I could not tell if Bella liked edward or was terrified of him. I could rant on this for hours but I will just summarize by saying, Their relationship was less of a romantic one and more of the relationship between a fateful piece of cake and its consumer. They seemed drawn to each other for no other reason than he was a vampire and she was unique to him (he couldn't read her mind and Eddy can read everyones mind)

So thats it. The Special Effects were amazing. The scenery was breathtaking but overall I did not like Twilight. I am tired of Twilight actually. Tired of seeing its posters and shirts. So please just let it pass. Give me some peace until its sequel comes out (I hope not but the realist side of me knows one is coming...*sigh*)

I saw a sight...

Tonight on the way home from a leadership meeting, I was driving down the driveway (shocker right?) and I saw two deer. I know that sounds really boring but it was like almost magical. I just felt something more complex then me seeing two animals. It was all quiet and the night was cool. And lately I have felt...pressed. I had a mild emotional breakdown coupled with school troubles and long hours at work a few weeks back. And it has slowed some since then and things have chilled a bit but it was tonight, seeing two of the most easily frightened animals, that made me feel so solid. God is my rock and I felt my feet scrape his surface tonight.

Mr morning...

So today was a pretty good morning. I took a walk and got some good relaxation time. I'm gonna try and post it on here later so stay tuned. Any requests on what songs I should use in this lovely video?