Thursday, June 11, 2009

3S1P: Bring the Thunder!

1) "Pictures of You" The Cure
2) "Don't Make Me a Target" Salute Your Solution
3) "Salute Your Solution" The Raconteurs

YES!!!! Yes yes yes! So amped! Finally, a fun song. I am... unashamedly a car singer. I don't mean so much when anyone else is in the car with me. BUT, when I'm driving alone, when the iPod is on shuffle, there are certain songs that I will belt out with force and conviction of that crazy, tipsy dude at the Karaoke Bar who is convinced that the world NEEDS to hear him sing "Sweet Caroline." Not that I am opposed to Sweet Caroline, or Neil Diamond for that matter. I think Neil Diamond is amazing. I own the Jazz Singer on vinyl. I think Comin' to America is the final word on what it means to write an anthem. But I digress. I'm just trying to establish the volume and energy that I bring to singing in the car. I'm not just singing. I'm belting out like I'm fronting an 80s hair metal band in its prime.

And I especially love songs that make you feel powerful, invincible, like some kind of mutant flying rodent with the head of a lion and the wings of a dragon and the biceps of Andre the Giant... and... oh... wow... THIS is a little awkward

But seriously, there's nothing quite like a song that makes you feel invincible. The song that makes you feel more confident the louder that you sing it. Songs like "My Hero" by Foo Fighters, "Pardon Me" by Incubus, "Say it Ain't So" by Weezer. And this confidence, this ridiculous euphoria that rides like a wave that only grows larger if you sing with other like minded psychopaths is one of my favorite things in the world.

That all to say...this is not one of those songs... really... I love Jack White, but I can't sing this song to save my life. It's too wordy, and I lose myself in trying to keep up... EXCEPT for one part. The part when he starts singing "I got what I got all despite you and I get what I get just to spite you." Oh man oh man oh man oh man. Never was there a more awesome line in a song meant to put the person who dumped you in their place and to empower the individual singing the line. Let's be honest. Getting dumped is somewhere between lame and super lame. But there's a certain power, a certain thunder, in being able to establish that while you may have lost that battle you will win the war of life. You'll have better relationships, more meaningful adventures, you'll run higher, see from the top of higher mountains, join in the call of the eagle songs as you conquer the mightiest of forests... HAHA... look what you're missing out on! And when we sing lines like this one... with conviction with strength... we are, temporarily... oh so temporarily, freed to be truly our epic selves, which is what we should be all the time anyway.

So, props to you Jack White, for giving me the words I need when I feel like standing on top of the wreckage and saying "Oh No ma'am! I will be victorious!"

1 comment:

Life Unscripted said...

ummm, yes! i feel you all too well on this topic.