Garbage with a Good Message

Ever since RockBand came out for the XBox 360, I've been hooked onto Garbage. Their only single that was available to play on the console was "I Think I'm Paranoid," one of their catchier singles, but I wasn't satisfied with this. I needed more Garbage. Fortunately, my dad has one of the most random compilations of CD's I have ever seen (a total of about 650 CD's ranging from Metal to Movie Soundtracks) and within its myriad contents, I found a little more Garbage.

One song that stuck to me was from their second album, aptly titled "Version 2.0." The song's name is "Medication." On a surface level, the listener can hear a woman's plea for help in resolving society's lack of consideration for others and actually getting her say for once with its intense chorus: "Somebody get me out of here, I'm tearing at myself. Nobody gives a damn about me or anybody else."

On a deeper level, I see a rebellion against male dominance of a relationship. The story of the song reveals a woman being kept on some form of medication to calm her down so she doesn't go against a man's wishes. Here are the full lyrics:

I don't need an education
I learnt all I need from you
They've got me on some medication
My point of balance was askew
It keeps my temperature from rising
My blood is pumping through my veins

Chorus:
Somebody get me out of here
I'm tearing at myself
Nobody gives a damn about me or anybody else

I wear myself out in the morning
You're asleep when I get home
Please don't call me self defending
You know it cuts me to the bone
And it's really not surprising
I hold a force I can't contain

Chorus

And still you call me co-dependent
Somehow you lay the blame on me
And still you call me co-dependent
Somehow you lay the blame on me

Somebody get me out of here
I'm tearing at myself
I've got to make a point these days
To extricate myself

Chorus

And still you call me co-dependent
Somehow you lay the blame on me
And still you call me co-dependent

Somehow you lay the blame on me (3x)

Everything she wants to bring to the public eye is in these lyrics. The first two lines of the song! She doesn't need an education because her man has taught her well. She admits that she's always been the submissive one in the relationship, yet something wants to come out of her. This resolution lies in the bridge of the song: "I've got to make a point these days to extricate myself." She wants to be heard. Inside, she dislikes the fact that others are always trying to control her...to hold her back. This wasn't one of their more popularized songs, yet this is the song that most, if not all, people could relate to at at least some point in their lives. No matter who we are, we always fall under the control of someone else. Someone else will always be holding us back, no matter how powerful we are.

Would it be possible for everyone to live as free and self-serving members of society without interfering with the control of another person's life? Will we all be stuck on medication or is there any way to pull the plug and walk away breathing?

I had to YouTube it because I couldn't find the song on LaLa...hmm....is it that unpopular of a song?

Talent put to good use?

Kseniya is possibly one of the greatest artists (with one of the strangest mediums) of our time. She reveals to us some of the most beautiful scenes from all around the world...all of them ending in warfare, protest, public outrage, or some sort of raucous destruction. It all ends with a 1945 painting of a man leaving his family to go off to war. Her art, constantly in motion, is nothing short of wondrous, but aesthetics aside, could she be conveying a greater message?

By using such scenes, she is revealing to us that we need to reform our values, stop, and think: is war necessary? Look at what it does! In each drawing, what happens to the characters? They are destroyed: killed by something unnatural--things that end our lives in an untimely manner. Gunshots, bomb droppings, and a cacophony of other tremulous sound effects are typically accompanied by the sloshing of sand onto the lit plexiglass, signifying the corruption of beauty by wars and hatred that need not exist. Simonova is simply encouraging that the world, starting with Ukraine (seeing as how she won "Ukraine's Got Talent" with this performance), should develop a more peaceful demeanor. Who needs war anyway? Who wins in a war? Isn't society and family destroyed on opposing fields of a war? Is war not just the intensification of humans' need for competition?

I was told to pick something Ironic....

Ironic - Alanis Morissette

The Origins of My Blog Title...

What Grinds My Gears (post numero uno)

What am I upset about today?

Let's talk Gay Rights and Hate Crimes for a bit: there are a few songs that correlate to at least one of these two topics. For instance, "Language of Violence" by the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and "Where is the Love?" by the Black Eyed Peas both reveal the level of hate and discrimination in this diverse nation (Yeah, that totally rhymed!).

It's difficult to discuss gay rights. Ever since, the Proposition 8 fiasco in California, the topic has dominated political discussion...in California. To me, this news is old and dry. There aren't any other cases in other states in which this topic is prevalent, but it is something that needs to be tackled. I don't believe that gender should determine who one is allowed to love. Some argue that it's unnatural - that it is immoral and goes against religion. Homosexuality goes back to the Ancient Romans and Greeks, though. Women were merely used for reproduction, back in the day, and men were considered to be the only true lovers. Weird stuff, right?

As far as hate crimes are concerned, today commemorates one of the biggest hate crimes in American History: the 9/11 hijackings. So many people's lives were ruined by this event. Could this be considered a hate crime? I believe so. Murder, by any standard is immoral. The "Religiously Inspired" mass murder of a nationality pushes beyond immoral. There was blind, unadulterated hatred behind these bombings. No American--white, black, Hispanic, Asian--was safe on that day. The Afghan and Iraqi communities hated us because of our nationality. I feel that those who lost their lives deserve proper commemoration.

To all those who lost their lives that day, we salute you.
To all those who lost someone they love, we pray for you.
To all those who have grown a familial sense of your country because of this event, thanks for finally getting with the picture.
And to all those still overseas, we want nothing more than for you to be home. Good luck and thank you all.