music philosophy

picture this.

a typical 16-year-old is at a music store, and he has P500 to spend on one cd. of course, he could come back next week with another 500 to spend on another cd. however, the focus is on the now. he would be bragging telling friends about his purchase later on, and of course this typical teenager would be conscious of his purchase, which would be in direct relation to his music tastes, which would be in direct relation to his social standing. (i.e. [bleeding heart] emo = laughingstock. or something like that.)

so what does he buy?

3 out of 5 times (okay, so i just made up that stat but hey) he will buy a cd of a band that the number of people who have heard of them is less than or equal to the fingers on your hands. why? because it looks cool. however, that answer would be too broad, and this is the real answer: you start listening to a band almost no one else knows, you tell people about it, it will generate curiosity, it will become a new trend, and you feel accomplished for having discovered gold.

of course, the average teenager will not realize that. he'll just stick with the answer of "yes, it does make me look cool."

despite that, almost all the time, he will get into the music he chose to listen to, but deep down it's a forced feeling, and almost all the time, when he hears once more the music he gave up, it'll be like a sort of homecoming reunion that he's not gonna drop those songs just yet, before going back to ol' pretentious, nonconforming him.

wait, there's a term for these people. ah, yes. poser. however, i am above such terms, though such people do exist, trust me.

anyway.

be it for the reason that you are trying to look good, or you are into bands no one else knows, or you hate pop, the thing is, nonconformity (at least in music trends, i'm not sure about other trends) is starting to become the new conformity, whether it is intentional or not. i've noted such a trend, and it did emerge passively.

i'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing - well, maybe it is for those who don't like being called conformists - but what it does is create an amusing paradox, that goes like this: if you are a nonconformist, then you would have to be a conformist now - but being a conformist defies the definition of nonconformity.

so what are you?

anyway, there is a corollary (for lack of a better word) to all this, which i'll talk about in the next post. enjoy.

tormented and torn apart

i've never been the type to relentlessly plague my friends with my problems. it's either my pride, respect, or both, but i don't like bothering them with my whining unless it's something deadly serious. in fact, there's only one person so far who i pour everything to, but even then i get all conscious that she might find it all a bit too much.



so far, she hasn't, bless her heart.



this may come back to bite my ass in the future, what with keeping it all inside and such. i don't even know exactly what keeps me sane right now. i mean, i realize that it is my friends who do keep me sane when they talk to me, but what about them ropes me back to sanity?



there is a point in time wherein we think too much for our own good, friends.

if you love someone...

(from this page)

shakespeare:
if you love someone,
set her free.
if she ever comes back, she's yours,
if she doesn't, here's the poison, suicide
yourself for her.

optimist:
if you love someone,
set her free.
don't worry, she will come back.

suspicious:
if you love someone,
set her free.
if she ever comes back, ask her why.

impatient:
if you love someone,
set her free.
if she doesn't comes back within some time forget her.

patient:
if you love someone,
set her free.
if she doesn't come back, continue to wait until she comes back.

insecure:
If you love someone
WHY IN THE FIRST PLACE SET HER FREE???

so, which is it? (more thoughtful version to come soon.)

dream, and they might come true

there is something in some dreams that make us want to stay asleep forever.



you dream of something good that happens to you, something that, theoretically, can happen in real life, but given current circumstances, won't be happening at the moment you wake up or in the very immediate future.



you curse the very moment that you're shaken back to reality, be it because of your traitorous body clock, disrespectful roommate, annoying neighbor, or whatever it was that disrupted your wonderful hibernation.



you desperately try to get back to sleep, carrying the sheer hopes of trying to weave yourself back into that wonderful scenario that was playing out before you were rudely awakened. but, alas, a different plotline presents itself, and you stand there in regret; yes, even in a dream state, your mind can be set to that.



no matter how absurd it may sound to other people, or even to yourself, deep inside your heart, you know it's the reality you want to be in, the reality you'd rather live in. so, you carry on through your day wishing that what happened inside your subconscious really happened, wishing that you can get back to that perfect sequence, feeling that same emotion that got your heartbeat racing even while asleep.



it may seem all wishful thinking, but man is allowed to wish and hope, no matter how foolish or naive it is - because deep in your heart, you know you're right.