Hyperbole.

I just finished watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was beautiful. (And not just because of Kirsten Dunst, although that helps.) At the end, the two meet again and realize that they know what will happen. They know all the things they will come to feel toward one another. They know they’re star-crossed, because it’s already happened. But what does it matter? It’s what they want, what they need. They live it over again.

I agree with that philosophy. I believe the process justifies the end. If the interim period is bliss, then it was worth it even if it all burns away in the end. We do what we need. It’s life, and it makes getting through better. And there are the memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world…I can think of far too many of them right now. The end not being some stereotypical “success” doesn’t scare me.

What scares me is that in the movie, there’s always another chance. And in life, the cycle runs out.

Why I Hate Twilight

This post is a departure for me. It’s an “essay” — I use the term loosely — not a set of lyrics. It’s a review of a book I haven’t finished (I’m just now at the part where Bella finds out Edward is — *spoiler alert* — a vampire; I doubt I’ll ever finish it) and a movie I haven’t seen. It’s choppy, opinionated, profane, pissed-off and personal, as opposed to…I guess, “objective reviews.” But hey, it’s that kind of night, and I want to get something off my chest I talked about with Carson last night.

I really hate Twilight.

I think it’s pretty nearly accurate to say that the Twilight series (is that what it’s properly called?) is currently the biggest entertainment powerhouse in America. The movie that opened yesterday (I think) will probably gross hundreds of millions of dollars this weekend alone. The books have sold twenty million copies in the states. I haven’t boarded an airplane in three months without seeing someone carrying one of the books. And that’s like four airplanes. So yeah. In case you’ve been living under a very large rock, this proves it: Twilight is huge.

It’s also a piss-poor book, from what I’ve seen. The characters, outside of the two you’ve heard of and maybe two or three others, are all totally disposable. The narrator dismisses them offhand and attributes to them a range of emotions and behavior patterns that doesn’t quite measure up to the mature autonomy of most cattle. Her friends and parents are all total wastes of type.

And this is how we know the Internet was a bad idea.

Hey. So you may have read some of the lyrics I periodically post. If so, I’m incredibly grateful. Well, I’ve finally sort of recorded one of the songs I’ve written. And I uploaded it for the world to hear. (Sort of. That’s a bit hyperbolic.)

So here’s the disclaimer: it’s not really that good. I’m not an especially great singer (although apart from the two times my voice cracks and the few notes that are rather out of my range, it actually sounds relatively decent), I mess up the lyrics a few times, and the recording is hardly professional. A friend and I recorded it in half an hour essentially. One vocal take, one (mediocre) acoustic guitar take, a GarageBand shaker, and a couple measures of lead guitar mixed in a couple times. See, kids! Anyone can be a rock star!

That said, I’d feel really happy if you listened. I think it’s a relatively solid song (though maybe not in this ghetto acoustic demo form). It’s slightly sophomoric, but not that much compared to most of the crap about breakups that comes out these days. And it’s pretty catchy…can’t be modest on that count.

This song is called “Beechwood and Dragon Heartstrings.” Lyrics and explanation are on the blog; listen on PureVolume.com. Feedback, whether positive, negative, or totally disgusted, is appreciated.

Thanks for being awesome, friends. And thanks to Stephen Six.

The “Best of Anberlin” Mix

I picked up Anberlin’s fourth (not counting Lost Songs) effort, New Surrender, today, and I’m rather a fan. In honor of this, I thought I’d give the tracklist for my “Best of Anberlin” mix, which is comprised of the best Anberlin songs I could fit onto one disc. I don’t own Lost Songs, so nothing from there on here. I’ve become a pretty big fan of this band in the past month.

Best of Anberlin
1. Audrey, Start the Revolution!
2. Readyfuels
3. Feel Good Drag [New Surrender Version]
4. Change the World (Lost Ones)
5. Godspeed
6. Time & Confusion
7. Dismantle.Repair.
8. Retrace
9. The Undeveloped Story
10. Soft Skeletons
11. Adelaide
12. Burn Out Brighter (Northern Lights)
13. Stationary Stationery
14. A Whisper & A Clamor
15. Glass to the Arson
16. Haight St.
17. Hello Alone
18. Reclusion
19. Disappear
20. Paperthin Hymn
21. (*Fin)

Amohalko – Spark

Artist: Amohalko
Album: Spark
Free Download: IVM
Review reprinted from Indie Vision Music.

It was the first week of January, the perfect time for frantically exchanging late Christmas presents. The two of us were isolated in some part of a labyrinthine church basement. There wasn’t a whole lot to say. He gave me some CDs, and I thanked him. Then, slightly reluctantly, he passed me a final CD — more accurately, a CD-R. There was nothing written on it. A tracklist was paper-clipped to the back. Scrawled above the list was the inscription “Amohalko – Fallowfield.”

“Excuse the ghetto packaging,” Carson Sestili remarked.