Well, Honey, Now You're "Everybody's Fool"

Hey Everyone

     So another one of my favorite bands is Evanescence. I grew up listening to them and I have always loved them. Evanescence is an American rock band (also referred to as gothic rock or, as they say, "epic, dramatic, dark rock") that started in 1995. They've had three full length albums and another DVD/CD combination. They have released 11 singles since they made it big in 2002.
     This song, "Everybody's Fool" has always been one of my favorites. It's from their first big album, "Fallen" and was released on June 7, 2004 as a single. Amy has said that this song was inspired by her little sister's love of pop music idols such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She has said regarding its inspiration:

"My little sister was really getting into these, I don't want to offend anyone, but like really fake, cheesy, slutty female cracker-box idols, and it really pissed me off. She started dressing like them and she was like 8 years old. So I gave her the talk and I wrote a song." She later revealed that the song was written for American pop singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera adding, "At this point, everybody knows that Britney is fake. The song is not about Britney Spears; it's about a lot of people in this industry. It's so fake, the whole Hollywood thing. 'Look at how perfect I am!' Nobody looks like that. It's all fake and it's really hurting a lot of girls' and women's self images. Where are all the normal people?"

I think Amy tries really hard to just be herself and considers herself one of the "normal people". I mean, I don't ever hear about her in the tabloids.
 

     So now the song. And the lyrics here. They're some really bold lyrics. And they're some really true lyrics. Most of what we see in magazines and on the internet is FAKE. Even the photos of stars "without makeup" are airbrushed and photoshopped to no end. Women all over this country and all over the world are looking to these false idols and comparing themselves needlessly. "Oh I need to dye my hair to match Jennifer Aniston" "Oh I wish I looked more like Scarlett Johannson." Well the images that we have of these women are fake. And yet we think badly of ourselves for not looking like perfect little dressed up barbie dolls that are still in their packages. Well Amy Lee is right. NOBODY looks like that. So why hold ourselves to a false standard? Why wish to be anything but who you are? Beautiful should be whatever you personally think it should be. And you should be your own kind of beautiful. These stars that we idolize so much, just like Amy says, have everyone fooled. There are some good ones out there, I believe. But most of these "perfect women" never were and never will be. There is no perfect woman. So stop comparing yourself to some girl you see on T.V. with the perfect body and perfect hair. She doesn't exist.

I think that one of Amy's most successful ways of getting this song and this message out there is through the music video for this song. Wikipedia describes it perfectly:

 Before the music begins, Lee appears with blond hair, a baby-blue blouse and a long white skirt and emerges from the kitchen holding a fresh-from-the-oven frozen pizza, in a TV commercial. She presents the pizza to her family and, as the camera zooms in for a close-up, the brand name on the pizza box is visible and it is called Lies. "There is nothing better than a good lie," Lee says cheerily, through a smile.Scenes of Lee in her hotel room follow as she removes her makeup. Those scenes are followed by Lee wearing a "luxurious auburn tresses and dangling diamond earrings" as she plays a glamorous spokesmodel who violently scribbles and scratches out her picture in magazines after the photo shoot has finished. She also portrays a motorcycle girl in a commercial who drinks a soft drink called "Lies" that affords its drinker the opportunity to "Be somebody." In a Japanese commercial, she plays a Barbie-like doll with pink hair. Each scene ends with Lee crying. During the bridge, two girls are seen laughing at the model's appearance, stating that she looks much older than they thought she was. Next scene, she is shown in a bathtub singing the song to herself. Another segment shows her breaking a mirror with her bare hand, which starts to bleed uncontrollably. In the final scene, she stands on the balcony of a building, crying and screaming at a billboard featuring one of her advertisements, saying that the model side of her isn't "real and you can't save me", and that the public is oblivious to how she really lives.

You can have the beautiful, glamorous lifestyle. But most of the time, it won't fulfill you. There is always some sort of misery behind the scenes that no one knows. Because when you aren't yourself, you start to lose your sense of self. And then you don't know anything. You don't know who you are anymore or what you want.
     So I guess the message here is to love and be yourself always and not to believe the lies that Hollywood wants us to. You are beautiful because you are uniquely you.
Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl

Hey, "If You Can't Hang", Then There's The Door...

Hey Everybody,

     So, I don't know if you all know this, but I am NOT just a fan of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry and Avril Lavigne. In fact, there's a whole other side to my music tastes that I thought I should start to bring out. So I'm doing a song by one of my favorite bands, Sleeping With Sirens!
     Sleeping With Sirens is an American post-hardcore band. They were formed in 2009 and have released two full length albums and an all-acoustic EP as well as 11 singles. Their third studio album, "Feel" is going to be released on June 4 of this year. In fact, they're going to Warped Tour this year in support of this new album. I'm so excited!
     Okay, lyric analysis here we come! Click here for the lyrics. So this song, like all songs, tells a story. He talks about when he was seventeen and when his first love came along. He thought they would grow up and get married. That's the first mistake. I mean, yes, there are the rare few who meet in high school and stay together. But they are the extremely rare few. There is life outside of high school, people. And you'll most likely meet the elusive "one" out there. Not in your math class. Another thing about people in high school is that they do stupid things. One of those stupid things that they do is cheat. They know that relationships in high school don't last forever so once they have feelings for someone else they usually just go for it. And they usually break up after the fact. So here, Kellin is letting out some anger. And he's probably right about what will happen to this girl. Usually the cheaters get cheated on or just hurt in general. I like to think of this as a little bit of karma.

Basically what Kellin is saying next is that if she doesn't want to be with him that's just fine because he doesn't want to be with someone that doesn't want to be with him. Then he talks about her and how she uses her looks to get guys but no matter how "pretty" she is, she is a "pretty big waste of time". She isn't faithful and she doesn't care about him so why should he care about her? And for a while, yes it hurt him. But eventually he got over it and met someone else who did want to be with him and did care about him and treated him as well as he treated her. So then instead of saying what a "waste of time" she was he just got to call her pretty. And who knows where the other girl ended up? And truthfully, who cares? When you hurt people you always get hurt back. And eventually nobody wants to be around you. And where you end up is alone.

So basically all of the message was imbedded in the lyric analysis. Hope you guys got it all and I hope you can see this song's amazingness and love it as much as I do!

Love to All,
-Autumn the Music Girl

There Is Nothing I Do "Better Than Revenge"

Hey Everybody,

     So I have been listening to this song a lot and those of you who know me and what's going on in my personal life will understand why, I'm sure. This is a Taylor Swift song but not one off of the "Red" album. It's from the album before- "Speak Now".
     This song's inspiration was relatively easy to find. This song was written at the time that Taylor was dating Joe Jonas. He claims he didn't cheat on anyone. But Joe dumped her after he met Camilla Belle/ There are lines which could indicate this, such as: "She's an actress/ She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress".
     So the basic story of this song is that Taylor was either dating a guy or really liked him and this other girl got him alone and took that from her. As any girl would be, she's pissed off! She wants revenge. She makes all sorts of digs at this girl. You can see the lyrics here to see what I'm talking about. Personally I don't think the actress line is meant to be taken literally. I think she's trying to say that this girl isn't what she appears. She puts on a mask. She is whatever she has to be to get what she wants. But Taylor isn't about to let that get in her way. Part of this song is trying to get a message out to the girl that if she keeps acting this way, she isn't going to have many friends. More than just Taylor here will think badly of her. But this girl also has to know now that she has an enemy- and one bent on taking revenge on someone who stole from her.

     Honestly I am not the biggest fan of revenge. It doesn't truly solve anything. But I think Taylor's other messages to this girl are very important. People are going to hate her if she keeps doing what she's doing. And she'll make enemies. She'll have to take off her mask eventually and find out who she really is. She'll just have a harder life. She'll say she wants to change, say she wants to start over, be friends. And then she'll go right behind your back and keep on doing the same old things. Girls- we are VICIOUS to each other. We always have been. Some are worse than others. There are some girls out there who don't care who they have to hurt to get what they want. Be careful with who you trust. And truthfully, don't be afraid to get mad.
But hey. If he's been telling you that he LOVES YOU... At least you're not the other girl.

Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl

I Dare You to Let Me Be Your "One and Only"

Hey Everyone

     So, as you can see, I'm taking a break from Taylor for a minute because this song has really been speaking to me. I'm actually a pretty big Adele fan. I love the gritty quality of her voice and I think her style is really something special. I don't think many people sound anything like Adele. This song is off of her most famous album, "21".  It's not very famous but it's a really wonderful song.
     This song has a really nice feel to it. It feels just kind of smooth and melodic and yet with Adele's voice behind it it feels like it has power to it.
     So, now let's start with the lyrics. Find them here, as usual. So this song starts with Adele talking about how she's fallen for this guy. She can't stop thinking about him and it feels to her like every day she grows closer to him and her feelings get stronger. At first she doubted in herself or in him or in their love. But then she realized that the only person she wants to be with is this guy. And she's nervous about letting herself fall again and she's nervous that he won't let himself either. But she tells him that he needs to just let go of the past and trust in himself enough to love again. And the next part, the chorus is kind of cute and playful. She's daring him to be with her. Daring him to let her prove her love, even. She wants to prove to him that she is worthy of being his one and only. The next verse is talking about how she thinks he feels. She thinks he feels the same way about her that she does about him. She wants him to tell her she's right though. She wants him to tell her that he loves her and that he wants to be with her. I guess she just wants to know his true feelings rather than just guessing at them. And throughout the rest of the song she repeats the message in the chorus and then goes on to say that she knows it isn't easy to just give up your heart. And she's right. It isn't easy. But it is worth it. To let yourself fall is a difficult thing to do when you've put up defenses around your heart to prevent from getting hurt. But if you care about someone else enough then take down those defenses because you might lose them otherwise.

It's really important to let the ones you love know how you feel about them- otherwise they have doubts. And doubts are scary. Plain and simple. But another really strong message in this song is letting go of the past and moving on. Your heart will never heal unless you let it. If you keep holding onto past relationships, past mistakes, past anything, your heart won't have a chance to heal and you'll just be wallowing in pain. So you have to let go a little and let someone love you- let someone help you heal. But also, love yourself. Because you can't really love someone until you learn to love yourself. And that also takes that step of letting go of the past. If you keep blaming yourself and hating yourself you will never be happy with who you are. As Adele says in the song, nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes. But you have to forgive yourself for them or you'll just be miserable.

Love yourself and love those who wish to love you... and let go of your past.

Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl

"Red" Series: I Watched it "Begin Again"

Hey Everyone

     So I've decided to just not go in order anymore when it comes to this series. This song is one that I've been relating to lately. It's the last song on the album and has some of Taylor's country roots in it, which ends the album nicely. This song is "Begin Again".
     Interestingly, this song was released as the second single from the album but it never really got popular and was quickly overshadowed by the next single that was released: "I Knew You Were Trouble".
     The background for this song has been described by Taylor as such:

"(It's)about when you've gotten through a really bad relationship and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible breakup, and the vulnerability that goes along with all that"

So let's go through the lyrics! You can find them here. As with almost all songs, it tells a story and you can really picture it. Standing in front of the mirror, nervous as ever for your first date after a breakup and all you can think about is what your ex would be thinking or saying. You expect the worst but this guy looks good at first. He's there early and waiting for you and he pulls out your chair like a true gentleman. After some time you start to notice little things you really like about this guy versus the other one. You love the way he laughs and you realize that he thinks your funny when your ex didn't. And then there are the most important lines in this song. This song's true message is that love will always begin again. You can spend forever even shutting love out (or trying to) when you're heartbroken. But love will come knocking at your door and you have to open it up eventually and let love back in. That is what this song is saying. Don't give up on love. It always comes back. And most times it will be better than the last time you let it in. If it ends, it'll begin again eventually. Love is kind of a cycle. And it will be until you find the one person who won't ever cause the love to end. And you will find that person. But until then, learn to let love begin again. It takes time and it takes a leap of faith but it is worth it. Some people will say "well if you get hurt then how is it worth it?" Well I have a news flash. LOVE is not what hurts.

So I say LOVE is worth it. And love does end and the end hurts. But love is a learning experience. You learn what you want, what you need, and what you don't. And it will always begin again. You just have to make the decision to let it. Because eventually, as Taylor says in the song, the past will just be the past and you can focus on your present and future.
     I watched it begin again. Maybe it's time you do the same.Love could be knocking on your door, just around the corner, or even waiting for you "on a Wednesday in a cafe".
Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl

"Red" Series: Don't You See the "Starlight"?

Hey Everyone,

     So, if you have looked at the track listing for "Red", you'd know that I'm skipping around a little bit but this particular song just speaks to me with my school's prom coming up this Friday. This song, "Starlight" is one of my favorites on this album (but then, aren't they all?). It's got a sort of retro yet pop of today feel to it and it's a really cute concept for a song and the story inside it is great.
     Most people think that the inspiration for this song was the Kennedy family because of Taylor's recent relationship with Conor Kennedy. But this is not true, as the song was written before she actually met the Kennedy family.
     Okay, so you can find the lyrics here. It was actually difficult to find accurate lyrics for this song. I have the album itself and the official lyrics. Most online lyrics have the line "never would forget how we moved" when the actual pronoun is supposed to be "he". So imagine yourself back in the forties. It's summer and you're "17 and crazy, running wild wild". You meet a boy on the boardwalk and he's different from all the other boys. He makes you feel alive. You sneak out with him that night to some yacht club party with a ridiculous plan to pretend to be a duchess and a prince and it works! Then you're dancing and everything feels magical. It's a night you know in your heart you will never forget. Every moment, every detail is so vivid that it seems it will stand out in your mind forever. So mystical that it seemed everything was made of "starlight".  Then we flash forward into the future.

     You're hanging out with him again. Maybe he's officially your boyfriend now and you're at the beach. Maybe something's got you down.So he tries to cheer you up with this advice: why worry about the things you can't change? So then to bring up the mood, he talks of dreams. He talks of the impossible. And after that. that is what they become. Dreamers. She talks of another time when they're dancing and he talks of getting married and having kids and sharing their dreams with their kids. Teaching their kids to dream and follow their dreams.
     I think this song ends with a beautiful line: "Don't you dream impossible things?" I think we all do. Even those of us who are serious or say that daydreaming is ridiculous or a waste of time. We all have impossible dreams or hopes or fantasies. I think as a society, we need to dream a little more. Everyone is so caught up with reality all the time. Yes, reality is something everyone has to face and accept. But just because something seems impossible doesn't mean it is. It doesn't mean you can't make it happen. Not only that, but dreaming feeds the imagination and I think we all need to let our imaginations run wild a little more often. When was the last time that you just sat and daydreamed; let your mind wander. It's such a freeing and beautiful experience. To just dream. And I think in this world, people have stopped believing in dreams. People tell you that you're "not good enough". Don't ever let anyone tell you that. You are. You're special in your own special ways and if you really believe in your dreams you can make them happen.

Believe in your impossible dreams...

And dance like you're made of starlight. Because you are on the inside. We are all made of our own special starlight.
Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl