Waking up on Sunday is usually slow. The thought of school tomorrow, the assignments due, and the thoughts resurfacing from the night before are all factors that make me want to lie in bed another hour.
The only thing different this Sunday was a mid-morning tee time with Archer and Ray. Golfing is an escape from reality. The complex thoughts and pits of feelings vanish. In the moment, the only thing you can think about is getting the ball from the tee to the hole.
Between shots, the sounds of music and laughing with friends fill every corner of my mind. Playing in the summer heat with a cold drink puts me on vacation, even if it were only for a couple of hours.
At the end of golf, we got lunch. The feelings of life and reality began to set back in. I got changed, went to work, and finished the day in the gym. I went to bed, my head full of thoughts, waiting for Monday.
The title of the blog is necessarily what this post is about. Even since the begging of time, music has been an influential part of societies, drawing people together and even bringing them apart, depending on how close minded the society was. Music and the tone of specific songs could influence a persons mood, add tone to a scene of a movie or a show, and tell stories. One could listen to the lyrics of a song and be so influenced they themselves write a song or a novel or, well, anything.
There’s different genres of music/artists that really stand out to me, consisting of the band’s motives and why they made a band. One example of music that really moves me is punk. Ska-Punk, personally is my favorite, with Choking Victim and Less than Jake being two entirely different sounding bands with different imagery being in the same genre.
Choking Victim, a ska-punk band that was formed in New York City, known for their politically charged lyrics and innovative way their music is played. Right after they recorded their first full-length LP, No Gods, No Managers in 1999, the band broke up, but still had enough recordings to make an album. With punk rock coming from English bands such as The Ramones in the 1970’s, there has been several different genres of punk to come with it, but Ska-Punk was mostly prominent from 1996 to 2000.
Less than Jake, on the other hand, is also Ska-Punk. Despite their horn driven rhythm and higher beat, they do still classify as a ska-punk band. Why? Because of social commentary and political comments. Less than Jake is a band from Gainesville, Florida, recording a whopping 36 albums.
Choking victim has more political commentary, such as the song Money. The song describes God giving money to the rich and to the government, but also giving it to the dead, with the lyrics of, “‘Cause after you have money, things are never quite the same.” And, “The money fueled this empire and our racist history. Although I’m forced to use it, the rules have all been set. But life is not worth living when your soul is in debt.” While Plastic Cup Politics talks about drinking, and discussing things (such as politics, henceforth the name) under the influence, which they may have not talked about whilst sober.
These songs both talk about things that a lot of people don’t want to talk about, but that’s the beauty of music: talking about things that nobody wants to talk about in a little song. Regardless of the genre of one’s band, they can discuss current events and people’s lives.
Choking Victim’s Squatta’s Paradise E.P. and Less Than Jake’s Hello Rockview
I’ve never really been a fan of camping, even when I was little. If I was told I was going camping with family or friends, I would dread it until the day came. When I was little I enjoyed shopping, and being in Los Angeles. I usually ate at good places, and I always went to see a movie at the Grove. I never grew up with the aspect of camping. I don’t think it’s the actual idea of camping; a big part of it is hiking. That makes me sound like I’m not an active person, but I am; it’s just hiking. The feeling of being drenched in sweat with no water left. To walking up a mountain steeper than my wall just to see a pretty view, is something I would never want to willingly do. I will never understand the people who wake up and choose to go on a hike in a hundred degree weather.
My school has required camping trips twice a year, and some aren’t so bad while others are really challenging. Backpacking in the Sespe mountains and waking up to having to hike was horrible. We had little food and we had to filter our own water from creeks we found on the way. It was one of the hardest, most traumatizing things I have ever done. It was the first day of the backpacking trip and we were told we were only hiking four miles. We ended up hiking 12. Although camping does make me more grateful for the little things. Like sleeping in my own bed, having running water, showering, good food, and civilization. But waking up in the morning at 5 am trying to hold back tears before going isn’t the best experience. If I wasn’t forced to camp, I would never do it again.
This year has been really sad for me because my person went to a different school. I still talk to her everyday and see her on weekends and even two times this school week, but I feel like I’m missing my other half. I remember my first day of school with her freshman year, looking around at my classmates confused. The second I laid my eyes on her I knew that we would click instantly. She walked up to me and instead of saying a kind greeting like “nice to meet you” she said “you look like the only normal person here.” That really summarizes her character. As we walked together she told me that she was going to wear the exact outfit I wore that day and I felt like that was an even bigger sign that we were so similar. Ever since that day, my relationship with her grew into something more powerful than a friendship, but a sisterhood. I feel like we can be really confusing and misread by most people, but I really don’t care because we understand each other. We don’t need to waste time explaining why we feel or acted in a certain way because we just get it. Sometimes I feel like we are telepathic. I have never had to think before saying something to her because we are both very direct with each other. Not all friendships are able to have this and some people would argue that we are bad influences on each other, but no one has made me grow more than she has because of her honesty. We don’t spend time with each other just to do interesting things or talk; her presence even in silence scrolling on our phones, brings me a sense of security and happiness that nothing else can compare to. I feel weird being here without her by my side. This past week I have caught myself dosing off the entire day just thinking about how much better life would be if she was here with me. I know that no one can replace her, so I will just finish the year with only a half of me.
OVS Journalism Blog 