Meshing the old and the new is something that has always required careful tiptoeing. Ask politicians in favor of gay marriage. Or Shepard Fairey. Often it is hard to bring old ideas and new ideas together without there being tension. Yet, when I listen to Xaphoon Jones’ The Jackson Pit I can’t help but be filled with hope that there may actually be a delicate way to make the new work with the old.
“Tell me that you’re alright right, yeah everything is alright,” are the first words you hear after a little banging on some drums in Motion City Soundtrack’s Everything Is Alright. I imagine Justin Pierre, lead singer and guitarist, pulling at his hair, screaming at a cellphone while waiting for a responding text message confirming that the recipient is still alive, ok, and in good health.
“When I see stars that’s all they are, when I hear songs they sound like swans,” is how Nate Ruess settles down his lion-king-esq, percussion driven Some Nights. Could there be better words to begin this new chapter in my blog, or a better song to jump-start a Peace Corps Playlist ?
It has been months since I last updated this, and with the months a lot has come and gone. Things have happened. Some worth updating you about, but most of which is not. And that’s why I’m seeking a new direction for this blog.
I love music. Music got me through my adolescents alive when acne had other plans. When I think of certain important moments in my life, a song is normally paired with it. Never Saw Blue Like That Before – Mini Town. D.A.N.C.E – Young Democrats. I can’t help but feel like a playlist of significant meaning is being made before my eyes and I’ve hardly taken the time to organize it. Until now. ::Queue dramatic music::
I have at least six more months of my Peace Crops service, and in six months a lot can happen. A lot of changes can be made. A lot of learning’s can be had. And a lot of music can be heard. The remainder of this blog will be dedicated to combining all three. Music will be introduced as a tool that either helped me through a struggle, or a picture that accurately express feelings, events, and learning’s. By the end of my service, I hope to have officially organized a playlist of significant meaning and to share it with you.
Keep your eyes posted, and your ears open. I’m excited for this new direction. A playlist to remind myself why I am here, and to express moments that exemplify why I am here. My why List.
Of all the words I have learned in Cebuano, there are a handful I hear on a daily basis. ‘Utan’ which means vegetable, being one of them. If you’re thinking I hear it often because vegetables are the prime source of food, you are wrong. Fried fish and rice are more common. I hear it often because vegetables are normally the only thing I put on my plate during lunch, and my Filipino counterparts find it funny that utan sounds very similar to utin which means penis. Any excuse to talk innocently about sex! so funny.
"I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here...
rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness...
give me truth" - Into the Wild
