There is, however, one singer/songwriter that really inspires me with her talent. I don't suppose I have a "favorite", but if I had to choose one, it would be Missy Higgins.
I just wanted to blog about her because she really does uplift me, no matter what mood I'm in.
I am really weird about music, I think. I enjoy any sound, but if the lyrics SUCK, I cannot enjoy the song. I am so honed in on details that I am distracted by whatever the artist is singing about, rather than the sound. So, I think most people enjoy songs with shitty lyrics. They don't care what the person is singing about, so long as it sounds "cool" or whatever. Most songwriting has gone to shit in my opinion, but there are a few brilliant little stars that still shine brightly. This is one reason I enjoy international music that is not in English. If I cannot understand what the hell the artist is singing about, I can therefore enjoy just the sheer sound of the song and the voice that is singing. I even enjoy pop music in other languages, but I am sure that if I understood the lyrics, I would not like it. It makes perfect sense to me, but I know I am pretty much a loner in my views. It's all due to my attention to details that distract me from enjoying most songs. The stuff that plays on the radio these days is simply horrible.
Anyhow, back to Missy Higgins. She was recommended to me by someone in a chat channel once by an Australian chatter (wish I could thank her, I don't even remember the poor girl's name) and she is just....gah, I love her music. She has a very, VERY thick Australian accent in her songs, though, so she isn't popular here in the states. She is an acoustic guitar and piano player who writes brilliant lyrics and has a beautifully strong voice - in my opinion, of course. I think some would say she sounds like a folk singer, and I think she does in some songs. She has a deep sense of soul in other songs, almost bordering on funk in some places with her catchy acoustic rhythms and soulful voice. Most people scrunch up their faces upon hearing her voice though, due to her unavoidable Aussie accent. I find the accent cute though, it's very...Missy.
So her talent is brilliant, but her LYRICS are just as grand!
One song that inspires me like crazy is called Steer.
The video is awesome and explains the song further. Imagine this scenario:
A woman is shown in the video, very ordinary looking (woman is played by Missy) and she is taking off a cast from her arm. She has obviously been injured. She just shrugs it off and gets on the bus to go to her 9-5 job. Another plain, ordinary day at work as she takes her place among the crowds. She puts up her lunch pale into her locker which sports her name, and gets into her rather dull uniform - a one piece, mechanic's jumpsuit - before getting into the driver's side of a car. She drives the car, in front of scientific analyzers and on lookers, straight into a wall and purposefully crashes it. They analyze the results of the car and check her vital signs after the crash, etc. This is apparently her job, her place in society... in other words, she is a living, human crash test dummy.
She goes home and eats her cereal in bed alone in her tiny apartment. It's apparent she lives a very plain life robbed of any excitement as she gets up the next day, rides the bus and lets the process repeat of crashing cars and being used, manipulated and analyzed.
One day though, she is at her job and about to crash into another wall when suddenly, she sharply turns the wheel and takes off on her own, out of the test site with her destination unknown. She takes off that dingy uniform and smiles for the first time. She is now flying free and has no apparent destination in mind as she drives the car to wherever. At the end of the video, she drives to a random spot in the middle of nowhere before getting out of the car, leaning against it and smiling at the sunset. She apparently learned how to "steer" and choose her own path in the video.
I think it's a beautiful, wonderful message. Everyone can interpret it differently, but it does have a universal message in mind: freedom. Are we not the makers of our own destinies? Well, I do believe we are. I don't believe life just happens to you, you must happen to life. We are truly the ones who steer our own paths.
Feel it falling off like clothing
Taste it rolling on your tongue
See the lights above you glowing
Oh and breathe them deep into your lungs
It was always simple
Not hidden hard
You've been pulling at the strings
Playing puppet to the kings
And you've had enough
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
So hold this feeling like a newborn
All the freedom surging through your veins
You have opened up a new door
So bring on the wind, fire and rain
It was always simple
Not hidden hard
You'd been played at a game
Called remembering your name
And you stuffed it up
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
And now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
Cause you've been searching for answers
But the city screams and all your dreams go unheard
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
Oh
Taste it rolling on your tongue
See the lights above you glowing
Oh and breathe them deep into your lungs
It was always simple
Not hidden hard
You've been pulling at the strings
Playing puppet to the kings
And you've had enough
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
So hold this feeling like a newborn
All the freedom surging through your veins
You have opened up a new door
So bring on the wind, fire and rain
It was always simple
Not hidden hard
You'd been played at a game
Called remembering your name
And you stuffed it up
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
And now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
Cause you've been searching for answers
But the city screams and all your dreams go unheard
But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know
That you control where you go
You can steer
Oh
You get out of the box
And step into the clear
Oh
Cause now you finally know you can
Steer
I think THOSE are some of the best lyrics, aside from hymns.
YES I LIKE HYMNS! I'll blog about them some other day!
*crosses arms*
I think hymns contain some of the most beautiful stuff ever written, and NO I'm not a Bible thumping religious nut! I really think "Come Thou Fount" has some of the most brilliant, beautiful lyrics ever!
Anyhow... I wanted to share.
I'll probably make a seperate blog for all the lyrics that I love and would like to share with the world.
*whistles*
Now you finally know you control where you go, you can steer....
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