Confessions of a Teenage Cliché

Although it is not exactly my cup of tea, I will listen to the radio when I am in the car.  I was driving to Becca’s house and while listening to kiss108 and I started to really question some of the recent hits.

There is a real stress on repetition… now I acknowledge that repetition is a legit poetic device…  But these songs are just redundant.

“Shots” by LMFAO says ‘shots’ sixteen times in a row at least four times in a three minute song…. That is just going overboard.

There is also “I’m only gonna break break break break break your heart, I’m only gonna break break break break break your heaaart.”  By Taio Cruz.

And Leave it to Bieber: “And now I’m like, Baby, baby, baby noo, I’m like, Baby, baby, baby noo, I’m like Baby, baby, baby noo, I thought you’d always be mine (mine)” X2  There are only words in the chorus that are not single syllable words, and once again with the repetition.

And the most ridiculous to me… first off the song is called “OMG” by Usher, secondly it not only has excessive repetition but the word that is being repeated is “oh” the chorus being: “It make me want to say oh, oh , oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohh my gosh, it make me want to say oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh” The worst part is they get stuck in your head SO easily when it’s just the same word over and over again!

But the last song I find completely ridiculous is not for reasons of repetition.  I thought it was bad when ‘do your ears hang low’ became ‘do yah chain hang lo’ but they have managed to incorporate “enie menie miney mo” into a three minute song.  Personally, I find it so sad that that is what our generation has come to… some generations will be remember for “strawberry fields forever”, and we will be remembered for “shawty is enie meeniey miney mo lovahhh.”

Thank god we have Gaga.

This is an orginal poem writen for Honors BritLit by Olivia Fraser and Emma Soucy…. enjoy!

Rubix Cube Shrewd Poker Face

The voice of the radio wave:

A sound that I have come to crave.

Sultry tones and harmonies

She reaches notes with flowing ease.

Alejandro wants her Bad Romance;

The Paparazzi don’t stand a chance.

Her lyrics tell of tales complex

Like Rubix cube they can perplex.

She twist her hips, the colors change.

The possibilites: an endless range.

True meaning veiled by mask of lace

Like Rubix cube’s shrewd Poker Face.

But once you’ve learned the twist and turns,

Her nuance’s charades have been adjourned.

Her Love Game inspires awe in me

They should sing her songs on Glee!

When I turn 18 (in a year and some 23 days)

I want this:

So you and your lover are looking to spice up your relationship when you can’t be together in the flesh… but you so totally don’t want to be the next Vanessa Hudgens, right?  Well, clearly Apple sympathizes with your plight because they created the new “Safe Sexting” app on the iPhone.  I mean… who am I to judge?  This could basically become the condom of virtual sex.  But it seems to me that Apple is real big on creating apps that promote recklessness, laziness, and discourtesy (that’s a reference to the “Type n Walk” app , and the “Fake Calls”app).  I am not even saying that’s a bad thing, I mean sure these technical genius could be looking for something a bit more important like a crash proof safety car or household medical engineering that could improve the lifestyle of the elderly, but on the other hand, maybe it is refreshing to see society accepting the fact that people send naked pictures, go to great lengths to avoid awkward conversations, and text while walking and unfortunately driving (I hope Skehan never sees this or he would fail me on the spot for such talk).  All in all, I think the iPhone’s newest apps are ridiculous… whether or not I accept this preposterousness, I can’t say for sure at this time.

My fear of the dark is so strange.  I am scared of the dark outside in general.  Like that makes sense and all.  Then I am scared of my room when it’s dark, but not always.  If I am wearing shoes or my feet are under the covers then I am okay.  So I am afraid of my feet in the dark??  I don’t get it.  Fear is so strange… speaking of fear I really want to see Paranormal Activity, but I don’t know if I can handle it, but I love good scary movies… good as in not stupid (i.e. One Missed Call, My Bloody Valentine etc) but I am still kind of a wimp when it comes to spirit-haunting-ghost-kind of stuff… I don’t know.  I feel like Hamlet with all this inner conflict (finished that in English today, I feel so accomplished!).

A few months ago, my mom refused to go to her highschool reunion.  I hate highschool myself, but if there is one thing I would look forward to, it is the reunion years and years later.  You get the chance to see who grew up, who refused to, who got fat, who ended up with a mansion and trophy wife, and who amounted to be a trophy wife.  Depending how you look at it highschool is either the furthest things from, or the epitome of the ‘real world’.  Most of our highschool life is subconsciously devoted to competing and judging.  On another note, there is also the cliché of being a horrible misunderstood highschool student.  Well, when our world depends on word of mouth (or word of text for that matter) it is impossible to avoid being misunderstood.  Why else does everyone get blogs!? So for once we can publically renounce ourselves in our own words instead of through ten other people.  Future freshman night, remember that?  They basically said “it will all be okay, you will make new friends and love highschool, IF AND ONLY IF, you don’t do drugs, here are some words of wisdom…”  In reality no one took most of what they said seriously.  What they should have done is had the entire incoming freshman class sit in a circle and play a game of telephone and inform us “this will be a constant occurrence for the next four years.”   At the end of the day how much do we really know about each other?  I was watching Oprah and the best story came on about a destined for success, football superstar, valedictorian guy. http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Filmmaker-Kimberly-Reeds-Transgender-Transition .  To put it in perspective imagine 20 years from now hearing that Jimmy Queeny is now a proud lesbian.  Oprah even showed footage of her (him?) going to his (her?) highschool reunion.  Mark is constantly yelling at people for misusing the phrase “that’s ironic”… well, I may be going out on a limb here… bit I am pretty sure that that the majority of the attendees of that highschool reunion very accurately used the phrase “that’s ironic.”  And if that doesn’t make you take highschool a little less seriously, what else does?

How can there be hundreds of different versions of the same thing?  The idea of Fate, for example, has been reinterpreted in various religious, spiritual, and romantic manners.  I don’t think I buy it.  I have a lot of trouble thinking about whether or not there is something greater than us controlling or effecting things.  I know that I do not believe in pre-destination, or the general idea that we don’t really have control of our lives; it is really already mapped out for us.  But the idea that everything happens for a reason, I don’t know if I believe in it or if I just want to believe in it in order to make hard situations seem more worth it in the long run.  But today I read something at the exact perfect moment, and a decision I was dwelling on suddenly seemed incredible simple (still difficult, but the right thing to do was clearly prominent).  It was the most perfect almost inspiring timing and it gave me a grateful feeling that I haven’t had in a long time.  A feeling of just “thank god I did that… at that exact moment, because if I didn’t, things would have gone horrible wrong.”  I doubt that I will ever truly know how life works and what controls it, but as I go to sleep tonight I will most definitely be thinking today was meant to be.  And I’ve got friends in all the right places.  P.S I love my danceteam.

As a blogging newb with lots of thoughts I feel like I need a basic yet personalized way to start things out. Well, music is something everyone acknowledges and yet everyone’s views on it are quite different.  Cansei de Ser Sexy describes it as “music is my hot hot sex” while the Jonas Brothers went with “music’s in my soul.” Everyone has some idea of what music means to them.  Some people single out one particular artist or genre of music and focus and favor that solely, for the most part I understand that, but it’s just not how I look at and relate to music.  Music has the ability to redirect my focus and get my mind away from the millions of little things that tend to get in the way of clear thinking.  My musical tastes are varied and non-discriminating.  I don’t have a favorite band or singer or style of music because my tastes change from day to day, week to week and year to year.  My all-time favorite song is “Drops of Jupiter” by Train, but other than that, it is mostly dependant on my mood.  Currently my favorites have settled upon Imogen Heap, Bon Iver, Mika, and Pomplamoose.  However, constantly changing technology got the best of me as I have depended on my pink iPod mini up until today when my mom got me a new purple iPod nano for Valentine’s Day! Hey, it only took me four or five years to catch up.  I appreciate music more than I love it.  The majority of the time I set my iTunes to shuffle on my favorite play list entitled ‘lack of obsession’ because it is not dominated by any one artist or style.  It’s about 300 songs that are a little bit of this and a little bit of that; I don’t have more than three songs by the same artist because I listen to it when I am not in the mood for anything in particular and I just like the differences in the songs and the switching around.  So back to the main point of this: music makes me think.

For this reason, I made a list of my top 12 favorite song lyrics: lyrics that make me think because I relate to them, see meaning in them, or find them to be excruciatingly true.    (***FYI this excludes any showtunes or songs from shows because this list is songs that make me think in general not in terms of a pre-established plot)  so…

My Top 12 Favorite Song Lyrics (in no particular order):

“It’s nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn’t choose
I’ll write you a postcard
I’ll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love…
Live through this, and you won’t look back.”

–          “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”  Star

“Let me in, let me in to the club, cuz I wanna belong,
And I need to get strong, and if memory serves,
I’m addicted to words and they’re useless.”

–          “L.G. Faud” Motion City Soundtrack

“No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs
If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark”

–          “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” Death Cab for Cutie

“You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you’re better than this.”

–          “Headlock” Imogen Heap

“He said “There ain’t no rest for the wicked,
Money don’t grow on trees.
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain’t nothing in this world for free.
I know I can’t slow down,
I can’t hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain’t no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good”

–          “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” Cage the Elephant

“And history books forgot about us and the bible didn’t mention us
And the bible didn’t mention us, not even once.
You are my sweetest downfall,
I loved you first”

–          “Samson” Regina Spektor

“And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay
And true, it may seem like a stretch, but
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you’re away when I am missing you to death”

–          “Such Great Heights” The Postal Service

“And all I want is to rock your soul”

–          “Rock Your Soul” Elisa

“Life’s about film stars and less about mothers
It’s all about fast cars and cussing each other
But it doesn’t matter cause I’m packing plastic
and that’s what makes my life so fucking fantastic”

–          “The Fear” Lily Allen

“Well, everyone I know has got a reason
To say, put the past away,
Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in”

–          “Jumper” Third Eye Blind

“Put your heart back in your pocket,
Pick your love up off the floor”

–          “Pick up off the Floor” Mika

“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
I’m afraid that she might think of me as
Plain ol’ Jane told a story about a man
Who was too afraid to fly so he never did land”

–          “Drops of Jupiter” Train

For Starters…

My name is: Olivia

Birthday: May 22nd

Eye Color: dark brown

This morning I was: debating on whether or not to get out of bed but then remembered that its valentines day and i sent out a mass text to everyone that i care about in the world, so if you got one, guess what i like you! If you didnt i might not have your number.

I’m afraid of: the dark. I get really afraid when i think about the past and the future too much, and i can lose a solid grip on the present.

I dream about: most of the time i dream about a weird combination of cartoon characters, things i think about before i go to sleep, and a mix of places i know well.

Last time I cried: friday

The worst habit I have: pushing people away when i need them the most… also i can laugh reallllly loudly sometimes.

I’m in a good mood when: I am at dance or drama, when i look at reallly old pictures and after getting off rollercoasters!

To summarize myself in three words: i asked becca to pick and she said, “strange, friendly, and caring.” Mark suggested “crack-addict or apple-pie.” I dont think i fit into summaries, so just come and talk to me instead! (or read my up-and-coming blog)

Who…

Makes you laugh the most: its really not hard to make me laugh, try, you have a good shot

Makes you smile: Becca, Mark, Emma, Hannah and/or Leah (especially together), Paige, Emilie, Chris, Stephen all come to mind.

Is easiest to talk to: i need different people at different times in my life.  Sometimes its everyone, sometimes its no one.

Do you miss the most: I do a lot of missing, I dwell on the past a fair amount.

Shares a brain with you: me and Becca do things at the exact same time a lot, you know those times where you are just like “woah that was cool, we could say jinx but we are no longer in 5th grade” … we have those a lot.  But at the same time we have a lot of differences

Was your first friend: Emma Soucy, I was a week old, she was two weeks old. Audra Williams said we are living examples of fate.

Inspires you: I am inspired by moments more than people.

Was the last person you said “I love you” to: a video of Lady Gaga.

Is your best friend: “I got friends in all the right places”

Is my last text message from: Chris

Do you look forward to seeing soon: A look into my potential future! College visits on Fridayy

What…

Is on your bedroom walls: some really outdated collages and a picture of my favorite place in the world.

Do you wish you were doing instead: I don’t think i could be much happier.  I am starting a blog with two of my best friends watching an educational show about dinosaur sex.

Makes you different: this question makes me anxious, we are all different our genes do that.  But at the same time we are all the same, that’s where stereotypes, archetypes, cliches, quotes, clubs and lots of other things come from.  Everyone wants to fit it but still be their own person.  It is a pretty unachievable goal.  Non-conformity does not exist.

Drink do you prefer: Barq’s Rootbeer.

Annoys me the most: questions without answers

Color are your nails: purple

Bracelets are you wearing: none.

Kind of pizza do you prefer: plain cheese but with feta and parmesan too!

Do you look forward to: everything and nothing?

I…

I want: a good first blog post.

I wish: for a clear purpose.

I love: hot chocolate when I’m cold.

I miss: blissful ignorance.

I fear: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  I dont really buy that.  There is also lions and tigers and bears. Oh my.

I hear: creepy show on discovery channel and Mark

I have: my first blog!!!!!

I smell: whatever my house smells like!

I care about: people, places, things, and ideas.  So basically nouns.

I pray: I have not prayed in a long time.

I wonder: why.