I Lost Myself

... in shapeless oceans

Whose depths concealed more than they showed

Beliefs obscured by mists around them

A legacy they'd been bestowed

Guess. No, not VNV Nation, try again. Assemblage 23. If you looked up the lyrics before reading this sentence, umm, fail - I always give you all the info about songs. Really, you should trust me more. And just to prove it, I'm going to spill early. The lyrics are from the song 'Divide', by aforementioned A23. It's not of the more recent songs, but seeing as I have every album, I'm kind of allowed to pick favourites across the board. It's a privilege, no, a gift. A joyous reward to those chosen few who have seen the light! Or people who also have all the A23 albums. Amen? Nah, don't you dare. I don't like amens. They too often go on for too long, or they just don't have any 'oomph!'. If you want to give a hallelujah, that's totally fine.

Columns of ice paint awkward pictures

Distorted forms that once seemed real

Engulfed inside transparent textures

Billowing curtains as hard as steel

I figured I'd give you all a break from VNV Nation, I've talked about it for two really long posts, and going on forever on a single topic is something I do often (if you haven't noticed). BUT I didn't want to leave you with just menial replacement info, so I've picked another band that has some pretty meaningful lyrics. Plus, I figured I'd do something interesting with the post: give you a fuller taste of the music I'm always talking about. Instead of breaking paragraphs with just a space, I'm putting the lyrics in between. If it bothers you - skip over them and read the posts, and be glad I didn't highlight them, I do enjoy picking the most painful colours.

For all the noise filling the landscape

Whispers & cries with no reply

It's quiet here within these boundaries

And thoughts collect like pools of light

See, after much listening to A23 songs (and I really want you to emphasize that 'much', you have no idea how much I listen to them. Not more than VNV, but still, they're in my top five), I've noticed a significant detail in A23 songwriting compared to other artists. When you look at the lyrics of any song, it's an actual poem, stanzas and everything. If you're a fan, you probably know this, good for you, you'll learn nothing from this post. Now, admittedly, the music I'm particular to is very vocal centric, and poetry and music do go hand-in-hand, A23 songs are unique in that every song is written with meaning and intent similar to most VNV Nation songs, but also uses some rhyming pattern (iambic pentameter, etc. and not every song).

My eyes divide the sky

As sirens sound in heaven

My will brings down the moon

shatters it to pieces

I've written poetry before (lots), and its kind of difficult, unless of course you're doing Dr. Seuss, which I've also done, and it's only easier in that grammar sort of goes out the window. And writing one or two or three poems, it's been done, and it's not something you need super powers for. But I would like to compare A23 songs with William Blake's 'Song's of Innocence' and Song's of Experience'. Specifically because they are both very large collections of poetry, A23 has 6 full length albums out, with added EP's and that's quite a bit of music and writing over the course of not too many years. But it's not just about the poetry, it's about the meaning.

The silence grew inconsequential

The day became a paradigm

A thousand years, a hundred decades

An arbitrary slice of time

Let's face it, life is nothing without meaning. I mean, you can't do anything without meaning. Things can happen without meaning. Things can be indirectly affected by meaning, but meaning is what gives us cause to do everything we do.

I found myself with no companion

but the salty earth and sky

And suddenly there came my focus

The world around me clarified

That's it, I'm totally done rambling. Actually, I'll be honest, I forgot my whole line of thought. Interesting. Well, I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. Sorry, it just totally left me while I was pasting the lyrics. So I guess I'll fill you in on the other whatnot.

My eyes divide the sky

As sirens sound in heaven

My will brings down the moon

shatters it to pieces

Today I got a call from two of the companies I put applications out to and I have interviews scheduled next week. Finally.

And so I walked in isolation

Hoping solace would cross my path

Ignored the road that lay behind me

And stepped away from the aftermath

I also did more work on the super awesome ring I'm working on. I got the hole through it. I know, it doesn't seem like a whole lot, but ebony is a really brutal wood. I used a drill for part of it, just to get a hole big enough to start sizing the ring, and and the bit was SUPER hot, which I of course found out by holding it. Smooth.

I lost myself in shapeless oceans

Whose waters turned from dark to clear

I floated there, a tiny island

With no more doubt, with no more fear

After I finished that much on the ring, I stopped working on it for the day o give my Dremel time to charge (again), and ordered a pizza for lunch. I got the 'Everest' from Extreme Pizza (I like to live on the edge), and it was pretty good. I debated watching a movie, and settled on watching 'Live Free or Die Hard' for the 30th time, and enjoyed it again. It's a fun movie. Bruce Willis. Jusin Long. Timothy Olyphant. Mary Winstead. It's just so much fun!! And that was pretty much my day. I think I might re-watch 'He's Just Not That Into You' tomorrow. Another fun movie. Mostly. Not as much fun as '10 Things I Hate About You', which is pretty much always fun. But still. It's fun.

My eyes divide the sky

As sirens sound in heaven

My will brings down the moon

And shatters it to pieces

One day I think I'm going to surprise everyone who reads this and make a really short post. Like one paragraph. Until then, I'm going to grab a drink and start work on another story, I decided tonight to put the one I've been working on hold. It has a good plot, and honestly, I still know how the entire thing goes, I could have it finished in a week, but that's one of the reasons I don't want to work on it, I already solved it. It's finished in theory and there's no drive. Oh well. Plus, I don't want to do the whole spiritual thing in that story, life hasn't put me in the mood in recent months. I need something a little more visceral. So that's tonight's plan. Funny, I also had a totally awesome question to ask earlier and I was going to post it, but I forgot that as well. Hmmm...

Tonight's song 'Divide', was brought to you by Assemblage 23. You may listen here:

http://twiturm.com/fy4j - 'Divide', by Assemblage 23

Cheers,

Shadow of Light