Thought Process of a Listener

I am a huge music fan. I find myself most attracted to bands that have thought provoking lyrics. I like music that I can obviously relate to but also makes me think. Sometimes you just want to hear stuff that makes you smile but I find I mostly want to find something that moves me. This is one of the reasons I am a huge fan of the rock band Rush. They make great music and their drummer Neil Peart is an amazing writer. He writes all the lyrics for the band. I have pretty much grown up listening to Rush. My high school years were defined by songs like "Subdivisions" and "Spirit of Radio". My young adult years: "Time Stand Still", "Bravado" and "Dreamline." Now that I have reached (gasp-dare I say?) middle age, I am happy to report Rush is alive and well still making some amazing music. Their latest album spawned a new catalog of songs such as "Far Cry" which hits a chord (no pun intended) in my life and once again the soundtrack of my little world plays on.

Imagine my shock when I start listening to one of the "new bands" called Fall Out Boy and find their chief lyricist was born in 1984- the year I was a junior in high school. Suddenly I feel like this is not right. How can I relate to someone so young? A teenybopper to me for sure. But I hear a few thought provoking lines in some of their songs. Mostly about coming of age (been there), heartbreak and searching for meaning (been there too). I download a bunch of their songs to my Zune and proceed to dissect them.

"Hum Hallelujah" seems to take a cue from the old Leonard Cohen song which was beautifully remade by the late Jeff Buckley. Fall Out boy puts their own spin on it in an anthem kind of way. A few lines catch my ear "I could write it better than you ever felt it" and "I love you in the same way there's a chapel in a hospital." Clearly pointing to their teenage fan base they include "So hum hallelujah.Just off the key of reason.I thought I loved you.It was just how you looked in the light.A teenage vow in a parking lot (Hum hallelujah)Till tonight do us part." I am not sure why this song sticks in my head but it does. I've never loved anyone because of the way the light reflects off them but its a silly metaphor that encompasses the frivolous way teenagers (not all teenagers of course) can fall in love. "I could write it better than you ever felt it" makes me think the song is geared toward the inexperienced listeners still waiting for their life to take off and provide them with the wisdom only a life lived can possess.

This makes me think. Back in the day when I fell in love with Rush, I was one of those teenagers. I didn't know much about life but I possessed that angst only teenagers have and the curiosity to find what life was all about.It's kind of cool to see how things come full circle across generations. This is definitely something I did not see when I was a kid. The whole circle of life thing and the continuation of thoughts and emotions is interesting. I wonder is FOB will be around for as long as Rush has and will their teenage generation carry over to write about them in their blogs or whatever new technology is out there.



Subdivisons
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson
Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown
Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer
Or the misfit so alone
Subdivisions
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
Subdivisions
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out
Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth
Drawn like moths we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night
Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory
Of lighted streets on quiet nights...