Nor Dark of Night

Morning’s stillness parted
By jingling bells
Not sleigh, but mailmen
Mail carriers
Mail persons
Unloading sacks from vans and trucks
Loading up cars to deliver
Unwanted fliers and circulars
Bills with past due reminders
I listen from my bed
Dreams cut short
No longer in my high school
In my underwear
Fighting dragons with my Geo Prism
Now awake and aware
As the plain clothes post officers depart
To fulfill their weekdaily chore
I wish that I’d closed my window

"Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?"

Music videos have technically existed since the 1960's, but it wasn't until the 80's and the advent of MTV that they really became an art form. Performers like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Duran Duran revolutionized the medium and massively boosted their own careers in the process. The question of which video deserves the title of all-time greatest is always up for debate. You could make a case for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" or The Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight." Michael's "Thriller" video has to be included in the conversation as well as "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. There are several more recent artists like Kayne West and My Chemical Romance that have made videos worthy of being discussed and every video by Björk is pretty much amazing. One thing that is not up for debate, however, is the question of who made the smartest music video ever. That title, without a doubt, belongs to "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down. Let me explain:

It was 2002 and Americans' patriotism was still riding high after the September 11th attacks a year earlier. Even many who were normally anti-war couldn't help but support the war in Afghanistan where it seemed clear that we were merely going after those that came after us. The controversial Iraq war was still to come and, unlike in the 1960's where a large group of people had a giant mental lapse and began taunting and spitting at America's mostly drafted soldiers, no one was wavering in their support for those in harm's way. 3 Doors Down could have gone the way of Toby Keith and written an over the top, rompin' stompin', flag waving, pro war anthem and probably not alienated most of their core fan base. But they didn't. Brad Arnold and company wrote a typical alt-rock album about relationships. After recording, however, the boys paid a visit to the USS George Washington, a naval aircraft carrier. Either the band or their record label most likely decided to scrap the previously filmed video for lead single, "When I'm Gone" and use footage of their concert aboard the carrier instead. Suddenly, "When I'm Gone" became an ode to our fighting men and women overseas and instantly cemented 3 Doors Down as the most visible band to "support our troops" at a time when practically everyone saw that as noble. How strong is that association? I'll start by saying that I'm not a fan of the band or their style of music. But to this day, over four years later, I think of soldiers when I hear the song, or even the second single off of that album, "Here Without You," whose video, to my knowledge, didn't feature a single active member of the military. Unlike other overplayed, schmaltzy radiogarbage of the era (ie: "It's Been Awhile," "How You Remind Me," and "The Reason), I don't cringe when "Here Without You" comes on the radio. Despite any feelings I may have about the Iraq war or Bush's presidency and the over-riding cynicism everybody tells me I possess, I can't turn a cold shoulder to the mental picture of brave guys in varying shades of khaki getting shot at in the desert while their families spend another holiday with a missing piece. Call me a sentimental sap, but it worked. 3 Doors Down got to me. And I have a feeling that they got to a lot of Americans. And that, my friends, is brilliance.

navelgazing rambleness

I vividly remember painting balloons in second grade. Natalie Thornwaite painted hers yellow with red polkadots and wrote the words, "Wild Thang" on it. Before the balloons were turned in though, she changed the phrase to, "Wild Thing." I remember being upset. I've never thought intentional misspelling was cool (although I did have a brief habit of spelling "rules" with a "Z"), but in second grade, replacing an "I" with an "A" was downright subversive. I was disappointed that she gave in to percieved societal pressure to be normal and censored her own creativity. Even at seven, I valued individuality.

That's pretty much been a constant ever since. There were times when I wanted to fit in, but never if it meant being the same if that makes any sense. My favorite Muppet was Gonzo. My favorite Anamaniac was Wakko. I loved Peter Tork on the Monkees and Murdoch on the A-Team and claimed "I Am the Walrus" as my favorite Beatles song. When people would call me "weird" I would take it as a compliment.

The question I have is why? What caused me to value uniqueness (within reason) over so many other things? I wonder if maybe it was because I've always felt odd myself. As far back as preschool, I was never cool or popular. Other than a few scattered moments, I was never completely ostracized, but I often felt like an outsider. Maybe that was the beginning. Maybe, at some point, I subconsciously decided that if my lot in life was to be weird then I'd turn it into a positive. So now when I find myself wondering whether I hate something because I actually hate it or simply because it's popular, I should stop questioning it since I already made up my mind about the subject when I was two.

Really, it's a chicken vs. egg thing. Either I'm weird because I value individuality or I value individuality because I'm weird or both qualities come from some unknown nature/nurture source that I could never hope to isolate. Pick option A, B, or C and it doesn't change much. I'm a bit strange sometimes and I appreciate other things that ever-so-deftly deviate from the norm. For better or worse, that's me. But I can't promise not to be hurt if you call me weird too much.

it's a boy

Am I the only person in America that finds it odd that everyone keeps talking about the Iraqi people like they're eight-year-olds? In just about every speech or commentary I've heard lately, from both sides of the aisle, politicians and pundits have been discussing the citizens or Iraq like we're trying to teach a bunch of children how to run a country. Apparently, if we keep supporting the Iraqis too much, then they're going to become relient on our help and never learn to do things for themselves. Maybe it's time to let little Jimmy leave the nest and fly solo. I know it's scary thinking of him out there on his own at that sleep-over birthday party with the other countries at Syria's house, but you can't be there forever to wipe his nose and make sure he's eating his brussel sprouts. Honestly, that's been the tone lately. It's so incredibly condescending. We realize that that the people running Iraq are all over eighteen, right? And not only are they adults, but they're millions of multi-faceted adults with different viewpoints and ideas. I'm pretty sure that, as we speak, some of them are thinking and behaving exactly as we'd like them to while others are completely in another sphere. And do we honestly think it's going to help to talk about all of this so much in such a superior tone? You realize that they know what we're saying, right? They have TV's. It's not like they can't hear us. The least Bush and Obama and Hannity and Colmes could do is spell the words instead of saying them. It works on other children.