A Sceptic Idealist

I think that sums me up, in a way. I believe in love, but I also think it is over-rated. I think people need to learn how to be alone before they can be with anyone. We are all too emotionally dependent other people. We need to appreciate ourselves for who we are and should never have to compromise that to please another person.

There are just two songs that I have heard so far that capture my feelings about love and falling out of love and act as a reflection of my feelings about people who I have cared about. Those songs are This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) by Talking Heads and Somebody That I Used to Know by Elliott Smith. This Must Be The Place gives such a realistic, almost melacholic interpretation of what it is to be in love. It is what it says; naive and repetitive, simple yet complex. From the contrast between the lines ‘Home is where Iwant to be, pick me up and turn me round’ and ‘Home is where I want to be, but I guess Im already there’, to the uncanny ability to listen to it on repeat and not get sick of it, the song highlights that we never get what we really want; that we dont even know what we want. It emphasises that nothing is ever perfect, and that while we should not compromise ourselves, compromise is essential if you want to have something more than puppy love. The song almost reminds me of the times I’ve mourned a missed opportunity, or regetted a decision I've made. For me, it highlights that we have to make do with what we’ve got, and realise that we never end up where we expect to. ‘I know nothings wrong’ wails Byrne. But that doesn’t mean its right either...

Somebody I Used To Know has to be pretty much the saddest song ever written; and deals with emotions that anybody who has moved on fom someone that they loved can relate to; be that a friend or boyfriend or sibling or anyone.The justaposition of the opening lines ‘ I had tender feelings that you made hard, but its your heart not mine thats scarred’ with the song’s title is devasting. To have someone that you cared so much for at some point become merely an acquaintance, just somebody that you used to know; is so emotionless. No anger, hurt, pain..just indifference. That abuse of trust between two people, so that they become nothing to each other....wow. Most music deals with the elation of being in love or the betrayal of being let down; but this.... it deals with emotionless depression. I had shiastu the other day and the lady told me that is what depression is, a lack of feeling, a nothingness. A lot of Elliott Smith’s music is like that. It is so rich, beautiful and moving, yet deals with this sense of emotionlessness. RIP Elliott Smith; you were one of the greatest songwriters of our time.

and live...