I'm getting a bit tired of people confusing the words "influential" and "talent." What pushed me to the point of blogging about it? Stick around and I'll tell you. I started some tweets, then realized 140 characters aren't enough. You like that? That's like when they say the name of the movie in the movie. Except it's saying the name of the blog in the blog. Mind blown? Probably. If your brain is still intact, please continue.
I was thinking about who had the greatest voices of all time. Not influential. The greatest. As in they are the best. Range, tone, quality, soul. Stuff like that. I looked at Rolling Stone's top 100. And I got a bit upset. Because the title is Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest singers of all time. For kicks, I'll start off with the top 25.
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin
That has to be a joke. Bob Dylan fans will even admit that his voice is just awful. Keep in mind, we aren't talking about influence, style, or songwriting (which he might be the best of all time). We are talking about vocal talent. At least that's what I think of when I hear greatest. My number one is number 18. Freddie Mercury. Go listen to any Queen song and refute my claim. He has a soothing yet powerful voice. He has range. He has vibrato. He has it all. Even a sweet mustache that every man is secretly jealous of. Aretha Franklin is in my top 5, as well as Sam Cooke. Actually, here is my top 5 so you know where I'm at.
1. Freddie Mercury
2. Steve Perry
3. Sam Cooke
4. Aretha Franklin
5. Etta James
Know where Steve Perry is on the list? 76. Seventy freakin six. People that beat him include but are not limited to: Iggy Pop. James Taylor. Jerry Lee Lewis. Buddy Holly. Kurt Cobain (are you kidding me? Neil Young. Bono (are you kidding me again)? Johnny Cash. Also, the previously mentioned people. If music were like boxing, this list would be different. Music is all about opinions and emotions. Most of the time, the truest talent gets hidden. In a boxing match, the best normally wins. How dare anyone put Bob Dylan in the top 10 and put Steve Perry at 76. On a list of greatest singers of all time. Bob Dylan would get knocked out first round by most of these people.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on the people I've said don't belong. They brought major influence, uniqueness, and their own style. But, in my opinion, greatness is not being different. Greatness is having the raw talent. Being the best. And I stand firmly on my top 5. I believe they are/were the greatest of all time. This list is garbage. For the record, Morrissey is at 92. How he beat Stevie Nicks, I will never know. I enjoy listening to The Smiths. But never in a sober state of mind would put him in a top 100. I feel like I have much more to say, but I'm fighting a battle I can't win. Someone comment. Tell me I'm still sane in thinking this way. Or tell me I'm an idiot. I don't care.
28.9.11
11.9.11
Never forget
In 9th grade English class, I watched a plane fly into the second tower of the World Trade Center on live television. I saw both buildings come down. I saw people jumping from the building to their death. No one spoke. It was an eerie silence that cannot be replicated. It was something that couldn't be fathomed. This...is not happening. For weeks, I repeatedly thought about those images. I watched live as a plane flew into a building instantly killing hundreds of people. I watched as the building collapsed killing even more. But what bothered me the most is that every second, I was watching someone lose a father. Someone was losing a mother. Someone was losing a husband. Someone was losing a wife. The picture of the 2nd plane will be in my memory for the rest of my life. It's an image more vivid than others. And every time I see that plane hit, I see families losing loved ones. I asked the same question everyone did. Why?
So after ten years, what have we learned as a country? I think those things are apparent: patriotism, love, heroism, among others. The bigger question is what have we failed to learn? We have forgotten to love those who are different. We have forgotten to love those who believe in a different god. We have forgotten to love those who don't think like we do. This country was founded so that we are free to believe in whatever we choose. You have just as much of a right to believe in the teachings of Jesus as a Muslim does in Mohammed. This country was not founded on the god of Christianity. It was founded on freedom of religion. Freedom of choice. Freedom of speech. Have you ever seen a Muslim on the side of the road holding a religious sign? Probably not. Because they are persecuted. I use Muslims as an example because it is the most apparent, but other religions apply.
Religion aside, I think people forget that this country is far from perfect. But we learn. And we adapt. How different are we than the ancient Egyptians? The very people who read and preached Exodus and the Jewish slavery in Egypt were slave owners in America. We cannot do something and say it's "ok" just because we are in America. We forget the basic principles of everything every hero has died for. Religious wars will never end until the world does. Instead of trying to fight and argue, unite. Unite as a country, not a religion. Unite as a country, not a race. The hero's that have died for us did so for us to be free. We are free to worship our own god. All races are free to live without bigotry. We are free. And we will never unite as a country until we understand that. All of the major religions share the same basic principle of loving your neighbor as yourself. Yet, so often we cannot do that. Jesus himself said that this was the most important commandment along with loving God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. You cannot choose your neighbors. Just like you cannot choose the people you encounter. Love them. All of them.
Extremism is not what I'm talking about. So don't get me wrong. There is no place in this country for any person that threatens or takes the lives of others. The Christian extremists that protest funerals...there's no room for them. The people that did this to our country ten years ago...there's no room for them. Extremity of any religion is never a good thing. Forcing religion on someone is never a good thing. "Under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during the Cold War as well as "In God We Trust" on our currency. I'm not a history major, nor have I done research on the subject...but I would believe that other religions aren't too happy with that. Don't ever force your religion on someone else. Share it. And share it with love. Share it with respect for whatever the other person might believe. Share it with freedom in mind.
Believe what you wish. And believe in it with all of your heart. But don't ever tell someone what they should believe. This country was not founded on a single religion, but the freedom to choose. But most importantly, never forget those who died on September 11th, 2001. Never forget the families that will forever have an empty chair at the dinner table. Never forget the heroes that gave up their lives to save others. Never forget that they died because of religious extremism. Never forget that we are free. Never forget.
Never.
So after ten years, what have we learned as a country? I think those things are apparent: patriotism, love, heroism, among others. The bigger question is what have we failed to learn? We have forgotten to love those who are different. We have forgotten to love those who believe in a different god. We have forgotten to love those who don't think like we do. This country was founded so that we are free to believe in whatever we choose. You have just as much of a right to believe in the teachings of Jesus as a Muslim does in Mohammed. This country was not founded on the god of Christianity. It was founded on freedom of religion. Freedom of choice. Freedom of speech. Have you ever seen a Muslim on the side of the road holding a religious sign? Probably not. Because they are persecuted. I use Muslims as an example because it is the most apparent, but other religions apply.
Religion aside, I think people forget that this country is far from perfect. But we learn. And we adapt. How different are we than the ancient Egyptians? The very people who read and preached Exodus and the Jewish slavery in Egypt were slave owners in America. We cannot do something and say it's "ok" just because we are in America. We forget the basic principles of everything every hero has died for. Religious wars will never end until the world does. Instead of trying to fight and argue, unite. Unite as a country, not a religion. Unite as a country, not a race. The hero's that have died for us did so for us to be free. We are free to worship our own god. All races are free to live without bigotry. We are free. And we will never unite as a country until we understand that. All of the major religions share the same basic principle of loving your neighbor as yourself. Yet, so often we cannot do that. Jesus himself said that this was the most important commandment along with loving God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. You cannot choose your neighbors. Just like you cannot choose the people you encounter. Love them. All of them.
Extremism is not what I'm talking about. So don't get me wrong. There is no place in this country for any person that threatens or takes the lives of others. The Christian extremists that protest funerals...there's no room for them. The people that did this to our country ten years ago...there's no room for them. Extremity of any religion is never a good thing. Forcing religion on someone is never a good thing. "Under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during the Cold War as well as "In God We Trust" on our currency. I'm not a history major, nor have I done research on the subject...but I would believe that other religions aren't too happy with that. Don't ever force your religion on someone else. Share it. And share it with love. Share it with respect for whatever the other person might believe. Share it with freedom in mind.
Believe what you wish. And believe in it with all of your heart. But don't ever tell someone what they should believe. This country was not founded on a single religion, but the freedom to choose. But most importantly, never forget those who died on September 11th, 2001. Never forget the families that will forever have an empty chair at the dinner table. Never forget the heroes that gave up their lives to save others. Never forget that they died because of religious extremism. Never forget that we are free. Never forget.
Never.
7.9.11
Rain.
I walk a fine line between realism and cynicism. Only difference between the two is bias. But being a realist sounds better than a cynic, so I go with the former. Finding the scraps of positive in a heap of negative has grown difficult. But I'm done weighing the good and the bad. That only fuels the fire that consumes my cynical thoughts. Instead, I'm just going to go back to living. I realized my posts have a lot of negativity in them, and could perhaps be misleading. I am well. What you get are the thoughts floating around in my head. Sometimes sharing them with people that may or may not care helps. Actually, I'm not sure if it does, but I like to type. In the past, I also tried to write in a form that would be easy and entertaining to read. But that defeats the purpose, I think. My train of thought is wonderful. Right now, I'm thinking about rain. Sometimes I like to stand in it. Getting rained on is soothing in a way. My brain is saying I am under distress. "Run," it says. "This is not normal. At least put a small item over your head." I say to my brain, "Brain...don't tell me what to do." Everybody always goes nuts and tries to run and get out of it. Like they are about to cross paths with their soulmate and he/she will despise you for being wet. It's water. It dries. Plus, I think my rain hair looks better than normal hair. I hope I cross paths with my soulmate when I have rain hair. She will not be able to resist. I bought an umbrella once. Used it once. Because I was with a girl and wanted to put on my best impression of a gentleman. She didn't get to see the rain hair. I do pretty good impressions. I can do a really good, "guy pretending to listen." I sometimes don't know if I'm supposed to laugh at the end or say, "Man...that sucks." Because like I said...it's an impression of a guy pretending to listen. So what's next on the agenda? I suppose I should update more often. Surprisingly enough, people still read this. I sometimes don't know what to talk about. Wait...remix. I rarely know what to talk about. Like right now. This whole post is about nothing. But you will read it. And you will rejoice, for I am blogging again. And you will go to work or school tomorrow and think to yourself...I wonder what Matt will post later. And all day, you will be itching to come home and sit at your computer. Chin rested on left hand. Is it there right now? That's how I sit at the computer. This brings me back around to my main point. I have finally admitted to myself that I am a cynic. Tune in next post when I find out if that is a good or a bad thing. Hint: I like it. Everyone else hates it. Spoiler alert: It's not the worst thing in the world, but it's not good. Cheers.
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