About a month or two into quarantine, my friend texts me that she heard the birds chirping outside her window at 2 a.m. She was not pleased. Birds are naturally more active in the morning, but 2 a.m. was just a bit too ambitious. And so, we began a conversation thread about birds. I jokingly suggested she stick her head out the window and yell at the birds, but we decided we don’t want to end up in a modern version of Hitchcock’s TheBirds.
Ever since I took an intro to environmental science course last Fall, I’ve begun to notice and appreciate birds a lot more. True, this may sound a bit cheesy. They’re birds. They exist, they help nature, but why obsess over these winged-creatures?
Years ago when I was younger, I heard soft cooing from a bird outside my window. Often times the cooing would greet me as I woke up. At first I found it a bit annoying. There was a rhythm, maybe even a meter to the song of this bird. My annoyance grew into curiosity the more I heard the gentle bird, as I was left wondering, “do we have doves in Western Pennsylvania?” Why yes, we certainly do!
The Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove, or Zenaida macroura, look like small gray pigeons and generally make a cooing sound when it’s going to rain (or so I’ve read somewhere ages ago). Their diet consists mostly of seeds, which can include peanuts, wild grass, etc. Every once in a while they eat berries and snails. They typically like to be in open land and on the edges of woodlands. They can also be found on telephone wires. In the winter, they will stay in wooded areas. While their nests are not very sturdy, mourning doves don’t mind being around humans.
I soon realized that the coo emitted by these small birds is sort of comforting, even though it is sorrowful. Although the same coos I heard over the years outside of my window were likely not from the same bird, I equated the sounds with one dove. Even when I am away from home, I say to myself, “there’s my dove buddy!” My dove buddies are always around. I guess you could say that their coos represent stability. They’re always around and gently remind you that they are there, perched on a telephone wire. Needless to say, I’m always on the lookout for Mourning Doves.
My newfound love for Mourning Doves helped inspire my interest in birds. In my college science course, we learned about the concept of citizen science, which is exactly as it sounds. Citizens like you and me who do not possess a degree in science volunteer to gather data for scientists to analyze. Birding (aka “Bird Watching”) is when citizens log how many birds they see in a specific location for a specific amount of time. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has an online site where citizens can log their birds and even find more information on certain bird species. Other online logging programs are also available.
The data that citizen scientists gather about birds helps scientists to learn about the populations of different bird species. As a result, scientists can determine which bird species are thriving and which are headed for endangerment or extinction. Then scientists can implement a plan of conservation for endangered birds. Really, birding in a citizen science context is all about tracking bird populations and developing ways to conserve these populations. According to the American Bird Conservancy, bird conservation is important because scientists use bird populations to estimate how healthy an environment is. Bird conservation is important because over 500 species of birds in the U.S. are heading toward extinction. Birds who eat insects are predators who help continue the food chain.
Did you know that…?
Birds help regulate the number of pests on farms and in other locations.
Birds carry nutrients from one location to another, which helps plants receive essential nutrients.
Birds help combat climate change by spreading seeds; birds help to promote diversity by spreading seeds.
Many old souls are introverts, and they need time to themselves to reboot and relieve stress. Birding, whether you submit data or not, is a solitary activity that can help relieve rumination, or those thoughts that keep churning in your brain. Nature is proven to have positive effects on mental health (there are many studies to support this theory). Birds, then, can be medicine for the old soul!
Conclusion
All in all, birds are pretty darn cool. One of my biology friends even went to Cape May New Jersey last year for a birding contest. Birding (and citizen science) is indeed a popular (and apparently competitive) field. Birds are vital to the ecosystem, and they can boost the human mood, too! There are so many species, it’s hard to know where to start. If you’re truly interested, you can always find a guide that will help you decipher the winged-creatures zipping through your backyard.
Birds used to blend into my everyday life. Now I’m starting to take notice, all thanks to my dove buddy! Even more, I have a guest at my house: an American Robin who built a nest on my porch swing. I think baby birds are due soon!
Roberta is making herself comfortable on our porch swing.
Ah, the Baby Boomer age. Let’s take a minute to shine the spotlight on 1957. It was a time of ginormous cars, Sputnik, and, of course, Elvis! While we couldn’t feature everything those 365 days had to offer, here is a quick glimpse.
Cost of Living
Gas: 24 cents per gallon
Average Monthly Rent: $90
Secretaries: $75 per week
Newspaper: 5 cents per day
Butter: 67 cents per lb. stick
Historically…
The Anne Frank Foundation was created in Amersterdam while JFK won a Pulitzer prize. This was also the year that the U.K. tested a hydrogen bomb while the British Medical Research Council announced that smoking and lung cancer could be connected. Meanwhile, Brown v. the board of Education made segregation illegal, repealing Plessy v. Ferguson. Hurricane Audrey hit southern American states. President Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to ride in a helicopter while the U.S. began its own nuclear testing in Nevada.
Like any year in history, many TV shows come to fruition and made their way into living rooms. According to IMDB, 1957 came with famous classics like Perry Mason and Leave it to Beaver. But I’d like to focus on the Westerns. A string of Westerns debuted in 1957, and their theme songs will get stuck in your head. That you can count on!
Wagon Train covered a lot of territory (pun intended) while traveling across the prairie. Each episode is named after a character, typically one of the travelers in the wagon train (for example, the “Jane Doe Story.” Ward Bond played Major Seth Adams, the wagon master, until John McIntire (Chris Hale) took command of the wagon train later in the show’s run. Of course, there was also Flint the scout (Robert Horton) and Charlie Wooster the comedic and eccentric cook of the train (Frank McGrath). And don’t forget the instrumental theme song! You’ll be humming it for hours!
Then there were Have Gun Will Travel and Maverick. In Have Gun Will Travel, Palladin (Richard Boone) is essentially a bounty hunter–“a gun for hire.” He’s always seen wearing black, and his symbol is a knight from a chess game. And if you don’t know this theme song, you MUST listen to it! It’s so catchy and even a little…haunting? Meanwhile, Bret Maverick (James Garner) is a gambler who always manages to find trouble. And that theme song? Well, it’s whimsical and, yes, will never leave your brain. Aren’t you living on “Jacks and Queens?”
What Records Do You Have Spinning?
Because The Hot 100 charts did not exist until 1958, the list of top 1957 songs varies among sources. In my handy Billboard’s Hottest 100 Hits reference book (published in 1991), Fred Bronson bases the list on the best-selling hits. According to Bronson, the top ten songs are:
“Love Letters in the Sand” by Pat Boone; I listened and started swaying!
And that’s a bit of 1957! Leave a comment to tell us your favorite memory of 1957 or a fact you dig. Perhaps the best product of 1957 is my mother (Happy Birthday, Mom!)
Photo by T Z on Pexels.com Did you know that the Frisbee disc was invented in 1957?
Only we can break the chains of love…and show a little respect! This month we’re featuring two songs–a side A and B–on Monthly Mixtape.
Synth-pop exploded on the airwaves in the 1980s. In 1988, duo Erasure released their second album, The Innocents. The duo formed in 1986 when lead vocalist Andy Bell teamed up with Vince Clarke, a founding member of both Depeche Mode and Yazoo.
In the U.S., the songs “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect” reached the Top 20. Although Erasure’s career has spanned three decades, it seems to me that, in 2020, these two songs have been skipped over in favor of other totally awesome ’80s hits.
Erasure’s discography is jammed packed with songs that speak to the human condition, specifically love and vices. Their music speaks directly to the soul and dreams about who we can become in the future.
Read more about Erasure here:
“Chains of Love”
The song has a very mild and slow start, which helps the listener to also slow down and pay attention to the lyrics. There is no sense of urgency yet. Bell is setting the mood, preparing to speak his mind about something difficult, something even he isn’t sure he can put into words.
When the tempo picks up and the infectious synth-pop ’80s vibe enters, the mood changes. Things aren’t as serious, but perhaps this is to lighten the mood and keep interest. But as we’ll see, an inspiring message lies at the heart of the song.
I love the verses of this song, because they dive into very deep and inspiring territory. The verses depict how the world used to be–a sense of nostalgia. “Do you remember when…” The sense of loss and need for remembrance contrast the dance-friendly beat, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it makes the listener contemplate the song’s meaning even more. Bell shoots up an octave on the “hand” of verse one. The emotion is there, and it’s raw. He’s lamenting.
The chorus is a plea to us, the listeners and to humans everywhere. But Erasure isn’t preachy in their songs. They’re humans speaking to humans. They’re not playing God and condemning us all. The chorus is upbeat, positive. “Hey human race, we got this!”
I’d also like to note that the opening lyrics pop up again in the bridge of the song, but they’re delivered much faster. Now we’ve cut to the chase. The message is still hard to put into words, but he’s attempting. Perhaps this tempo increase shows how emotional he is about the the topic. His emotions are ramping up, just like the song.
I’ll never get enough of this song, and watching Andy Bell swing around chains is also very fun!
“A Little Respect”
From the start, this song is already at a mid-tempo, but there is a tinge of sadness, or even contemplation and reflection. When Bell comes in, the emotion is raw once more. I’m a sucker for octave jumps, and his vocals soar and fall in an instant (it hits the heart, that’s for sure).
This song is most definitely another plea. He doesn’t want his heart to be broken when he has good intentions. He’s trying to save himself, his own heart, even though it might not work out the way he desperately hopes. Every human relationship demands and deserves respect, and the emotion in Bell’s voice comes straight from the heart (and soul, I might add). It’s his moment of weakness when he’s trying to be strong.
As we continue to the second verse, Bell again begs for peace and love. There’s a beauty in these lines. Instead of breaking up and going separate ways, love can in fact win, or at least that’s what Bell is striving for. He’s broken, and we, as the listeners, feel and relate to that brokenness as well. After all, we are all human and experience similar emotions at various points in our lives.
By the end of the song, it’s clear that he is giving his all and just wants respect from the the other person. Wow, don’t we all?
The Erasure Legacy
Contrary to their name, Erasure should not be wiped away from our treasure troves of powerful music. “Chains of Love” and “A Little Respect” both combine the need for love, respect, and peace. These songs convey the message that we all have the ability to respectfully break the chains… of love, that is.
When I first fell in love with Erasure, I was naive. I played The Innocents in the background while I worked and didn’t pay much attention. At first, the other songs didn’t hit me as much as these two featured ones did. But I’ve recently come back to Erasure’s catalogue. While I have much listening and analyzing to do, I’m excited to dive in. Erasure’s songs shouldn’t be ignored because they are so relevant, and their lyrics are so beautifully crafted. Bell and Clarke are true poets, and we still need poets like them today. The emotion they weave into their music captures the heart and makes you feel utterly human.
Are you sure about that? In 2019, my short story “The Branded Shadow” was published in The Twofer Compendium by Celestial Echo Press. It has also been nominated for the Washington Science Fiction Association Small Press Award.
Plot Summary
Blake seeks help from his twin brother Ben after shooting a competing rancher in self-defense. Ben, who is the sheriff, probes Blake to discern the facts. Offended, Blake skips town, knowing that the son of the rancher he killed will be after him. Blake finds Rosemary stranded outside of town and kidnaps her out of anger for his brother. Blake just can’t shake the feeling of living in Ben’s shadow…
New Review!
Recently, book reviewer Chris Fried wrote an excellent review of The Twofer Compendium. Please see the link below to find out more. The anthology is currently available on Amazon.
A few weekends ago, MeTV (Memorable Entertainment, that is), aired two “mindful” programs on their Sci-Fi Saturday Night. Both the Village of the Damned (presented by Svengoolie) and the Star Trek episode “Spectre of the Gun” explored the notions of mindset, specifically instances of a fixed and a growth mindset. By delving into the mindsets of the main characters, we realize that a fixed mindset and a growth mindset can both apply to the same situation. Sometimes, one mindset is more applicable and beneficial than the other.
Mindset
Today, much research and discussion has been geared toward fixed and growth mindsets. In sum, a fixed mindset stems from the belief that an individual’s talents and abilities cannot be changed. A person is born with an ability. Growth mindset, then, is the opposite. An individual’s abilities can grow and improve with effort and positivity. Feedback isn’t a deterrent but a learning opportunity. Check out more information on mindset in the video below!
Village of the Damned
A strange occurrence takes Midwich by storm, er, sleep. One day everyone in town mysteriously falls asleep for no reason. When they wake up, a great deal of time later, all of the women, young and old, are with child. Some of the men are furious at their wives. Who are the real fathers of these soon-to-be children?
Professor Gordon Zellaby is ecstatic to be a father. At first he doesn’t realize that he isn’t actually the father. Nonetheless, he is excited. Once Gordon’s wife, Anthea, gives birth, the doctor notices that all of the children look similar: blond hair, big eyes. The children don’t seem to show emotion. They are robotic, cold and calculating. Zellaby is fascinated that all of the children are incredibly intelligent, including his son, David.
These mysterious (dare I say “alien”) children make the townspeople anxious, and they known it. Zellaby gathers them into a makeshift schoolhouse and teaches them. However, once the children kill two brothers with their odd powers (think: eyes glow and weird things happen), Zellaby realizes the danger these children present.
What’s more is that towns across the world have experienced this problem. The children know that others like them have been killed, so they ask Zellaby to find homes for each of them with parents who won’t turn them away.
All along, Zellaby has maintained a growth mindset. From an academic perspective, the children are fascinating. He teaches them on a highly intellectual level. At first he pushed aside their oddities. He believed they could change the future, find cures for diseases. Once the brothers are murdered and townspeople hypnotized, Zellaby learns his lesson.
In order to get rid of the kids, Zellaby creates a bomb. Knowing that the kids can read his mind, he resolves to think of nothing but a brick wall. The kids can’t penetrate his mental brick wall. Naturally, the kids get suspicious, but Zellaby holds onto this fixed mindset. He knows that the children are naturally no good. His mental wall almost crumbles completely, but the timer goes off and the schoolhouse is blown up, Zellaby with it. The final scene shows the children’s eyes floating from the flames, and Zellaby is nowhere in sight. For Zellaby, a fixed mindset worked in his favor, although he met a tragic end.
If it’s one thing Captain James Tiberius Kirk knows how to do, it’s to get in trouble by not following directions. After a warning to not enter the planet Melkot, Kirk decides to beam down anyway to try and establish peaceful relations. Of course the leader of the inhabitants, partially hidden by fog, says the away team must die as punishment for intruding . The method of death is peculiar. The away team (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov) are transported to an old western town. They are known as the historical Clanton gang while the Earps are going to kill them at 5 o’ clock. They will relive history and meet an inevitable end.
Chekov falls for a pretty girl who already belongs to one of the Earps. Poor Chekov doesn’t listen and is shot. The rest of the Enterprise believes he is actually dead in this “world.”
Then, McCoy concocts a tranquilizer to try and knock out the Earps. Scotty volunteers to be the Guinea pig, but the tranquilizer has no effect. How can that be when they did everything right? It should’ve worked! Should is the key word! Kirk, in his fixed mindset, is convinced that the tranquilizer was their only hope. Spock concludes that they must change their way of thinking. They can’t leave town due to a force field so they end up at the O.K. Corral at 5 o’ clock, waiting for the Earps.
As always, Spock has a solution. To override the effects of this strange world, they must believe that the bullets won’t hurt them. Spock does a classic mindmeld and “gives” the other Enterprise members the growth mindset needed to be indestructible. The world inside the force field doesn’t play by physical rules. This world isn’t real. It’s only real if you believe it. Realizing the bullets aren’t real (without doubt) is key to making it out alive. The mindmeld removes the doubt from the other’s minds. And don’t worry, Chekov is alive!
Gordon Zellaby, Captain Kirk, and Mr. Spock all experienced situations where their mindset was crucial to the outcome of the situation. Characters in both Village of the Damned and “Spectre of the Gun” used a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. For Zellaby, his growth mindset needed to change into a fixed mindset in order to help rid the town of the strange children (supposedly, anyway). The children would never be good, and a brick wall was essential. Meanwhile, the Enterprise crew needed a growth mindset to realize that they could solve their own problem. They needed a fixed mindset to believe that they wouldn’t die on Melkot.
Everyone uses both mindsets at different times in life. In most cases, one mindset is usually more helpful than the other. Just as Kirk and Zellaby.
Happy Easter to you and your family! I hope that you find the peace and strength needed to carry on during these chaotic and trying times. But I don’t want to be depressing–it seems like everyone is these days.
I’d like to thank you for all of your support! Thank you for reading and following Confessions of a Classic Soul! Thank you for following me on Facebook and Instagram! Thank you for reading my blog posts, poems, and videos.
There’s much more to come, so, as always, stay tuned! And spread the word!
Coming Soon
Monthly Mixtape, Featuring Erasure– April 25
A Glimpse at Mindset through the Minds of Capt. Kirk and Prof. Gordon Zellaby
My Best Friend, the Mourning Dove
And if you haven’t yet had the chance to view this month’s Sticky Notes video poem, you can watch it below.
In my house it’s called “nut roll,” which is equivalent to “nut bread.” In Croatia it’s called “povitica.” The Slovenians call it “potica.” No matter what you call it, the famous dessert roll with walnuts spread inside is a traditional Christmas and Easter food. The dessert is a tradition for many European countries, which is why it is still popular in the U.S., as many Americans come from similar European cultural backgrounds. While every country has its own recipe, the walnuts have become a classic.
Below you’ll find my family’s recipe for these sweet, addicting nut rolls, er, povitica, as my ancestors would say!
Ingredients
Bread:
8 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of salt
1 cup of sugar
4 sticks of margarine/oleo at room temp.
4 eggs well beaten
2 cups milk
1 cup water
2 packets of dry yeast
Walnut filling:
7-8 cups of ground walnuts
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs well beaten
1 cup milk
1 stick margarine
Before You Start
Yields 8 rolls. Time: TBD. This is usually an all-day project, but very well worth the time and energy!
First, the Bread!
In a large bowl, put in the flour. Make a well, or hole, in the flour.
The “well” doesn’t have to go all the way to the bottom.
Put salt and sugar in the well.
In medium sauce pan, put in margarine, milk, and water. Heat until the mixture is hot enough to melt yeast. The butter should be soft enough to squeeze by hand. Remove from heat.
Add beaten eggs to pan with the mixture. Stir.
Take 1/2 cup of mixture and put in separate bowl. Add yeast to this mixture and stir it until it dissolves completely.
Put this yeast mixture in the well with the salt and sugar. Start mixing.
Little by little, add the rest of the milk, water, and margarine mixture from the saucepan.
Mix dough until it’s sticky some lumps.
Add 1-2 cups of flour as necessary to make dough firmer.
Take dough out of the bowl and grease the bowl. Then put the dough back in.
Cover the top of the bowl with an old towel or sheet. Put the bowl someplace very warm. You can crank up your furnace or set the bowl on a space heater, with supervision.
If the bowl is not in a hot location, then the the bread will not rise.In a few hours, your bread should rise.
Put down a cloth and place 8 balls of dough on the cloth.
Cover the dough and let it rise again for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and whip up your walnut filling.
Walnut Filling
Boil milk and margarine similar to the way you did for the bread.
In a separate bowl, mix ground walnuts, sugar, vanilla, and beaten eggs. Mix well.
Add milk mixture a little at a time to the bowl.
Mix until it’s smooth enough to spread.
Time to Roll!
Roll out one ball of dough at a time with a rolling pin.
Spread nuts over dough. Try not to make it too full.
Roll dough like a jelly roll. Try to make the seam on the bottom.
Put roll on baking sheet. Brush with an egg/milk mixture. Prick the top of the roll the whole way across with a fork.
Bake for approx. 30 minutes until golden brown.
Let rolls cool. To store, wrap in foil and freeze.
It’s quite normal for the nuts to gush out while they’re baking. Don’t panic!
There’s still time before Easter. Start baking now!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 13 years since OneRepublic released their first album, Dreaming Out Loud (herein referred to as DOL for simplicity’s sake). Since 2007, the band’s fame has skyrocketed, making them one of the most prominent bands of the 2000s and 2010s. Not to mention they are fronted by the unstoppable Ryan Tedder, the “Undercover King of Pop,” (catch him on NBC’S Songland in April).
OneRepublic has been an inspiration and a comfort for me over the years. Their music takes on a variety of forms and can be analyzed from different perspectives, like any song, any poem. The band is famous for their universal and relatable ear worms. OneRepublic knows how to capture what it means to be human (in fact their fifth album, due to be released later this year, is entitled Human).
DOL is different than the band’s other three albums, and not simply because it’s the debut album. There is a darker tone to the first half of the album-a sense of self-awareness. The second half features a positive uphill climb. So, from this perspective, the songs as a collective group can be perceived as a Lenten reflection. Christians can find the meaning of Lent in both the dark and the uplifting songs. While OneRepublic’s sole intent was likely not to provide religious commentary, the glory of music is that it holds different meanings for different people.
Let’s take a deeper look into the album–and yes, we’re going song-by-song!
1. “Say (All I Need)”
While this song is not one that you might expect to open an album, it certainly sets the tone for the first half of the album. This song is very materialistic, as the person Tedder refers to throughout lives a lonely life and cannot let go of possessions. The chorus of the song reminds us that we don’t need to obsess over the objects we hold in our hands. Instead, we are encouraged to be grateful for what God has given us–life. From the Christian perspective, we will live fuller and happier lives if we live simply and realize that we only need basic essentials, like air and shelter.
Jesus himself lives simply, and he advises his disciples to do likewise. When he is tempted by Satan in the desert for 40 days, he must live as simply as possible. He did not even eat, thus forsaking even a basic necessity such as food. While this view of life sounds grim, remember: God isn’t saying that we can’t go out and buy things. We just need to be mindful of what we have and what we need.
In the song, the person with the materialistic desires will have trouble finding life as pure and simple as it used to be. This person knows the consequences of these desires, “knows the end.” However, removing the blindfold is another story.
2. “Mercy”
“Mercy” has become one of my favorites on the album. Throughout it we begin to see that sense of self-awareness start to form. Who is this “angel of mercy?” Do you have one in your own life? We all have someone in our lives who has pulled us out of the deep, dark depths of our minds, hearts, souls. The song beautifully narrates the story of a mind in distress. We don’t always think people (or angels) are watching over us. We make elaborate plans and watch them disintegrate before our very eyes. We think we’re doing ok but we’re not. We sometimes think we’re innocent when we’re guilty and sinful. The point is that mercy is available to all of us. We all want to love and to be loved, but humans are prone to sin. So, tragedy ensues and we become desperate for that angel, for mercy.
Forgiveness leads to a fresh start. God doesn’t want us to beat ourselves up. Forgiveness, then, is twofold: God forgives us, and we forgive ourselves. Easier said than done, I know. But God’s love and mercy is always present. It’s not going anywhere. We just have to partake in it and accept it.
In the song, Tedder mentions waiting for a plane. When we are reluctant to forgive ourselves, the reminder of our sin invades our lives. We never forget to beat ourselves up for the sins we have committed. But while we are beating ourselves up, we desperately want to escape. We can’t stand ourselves anymore. Give us a mirror and we flee.
Do we need to escape? Yes. We need to fly to “nowhere” in order to begin again. Consider “nowhere” a place of mercy and love. You are forgiven and you finally forgive yourself. Congratulations: you have a fresh start and can now live life fully!
3. “Stop and Stare”
Ok, I lied. I love “Stop and Stare” more than “Mercy.” “Stop and Stare” is the perfect follow-up to “Mercy” because it continues in that self-awareness/forgiveness/start again vein. In this song, Tedder’s persona is that of someone who can’t hates to look in the mirror, but more so than in “Mercy.” Here he is stuck, but notice he hasn’t escaped the mirror. He embraces it. He is scared to move on and change, but he also can’t deal with the person he is now. This song is charged with tension. It’s about overcoming the self.
Sin makes us hate ourselves, especially once we see what havoc it wreaks on our lives, what it does to our heart and soul. After a while, we see a distorted image of our true selves in the mirror. We want fairness and justice, but do we deserve it? You may tell yourself that you don’t, but God doesn’t believe that to be true. God sent His only son to liberate humans from sin. God sacrificed His only son out of love and mercy. He did this so we might truly live again. Every once in a while we need to “stop and stare” in order to readjust our lives and our paths. God wants what is good for us, and He wants to guide us. By sending Jesus to die for our sins, He has opened the path for us to start again. All we have to do is accept the path and set our feet upon it.
4. “Apologize”
Now to a song that has withstood the test of time: OneRepublic’s first number one hit. And for the record, as a musician, I still count all sixteen measures until Ryan Tedder begins singing!
This song takes on a bit of a different direction, as the sole theme is “no, I don’t accept your apology. It’s way too late for that.” I don’t mean to speak ill of the song, but from a Christian/Lenten lens, withholding an apology and clutching onto a grudge is one of many ways to harm the human heart and soul. Yet, the anger in this song is something we humans recognize all too well. We all know what it’s like to be betrayed, and sometimes we don’t want to let things go. If the other person didn’t care enough about me and my feelings, then why should I give him a second chance?
Quite simply: God will always forgive you (He even sent his son to die on a cross for you), so you must forgive others in order to be truly free. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us…”
Thanks to OneRepublic and this song, I learned the word “apathy” back in middle school. And even though the word does not bear a positive connotation, it’s one of my favorite words!
This song is complex. There are so many emotions going on here for a song about apathy. But wait–it’s a song about ditching apathy. He can’t sleep; he can’t walk right; he can’t breathe. This song may be the ultimate self-awareness song that the others have led up to. Finally, he is able to ditch his apathy. From the sound of it, he’s found a purpose, or someone, to live for. Emotions and empathy have begun to trickle back into his life and he is ready to dive back into life–into living. Yet, everyone is still watching him. These repeated lines at the end of the song show that people are skeptical of his transformation. Has he really turned from the apathetic side? Is he really empathetic now?
Much like the other songs on the album thus far, man is wrought with tension. His feelings are very raw and human. God wants us to express those feelings. What He doesn’t want is for us to be careless, and sometimes that seems impossible. With all of the chaos and evil in the world, it’s easier to turn off the news and not care for a while. We just have to be careful that we don’t become self-absorbed and turn away for too long, or our souls will pay the price. The more we turn inward and discard those who are in most need, the more we ruin ourselves and our relationship with God.
P.s. “Goodbye Apathy” is this month’s Monthly Mixtape. Head over to the Monthly Mixtape page to see features from previous months.
6. “All Fall Down”
Before we jump into this song, I need to pause and give a shout out to another member of OneRepublic. Brent Kutzle plays cello on a number or 1R songs, especially on DOL songs. Have you ever known a pop/rock band with a cellist?!
“All Fall Down” relates back to “Mercy” and “Stop and Stare.” When doesn’t our world come crashing down? The truth is, we are all human; sometimes it’s easy to forget because we get self-absorbed in our own problems. But as humans, we all fall down. It’s inevitable. We still like to beat ourselves up for it. Me? I’m a perfectionist. I hate falling down, but sometimes we just have to fail.
God speaks to us in our failings. When we fall down, He is there to pick us up. He loves us no matter how many times we fall or how many times we sin and betray Him. If His love wasn’t unconditional, then He never would have sent His only son to save us.
7. “Tyrant”
OneRepublic did it again. Thanks to them, I learned the word “tyrant” back in middle school alongside “apathy.” This song has a rock edge to it, something a little similar to what you would hear Imagine Dragons do these days. Looking back, it’s surprising that it’s a OneRepublic song, which makes the song even more powerful and unique.
“Tyrant” takes that self-awareness we just spent the past six songs forming and shatters it completely. Here, mercy has went out the window. Sin and evil are more important. This tyrant only cares about himself. He’d rather lie and live in denial. He doesn’t want justified. He believes he’s doing just fine. The apathy is back, and he can’t see that he’s actually blind to life.
Wow, we’ve taken a nosedive here. With that being said, we’re still human, and this type of evil runs in our veins at certain times in our lives. Our world has seen a number of tyrants over the centuries. In the end, we must turn to God and put our focus on Him. If we live too much by the world’s values, we’ll become self-absorbed tyrants for sure.
8. “Prodigal”
You read the title. You know where I’m going with this one, don’t you? The biblical story of the “Prodigal Son” is echoed in this song. I’ll admit, this song has always confused me a bit. The person Tedder is addressing is the prodigal, the one who will take anything. But Tedder is ashamed of the person and still wants to be with them? Huh?
Put simply, God, like the father in the biblical story, is always happy to see the return of a lost son. Jesus’ parable about saving one sheep and leaving the other 99 behind is also very similar to the situation here. God is not ashamed of us, and He will continue to love us. Drawing back to “Say (All I Need),” we sometimes have a habit of obsessing over material goods. Sometimes we get sucked up in the world and lose sight of who we truly are. God will be there to save us in the end, but only if we want Him to.
9. “Won’t Stop”
We’ve made to the positive uphill climb! “Won’t Stop” begins the ascent we’ve been waiting for. On a sidenote, I always thought this song would make for a great duet!
Even though the song is meant to be romantic, you can also look at it from a Christian perspective. God always waits for you. He’s not going anywhere. Or, you can look at this song from a different perspective. Perhaps it’s you who realizes that your heart is going to beat for God. He is the one who will bring you back to life.
10. “All We Are”
Still on that uphill climb, “All We Are” speaks a lot for human relationships, especially romantic ones. When drastic change hits, we feel lost and don’t know where to turn. We even lose who we are. But when it comes to relationships, you don’t have to let these big changes ruin the relationship. Separation isn’t always necessary. People bring out the best in each other, and that’s the beauty of human relationships. No matter how hard we try, we need each other.
Friendships have a unbreakable bond; marriages are covenants. God doesn’t want us to give up. During Lent, one of the best things we can do is reflect on our relationships and brainstorm ways in which we can make them better, asking God for guidance along the way.
11. “Someone to Save You”
Don’t you need someone to save you? Similar to the “angel of mercy,” the song is a bit more accusatory, but we get a clear sense that the person Tedder is speaking to needs help. This person has been patient for way too long, likely because of apathy (I vote we rename this album Apathy)! The “angel of mercy” in this song is honesty. How often do we lie to ourselves in order to make ourselves feel (or look) better? How often do we go on believing something about ourselves that isn’t true? We don’t actually find out what this person has done–why honesty is needed. We don’t know if the person is believing negative things about herself or if she’s ignorant of the evil she’s done.
Regardless, honesty is the cure. No matter what we believe, God knows the truth, and we can’t hide from Him. In fact, He wants to help us find honesty. Like Tedder in the song, God doesn’t want to lose us. He doesn’t want us to head down this dark road that we can’t come back from. The farther we travel, the more we stray from honesty and who we are. We need God to show us a bit of honesty so we can rediscover ourselves and become free. In fact, God does send someone to save us: Jesus. And Jesus’ parables, miracles, and life help us return to honesty.
12. “Come Home”
I have much to say about this song in general, but I’ll try to limit myself. This song is beautiful from a lover’s standpoint. Such gentleness and such storytelling! If we relate it to Christianity, the song is a reminder that God wants us to come home to Him. He’s been waiting. Our loved ones have been waiting for us, too. Home is Heaven, the true home we’ve been striving for throughout this journey, throughout these past 11 songs. God makes us whole. God has been fighting for us the whole time. He went (and continues to go) to extraordinary lengths to have us with Him. Forever.
13. “Apologize” with Timbaland
Yes, this is the radio version of the song. A little different, but still iconic. And since we’ve already discussed the song at great lengths, I won’t torture you with it again. You’re welcome!
OneRepublic Throwback Pic
OneRepublic has been addressing the human condition in their songs throughout their entire career. Their debut album was no exception to this pattern. While each song holds different meanings for different listeners, the album as a whole can be a depiction of the human condition in connection with Christianity. During this crazy Lenten season, may we take a second to really step back and reflect on our lives and our relationship with God. And if you need some extra inspiration, I recommend Dreaming Out Loud.
Further Listening
If this review has left you craving more OneRepublic, I recommend all of their albums; however, I especially want to promote their newly released single, “Better Days.” It aligns with everything I’ve analyzed here in DOL. There will be better days. God hasn’t given up on us, so we can’t give up on Him. He’s always there to cheer us on!
Officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) patrol LA and respond to a variety of criminal situations. Each crime, which is claimed to be based on real life events experienced by the LAPD, is announced by the dispatcher (Shaaron Claridge). Some of the situations turn out to be amusing, like when a boy gets his head stuck in a fence, or when a woman thinks there’s a rattlesnake in her suitcase when it’s actually an electric toothbrush. But how crazy can the crime get? Below is a list of 10 things you would never hear the dispatcher say.
“One Adam-12, One Adam 12…”
See the male, age 19, running from the college cafeteria with a 10-quart container of ice cream.🍨
See the woman with 5-inch stilettos break into a Camaro with a microphone stand. 👠
See the man outside of a burning warehouse who claims it caught fire while he was searching for his pet iguana. 🦎
Reported claims of disturbance at the bandshell between two clarinetists. 🎼
See the man, aged-40, chasing poodle down 5th and Main, weaving between traffic. 🐩
See two men dressed as cowboys having a gunfight in front of the supermarket. 🤠
Possible robbery at Smith’s Flower Shop. Suspect fled on foot. Sprinklers turned on inside shop.⚘
See the woman, early thirties and black hair, runs three redlights in Dodge pickup. Lava lamps in bed of truck. 🚦
Possible arsonist at Sunset Donut Shop on Nutmeg Avenue. 🍩
Robbery in progress: dog runs out of Joe’s corner store with jar of peanut butter on its head. 🥜
Join the Discussion!
Have a better situation that the dispatcher would never say? We’d love to hear it!
At Saint Vincent College, several classes across a variety of disciplines are reading the Feminist Manifesto. In order to promote feminism on campus, each class is creating projects to coincide with Adichie’s powerful suggestions.
For our creative nonfiction course, we were asked to write a flash essay on an assigned suggestion. My suggestion was number eight: reject likability. Read my essay below!
Suggestion Eight: Reject Likability
S— was determined to not allow his speech impediment to prevent him from the things he loved most: working outside and cheering on the Steelers. For about a year or two, he and I were pulled out of our elementary homerooms to attend sessions with the speech therapist. His lessons were more intense than mine, as I was only there to work on my lisp. At first, I couldn’t decipher a word of what S— was attempting to say. But as I heard his progress and witnessed his hard work, I began to understand him, especially during our bus rides home when we would talk.
Not everyone acknowledged the school bus as a “no bullying zone.” In fact, I was bullied on the bus more than on school grounds. The other boys, naturally, viewed S—‘s speech difficulties as humorous, and they seized the opportunity to remind S— of it any chance they could. I remember S— would pound the back of the bus seat in frustration, his face growing bright pink. He’d quickly wipe away the tears in hope that no one would see him.
One day, the boys were verbally attacking S—, like always. S—‘s defenses were useless, and the frustration began to boil inside of me. Knowing that I’d likely be the next victim if I raised my voice, I spoke up anyway. “Leave him alone! Stop it!” Then the next round of insults was shot in my direction.
In the moment, I felt ashamed. These boys, some of whom I had likely played with at recess just a few years earlier, were mocking me. If they liked me before, they didn’t now. But on this day, the desire to support the underdog was ingrained in my heart.
Confessions of a Classic Soul 