Be strong. Be a man. Why are you crying? Don't cry, don't let me catch you crying. It's what we're told while growing up. Cut the grass, take out the trash, wash the car. These manly chores are somewhat of an attempt the grow us into this manly man we're supposed to be. Football, basketball, baseball. These sports are supposed to teach us how to be tough, how to find trust in other men, in being strong. This is how you impress women, cologne, hair jel, nice clothes. We're supposed to look nice not too nice to where you come off as gay. That's supposedly a bad thing. Don't be a pussy, you're supposed to hook up with the women. Get her phone number. Call her. The more phone numbers you get and the more women you hook up with, the cooler and manlier you are. Here's the condom you're supposed to use. Now go learn to change the oil, change a tire on the car. Know your way under the hood of the car. Know these things, impress these women so you can have these women. All through school, middle school, high school, and even college, we're pressured into becoming this image. A strong image, image is everything, it will get you women. Don't be gay, that's for sissies, you'll be bullied all your life if you're a sissy, you don't want that. It's silly how our society guides us in this direction. Go excersice, stay in shape, be able to do at least over 25 push-ups. Build that chest, that 6-pack. Don't ever get your ass kicked. And if that does happen, don't let her or anyone else see it. And if you do get your ass kicked and you do walk away with a couple bruises and a black eye, just lie. Lie about it and make it seem that it'd be impossible to win whatever fight you were in. Be a tough guy. No women, no person likes a weak guy. You'll get nowhere in life. Work those triceps, abs, chest, biceps, calves. The guys on television have it, women want them, you want women to want you. Join a frat, it makes you look cool. Be able to consume an absurd amount of alcohol in a very short amount of time. It makes you look cool. It's all image. American boys go through this all over the country. Be tough. Do not look weak. Ever. Don't be weak, nobody likes anyone weak, but more importantly, no women likes anyone week. It's insane the pressure we go through. Our peers push us even more. You don't want to look stupid in front of them, you'll lose this so-called friends. You want as many friends as possible, it makes you look cool. It'll make you look cool in front of the women. Women love popular men. When are we going to stop and think about what these women actually like in men? Do all women even really care about how strong you are? If you're able to change the oil in a car, if you're able to bench press a stupid amount of weight, if you have many friends, if you know everything about football? Does all of this shit really matter? How far will this get me in life, will it take me to where I want to be in life? I think not.
"I'm not trying to create a first impression I can't live up to."
-Sage Francis.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Poets In The Kitchen
I am currently a creative writing major here at Florida State. I grew up writing and playing my own music, so I figured that becoming a creative writing student would be natural and expected from me. One of my main inspirations as a writer is the music I listen to. A lot of my favorite artists, not only make good music, but they have very deep, personal, and inteligent lyrics.
Many of the rappers I listen to are seen as poets because of how unique and deep their lyrics are. One of my favorite rappers is from Providence, RI and he goes by the name Sage Francis. He went to school in Rhode Island and got a degree in journalism. He's won many awards for his spoken work and slam poetry pefromances. A lot of his songs are consisted of phrases with double meanings, and very complex word play. One of my favorite examples from him are in a song called "New Word Order". He does this thing where he'll use the last word in a phrase as the first word. It's hard to explain but it's really interesting and creative. "...search for the best deals underneath the sun, block the barn yard punch the clock, knock it into next week." "...concepts of time sheets of acid rain drop and star rolling a dislocated joint custody of the moments you are holding." Underneath the sun/sun block. Time sheets/sheets of acid, acid rain, rain drop, drop and start rollin rolling a dislocated joint, joint custody. It's probably one of the most impressive things I've heard in rap music. After hearing that song I've tried doing something similar in my own writing, but rather than playing with these phrases, I tried playing with the sounds of many words. For example, "and you would think that after spending years tugging on her heart i'd earn a heart of honor on her no longer talking to my former self for myself to learn, no longer." It's still a work in progess, but the idea definitely comes from Sage Francis.
For me, my poets in the kitchen were the rappers and musicians I listen to. Most of the music I've been listening to I've been into since my freshman year of high school. Other artists are Slug from Minneapolis rap group Atmosphere, Tom Gabel from Gainesville punk band Against Me!, Aesop Rock who is a rapper from Long Island. Most of my ideas stem from these people due to their methods of expressing themselves. They tend to do this in a very poetic and honest way, which is something I appreciate and tend to do in my own writing. I feel that if I had never listened to these artists, I probably would be writing, and if I were writing, my style would be completely different. I thank these people for helping mold me into the person I am today. Another poet that I feel you should give a listen to, is Buddy Wakefield. He's a spoken word poet and his performances really add to effect of his words.
Many of the rappers I listen to are seen as poets because of how unique and deep their lyrics are. One of my favorite rappers is from Providence, RI and he goes by the name Sage Francis. He went to school in Rhode Island and got a degree in journalism. He's won many awards for his spoken work and slam poetry pefromances. A lot of his songs are consisted of phrases with double meanings, and very complex word play. One of my favorite examples from him are in a song called "New Word Order". He does this thing where he'll use the last word in a phrase as the first word. It's hard to explain but it's really interesting and creative. "...search for the best deals underneath the sun, block the barn yard punch the clock, knock it into next week." "...concepts of time sheets of acid rain drop and star rolling a dislocated joint custody of the moments you are holding." Underneath the sun/sun block. Time sheets/sheets of acid, acid rain, rain drop, drop and start rollin rolling a dislocated joint, joint custody. It's probably one of the most impressive things I've heard in rap music. After hearing that song I've tried doing something similar in my own writing, but rather than playing with these phrases, I tried playing with the sounds of many words. For example, "and you would think that after spending years tugging on her heart i'd earn a heart of honor on her no longer talking to my former self for myself to learn, no longer." It's still a work in progess, but the idea definitely comes from Sage Francis.
For me, my poets in the kitchen were the rappers and musicians I listen to. Most of the music I've been listening to I've been into since my freshman year of high school. Other artists are Slug from Minneapolis rap group Atmosphere, Tom Gabel from Gainesville punk band Against Me!, Aesop Rock who is a rapper from Long Island. Most of my ideas stem from these people due to their methods of expressing themselves. They tend to do this in a very poetic and honest way, which is something I appreciate and tend to do in my own writing. I feel that if I had never listened to these artists, I probably would be writing, and if I were writing, my style would be completely different. I thank these people for helping mold me into the person I am today. Another poet that I feel you should give a listen to, is Buddy Wakefield. He's a spoken word poet and his performances really add to effect of his words.
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