Anatomy of a song: This Fire Burns

Just a heads up, I'm going to start this off with something that doesn't really pertain to what I want to talk about AND doesn't even really tie in at the end.  But since I can't think of a different way to start, you're stuck.  Sorry.  You get what you pay for.

Last year, I flirted with re-becoming a wrestling fan.  Like most things I attempt, I failed.  Miserably.  While I still follow it through internet updates, I haven't really watched it in a couple of months.  Mostly because it was hard to commit a three-hour chunk of time on Monday nights, partly because the storylines were really terrible.  But during that time, I was introduced to CM Punk, and my life is definitely better because of it.  This post isn't about that, though- it's about Punks' entrance at Money in the Bank 2011, which has quite possibly changed my life forever.

Pretty powerful statement, I realize- let me just say that it's more about his entrance song being the life changer with overall entrance functioning as more of a conduit.  There- now it doesn't sound so ridiculous.  Anyways, back to the entrance.  Punk comes out after this whole crazy summer storyline where he's going to leave the WWE and wants to take the championship with him.  Whatevs.  They made a really cool promo video for it, which caught me up to speed and sort of got me excited.  The Pay-per-view took place in Chicago, which is apparently CM Punks "hometown".  Aside: I'm a little skeptical about everything in wrestling- like, is it really his hometown?  Would anybody in the arena known it was his hometown unless the WWE announcers told us?  Maybe he's not really from Chicago.  Maybe he's just from Aurora. 

And wow, I'm really getting off track.  The point is that the atmosphere was wonderfully electric- one of the most electric I've ever seen.  Over 14,000 people in attendance, most of them chanting Punks name in anticipation of his entrance (BTW, the WWE has the science of the entrance down pat.  The repetition which rewards our expectations and heightens our excitement and connection to the wrestler- WWE may be many things, but brilliant is one of them)- and then I hear it, for the first time- the searing guitar intro, the 32nd notes, the dancing riff, the dramatic breath before the chorus...and months after the fact, I am transported ringside, rooting against the evil McMahon empire and pledging allegiance to the Straightedge Society. 

I pretty much went right out and downloaded the song immediately, and over the past few months it has really been an important coping mechanism for me.  My goal for this post (and hopefully in the future for different songs) is sort of break down the song and what I like about it.  While I'm no Simon Cowell, I do hope that my years of experience as a drummer combined with my one semester of Music in Society and all those times my dad played in bars on the weekend when I was a kid will help me to not make a complete a** of myself.  Really though, all musical knowledge contained in this post is compliments of my wife.  Who is awesome.

"This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (with bonus Titantron)

Eh?  EH?  Effing awesome, right?

Clearly this song is all about the chorus.  Not that the verses/bridge are bad necessarily- indeed, they're adequate and there's definitely some nice things going on- the screaming intro (excellent drawing out of the "YEAH"), a nice chunky guitar riff/pounding drum combo, the varied screaming (moving very nicely from the bark to the guttural whine).  Lyrically though, it doesn't blow me away- destiny blah fulfilled blah in my hands whoopdy proving ground darn do.  In fact, if I didn't like the vocalist so much, I'd probably be tempted to just skip (or "fast forward" if you're using a 'tape' player) right to the chorus.

Because it's so freaking awesome. 

The verses are like stockings on Christmas morning, and the chorus is the biggest present under the tree.  I've had some really great stockings.  ITunes gift cards, candy, Burt's Bees- stockings are definitely an underrated part of Christmas and you totally want what's inside of them.  But you pretty much power through them because you're really just there for all that swag under the tree.  And that's what this chorus is, a big ol box of Official-Red-Ryder-Carbine-Action-Two-Hundred-Shot-Range-Model-Air-Rifle-Turbo-Man-Jelly-of-the-Month-club Christmas swag.

Still, you obviously can't open the biggest present first- otherwise Christmas would be a huge letdown.  So you get some other gifts to sort of build the anticipation.  Socks, underwear, notepads, a gun rack...

For the record, I've now given you a picture and video clip from Wayne's World.  You're welcome. 

Back to the point, the smaller gift from Killswitch Engage is that hauntingly beautiful arpeggiated chord right before the chorus, which as I alluded to before is this really dramatic moment- it's like you're hanging there right on the edge of a precipitous drop off and you have no idea what's going to happen- you just know it's going to rock your freaking socks off.

And then BAM- it totally does.

This is, hands down, one of my top five favorite choruses of all time.  Easily.  Mostly because of how the words, melody, and instrumentation all work together to create this very powerful musical moment that resonates deeply inside of me. One of the reasons that music is absolutely essential to the human experience is it allows us to experience things in much more tangible, powerful ways than mere words can.  For instance, here are the words to the chorus of "This Fire Burns":

Even through the darkest days

This fire burns always x2

On paper, in black and white, they're pretty meh, actually.  I can't really grab onto them- they aren't saying anything to me.  It's not a very interesting rhyme.  Yawn.  Next.  

But when you hear them through Howard Jones dancing around the very edge of his vocal range (it feels like it, anyways), along side the clean guitar picking over top of the dirty slough, to the chromatic movement of a melody tensely building a mood of despair and angst while the driving drums, words, and melody resolution promote a sense of hope...you can't help but be taken to a place where you feel like you can take on whatever challenges and hard times that come your way.  It's the Growing Pains theme song on steroids.

Life has been hard for awhile.  I know that in context of the whole of humanity I have it pretty darn good- but just because you can be thankful doesn't mean you can smile, and my life has had more despair and hopelessness than I ever thought it would.  This chorus is like a proudly-waved middle finger to the things that would keep us held down, a poignant reminder that we are here now, and that while life is rough and none of us make it out alive, we each have it inside of us to move forward, to live, to survive, to say that no matter what happens, I will wake up this morning, hold tightly to those I hold most dear, and put on my a**-kicking boots and get ready to do this thing we call existing.

If you didn't get the chills while reading what I just wrote, please go back and read it again while you're blasting the chorus to "This Fire Burns". 

That's it for this edition of Anatomy Of A Song.  Tune in some future time where I'll likely discuss some other song and how it has impacted me...or something. 

PIC- http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/22616252.jpg

Cedar Point 2.11

I'm going to say something and it's probably going to make you jealous. More jealous of me than you probably already are.

I went to Cedar Point last week. Yeah, that's right. I said it. I don't feel bad.

Of course, this wasn't your average, everyday trip to Cedar Point. When you are me, you don't take time to plan out a luxurious trip with plenty of time on both sides to get ready and enough time to enjoy the whole of the Cedar Point experience. You fly by the seat of your pants and tag along with your folks at the last minute. Because let's face it- that's just how I roll. The flip side of that spontaneity is that it takes a week to recover. It's exactly a week to the day since we were walking the hallowed pavement of Cedar Point- and I'm just now starting to feel myself again. Lucky you guys- there's a weeks worth of Jason Parks buildup that I plan to spray all over your faces!

In the interests of gloating/creating a virtual memoir of an amazing trip, I am now going to blog my trip.

June 20th
-The trip starts off with me, at my folks house, stirring in bed, thinking (perhaps hoping) that it is well past 10:00 a.m. So I roll over, grab my phone, allow my eyes to adjust, check the time...8:24. Wow. So it's going to be one of those days.
-After some time in the pool, we get ready and hop on the road. My serious control issues with driving rear their head again. Not while my dad is driving- he drove enough during my formative years to permanently give him a free pass as a driver. No, it was the other two drivers that had to incur my wrath- Mom and Josh. My mom has been driving for longer than I've been alive. And while my brother hasn't, he's also logged some time behind the wheel. But nonetheless, it didn't stop me from sitting in the back seat white-knuckling for virtually the whole time. Sorry guys!
-Not that my mom and brother were flawless behind the wheel. My mom almost got forced off the road a couple times by semis trying to change lanes. Maybe it isn't just Nebraska, Mom...
-And my brother almost took us off the road while playing the letter search game. I know 'J' is hard to find, bro. But I would like to live to find 'K'. And 'L'. And whatever letters come after that.
-When we finally arrived safe and sound in Sandusky (Thanks be to God, no thanks be to the crazy drivers that live in my family), we had to wait around for like an hour while my sister got off of work. And since Delaney and I were trying to surprise her, that basically means we had to hide in the lobby for about an hour- since she was going to be getting off of work 'any minute'. Well, news flash folks- I'm a large man. It's difficult for me to find spaces to hide. And when I do find a space, chances are I have had to contort myself very uncomfortably to get there. And if I am uncomfortable- then the world is uncomfortable.
-But hey- this happened. So that made all the waiting and hiding and contorting and cursing worthwhile.
-After we (finally- JEEZ) picked up Jenny, we went to this place called 'Mona Pizza'.

Smoking hot, right? And she's not bad looking either. ZING!

All I need to tell you about this place is that they have a pizza that incorporates mashed potatoes, cheese, and bacon. Yeah.
-I think I might like to live in Sandusky. In addition to the amusement park and my new favorite pizza place, they have an Olive Garden, a Toys 'R Us, and this one Cleaning Complex that had a dry cleaners, a pet wash, a car wash, and a laundry man- all in one. Woah! If cleanliness is next to Godliness, then Sandusky is a stone's throw away from Heaven.
-Of course, all good things must end. Come to find out, we were staying in a 1 star hotel. At least, that's what Random Dude In The Hallway said. I don't know how all they figure out hotel ratings. All I know is that there was no fridge, no nuker, no elevator, crappy AC, and Cleveland sports on the TV. Come to think of it, I'd be surprised if it even got 1 star.

Side tangent: The name of the place was America's Best Value Inn. That should have been the tip off right there. In my experience, if a hotel has words like 'Economy', 'Budget', 'Value'- then those are just buzz words for 'Cheap' and 'Donuts For Breakfast'. And when you combine those terms with the word 'Inn'...well, let's just say that when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place to stay, the place they went to immediately after the inn turned them away was an animal stable. Sure, maybe I didn't have to shack up with a horse. But I did have to share a bed with my brother. Is that any better? It's like Jane Goodall having to share a bed with one of her gorilla friends. But without so much hair.

June 21st
-Delaney. Thanks a lot for getting us all up at FREAKING 6 IN THE MORNING!!! And then falling back asleep after we were all too awake to do the same.

Precious moment? No. Not really.

-The actual day itself was pretty much a blur. Lots of walking around. Lots of rides. Well, not for me. I was too portly to go on the Wicked Twister and the Woodstock Express (which, to be fair, is a children's ride), so I was pretty much defeated at that point. Besides, for me it was more about allowing my daughter to experience Cedar Point for the first time. That, my friends, was a success.
Delaney's first ride was a Merry-go-round, which is a lot like when I went to Canada for the first time and wanted to eat at Taco Bell. But she did well, and went on lots of really cool rides- some of which you can't even find at fairgrounds! One thing I noticed- kids are fearless. Roller coaster? No problem. Power Tower? She probably would have if they (and I) would have let her. I remember being similar when I first went to Cedar Point in 4th grade (probably a little more afraid than she was). I know there's a scientific/psychological reason for this. But I'm not going to talk about that now. I'm just going to tell you my daughter has tiger blood and Adonis DNA and leave it at that.
-Your name is Marcus Bulgaria? (Inside joke)
-It's pretty wild to see that many people intersecting in one place- thousands of stories from across the world, meeting here to enjoy a day of fun and death-defying. And yet, we're not really intersecting. We're all just there to do our thing. Sure, we might see people multiple times in the park (why is it that some people stand out more to us than other people in that setting?) but really, they are just background filler.
-It must suck to be an employee working on the rides. Because obviously what they do is remove your heart and replace it with a battery. Seriously, those people are like robots. All of us paying customers are having the time of our lives and the employees are rocking hard-core poker faces. I know, I know- lots of repetition+tedious jobs+bitterness=hard-core poker face. But still- I think they really turn them into robots. Just be careful Jenny when they ask you to go "downstairs", don't go down the dark, dimly lit tunnel lined with the pipes. Run away.
- Famous Daves. Wonderful, WONDERFUL food.

And a random piece of toast

Beef brisket. Ribs. Chicken. Corn on the cob. Baked beans. Cornbread muffins. WOW. Delicious. I see now why Dave is Famous. I wasn't so sure at first. I mean, I had never heard of him. How famous could he be? But then I thought about it, and realized that maybe he's just a kindred spirit- a fellow narcissist who hit it big. So I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. And boy oh boy, am I glad I did!

My brother is totally checking Lucy out.

June 22nd
-The trip comes to an end. We go home with 0 casualties and tons o' fun. If I had to do it over again? I would. But I would go down a couple days earlier and stay a day or two longer.

The coolest part of the trip? Seeing how the relationship between my two kids has developed. Whenever we would call down to talk to Mommy, Delaney was like 'Um, yeah, sure, whatever, let me talk to Shane'. And then her and Shane would just talk and talk and talk. Same thing when I was talking to Shane on the phone. "Hi daddy, I wanna talk to Delaney". Hey thanks Shane. Love you too.

But really, this trip is not about Cedar Point. This trip was a validation of how awesome my family is- both the family I am a son to and the family I am the man of. Obviously I am the common denominator, and so it's most likely my residual awesomeness that has contaminated everyone else. But still- they're awesome! We're awesome! I AM AWESOME!!!