But here it comes again

Right now Mother Nature is displaying my favorite kind of weather: rain. And it’s not that yucky cold rain that makes everything look miserable – it’s of the nice spring variety; my favorite. It’s the kind that makes me want to sit out on the porch for hours on end. Or, at least, until it stops comin’ down.

I don’t know why, but I love the rain. It’s just something new and different after a couple of dry days. Right now I am experiencing a strong urge to tie on my bathing suit and frolic around in the falling wetness. After this long week that seems like the perfect thing to do, but I’ll never do it. Not by myself, at least. I’ll wait until I have a certain someone to frolic with.

The “Roaring” Promenade

Prom. I attended the Junior Prom this year, but now I have my own to think about for next year. I think that prom is an overrated drawn-out thing that shouldn’t have been made into such a big deal. I know girls that spend hundreds of dollars on a stupid prom dress that they will only wear once. All prom is is a dance. A dance where fancy dresses and tuxes seem to be absolutely essential. The prom court is just a popularity contest. Honestly, it’s not much different than its sister Homecoming.

I want my Junior Prom to be a recreation of the “Roarin’” Twenties. This means short flapper dresses, a jazz band, and dances consisting of the Foxtrot, waltz, tango, the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. All of this would take place where else but in our high school gymnasium where prom is supposed to be rather than having it at some fancy-ass resort that costs tons of money. Let’s put aside the money that could be spent on prom and put it towards our Senior trip so nobody will have to open up their wallets. Let’s eliminate the unnecessary limousine costs and have our dance right across from the place where coronation takes place. Let’s go back to how it was in the good ol’ days.

All I want is to walk in in a cute little short flapper dress (sparkly but not too sparkly and outrageous) with my boyfriend on my arm, hear the band strike up their saxophones and trumpets and have a grand time. (Holden Caulfield would kill me for that “grand” remark.) The gym won’t be recognizable, the bar could be transformed into a speakeasy, and it will be so corny that it will turn out to be a blast. None of the stupid rap crap or the preferable dance known as “grinding.” No, instead we will dance the Charleston.

This will never happen, but I can dream, right? I bet my dream for prom is much different than the average teenage girl’s. But hey, we’re in a recession, it’s time to be practical.

Fall down the stairs with Tilly (NeXt article)

Those out there who are searching for something “different” to listen to should consider Tilly and the Wall. Maybe you recognize this name from Leo Lionni’s children’s book, “Tillie and the Wall,” but let me assure you, this Tilly is not the little mouse you may have read about. Though drums occasionally set the beat for this band, more often than not, Jamie Pressnall tap-dances it. Yeah, you read correctly; she tap dances.

Instead of cymbal crashes or loud pounds on a bass drum, Pressnall’s beautiful and precise steps accompany the voices and instruments of the other band members. Listen to “Too Excited” where it seems the title of the song is perfectly suited to Jamie’s enthusiastic opening. The band’s lyrics range from sweet to harsh. There’s a huge difference in the mood when going from “Lost Girls” or “Let It Rain” to either “Pot Kettle Black” or “Too Excited.” Listen to “Chandelier Lake” and taste their interesting choice of instruments along with sweet lyrics. Then pop in “Rainbows In The Dark” to experience the truth in their lyrics.

Usually just Kianna Alarid and Neely Jenkins sing along with Jamie’s tap dancing, but every once in awhile, Pressnall’s husband Derek has something to say (“Let It Rain” and “Alligator Skin”). Check out their albums “Bottoms of Barrels,” “Wild Like Children,” and “O” and have a musical journey with Tilly and the Wall.

We get it! You kissed a girl and you liked it

Katy Perry.

When I first heard her hit “I Kissed A Girl,” I thought, hey, this isn’t bad. It’s actually kind of funny. Then I heard it again. And again. And again. And again. Everytime I turned on the radio. Every single time I flipped to Playlist. Everywhere I turned, people were singing it. I took it off my iPod after having it on there for less than a week. Goodbye, Katy.

I have not listened to her full CD, but the ones I have heard have not brought pleasure to my ears. Namely “Ur So Gay.” Honestly?!? HONESTLY?!?!? I disliked it right away because of the spelling of “you’re,” but then the song was horrible as well. It was mostly the lyrics that really pissed me off.

I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf
While jacking off listening to Mozart
You bitch and moan about LA
Wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway
You don’t eat meat
And drive electrical cars
You’re so indie rock it’s almost an art
You need SPF 45 just to stay alive

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like
No you don’t even like…

…and that’s not even the whole song.

Listen, I’m not all about gay rights or anything, but this song and these lyrics are so awful! There are plenty more creative people with meaningful lyrics that deserve what she has and more. Sure, she may be homophobic, but that does not mean she has to profess her dislike of the gay population to the whole world. I mean, c’mon! She kissed a girl! Should she not be sick with herself?

She got famous with the most meaningless song on the planet, became even more famous with her other meaningless songs, and now her music is sung by young girls across the country? What’s wrong here?

I hate the little onesie things that she wears for concerts. I watched her performance on MTV one night, and her voice was even worse than her lyrics. She’s like one of those Disney kids where you can tell just how much technology has interfered with their “talent.” (‘Cause for some reason every Disney kid has to sing as well – that’s another thing I get pissed about.)

I respected her at first. I thought “I Kissed A Girl” was neat because it was different; no other artist I know of would ever come up with something so bizarre. Now it’s old, and she’s trying to use another single off of her album (the soft song on the album) to show her vulnerable side. Well, I don’t see it. Keep kissing girls and telling people that they don’t even like… PENIS. (Seriously, look up those “Ur So Gay” lyrics and you’ll know what I am talking about.)

Emily out.

Don’t “go with the flow”

These days I live in a world where people quote lines from movies constantly. Maybe I am bitter about this because I do not tell stories or quote movie lines very well, but it gets annoying when I ask a question and someone responds with a line from Stepbrothers or Juno or The Dark Knight. It’s as if there are no more original thoughts anymore… it’s like everyone has their own personal screenwriter. I guess people just piss me off in general.

Am I the only person in this world with confidence? When I first brought my knitting to school, everyone laughed at me – but was I discouraged? No. I kept bringing it to school despite what people thought or think. If you like something, don’t be afraid to express it. Liking something makes you who you are and what’s wrong with showing who you are? Watch me walk down the hallway in what people call my “hooker” boots and my adorable Tripp skirt. Sure, people will stare, but do you know what they are really thinking? I think that they are wishing they could do something like that; dress like that; be who they really are. I can tell when someone has their shield up…and it’s kind of disappointing. I am kind of sick of taking the initiative. There are too many people that just “go with the flow.”

I have a friend who has changed a lot in the past year. Sure, I have changed too, but I haven’t changed what I believe in or my sense of humor or anything. My friend (he has been a friend for years) recently discovered his love for God. He goes to this church that sucks people in (at least, I think they do) every Sunday, and for the extra teen things that they do. I think of it as a cult. Going to church (should church be capitalized? ‘Cause I really don’t think it should be) so often has changed him completely. It’s as if he thinks he needs to be righteous all the time and do the right thing. If we gossip around him he gets pissed off. Oh, but when he wishes to gossip, it’s okay. I really miss who he was before he became super religious. Before he started bugging me about going to church. I feel like he has a wall up, and it needs to come down. I wish to knock it down, but we fight everyday over stupid things, and I never get the chance. I am very opinionated, and he can’t seem to accept my opinion, so he gets all cheesed off when I say mine. When he says his, I consider it. I don’t really know about him anymore. He is a completely different person these days. I don’t know what happened.

Anyway, yeah, people piss me off. Most people are selfish and it drives me nuts. I may not seem like it, but I think about other things besides myself. I am concerned about world hunger (which is why I visit the Free Rice website often), the economy – I was even thinking about how I was complaining about having to wake up early to go to school this week. Then I thought about it and here’s what I came up with: here I am complaining about going to school to be with friends when there is some kid who has to wake up early to go to school and gets beat up everyday and comes home covered with bruises that his/her parents don’t even notice. Yeah, suddenly waking up early to go to a place where I have friends and am at no risk whatsoever of being beaten up (unless I piss someone off) doesn’t sound too bad.

I have scratched the two resolutions I wanted to tackle. I can’t just quit everything cold turkey – I will ease into breaking free from my habits. Right now I am trying to be extremely thoughtful. And people still piss me off.