September 2018 – Page 2 – Literary Arts Blogspace

Surf’s Up by The Beach Boys – Lyrical Review

Surf’s Up is a very strange album for The Beach Boys. It came at a time when Brian Wilson was not in a good place. This led to the rest of the band writing more than on many previous albums. This yielded some very interesting lyrics to say the least.

“Don’t Go Near the Water”

“Don’t Go Near the Water” is lyrically quite unlike most everything that came before for The Beach Boys, even after such varied albums as Friends, 20/20, and Smiley Smile. In fact, it seems to have been intentionally written to contrast with many of their early songs about summer, surf, and sun. The lyrics additionally show an attempted greater consciousness of societal issues which is a common thread throughout the album; this specific song deals with water pollution. Unfortunately, the song does not do much artistically with this theme which leaves it to feel more like an afterschool PSA than an artistic statement. A specifically interesting line is, “toothpaste and soap will make our oceans a bubble bath.” This line in particular stands out as more ridiculous than the rest. While it seems like it could be a reference to microbeads, this controversy did not arise until recent years and would not have been known in 1971 when the album was released. Instead, this line reveals that the song was written without much research done into the subject. This like a number of other lines seems to reveal that the writers were not taking the subject very seriously, and an audience cannot be expected to take something seriously if its creator cannot.

4/10

“Long Promised Road”

The second track on the album, “Long Promised Road,” feels like a much more genuine effort lyrically than the first. It too deviates from the expectations set for The Beach Boys by their early work, but it does so in a way that seems more for the sake of the song itself and not simply for the sake of doing so as the case seemed to be in “Don’t Go Near the Water.” The lyrics are sung from the point of view of a person who desperately wants to be happy but is weighed down by the troubles that surround him. Though he acknowledges the difficulty, he is able to overcome his personal troubles and not allow them to affect his well-being. The song has a strong sense of optimism about it that feels very honest. Unlike the early, happy songs from The Beach Boys, this song’s lyrics feel much more mature. They acknowledge problems, and happiness prevails despite them. There are moments in the song that seem somewhat over-embellished and clunkily worded such as the lines, “So hard to lift the jewelled sceptre When the weight turns a smile to a frown So hard to drink of passion nectar When the taste of life’s holding me down.” These lines carry meaning, but they feel as if they’re trying to be something more than they should be. The metaphors used feel somewhat melodramatic and end up making the lyrics more difficult to relate to. Overall, the song is not a bad one despite its flaws. Unlike the song’s protagonist, however, these troubles do weigh it down.

7/10

A Million Little Pieces

James Frey produced one of the best nonfiction novels I have found so far. That is, until I did more research within this week and discovered that some of the accounts in the book are entirely untrue.

James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, wrote about his account in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center over the course of six weeks. In this account, he is found on a plane with no memory of how he got there, along with a gaping whole through his cheek and missing teeth. The story continues with his parents picking him up and driving him to the center in Minnesota, claiming to be the best in the US. He is confronted with many obstacles within the center, such as “being treated for a dental surgery with no painkillers” that was later found to be untrue. His story that unfolds within the treatment center is also slanted to heighten the intensity of his account, and it is not actually known whether or not his former girlfriend for whom he is in his situation for actually committed suicide.

James Frey had a beautiful way of capturing the audiences with certain subtleties within this piece. His underlying theme dealing with not being able to look himself in the eyes really drove me to continue on the journey through his rehabilitation. Also, his need and action was strong within every line and phrase. Frey created a quick-paced world in which to live in, one that felt to me as if he were spending his whole life looking out of a car window.

Frey’s theme of eyes continues with his love interest and friend that was also in rehabilitation at the time. He calls her eyes oceans and ice and many other cold blue analogies, and says they pierce him when he sees her.

My favorite idea within this piece was that of Frey’s commitment to everything he did. He was lower at the beginning of the book than I believed possible, and he is a bestseller now. The last few chapters of the book talk of him, immediately leaving rehab, going inside of a bar and ordering a type of hard liquor, then just looking at it. He never drinks it, and walks out of the bar a man with a decision that changed his life for the better.

Frey inspired me in this piece, whether embellished or not, to commit to things that are good for me, and to not apologize for the work that it takes to get to a good place in life. He is a very influential person to me because of this piece, I only wish he had kept the story entirely authentic.

(I very much so recommend reading A Million Little Pieces.)

mosquitoland

the very first words readers ever see in this book are, “my name is mary iris malone, and i am not okay.” that’s it; that’s the first chapter. all you really know about the main character is her name, and you’re left wondering why she isn’t okay. of course, author david arnold is quick to provide the background and leap straight into the beef of her adventure. mary iris malone (mim) is not okay, and she’s trekking herself from jackson, mississippi back to her hometown in ohio to find her mom.

from the get-go, 16-year-old mim is sure of herself and her convictions. she despises her stepmother and father for hiding her birth mother’s illness from her and making her family move away, and she’s convinced that running away and going back to her mother will make everything okay again. her confidence makes readers trust her, because what does she have to lose? why would mim fabricate a story for herself just to ride a greyhound bus from mississippi to ohio?

readers receive real-time, first-person accounts of her journey to her mother. this is where her convictions start to become a little… fishy. it becomes very easy to get enveloped in the world of mim, which makes it difficult to pull away from it and ask, “why?” the extravagance of her tale and the strength of her emotions almost make mim’s story feel unbelievable. but she’s our protagonist, our heroine, so we want to believe mim. we want to understand her truth as nothing less than the truth.she’s weird and she’s endearing and we can’t help but love her, despite the little red flags telling us to proceed with caution.

as we learn more and more about mim, we also learned that she knows less and less of what she’s doing. readers experience her world and her plans completely unravel around her; everything she thought she knew was a lie, and we want to stick by her as she grapples with this new reality. and by the end of it all, we learn that mim’s convictions weren’t all she led readers to believe – or even what she herself believed. but we feel for her, and we want her story to end happily.

life throws mim curveball after curveball, and she deals with them by manipulating them into something manageable until making them easier to swallow isn’t possible anymore. they solidify into her reality with the grounding words: “a thing’s not a thing until you say it out loud.” she learns that in order to recognize the truths of her life and change her life for the better, she must first acknowledge the existence of such truths. this is of course an important lesson for all of us, the acknowledgement that it really is okay not to be okay.

david arnold’s mosquitoland is definitely a book to remember, from the idiosyncratic characterization its protagonist to the absolutely whirlwind plot to the lessons on humanity that never quite leave you. mary iris malone is not okay, and she doesn’t have to be. she just has to say it out loud.

Book Review: Dispatches From Pluto

Dispatches From Pluto is a non-fiction novel written by Richard Grant. It takes place in the Mississippi Delta after Grant and his girlfriend Mariah move to Pluto from New York. Grant was previously a travel journalist and spent time in many other countries, bringing him into contact with many different types of people. He decides to move himself and Mariah to Pluto after a single trip to visit a writer friend turns into him buying an old plantation home and the acres surrounding it in the heart of the Delta. Grant spends the book taking time to delve into the heart of the spirit of the South. Most of the book focuses on the racial tension still prevalent in the South and its hold over politics, the education system and regular day-to-day life. He makes friends ranging from a metal scrapper to Morgan Freeman himself, battling the wildlife and terrain of a new and often-times harsh landscape.

I have to admit, I was fairly skeptical of reading Dispatches From Pluto when it was referred to me. For one, I don’t normally read nonfiction, but I have wanted to get more into real-life reading as I get older, and I figured this would be the perfect book to start. Another thing I was worried about was the nature of the author before I started reading; I was worried it would be narrated by a typical middle-aged white man thinking he knew more about things than he actually did, but I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

I was ensnared by the beautiful writing to begin. Grant had a way with his descriptions that made it easy to understand the complicated background of Mississippi politics and life, even for someone who lives here. His words were causal and sincere in the way he wrote, taking great care to include even the most basics of interactions he had with the locals to show the reader the broad spectrum of people that preside in the South and in the Delta.

For me, it was nice to read something about home that was not all bad. Of course, he made sure to include the semi-rampant racism and sexist behavior that runs deep through the South, but Grant also included his account of the people that make the phrase “southern hospitality” believable.

Through his writing, Grant paints a picture of the South that ensures to capture the reader, and hold their attention, all while painting the picture of the South that I believe would have anyone falling slightly in love with Mississippi, as I believe he wanted.

(I highly recommend this book!!)

Half Book Review: “You” Pt.1

You is a book by Caroline Kepnes. This book takes you on the day to day life of a bookstore worker named, Joe Goldberg and his new crush Guinevere Beck. But this isn’t just your typical love story. Joe Godberg is what anyone would call a stalker. The second Beck walks through his bookstore doors he becomes instantly infatuated with the women, and this is where he begins to make his plans to make her his and only his, and his first rule of thumb is to get rid of anyone who stands in his way. Of course, not everthing goes as planned and he has to jump through a lot of hoops to win her over. Not only does he kill her ex-lover to stop her for falling for him again, but he also tries to get rid of Beck’s friend named “Peaches” an African-American rich girl who has also found a almost obsessive fondness for Beck. All the while he tried to justify his action by naming her the stalker and reasoning with himself that he is only doing it for her protection. But between stealing her phone and watching her every move, he starts to realize Beck wasnt all he had built her up to be. He soon finds out that she’s obbsessed with attention and loves to date anyone and everyone who giver ber attention. He also learns that she is a compulisve lair and had been hiding with a major secret for half of her life. With this information his “love” for her only grows. And his simple affectiom starts to take a more demandong tone as he gets her into his grips, and that’s only half the book.

Monument 14: Sky On Fire

Monument 14: Sky on Fire is one book of a series written by Emmy Laybourne. It is absolutely thrilling, horrifying, and indescribably well written. The book is centered around two brothers, Dean (Type O) and Alex Grieder (Type B). In this story, Laybourne describes the journey of eight kids traveling through a postapocalyptic America that has been destroyed by chemical warfare.

It begins with a letter written by Alex who describes their situation to the reader, naming everyone’s blood-type and age. He then ends the letter by asking the reader to go rescue his brother and the others.

The kids live in a supermarket but end up escaping in a bus. A few are left behind for reasons pertaining to the effects the chemicals in the air have on their blood-type. As the days pass, the conditions worsen and the kids find the outside world to be brutal. Eventually, their bus gets taken and they have to travel by foot, leading to some serious issues. Finally, they reach their destination, a hospital where they are told they will be evacuated. This story has a bitter-sweet and exciting ending.

While reading, some aspects of this story really stood out to me. Laybourne lays out the story in such way that allows for the ultimate nit and grit. The format also allows great character development. The story has a definite steady pace that I felt was just right for the plot at hand. The structure shows the before and after of the brothers’ relationship from the beginning of the story compared to the end. The plot’s twists and turns leave you wanting to read more while simultaneously making you need space from the content. For example, when Laybourne described the derranged person the kids came across while on foot makes the reader need a break.

Common themes found in this book are family, friends, loyalty, trust, willpower, and survival. The letter presented in the beggining of the book definitely foreshadows events in the story; however, if the reader uses this note to predict the end, the reader is led astray. The book’s main theme is outright family. The main characters stick with each other through thick and thin. In the end, they are all brought together by their survival.

This book makes me seriously reconsider my survival tatics and how I think the world might end, considering this world Laybourne imagined is quite realistic. Moreover, I highly recommend this book.

Comments from other reviews include but are not limited to:

“Frighteningly Real…Riveting.” -The New York Times Book Review on Monument 14

“An unforgettable opener…a realistic, multi-character survival story…the ending is a real thriller.” -Booklist

“Monument 14 is raw, honest, gritty, and full of emotionally taut storytelling. Laybourne dares you to look away but you won’t be able to. I had to hug so many kittens after reading it that the pet store asked me not to come back.” -Lish McBride, author of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut may be my favorite new book. The way he describes and fully explores each character was a technique that I haven’t seen before. He explored their past and future in a way that didn’t truly move the storyline, but it did make the story the amazing book that it was.

The beginning started off rather slowly, and I almost stopped reading it. He over-explained things that I already knew such as America, but his use of drawings was interesting, especially the crude way that they were done. However, I continued reading the book, and soon, I began to thoroughly enjoy it. Despite enjoying it, I could not read it for long periods of time. Personally, I found that because each line of the book was so packed with information, I could not enjoy it in large amounts.

Kilgore Trout and Dwayne Hoover, the main characters of the book, were not the most interesting characters in the book. I found the other characters to be much more thrilling. However, at times, I found the story tedious whenever it got into a lull. At these points, I would have been much more interested if Vonnegut had compensated with things such as the description. Some parts were incredibly interesting while others simply had to be read through.

However, whenever Kurt Vonnegut began putting himself in the story and revealing personal aspects of his life and it related to the characters, I became enthralled. The only critique I have of this is that I almost didn’t make it to this point because of how slow the book started out. He didn’t have anything that caught my attention until almost a quarter through the book with the mentioning of how Dwayne’s wife died by eating Draino.

He also built suspense well with Dwayne’s “sickness,” and I loved how the chemicals sometimes kicked in, but all of the information that was revealed about how he would break down lessened the impact of the actual event. I thought it was interesting how Kilgore Trout caused this to happen with his own work, but I also felt like this scene didn’t reach its full potential.

My favorite part of the book was the dog, Kazak. Here, Kurt Vonnegut is on his way to meet Kilgore Trout, but he has forgot the character that he made because he edited it out. However, as he describes it:

“I should have known that a character as ferocious as Kazak was not easily cut out of a novel.”

The dog, his very own character, ends up attacking him.

I thought that it was especially interesting how even though the entire book was about Kilgore Trout and Dwayne Hoover meeting and how Trout’s story would cause Dwayne Hoover to have his meltdown, Hoover simply bit Trout’s finger off. They did not turn out to be epic friends at all; this wasn’t a book about two people who became friends or even enemies. It was a story of life and all of the people we meet along the way, their pasts and futures, and how everyone is affected by everyone else. To put it as the painter did, we are all simply bands of light.

“It is all that is alive in any of us—in a mouse, in a deer, in a cocktail waitress. It is unwavering and pure, no matter what preposterous adventure may befall us.”

Pastel

My fingertips graze down his arm leisurely, and I can feel the hairs on his arm stand to attention,almost as if a Sargent has called each of their individual names. His eyes remain closed, but I can see the movement beneath his eyelids. His breathing is smooth, and as I move my hand over his chest, I can feel the gentle current beneath my fingers. He is so beautiful, skin sprayed with milk chocolate freckles, the same color of his eyes, and that German split in the cartilage on the tip of his nose is so mesmerizing to me. I love his lips; those full, soft pink pillows lure me to him, and the voice that dribbles from them is so entrancing. He can calm the waves that are my feelings with just his universe-given sound. The strong nectarous words he whispers to me late at night over the phone are the endearments I need when I can no longer function.

His arms twitch unexpectedly before I realize that they are wrapped around me loosely. It that daze of his addictive warmth I feel my mind reaching serenity, and I exhale in length. He nuzzles his nose into my hair and does the opposite of me, breathing in the scent of pina-colada shampoo. “Beautiful,” he whispers in his half-asleep murmur. Now it is my hair’s turn to stand to attention. My heart almost vibrates with love for my inamorato as I lean up and press my lips to his slightly parted ones. I sense his attempt to smile amidst his sleep fog, but he is rendered unsuccessful and unconscious. I do not complain though. Observing his usually pinched features relaxed in a basic comatose from exhaustion is such a pure picture. His warm, shallow breaths fanning my face and his quiet snores are tranquilizing. Calloused fingers stroke the small of my back, and dark brown tendrils fall into his shut eyes.

He is my living piece of textured art, painted with delicate strokes and built to a rough sculpted design. Every pale color that encompasses his flesh, every angle that constructs the shape of him, and every dimension that makes him real is so deeply admired by me. We curl into each other, wrapped in the other’s arm. In our tangled-up true, innocent state. I find myself dozing away, melting into his warmth. My fair-skinned love. My pastel masterpiece.

relatable.

Wow, it’s been feeling like a bad Monday for the past week, honestly. My mood has been swinging left and right, which ultimately causes me to have a headache that has yet to go away. I’m sleep deprived, HORRIBLY. I get about five hours of sleep at most, a night. This may not be critical to some people, but for me, I’m used to sleeping a total of seven or eight hours a night. It may be because we get out of school at five now instead of 3:30 pm. This causes fewer hours in the day, and more homework (my favorite combination). It’s not that I choose to stay up or anything, it’s really either homework, or my mind just won’t go to bed. I’ll lay there for hours just thinking about sweet nothings. I stress about the things I’ve yet to accomplish, the things that I was supposed to accomplish but have slipped my mind and upcoming dates that I can’t forget about. I’m out of sleeping pills, too (*reminder* get sleeping pills).

I really need to get my life together. I had it together until I didn’t. Everything was put in its place until last Tuesday when I stubbed my toe on the corner of my bed. From there, everything just went downhill. However, I’m the type to always rise up when I fall (or in my case, stub a toe). I just need to meditate or something.

I decided to put together a Pinterest wall to help me get my life together. Feel free to visit it if you can relate to whatever mess this is. It’s called “self-help,” and it’s got some really good tips in it.

I think I may just have a spa day. FYI: a spa day is a great way to just chill out and relieve stress. Just putting that out there. I could organize all of my stuff. I have a planner, but I’ve been neglecting her lately (my bad). Coffee could help you focus. I know it helps me focus.

I just need to take a chill pill (not literally). I don’t know. I just need to get used to it and find a schedule that works for me. That’s what my mom said. I just need to lock myself in my room for the next few days and get stuff done. Maybe relax a little, play some good music, and get the stack of Algebra 2 packets I have yet to complete done (the people in my class will know what I mean). I just need to get my life together.

I’ll start tomorrow.

Hypochondriac by The Frights

Alright this is a review on The Fright’s new album Hypochondriac. (it’s great, just saying) ~~you could read my overviews and opinions, or you could go listen to it or you could ignore this completely, up to you~~

Tell Me Why I’m Okay: this song honestly may be triggering to some people. There is a lot of background sounds in this song that will bring images in your head. This song is very much about depression and paranoia. It is a good song though, if you can handle it.
CRUTCH: I love this song. It actually came out as a single before the album ever came out. Warning, it does have some screams and heavy guitar in it. This song is about the things he depends on to keep going, and he communicates that he wishes he didn’t have this crutch to lean on so that he could just be an independent person
Broken Brain: The message of this song is about either a significant other or a friend who is saving him from himself. He says that he will be alright as long as he stays with this person, but it will take time to save him. This is about him being so weak then being able to come out and say all these things he wasn’t brave enough to do before. One line in the song says “I got tired of saying that I am fine.” which indicates that he did reach a point where he was honest. Great song.
Whatever: This is one of my top three on this album. It’s honestly so relatable. It is basically about his ex girlfriend and how he misses her, but he knows she isn’t what he needs because she hurts him. It is called ‘Whatever’ because he is giving up on trying with her. This song also references songs from their previous album that were about her. It even outright says her name in this song: Sara. Which, I am nearly 100 percent sure most of these songs are about her. This song has a lot of details in it as well, like how he is still messed up from when she said she didn’t love him thirty minutes before he had to go on stage and sing songs dedicated to her.
Over It: another one of my favorites for sure. This is another song about his ex, but in this she is trying to come back to him after she broke his heart. my favorite line in this is, “I don’t need to say what I said before, you never listen to me anyway, my voice is sore.” He also says he is still hurting even though he doesn’t want to, and he can’t take her back because she destroyed him and he can’t go through that again.
Me and We and I : this song is about self love. When it begins, he is telling a story about how he shaved his head because he was scared he was losing his hair and he didn’t want anyone to know. He talks about how he shouldn’t be so scared of what everyone will say, as long as he has got himself and the people who love him, he doesn’t need anyone else.
Goodbyes : Another in my top three because it is so ridiculously catchy and so sweet. This song is about how he finds another girl after he thought he had given up on love. (I’m guessing this song was written AFTER all the songs about his ex)He talks about how afraid he is to lose her because she has made him so happy. In the chorus he talks about how pathetic he is and how perfect she is. I love this song, someone please write a song like this for me lol.
Pills: The sound starts off asking questions that are actually meant for himself. In the chorus, he comes out and says that he knows he is a lot to handle. He says “call me crazy, call me selfish, but I will carry these pills till the day I die. I will lose you, I might lose my mind, but I will carry these pills until the day I die.” so yeah, this song is about addiction and filling the voids in his life with these pills. He talks about how the need for it gets stronger at night. It is a good song, but you have to really listen to it to get the message.
No Place Like (Not Being) Home: This song is actually really funny. I kind of see the beginning of this as him coming home from being on the road, and he feels like he never left, but then he gets to the chorus. He is counting road signs he doesn’t want to pass and he starts drinking because he is getting closer to home. He is saying he needs space and to be left alone. The message here is pretty clear, because well, it’s in the title. This song is about how he prefers traveling on the road with hardly any money than being home. This song has a really beachy tone to it and it really puts me in a great mood. Give it a listen.
Hold Me Down: This song seems very personal and raw and I absolutely love that about it. It talks about how he has tried everything there is for him to try, and nothing is working so he has to stop because he is “tired of making out and never making up.” It’s about more than just this break up though, it is about all the things he went through with her, and he seems to be sort of thankful for it because he talks about how we have to make mistakes to live. He talks about how she always answers his calls, is there for him, and how with her he never felt so dumb and so cool. Despite all of the bad, he still sees her as his favorite part of himself. He says that he has lost so many friends, but he would do it all over again if it meant she would be with him again.
Alone: This song is about how a girl is leaving him and he wishes he could leave too. He talks about how he thought he would scare her away but he didn’t. He says nowt that he is alone again, now he is drunk and cold again. This song mentions a different name: ‘Kaylie’. But, neither one of the names mentioned could actually be the name of either of the girls this album is ,for the most part, centered around. Writers code names all the time. He says he never thought he would lose that friend, but he did. I really hope this song isn’t about the same girl “Goodbyes” is about because I love that song and it gave me hope so… Anyways, it goes on to talk about being in her apartment, seeing a gift that was his, and he realizes it never did belong to him, just as his heart had never belonged to him, and she has taken it all away. They share their last kiss before he leaves, but he says it didn’t feel the same. Then, surprisingly, she says “don’t change the words to this.” which was her saying she knew he was going to write a song about this and she didn’t want her words to be changed in the song, so he put her actual words in the song. I found that funny, but yeah this is a pretty great song, super personal.

BONUS SONGS FROM PREVIOUS ALBUMS: ‘She Makes Me’, ‘Tungs’, ‘You Are Going To Hate This’ and ‘Of Age’ (also great songs by The Frights)