The Silence or the Maddness?

I have often wondered, what is the value of the "Blog" form of communication?  Does anyone really read this form of communication in a sea of communication formats, why would "Blogging" be compelling to anyone other than those seeking a rare nugget of information?   The question was posed to me... Why Blog?   I thought simply, if one fan gets a jewel of information it has all been worth the proverbial brain dump.  However, I have chosen the silence for the past few months to collect my thoughts on life, politics, music, silence and the entertainment value of words in print....


My conclusions;

• We all seek information every day whether we know it or not (This is true - look at the number of newspapers, TV Stations, Cable Channels and News Broadcasts there are daily)   
• We want to be in the loop on what's happening in the world and more specifically "Our World" as it pertains to our lives.   (Shouldn't our President have more pressing issues than Tweets?)
• Presence Networks - ( How present and "Readily Available" should we be at all times?) - does being in the loop really mean I am happier? 
•  Sidelined by Political landscape of information overload by candidates seeking to deluge us all with information about why they are all so "Qualified" leads me to believe we could all be happier in our lives having only 30 days if this nonsense rather than 24 months of campaign information overload.  The importance of this medium is not to be undervalued but what is in question is the time we devote to being "Tuned In" to the wheel if insanity known as the press.
• The Entertainment business is finally catching up to real life and creating shows that try and capture the true insanity of the entertainment business.  What took so long right?  
• Music, not the business... Well, has been called "What emotions sound like" or "Life's Soundtrack", etc... I could go on and talk about the insatiable creativity that goes hand in hand with the genre, styles and rhythmic nature of music and all of its styles, but I would be remiss if I didn't state that there is a different song for every mood or emotion.  If your feeling pain, pain has a plethora of sound tracks for you.  If you want to talk about love, well then "Love" is the number one topic in the world.  There is no shortage of emotions you feel or want to feel when listening to music.  Say I wanted to be transported to another era (preferably the 70's) and zone out on some amazing tunes, It's only song away.  If I wanted to take a ride on Pop avenue I would break out some MJ's greatest hits or whatever the vibe I seek, its at my fingertips.  The point I am making is that we have our very own time machine or mood altering drug know as "Music" and its a very powerful medium.  There are so many topics, feelings or moods one can tap into its endless.  The truth is that everyone is feeling a different emotion at any given time and it's rare where all of the populations of the world unite simultaneously to feel and be inspired by the very same things.   Its what makes music the thing that it is because of the unique ability to tap into what feels good for you.  The feeling can be momentary or it can be lasting.  It can be a song, a story and an emotion.   The most power of all lately for me has been this thing we call "Silence". 
• Silence - Listening to your own thoughts and analyzing those thoughts for content and value is not to be dismissed.  I always thought I shouldn't just put more words into the universe for the sake of talking, but rather choose my words from the pseudo 21st Century English Language carefully and ponder their true meaning.   I think silence is a moment of clarity in a sea of madness or "Life's Deluge" of information and there are times the sounds of silence is magic and emotional clarity to the next steps of lyrical conquests.   Lyrics are the words and the stories we choose to make a melody have meaning.  The truth is Curt Cobain was singing about something but I never knew what the song was about but it was a melody that was memorable.  I still think about the value of the melody before I think about the words which is why silence has become an essential part of the music writing process for me.  I need to process the tepid emotions or in some cases, the "Red Hot" emotions of the day.    Love is the most compelling of the topics and probably being the most rewarding to talk about lyrically but the sense that only love is an option would be too limiting.  No, we will not be one dimensional.  Bret and I are constantly pushing each other to think and to feel and not be the same voice in any given lyric.  That's what makes the partnership work.  In a word, its perspective and in another its a statement, "The Timing of the Perspective".   The point made here is simple, at any given moment, we can get inspired to hear what we need to hear at that point in time.   That works for everyone when they are listening or receiving the musical transmission but what about when you are writing music?   I contend that you have to experience life's emotions to be able to draw from that those experiences... The good, the bad and the ugly.   The universes serendipitous ways eludes to disassembly and reassembly of the words in the English language to be used repetitively over and over and in different context in the land of music.   I therefore suggest that opportunity to interject silence in this as yet another medium "One's Thoughts" is also a great way to bridge the gap and find new ways to say things you have never said before in a song.  I call it "Processing Time" and I require more of it these days as I take in all of the mediums.   As I begin to shut down all of the outside mediums and segregate myself from the world's connectivity, I realize that its as necessary as a daily change of clothing.   We need the silence and the process time to search our souls for the right words an emotions in which to convey in songs.   How can we say something new that has perspective and emotion in a 3 to 5 minute melody of music and still inspire others to feel?  That's the trick... in a nutshell, ... what is the inspiration that will inspire you and touch others to feel what your feeling at the time the song was written.  Elation of love, disgust or disdain, or whatever the vibe, we should never limit our creativity to just one topic and at other times, we should just turn it all off and see what really has meaning in our lives.  Love will always conquer all, but the story of life includes so many chapters, it would be a shame to make them all "Love Story" part 1-50 and leave out the McGuffin or the prose of the song.   Without struggle, there is no progress... without silence there is no sounds, without language, no words, without words there is little or no wisdom and only melody, without music there is no meaning to the emotion.   Would you paint a picture with just one color?  Probably not most of the time, but no color should be excluded from any canvas.  Bret and I want to cover all of the emotions that have meaning and go with our "Campground" Theory - Work tirelessly in hopes that we can leave the music world a better place than when we arrived.  Words will come and go, but the songs will remain.

One Final Thought.... Perspective is everything.  The view from the gutter will rarely smell of roses, the palatial palace view will rarely look like the gutter.  Each perspective from "Well-To-Do" to The Poor, there is one common thread.  Perspective.  Your perspective will always be just that, your perspective.   Doesn't make it right or wrong it just makes it your point of view.   When life hands you rose, you associate those with love, when life kicks you in the ass, you associate that will the opposite of love.  Where there is drama, there is life.   Life happens here, every day....

• - My 2.2 Cents for the moment -Jimmy