Freaking Myself Out

So I just got back from visiting my grandparents. It's always fun to visit them, except for the fact that this obnoxious rooster is constantly going off (yes, like an alarm clock or something.) Aren't they only supposed to crow at dawn? This one crows at 7 Am. Then at 8. Then at 9:30. Then at 11. Then at two in the afternoon - we get it already.

Anyways, two nights ago we saw a production of Sweeney Todd. It was super amazing, and in case you’re unfamiliar with the production I’ll give you a quick summary. (If you do know it then sorry to waste your time and feel free to skip this paragraph!) It’s about this guy named Sweeney Todd (duh) who got wrongfully convicted of a crime by this judge who just wanted his wife. So then he comes back after prison and finds that the judge has been raising his daughter and that his wife is dead. He meets this woman named Mrs. Lovett and together they agree to get revenge on the judge. Mrs. Lovett also adopts this kid named Toby to help her. So they try to kill him but end up killing a lot of other people in the process (and making them into meat pies.) So finally he kills the judge, who had been planning on marrying his daughter, Joanna. (Gross, right, I mean he’s like 40 years older then her.) And then Sweeney discovers that his wife isn’t actually dead but she went completely crazy and he realizes that she was one of the people he killed. And so he kills Mrs. Lovett because she knew that his wife was alive but didn’t tell her because she was in love with him. And then the only one left is Toby and he kills Sweeney Todd because he’s gone mad and he’s also freaked out by him. And Sweeney’s daughter goes off and marries this guy named Anthony who she was in love with all along. So there was lots of love and death. But mostly death. Overall, the production was intense and awesome. Great music. One of my favorite things about Sondheim is how he repeats all his melodies in little pieces throughout the shows. The songs "Joanna" and "Not While I'm Around" both are in the same key, and even start the exact same way. They're both beautiful, and if they're sung by someone talented they'll definitely give you chills.

So between Dr. Who, Sci-fi in general, and Sweeney Todd I have been absolutely scaring myself to death lately. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the above but they are simply frightening. Dr. Who is less scary as you get used to it, but things like creepy psych dramas and sociopaths are still just as creepy day twenty-three as they are on day one. I've been looking around the corners before I go down hallways and dashing up the stairs after I turn out the lights. If you don't already, go watch Dr. Who. It's sort of a combination of a galactic soap opera plus Star Wars-esque action. And if you enjoy British humor then it's absolutely fantastic, as the doctor would say.

At the request of Ms. Vega

Inspired by Ms. Alli Vega, this post is about drugs. Not the using of, considering I am extremely against all that. (Honestly I think they're a horrible concept and they just show the lengths people are willing to go to in order to "relax.") But the way drugs are referenced through music. It's actually kind of amazing how much they come up.

First of all, there's the song Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds. The song goes through all of these strange images, most likely hallucination on the part of one Beatle or another. And it probably doesn't help that the letters to abbreviate are L, S, and D. The song is cool and well-written, but it's so hard to really like without feeling like a druggie yourself. Some people vehemently deny that idea and say it has something to do with paintings or something else entirely. You can never really know, but this one seems too heavy to ignore.

Next, "Nine in the Afternoon," by Panic at the Disco. This one's questionable. Honestly, I never thought about it that way until Alli pointed it out to me, so I can't say I see it entirely. However, if you think about the lyrics "Into a place where thoughts can bloom" and "Your eyes are the size of the moon," it would sort of make sense. Overall I find the song to be just a feel-good song and it was pretty well written. It's one of those songs where the lyrics just sound cool and make you think a bit.

And then there's the category of rappers and drugs. Eminem? It's amazing how much he changed. He had songs like "Old Time's Sake" talking about how great smoking is and he'll get pretty crude with those types of things. And then his latest album basically revolves around the idea of him giving up drugs completely and how much he's learned about life. I honestly think he was careless with his words and now regrets it. I read an article somewhere about how he feels bad about referring to women as "hos and bitches." Yeah, he should.

Overall, I hate the idea that loads of band people are druggies. And Alli Vega, I hope you go to bed at a decent time tonight. PLEASE. Three-thirty is not decent.