Decline

    Are you going towards a decline? Or to be appropriate, a dick line.

    There was this tweet from a Taylor Swift fan recently (as most of us know by now Taylor Swift is one o the positive news we're all lucky to have this year, new music!). Anyway, the tweet showed a series of photos shot by her lover, Joe Alwyn, with the caption "Taylor Swift shot by Joe Alwyn".

    At first glance, what did you think were the contents of the tweet?

    A. Shot pertained to the act of shooting a gun;

    B. Shot pertained to the act of having photos, whether portraits or     not;

    C. A glass of liquor, preferably wine; or

    D. The lovebirds became the newest NBA stars enlisted to help an     aging star have a "shot" at the title (Did you see what I did there?)

    Some fans were scared, thinking that the songwriter was shot in a morbid context. Anyway, the correct context of the tweet was definitely letter B. That's the beauty of the English language, or whatever language there is. It can not be defined by a solitary set of words and thoughts. 

    Case in point, the word "shot" can have five different meanings and without going deep into the context, you'd surely get lost.

    With words like these, it's quite often that puns are born out of the premise of having words be spelled and spoken the sway despite having completely different meanings. Most of the time, puns revolving around dark humor are laughable because the reality is the opposite of the prepared joke. However, come to think if the table is to be turned?

    I didn't think that I'd need to think about it until this morning when I woke up to the news of  a mother and son shot by a policeman. Shot. Dead.

    The medium's not a digital nor an analogue camera, but a 9-mm Beretta. The only pictures that emerged from the event where documentation and the mugshot of the suspect. 

    This development, or  decline, (as WatchMojo would often do referring to "Dishonorable Mentions") had an impact to someone who has always been fond of puns and literary contortions. I would never look at that specific joke I mentioned at the start. I could only hope that Justice would wipe her glasses so she could clearly see how justice would have to be served. It just had to be served because a decline like this manifested by taking lives in a cold-blooded manner would never be something that should be taken lightly.

    

    Something needs to be done. It's one of those instances wherein we could safely say that humanity had taken a couple of steps back from evolution. For a moment, we're back at the early moments of this thing they called "Survival of the Fittest".

    Let's take those steps back towards the right path. Avoid a dick line.

Human: You, Man, is Flawed.

"Richard Cory" is a poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. The titular character seemed to have it all, the luxury and all the fortune that anyone would want to have. Still, he shot himself dead.

Reasons for Cory's deadly deed were not given and were just left for the reader's perception. However, if we would put some clarity to it, one possible justification was that Richard Cory was just human, like all of us. Even with all of the luxury and fortune he had, life was not complete as he wished it could have been.

It was easy to recall the story of that poem because it was adapted into a song by musicians/songwriters Simon and Garfunkel into a song. It still had the same tragedy that the poem had, also in the POV of someone who envied the life of Richard Cory.

However, a remarkable difference made in the song was the effect that the final chorus had on the song. The chorus went "But I work in his factory, and I curse the life I'm living, I curse my poverty, oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory" and it was given another shot even after the event of Richard Cory taking his own life. 

This part of the song spoke of another human flaw that most of us seem to have: the act of looking over at someone else's graces without looking into the flip side of the coin.

People who envied the life of Richard Cory saw the brighter side while neglecting whatever could be lurking on the opposite side. Little did they know that Richard Cory had a great amount of uncertainty which ultimately led to his demise. 

At times of despair and uncertainties, it couldn't be helped to resort to the thought of having the life of someone else. However, it should not linger so much it would turn into something that couldn't, or shouldn't, be realized.

Look beyond your shoulders only to be inspired by your neighbor's triumphs. Better yet, be an inspiration to those who would look over at your exploits. Also, always seek for true happiness. 

Below is Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory".

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

x

TOP 10: Jason Mraz Songs

Most of us music listeners probably first heard of Jason Mraz via 2008's "I'm Yours”. It was such a massive hit, it made me label the singer-songwriter as a "one-hit wonder". By 2011, "I Won't Give Up" came along with his messy curly hair and facial hair and by that time, I relabeled him as a "two-hit wonder". 

Little did I know that those two massive hits of the singer-songwriter were just parts of the tip of the iceberg that his musical ingenuity is.

Almost everyone grew fond of that catchy, easy-to-join-in song that "I'm Yours" is. However, there came a time when I despised the singer-songwriter because of the mainstream attention that the song got. It was the first "Thinking Out Loud” and "Gangnam Style" that I could remember. Both were really huge hits that eventually became irritating to listen to.

In 2014, I was reintroduced to the music of Jason Mraz. It was only then that I knew that he's been playing and singing songs since the early 2000's. It was only then that I knew there was daylight before "I'm Yours". It was only then that I knew what I have been missing from his music.

Now, I'm going to share with you my Top 10 Jason Mraz songs. This is in no way an official list, this is just my personal favorite list. So, here it goes!

#10. The Boy's Gone

This is the perfect song for reflecting on yourself, about the things that you should have done, and of course, the things that you shouldn't have. 

Everything and everyone will go back to its origin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGeBwpNQ5cM

#9. 3 Things

"3 Things" feels like a generic Jason Mraz good vibes song you can always sing along for and with your friends and loved ones.

Whenever your life falls apart, just lend this song your ears. You may not have the answer, or the solution to your problem right away, but at least, you have the peace of mind to think of something outside your box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYwF-IXpbNk

 #8. Song For A Friend

Ever thought about writing a song for your best friend without putting any malice and hidden intentions, especially if you are of the same sex? Here is the perfect example for you. "Song For A Friend" basically seems like a conversation between two friends because it really is. Jason Mraz has revealed in one of his shows that it was a friend of his that inspired the song.

He said that he wanted to thank his roommate and friend, Jerry, for all the things that Jerry has done for him when he was just starting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_P4kaax7pQ

#7. Make It Mine

This Grammy-winning track is the second single after "I'm Yours" on Jason Mraz's third album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things". Hear it once and you will surely be captivated by the positive vibes that this song can give to you.

"Make It Mine" features Jason Mraz's horn section, but the selling point of this song for me, other than the words and its live-life-to-the-fullest meaning in totality, is the beautiful melody that Jason Mraz can produce especially when Toca Rivera joins him in singing some parts in the chorus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHhLVJsggo

#6. I’m Yours

We all know it. Some know it by heart, some know it after hearing it from sons, daughters, and friends. We all love hearing and singing this song. We love it when this song is being sung to us. We love it we're the one singing it and dedicating it to someone else.

That is the best thing about this happy little hippie song. It just spells L-I-F-E and L-O-V-E every time it is being heard and sung. Moreover, according to Jason Mraz, he doesn't even remember sitting down to write it because it quickly went to him as it "came out of joy".

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qwXlcpXBrg

 #5./#4./#3. A Beautiful Mess/The Woman I Love/I Won’t Give Up

These songs are in a triple-tie because the messages in each are almost one and the same. They all sing about the same required element in every relationship: COMMITMENT.

With “A Beautiful Mess”, the song tells right from the start that things are not always perfect. There will be negativities, off-mood days, there is imperfection. There is an existing unconditional love even after being aware of the imperfections and all other bad stuff and that is happiness for them, as implied. If you find happiness in loving someone despite having the worst issues imaginable and unimaginable, don’t ever lose it.

Now we go to “The Woman I Love”. Every time Jason Mraz sings it in his concerts, he has this mini speech to introduce this song. It goes something like this: “I always invite the men to listen to this song. Men, it’s dedicated to you. Because anyone who has tried to stand beside a woman knows that sometimes our ladies lose it. Sometimes, they get a little loopy, they go bananas. Gentlemen, it’s up to you. It’s up to us to man up and love them back into the women we know them to be.” To all the gentlemen out there, you know he is right. I know his right, too, for I’ve always taken refuge in this song whenever there is a rift between me and my lover. It is like a tutorial of what to do and what not to do. Let’s always love them back into the women we know them to be.

“I Won’t Give Up” tells the complete story of unconditional love, faith, and commitment. The one great thing about this song is that it is not a song solely for your lover. It may actually be your dream, or goal in life. It can be even your faith in God, or in your religion, whatever religion you may be in. It tells that there will always be someone that will keep on waiting, pursuing and persevering for you. It won’t stop, it won’t end even if the skies will get rough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD9iDZHrQjw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ampuq1w06Rc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMBJ-qxa9FA

#2. Mr. Curiosity

This track from his second album "Mr. A-Z" offers something that is rarely heard on a Jason Mraz track. This song is mostly played on piano and it has an opera solo made by Jason Mraz himself.

Like "The Boy's Gone", this song tackles reflection on life and it is basically asking for "Mr. Curiosity to come back to his life". Looking for Mr. Curiosity serves as a metaphor for finding interest, and curiosity again for his own life after experiencing Goliath-like life dilemmas.

The song really makes you feel the hopelessness and depressed state of the person after finding no reason to live and to be curious about what might happen next in his life.

This song was not originally in this spot. But, hey, this one deserves this change of place. It is a really good song and I recalled that it kind of helped me when I was losing curiosity in my life, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryZeSZEvcck

 #1. The Remedy (I Won't Worry)

Maybe it is not a surprise that the top spot belongs to the one that started it all for Jason Mraz. Actually, in my case, this was the song that reintroduced Jason Mraz's music to me. This was the daylight before "I'm Yours" and "I Won't Give Up". 

"The Remedy" is another song inspired by one of Jason Mraz's friends. This time it is his childhood friend, Charlie Mingroni, who was diagnosed with cancer. Mraz was inspired by the positive outlook that his friend had shown even after the diagnosis of the Big C. "I won't worry my life away" was the actual concept of Mingroni's positivity, and Mraz immortalized it as "The Remedy", a song he plays in almost every performance he plays in up until now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lqsZTcGjR4

Whether with his Superband or not, just an intimate performance with his great pal Toca Rivera and his djembe, Jason Mraz really nails every performance he is into. 

So give these aMRAZing songs their chance to be heard, folks!

*Photos and video links are not mine and I just put them here for sharing purposes. I do not claim any copyright with any of them.