Time of the Season

"Don't Get Lost in the Storm"

There is nothing I could be happier about than this month of March coming to an end. Something about this time of year just makes everyone a bit “mad” (no pun intended). Every year I find myself in questioning come the month of March. Feels as if everyone is just stir crazy, looking for something new. The month of March brings us the NCAA basketball tourney, spring break and for most, a time to frantically search for a plan for the summer months. All of these new thoughts, new weather, and new people we encounter in the 4 short weeks is a lot for anyone to handle.

Recently, I found myself having a tough time with some things and questioning decisions that I wouldn’t usually worry about. Whether it is a cinderella team ruining your basketball bracket or a fight with your best friend, this time of the year is full of insecurities and unexpected changes. After these last two weeks I could honestly say that I have been humbled. It is an experience that everyone sees at some point in life, but never knows when it is going to really happen.I come from a big family/small house type of background, living most my life surrounded by cornfields. If I have ever thought that I would feel lonely or lost, it definitely wouldn’t be here at Purdue surrounded by thousands of people.

One of my favorite quotes, “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side” always comes to mind this time of year. When spring comes, so does opportunity. With every opportunity in life, no matter how big or small, there will always be consequence.The  word “opportunity ” is generally considered a concept of advancement and positivity. In truth, every opportunity you take is going to carry you away from one place and bring you to another. Everyone seems to turn to change when things come into question. Why do we always just make such reckless decisions while panicking for an answer to a life question or scenario? I wonder what it would be like to just stick around and find an answer. I wonder what would happen if instead of running away from what everyone around you says is wrong, you just stayed in place and trusted it. This is an idea that I have yet to truly accomplish in a real world situation.

I’m no “wise man” and most of you that will be reading this are college students with a similar environment to my own, but I have quickly been acquainted with the idea that the grass really just isn’t greener anywhere… There are few places to run in a time of no real solidarity.What happened to the old school “put your foot in the mud and tough it out” kind of attitude the world once trusted? I think the only way the grass will ever be green is if you are standing in place with the garden hose. Change is not always great and we all seem to get caught up in the rat race with great ease. Fear can never bring one to a place of confidence. When it is time to step up and follow your heart, there should be no one person or thing that really should have an effect on your actions. All the people who throw their two cents in the pot every chance they get, are the same people sitting in the corner when it comes time to make a real stance in the crowded room. Doing what you feel, no matter the circumstances, is what love and devotion is all about. Anybody can throw around money and get people to notice. The kind of person we all should really be looking for is one that despite any mistake or wrong turn they have made, he/she is still willing to step up and sacrifice pride and image above all else to prove themselves to another. No man/woman is perfect and everyone lies and makes mistakes, but being able to look that person in the eye and really tell them that you have made those mistakes and that they are willing to walk in front of any judge with no shame is a person fit for loving. Whether you are on the receiving end or the one telling it, the truth can be a hard thing to deal with. A lie can destroy the best of love, but truth is among us for a reason.

Once a lie is told, it cannot be erased but only overpowered by the truth. While a lie is a weapon of great destruction, truth is a concept of greater good. Dishonesty can crush any heart, but truth can allow for it to grow greater than ever imagined.The respect that honesty and sacrifice can bring two people is a power that cannot be duplicated. Truth after deception is a structure that towers any mountain.No one really knows what they have until it has gone away. Letting something nearly slip away but finding the courage to grasp tightly ahold  may call greater effort momentarily, but in just a short time you can find yourself in a greater place than ever imagined before.Having the courage to give someone a real shot even after a mistake can bring a pay off greater than any fancy diamond ring or nice car will ever do for someone. When a man or women is stripped down bare, truth is the only thing of value that remains.

I really want to know what it is like to just stick something out when it comes to a real life relationship or problem. Why it is so easy to run from the storm when it could just as easy finding shelter. It is a matter of whether we take the time to look around before making the drastic decision of running away.If I had to say what my biggest regret in life was so far, it would be that I always feel the need to look for the next best thing. It is something that can bring great success and happiness just as easily  as it can bring great pain.

It’s funny that what you may imagine is your next “Knight in shining armor” is really nothing more than a snake in a tin can.This concept may sound silly but really try to give it a moment of thought.. Just because it shines, doesn’t mean it is gold. It’s almost to easy to doubt yourself or the ones you love most. But we must remember why they are apart of your life in the first place. It is easy to take things for granted and call it a mistake, but taking something for granted may be the only way in finding how great something you once possessed was. It is sad to think that in almost every life situation that something is taken for granted, people would rather focus on the mistake rather than the even greater effort to fix it. When a wound heals, it only comes back thicker than before. It is just apart of life that cannot be denied. Still many of us would rather run and let the wound bleed out then believe that a mistake can be great.

The depths of love and insecurity can scare even the strongest of people away from what they care for most. You find that the closest people in your life are the ones that hurt the most and in the end you would rather hurt first than be hurt. We all fall victim just as much as we all are at fault. So when is the breaking point? What does it take for someone to just swallow their pride, tighten up their belt buckle and live with the fact they made a mistake and stick it out together.It seems there is always one person willing to do this in any relationship (friends,lovers,family) but the other will just turn to run.When will we ever decide something is just worth sticking around for? That is a question I only can hope I will find the answer to one day.

Next time you are sitting there complaining about the people around you or feeling like you need a change, you may want to think about what could come as a result of the change. We all love to be comfortable, but few ever really want to settle. Realizing that one persons company cannot be replaced is a special moment.The feeling of no longer needing to run is one that can only come after realizing that what you left behind has a great value that just cannot be replaced by anyone else.

What goes on in March is something that is just unexplainable. The sun comes bright and temperature brings warmth, but there always seems to be clouds hanging in the distance. Sometimes it’s better to forgive than to get even. Once something dies, you just can’t make it live. The truth, no matter how dark, is something that will bring light and life back to any relationship. March is a time of new life and opportunity  but we all must be wary that the people standing nearby in the sunshine are not always the ones holding the umbrella once the storm hits. Believe in the people you love and give them the truth. There is no sense in hiding behind lies to protect an image. Love will only wilt under the shadow the clouds of dishonesty cast upon us.

I hope that you don’t comprehend my writing as me allocating that I know something you don’t, we all know this is the way life goes. It’s a gamble. Just take it as a friendly reminder from me to you, that most things can just as easily be great as they can be bad. Not every shot should be taken and it is ok to just trust the people closest to you but also make the right decision. Running away from your mistakes just ensures that they are mistakes. As the sun promises to rise every morning, so does the chance to make what is good in your life great. Somethings are meant to learn from  and move on, but we must never forget that some things are there for a damn good reason. Don’t let the fear of what is right or wrong from someone else’s point of view keep you from what your heart desires. In 20 years, no one will remember the tears shed, the pain felt, or the love that overcame it all. The only people who will, are the ones brave enough to stand by what they believe in.

Love: A Four Letter Lie?

Love Is Worth Living For...

L-o-v-e. A theory that can be proven wrong, but believed to be true. People are thought to have a “soul mate”, or someone who they were supposed to spend their lives with. How did this idea grow to be so popular in our world? To think that there is one person that we are supposed to be with in this world of nearly 7,000,000,000 is a bit ridiculous. I believe that love is a trait of irresponsibility in people.I think that relationships are not really a true thing but are a concept of settling. There is a point in everyone’s lives where they are capable of settling, but some try to settle way to early in life. When involved in a relationship you live by the idea that one person is your “significant other” or at least a possible candidate to be. It is an idea that when looked at statistically, is nearly impossible to occur. If I were to bet my chips, it would be against love. Yet, I still find myself somewhat believing in the concept. The journey of love and meeting people can teach so many great lessons. For people who love to learn, love is the best problem to try to solve. The journey of finding the answer to the question of love makes life worth living. The journey should never be cut short because you decide to settle. The fear of not finding the answer keeps so many people from finding that someone. When dealing with love, you must do so with great courage. Taking that risk is the adventure that makes our lives great and makes the world a better place. Taking the risk of waiting and finding that perfect someone.

It is great to experience relationships throughout your life but to believe so strongly in one at such a young age is not a good thing. Sure this isn’t what everyone wants to hear and I might look like a jackass for saying it, but it has some truth to it. When people say to me,” you could never be in a relationship”, I just laugh it off. It is funny how someone who does not have a significant other are looked down upon. Maybe I should start answering, ” I don’t do relationships because I live my life honestly”, Honest to myself and my dreams. If I know I don’t have the time to genuinely focus on loving someone else then why would I waste my time trying right now? I have so many things to do and so many dreams to fulfill.

Maybe the people who search for a lifetime are the one’s who live truly happy lives. That is an idea that very few people probably think about. We are assumed to find someone to love but in reality, numbers prove that special someone probably just isn’t that special. The journey of life is exciting, and love is always considered something you are looking for along the way. If most can agree on this, then why stop looking for it before your time to find it is really up! People settle to early and waste so much time worrying about not hurting other people’s feelings rather than just living life true to themselves and doing what they really want.

I think that the search for someone is much more thrilling than just settling at this point in my life. This belief maybe makes me look a bit like a jerk or like I’m selfish, but I’m ok with that. I want to go places and see things that when I am 45 and married, I won’t be able to do. The way I look at it, half your life should be dedicated to yourself and the other dedicated to family and building a “legacy” (raising a family). Times are changing, people no longer need to reproduce at young ages to have workers for the farm. We are apart of the world we live in so I am going to live that way. I have no reason to be wasting my time looking for a partner to just settle on when I can be doing all these great things and really learning about what I truly enjoy doing.

How could I ever give someone else the attention and affection they deserve if I don’t even understand who I am or where I am going? As a first generation college student that graduated high school in a class of 68 people, my head is spinning. Everyday I am faced with challenges from being apart of a small world previously to Purdue University. I am learning so much about my self and how to live my new life that I could not imagine being able to learn about another person. We live in a love-based culture, and love is pushed as an emotion everyone should strive to obtain with someone. The pressure of love pushes people to settle before they are really ready. I really just can’t see how kids in the same stage as life as me could ever meet the requirements to be a candidate of “love”. There is no way I could ever manage enough time to dedicate to another person in the fast and ever-changing life im living.

Next time you think about giving someone a hard time for not having a “significant other”, do the responsible thing and ask yourself why maybe you do. People live at different speeds and no one is ever on the same track as another. The ones who live it the right way early on are going to be the winners in the end. If you do all the things you dream of while you’re young, then you will have little regret in once life has started to “settle” down. The only time to really experiment and discover is when you are young! We all must take advantage of that, then  we will really be able to know what to look for in someone else and know how to live happy lives.

I realize that maybe love wasn’t really meant to be statistically true and is just an idea that people optimistically hold onto. The numbers might be against love, but that doesn’t mean it does not exist. The idea that love exists is a key component to the existence of man and evolution.When looking at many other species other than man, there really isn’t a concept of love and organisms have reproduction based relationships with one another. When I think of how a rabbit should live its life, I don’t think about how they fall in love with another rabbit but rather think that they will find a mate in order to reproduce. Love is sort of our “key” to continued reproduction of man and woman.

Just because the odds are against the idea of love, does not mean I don’t believe that I will find someone who will make me happy. If “true love” exists, then I believe that the journey along the way is just as important as actually finding a significant other. I look at everyone I meet as a learning experience and take everything I can use as tools later in life. So that when I do find someone I am willing to dedicate myself to, I will be able to give them the absolute best of me. People maybe need to live a more selfish life when they are younger so that they can understand and learn about themselves better. Take sometime to do what you want and you will find love along the way. I am young and living fast, but only  so I can reach the finish line in the best place I can possibly be in.

No Sex, No Drugs, No Life, No Love

Indie Rock Band The Velvet Underground and Manager Andy Warhol

Music is an important aspect to my life, as it is for most everyone else’s. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, “Will The Beatles Die Along Side Michael Jackson?”, how most songs we listen to on the radio are burnt out before the end of the week they debuted. I love all music, even if that means admitting to squeezing in a listen of the latest over-played pop song every once in a while. One thing we must worry about is, what do we have to look forward to listening to in 20 years?

The first CD I ever possessed as a kid was Steve Miller Band‘s Greatest Hits. What is funny is that by that time the greatest hits CD was even about ten years old! So this leads me to ask?, What kind of music am I going to have to hand down to the next generation? If the world only had Jason Derulo and Hannah Montana, the future of our next generations would be dim. Finding great music is substantially easier these days, but Indie Rock has been able to preserve and isolate the greatness of their music for 50 years.

Indie Rock came alive in the early 1960′s. It was known then for having a pop/rock/r&b sound and promoting love and peace in spite of the developing war.One of the most well-known bands coming from this era was Velvet Underground.They did all the work for their albums on their own and created a difference in what was considered traditional sounding music. The Velvet Underground never sold many albums, but they tried and led the way for the sound that had been unheard in life before. They sang only of things in their time and related real emotion and societal issues in their songs. Andy Warhol started managing the band in 1965, which caused the band to grow in popularity. Even though the band had a higher profile, the Velvet Underground never went commercial with their music. This is why it is timeless and lives forever! Indie rock is Music that plays the role of life’s drug: everyone loves it, they just need to try it to find out.

In the 1970′s indie music became even more experimental and had a wider range of sound.This era provoked an electronic and keyboard sound that came in the 90′s and what we hear today. Indie rock grew substantially in that time but still kept a low profile and out of the mass media scene. Today it is a known, but misunderstood genre of music. Indie Rock does not necessarily give someone a truly great sound, but a long-lasting sound that you will be able to enjoy in any stage of your life. When I am older I am not going to want to drive my SUV with a baby-seat while listening to Lil Wayne. I see my self enjoying bands like: Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, and Kings of Leon. All of these are examples of bands that classify under the Indie Rock genre. Though the image and sound of the Indie world may not top the billboard charts, they will have far more plays on my ipod than any contemporary mainstream pop song playing these days. That is something that really needs to be appreciated about the unique sound of Indie Rock.

Indie/psychedelic rock is a genre that is really misunderstood. Indie or “independent” music is used as a term to describe the independence of music from commercial record labels. The people involved in indie bands take a lot of pride doing all the work and promotion themselves. I feel as if people are scared away of the title or the image of this music. Indie rock is the only music we have that is going to preserved and keep its value over time. Indie Rock is an everlasting genre because it in most cases, keeps from the mainstream. One of the greatest songs I believe is one by The Strokes called Last Night. It is a classic sounding indie song that most would consider the greatest indie anthem song of all time. Though there are many cases of indie rock bands getting big (MGMT, Vampire weekend, Kings of Leon), much of the indie world stays underground.

The indie songs that I listen to now are most likely going to be the same songs I am listening to when i’m 40. For indie rock to live on, it must stay away from mainstream but I can not help from trying to promote it a little. It is really great music that put’s real emotion and ideas into musical form. People should be a little more excepting to the idea of indie rock being apart of their musical taste. It keeps the genre alive and strong while building respect and appreciation by not conforming to the mainstream image. For now and forever, it’s indie rock and roll for me.

Indie Rock and Roll – The Killers

Indie Rock Bands I recommend checking out would be:

- The Black Keys, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Broken Bells, Phoenix, Passion Pit, The Kooks, Matt & Kim, Tame Impala, The Dead Weather, The Strokes,Pear Jam, The Bravery, The Shins, The Killers, Nirvana, Radiohead etc.

Ps. One great way discover music is pandora.com. Check it out!

I’m Not A Good Writer, I’m A Good Thinker

Think About It

I love to write, but I really love to speak. A conversation carries so much meaning. If meeting people were my job I would be the richest man in the world. I love speaking and meeting people only because I love nothing more than explaining my ideas. My last article “Pursuit of Being Content”, is a perfect example of just a purely different way of thinking.  I don’t always believe that every thing I think of is necessarily right or wrong, I just love the “Idea” of it. What do I really love more, Meeting people or explaining my thoughts and ideas? It would have to be neither. I love thinking. My ideas are what drive me and make me who I am.  I suppose I would have to change my previous statement to, the only thing I love more than writing is thinking.

If I were president for a day I would force everyone to write in a journal. I honestly think it is one of the greatest things a person could do. Writing in a journal allows for a person to grow a stronger identity within himself or herself by reinforcing their ideas and thinking. No one can know you like you do. When you think of your ideas and picture things in your mind, no one else will ever to be able to totally envision or understand them the way you do. I mean really, some of the best conversations I have ever had have been with myself. Just sitting in my room writing in my journal and listening to music. I would not give those moments up for all the gold in the world. I simply love to just sit there and write my ideas down. I do for it for hours and hours at a time. Those moments are what keep me alive and make me the man I am.

When you write your ideas it allows for you to think and attempt to put your ideas into words. What makes a great writer is the ability to get as close as the possibly can to what you might imagine or think in your mind. I do not believe that another person can truly imagine what you are thinking. For example, when you describe a story and you want to do it so that the people listening can really “see” it in their minds so that they will get a better connection to the story and it is more likely to be liked or approved. One of the strongest weapons in the world is persuasion. You can do anything if you convince someone to do what you want. Well persuasion is all derived from ideas in a sense of that if that person can envision or connect with your passion for what you are talking about they are so much more likely to give in or agree with the IDEA that you are portraying on someone.

Portraying my ideas through my words is much more moving than when I write because you can use passion in your words. Passion is an emotion and emotions come natural to humans. When speaking you allow passion and emotion to convince someone of your same thinking or idea. Speaking to someone has so many more benefits because of emotion. My favorite thing to do think or express my ideas but not necessarily speaking to people. To me, the ability to connect and meet people and to have a positive and successful environment around you is one of the most powerful things that drive a man. The heart of what drives somebody is can come just from the urge for somebody to express their way of thinking or ideas.

It’s a wonder they don’t just tell me this in the first place while sitting in my communications class! I mean the study of how to speak the same “language” as some one elses mind is a pretty basic definition of persuasion. If that person can relate or agree with you through the picture or  idea you institute in their mind, they are thinking within the same frame as you.That is such a difficult thing for most people because this is not brought out in the open for people to think about. Ideas can change so many things in so many different ways.

I hope that I don’t sound like I have gone off the deep end when explaining this. I love when my ideas can allow for someone to open up and visualize the way I do. Sharing a common idea is fascinating to me. The sense of a commonality is an exciting and rare feeling to people. We all know that feeling we get when we found out someone we meet shares a rare common interest. We then build a relationship through conversation based on this initial shared idea. This is the same thing except deeper. I am writing thoughts and ideas that maybe most would just sweep under the rug in there brain. All it takes is for just one person to come out with an idea and then next thing you know, the rest of the class is jumping into the conversation adding their thought or vision to the initial idea. I can build myself through my ideas. That is why I say it is such a powerful thing. After all, the people I have met and the places I have been are what make me the man I so proudly am.

Related Articles

• Classical Rhetoric 101: The Three Means of Persuasion (artofmanliness.com)

The Pursuit of Being Content

It's Not "Bursting The Bubble".. It Is The Thrill Of The Moment Right Before

You ever think that maybe happiness is only true to a set definition? How can what is socially perceived to make somebody happy actually do so? I hate to seem like a negative thinker but I feel as if the term “happiness” is overused so badly in our world today. Not only is it overused but also it is a whole new preconceived generic view on life. It used to be that the smallest things were meaningful such as a man opening the door or pulling out a chair for a women as she approached the table. I cannot tell you how many times I have held the door for a complete stranger and they just walk right past me as if I was “expected” to do that for them. Expectations kill a society in a sense that once you understand habits and rituals, your expectation raises or one becomes accustom and it is no longer cherished as an act. If I were to go back 60 years I would not even be able to find a date if I walked into a whorehouse with a hundred dollar bill.  Back then, men picked the girl up from her home, went in and met the parents along with maybe bringing over some flowers, paid for dinner, bought the movie tickets all while having the young lady home and tucked in by midnigh all this at the risk of daddy catching you giving her a kiss goodnight.These days a lady is lucky to get any one of those things.

The sad part is I am guilty along with everyone else. Truly, the definition of happiness is based on if a task or moment meets what your mind and society perceive as what it should be or what is expected to happen or not to happen. It is really a simple way of thinking. If you do one thing you have an expectation of what is supposed to come of it. This weekend I went out with my buddies and had an absolute crazy night where I nearly was arrested if it wasn’t for a potluck bar fight bailing me out from the cops questioning. Not to mention, I ended the night by dancing with a girl that was 23 years old and I had met when I was 15 then immediately after I watched my ridiculously intoxicated friend kick a frozen pumpkin thinking it was a basketball! It was just one wild night. What made it great is that it was not really anything I expected to happen. I wasn’t happy or upset. I remember sitting down the next day and when we spoke about it I said how I would never forget that night. The reason was so attached to this memory was because I had the rare feeling of just being content. There was nothing I could imagine that could make that memory a better one.The feeling that it didn’t even meet the wildest of my expectations, it was even better. That’s the feeling people really look forward to. You are more likely to feel happy because everyone around you and the society we live in tell us what is supposed to make us happy. The feeling of being content, the sense that maybe that moment really couldn’t get any better than it is.That is what happiness is supposed to feel like. The moments we live for and never forget in life.

The picture I chose works for this article because it shows this little girl chasing or “in pursuit” of the bubbles (happiness). This is what we really need to think about: what is it that makes us truly happy? actually popping the bubble or the feeling right before you catch that bubble. Feeling that is really just indescribable. You know your going to get the bubble before you even actually pop it. It is that half second from when you know you are going to actually pop it and when you actually do pop the balloon.Think of  comparing it to the moment right before the gun goes off for the race or right before the football is snapped in the game or that moment right before the ball is released for the jump ball to start a basketball game. The true meaning of happiness is clouded by the overall effect of having expectations as a whole society or culture.

I am simply on the pursuit of being content. The true definition of happiness is not really the definition. I think my happiness is really just being content or comfortable with a moment where nothing can really make it better. It’s like when you have a wife, everyone knows getting into a relationship that maybe the other will not always make you happy every day, but rather you are focusing on the fact that you have the potential to make each other happy. That is what makes you comfortable enough to accept  spending your life with someone. There is no way of actually being happy with another person every single day of your life. Knowing if you ask for something that person will know exactly how you want it. People wont eat from the full cookie jar in life; people panic only when the resources get scarce. You are truly happy when you have the security of knowing that your significant other does not necessarily know how to make you happy everyday but more or less how to make you feel as if they are able to if they really need to. What a content feeling right? Happiness is contradicting to its real meaning but that does not mean it doesn’t exist. As we all know, different things make different people happy.

Funny The Way It Is- Dave Matthews Band

Will The Beatles Die Along Side Michael Jackson?

Can Beatlemania Survive itunes?

Who would have thought that losing the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson, would not only be a detrimental loss to his many fans and family members, but would also cause a monumental change in our culture. Michael Jackson had such a great grasp on music culture that he still affects the future of music even after his death. Michael Jackson revolutionized pop culture at a very young age, taking over the world with the microphone at hand. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he is considered the greatest entertainer of all time. His contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with an outrageous and much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

So what does this have to do with the “death” of The Beatles? The King of Pop may be gone but the controversy over his interest in owning the rights to The Beatles music is not. Even as recorded-music sales have plummeted, The Beatles Rock and Roll legacy stays stronger than ever. In 2009, 39 years after breaking up, they sold the third-highest number of albums of any act in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, with 3.3 million copies sold. I am a big supporter of iTunes and would even venture to say that it is one of the greatest inventions of all time, but I cannot help but get the feeling that The Beatles legacy will soon dwindle with the release of their songs.

In 1984, the rights to all but four Beatles songs were up for bid. Michael Jackson ironically outbid Paul McCartney for rights to his own music. McCartney could not raise enough money to beat out the 47.5 million dollars MJ was willing to put up for bid. From that point on, Michael Jackson had 50% ownership of the music (with the record labels and the surviving Beatles getting the other 50% for songwriting reasons). Many Beatles fans felt negative buzz towards MJ and felt he was merely disrespecting McCartney and The Beatles. What in the world made Michael Jackson think he deserved to own this music? What most people did not realize was that if McCartney would have won the bid for the music, he solely would have wreaked the benefits of having 100% control of the rights to the music. In reality, McCartney probably would have re-sold his music within a short time for much more money after purchasing it, but played it off to fans that he wanted to own the music for no other reason other than the fact that it belonged to him. This had no take on Jackson and he relentlessly went after the music until finally obtaining it.

We all knew losing Michael Jackson was going to be tragic to music culture in a sense of he was now gone, but what about the music world connected to him? Until recently, anytime anyone wanted to hear a Beatles song (legally) they had to have a tangible form of the music, whether that being a CD, cassette or vinyl. When you think of any of the great bands in history or even your own favorite artist/musical group, one thing you take into consideration was how many great songs they had as well as overall popularity. Previously, when The Beatles music was passed on by hand, odds are it was done so in a form in which not just one Beatles song was relayed but rather a whole CD or group of songs. The first time I had ever truly sat down and listened to The Beatles, I had borrowed the greatest hits CD and was hooked the first time through. If there were a heavy weight belt for rock and roll, The Beatles would have been the reigning champions for about 50 years now. There is no other band that has a such strong sense of culture that can imitate the sound and image of what the Beatles have produced universally. If you want proof, just look around. Beatlemania lives in our radios, our streets and even on the walls and in the television sets of our homes.

A great documentary I recommend seeing is “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”. The film shows the life of a manic depressive musician who, through the initial obsession with Beatles music, spends his whole life devoted to making music. Though the main point of the documentary isn’t about the Beatles, there are multiple references of how the Beatles influenced and drove Daniel to continuously make music. This man’s life is so focused on his passion for music that he gets to the point that he literally goes insane, but because of this Daniel Johnston is known as one of the greatest and most unique singer/song writers of our time. Try and think of one other band that could possibly have this kind of influence through something as simple as a song.The Beatles are forever the greatest and most cultural moving musical groups made. I am not just speaking in a sense of music but through politics and religious views as well. People worshiped these guys like they were Jesus and his disciples, bowing and crumbling to their every move whether it was through there music or how they lived. Everyone wanted to be a part of Beatlemania.

With today’s globalization and mass media, most songs don’t last a month. Everywhere you go you hear a Lady Gaga or Soulja Boy song. When I go on iTunes to purchase music, odds are I will not be buying a whole album, but rather I buy an artist’s most popular song. That is why music these days is so generic and replacable. Everything is so commercialized everyone is looking for the next biggest hit before the first one ever has a chance to see its real prime. The Beatles are a band that nearly anyone could name not just one song, but more like three or four songs.

Do I really think that the world will forget about The Beatles? Of course not, but It is a relatively reasonable prediction that the passing of Michael Jackson and iTunes gaining the right to sell and distribute The Beatles music will substantially deteriorate the credibility and authenticity of the music that has been heard throughout the world for the last half-century. One thing no one can deny is how iTunes can create the potential for growth just as much as deterioration of the music we listen to. It allows for the music to have easier accessibility in the ever changing media oriented world we live in today and for a more universally friendly way for the rest of the world to collect and cherish this great music. John Lennon was once quoted in an interview in 1966 saying, “I don’t know which will go first… rock and roll or Christianity.” Only time will tell. Though Michael Jackson has had his moments of controversy, protecting the rights to that music may or may not have been one of the most misunderstood and overlooked actions modern pop culture has ever seen.

I have also posted a couple to links of  bands that have been greatly influenced by The Beatles, Just click and give them a listen! Thanks for reading!

Los Angeles- The Rosewood Thieves

Telephone- The Black Angels

References: The Wall Street Journal, Britannica Encyclopedia

Joshua Daniel Petty – Purdue University – Communications