Tag Archives: death

If I Die Young (Single Review) – The Band Perry

 

Newly released to American pop radio after dominating the country charts last year, If I Die Young is the second single by country newcomers: The Band Perry.

Already certified 2x platinum, you feel such a success is the most natural thing for a song of If I Die Young’s caliber.

“If I die young,” Kimberly Perry starts the song that she wrote by herself, “bury me in satin, lay me down in a bed of roses, sink me in a river at dawn, send me away with the words of a love song.”

The opening lyric sets the hypothetical tone of the acoustic-leaning song. And it is through that tone that the narrator, Kimberly, continues her story. “Lord, make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother. She’ll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors.”

The whole song is a testament to Kimberly Perry’s command of language and crafting interesting images that do not feel forced. On the contrary, the whole song, though the theme might be morbid to some, is a jubilation to life. And everything in it fits like the pieces of a puzzle. If I Die Young boasts very sharp lyrics with highly imaginative detail, building a story of a girl who’s contemplating how it would be if she were to die young.

On the second verse, the narrator laments on the fact that she never knew love. “There’s a boy here in town, says he’ll love me forever. Who would have thought forever could be severed by the sharp knife of a short life? Well, I’ve had just enough time.”

And as is natural with everyone thinking about death, the prospect of value comes up. It’s a recurrent topic how the things you own get more valuable when you pass away. And that issue is tackled in If I Die Young as well.

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I’ll sell ’em for a dollar
They’re worth so much more after I’m a goner
And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singing
Funny, when you’re dead how people start listening

And then the song comes full circle with the narrator singing the chorus one last time before elaborating on what the love song should be: “The ballad of a dove, go with peace and love. Gather up your tears, keep ’em in your pocket… save them for a time when you’re really gonna need them, oh”

If I Die Young might be a song with death in its title but it’s mostly about living. It’s not about the narrator inviting the listener to live to the fullest, but it’s more saying that: “even though my life was cut short, I am satisfied with the time I’ve had – I’ve had just enough time.”

Nothing is more testament to how people perceive If I Die Young than the response the three members of The Band Perry received because of that song. The most famous story regarding the song comes in the form of a letter than Kimberly received, containing a necklace with a letter from an eighteen year old girl who lost her best friend to cancer. The girl was contemplating suicide, mourning her friend, and If I Die Young came on the radio. The girl heard so much life in that song that she sent The Band Perry her most prized possession, the necklace her friend gave her before passing away.

If I Die Young is also a song that touched people from older generations. While performing the song at a concert, The Band Perry saw an older woman standing in the scorching heat with a sign on which the words: “She died young” were written, signed with her daughter’s name.

Kimberly Perry delivers the song brilliantly. She doesn’t under or over-sing. She handles the melody with restraint and impeccable nuances. Her slightly weathered voice adds magnificence to the song, as well as the subtle harmonies that her brothers deliver in the background.

You cannot listen to If I Die Young without feeling something. It is a song that crosses age boundaries and touches everyone regardless of personal background or even musical preference. We’ve all had someone who died young. It is a song that calls after you to live and enjoy life. It calls on you to love your life and to always have no regrets. It’s no wonder it stands out on pop radio among all the electronic music being played. It rises way beyond clubbing songs that you would hear before and after it, simply because this is a raw, authentic and real.

Listen to If I Die Young here:

200 Km/h

I woke up today to the news that a friend of mine had passed away at 4 am on Sunday, June 12th.

Age? 31. Cause of death: Car accident. Approximate car speed: 200 km/h

The man’s neighbors woke up to the sound of his mom weeping and shouting. So the next time you and your friends decide to race on a Lebanese highway going at a ridiculous speed, at least have a flashback to your mother’s face and how devastated she would be if you were no longer there to speak to her, hug her or kiss her cheek.

My friend’s car went into a collision with an SUV. It was a convertible BMW and he didn’t have his seat-belt on. He got propelled over forty meters on the tarmac, out of the car.

So a word of advice for the next time you decide to turn your car into a space shuttle wannabe: don’t. Or at least put the seatbelt on – unless you’re experimenting with human projectiles.

The Vampire Diaries – As I Lay Dying

What do you do when you’ve lived for over a century, done all the mistakes imaginable and now suddenly, you find yourself dying?
How do you absolve your mistakes and ask forgiveness from the people you love most, whom you have hurt deeply? What exactly does a man do knowing he’s about to die?
This is the theme of the season two finale of The Vampire Diaries.

Taking it a notch down from the epic penultimate episode, The Sun Also Rises, this episode, grimly titled As I Lay Dying, is almost as epic – albeit being totally different. Leaving most of the supernatural elements to the previous episodes, the creators chose to make As I Lay Dying an episode about the redemptive power of love, regret, strength and courage. It is heartfelt, it seeks closure and at the same time opens up some of the wounds the show’s characters have been trying to hide for many years.

All of the story-lines are well-developed, in pure Vampire Diaries fashion. I would have liked to see some more stuff going on (maybe extending the episode beyond the one hour mark) but that’s just greedy me talking.

There is no other show that does cliffhangers better than The Vampire Diaries. And this season’s cliffhanger is almost as awesome as season one’s finale. It was absolutely smashing. Not only will it leave you in shock, it will also instill the feeling inside you of “how the hell am I supposed to wait till September for this?” It actually makes one of the less important characters vital for next season!

But wait is all we can do. The Vampire Diaries is not perfect. But the speed with which this show moves is what keeps you immersed, add to that the highly interesting storyline. Season three of The Vampire Diaries is said to be the “year of the originals” and this episode sets the mood for that. And let me tell you this, it will be one brilliant season! Don’t let the feeling of wanting something to happen and it not happening deter you from enjoying this awesome TV show.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead?

The Al-Qaaeda leader, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and the world’s most wanted man for over a decade was killed by U.S. Navy forces in Pakistan, today.

The Saudi-born Islamist was killed in a mansion outside Islamabad after his whereabouts were uncovered.

People around the world are rejoicing by this news…

But should we really be that happy?

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing I wanted to see more than the man dead and this Daily News cover sums up how I feel about him:

But prior to his death, Bin Laden was pretty much irrelevant. Al Qaaeda was becoming mostly threats and no action, which is definitely a good thing, mostly because the U.S. military intervention in its areas of power had rendered it very incapable of actually doing something.

With Bin Laden’s death, he was brought back into the spotlight and with that, Islamists are boiling. Terrorist attacks will only escalate from here – and instead of blaming their pretty messed up understanding of their religion for it – they will put it all on Bin Laden’s death.

Al Qaaeda is more fragmented than people think. It’s not an army with a certain hierarchy that needs to be followed. Bin Laden’s death is more symbolic than effective. But symbolism is important. Al Qaaeda, though, will simply have a new leader who might even be worse than Bin Laden.

The story isn’t over with Bin Laden’s death. Sure, we can rejoice and be happy for a day that such filth is dead. But the problem truly ends when the root of the problem is eradicated. As to how that should take place, I honestly have no clue.

And in all honesty, how do we know he’s truly dead? Hasn’t he been killed over thirteen times already? The picture of him dead turned out to be photoshopped and he was given a sea burial. I hope, for the sake of the families of 9/11 victims, that this is not a hoax.

Vittorio Arrigoni – The Man Who Lived

I was not familiar with Vittorio Arrigoni until about 10 hours ago when my twitter timeline exploded with tweets about his death. So I decided to look into the man, see what he’s all about and why there was a genuine sense of sadness among many people who didn’t even know him.

Vittorio Arrigoni is a man who left the comforts of his safe country, Italy, and decided to pursue a cause he believed deeply in: Palestine.

He spent his time in Gaza, supporting the people and the land, defending their rights as human beings and asking for their freedom.

Vittorio, aged 36, was kidnapped in the Gaza strip by an extremist religious group that demanded Hamas to release one of their leaders from prison. He was found dead this morning, his body thrown away like some useless piece of garbage.

Continue reading →