I regret to inform you that
this blog has moved. If you're currently linking (or would like to start
now), please use "keane.festizio.net" and not
"keaneiscool.blogspot.com" While the former address was always used as a
redirect, starting this week it'll be the actual URL for my new
Wordpress site :-)
And don't forget: our album is coming out in a few
weeks!
Run, run as fast as you can
No one can catch you, they just don’t understand
Run from the gangs or the marathon man, just run
From the sound of a gun…
I always felt as if I was running from something… To be honest, it’s why I watch movies and listen to music. It’s all a glorious escape, a cheap vacation requiring minimal effort. What am I running from, I wonder… What am I afraid of?
I once commented on the seemingly complicated nature of life, to which a friend responded, “it is… because people are.” It’s true, of course. (Of course.) Everything simply “is.” It’s how we perceive neutral external stimuli that affects us. We can either take the world poorly or use it to better ourselves. It’s a secret-to-true-happiness that simply requires we change our manner of thought. In the end, after all, there are only our “feelings and choices.”
If I were ever to choose an album that changed my life, it would be Absolution by Muse. I remember first hearing “Butterflies & Hurricanes” and immediately finding deep inspiration within the lyrics: “Change everything you are / And everything you were / Your number has been called…” It was one of many things that motivated the most transitional year of my life. I quit my job and freed my mind, but more importantly, I conquered whatever fear that caused me to run.
“Best, you’ve got to be the best
You’ve got to change the world
And use this chance to be heard
Your time is now…”
Since then, I’ve felt more guidance in my movement, more in touch with things than I had been in the past. It’s comforting, really, to have a good feeling about the direction you choose to face. I still find myself running, running as fast as I can… but maybe I’m not running from something anymore…
I helped a friend move out of her ex-boyfriend’s place yesterday. The whole situation left me thinking about every instance of heartbreak I’d since experienced and how I’ve adapted to them. Here’s what I do: I diminish the other person’s presence in my head by humanizing them, focusing on their normalcy until they’re no longer deified in my mind. I admit my coping mechanism leaves me feeling cold-hearted at times, and it reminds me of that scene from “Casino Royale” where Daniel Craig coolly replies, “The job’s done and the bitch is dead.” I wouldn’t go that far, of course, but you can see what I mean. C’est la vie. Che passa… I don’t know.
“Having a twin as your lover, you’ll never be free…”
But occasionally you meet someone to whom the above method does not apply. This person is special, and you wouldn’t dare tarnish their image because in your mind they are perfect… whatever “perfect” can mean. Is it bad to say something is just “not meant to be?” How can someone be the love of your life if they’ve already found theirs? How can you still trust your feelings if you feel you’ve been misled?
It brings to mind another scene from another movie, this time “Les Poupées Russes,” where the main character is told by his friend that he needs to stop dreaming of the ideal woman… to which he simply responds, “Why stop dreaming?” You can’t help who you love. You can’t be anyone but yourself. So you kick your ass with reality until the fantasy in your head finds a quiet place in the confines of your heart. Never forgotten, but rarely attended.
“All I want is you… The thought of us gets me through the day…”
And you let the feeling slip slowly like sweet poison from the veins…
John Murphy, who collaborated with Danny Boyle on several prior films, composed a hauntingly uplifting soundtrack for “Sunshine,” a film of elegant poignancy. And while I can cross-analyze every note, I feel it a pointless endeavor, as you can simply decipher its greatness on your own…
Trailer set to “Lux Aeterna” from the Requiem for a Dream OST
I confess I haven’t been in the mood for writing lately. First of all, Performer Magazine consolidated its offices to Boston in an effort to survive the economic downfall, resulting in regional layoffs and massive organizational changes. Sadly, our West Coast Editor, Katherine Hoffert, is no longer with Performer. She’s a fantastic person and I owe her a lot (a lot). Katherine, best of luck to you (not that you’ll need it).
Secondly, and on a wholly separate note, the past month left me experiencing a form of true love I had never known before… and in a devious twist of fate, I learned it could never be. But for her, I’ll always hold a sense of caring that permeates deeper than anything else, that I could be content just being there always, if only to make her happy, even if I can’t truly be hers.
“Mercury” – Poignant and Simple
Anyway, it’s a new year and I thought it appropriate to share the soundtrack to “Sunshine,” one of my favorite films by one of my favorite directors. The film is hopeful but somber, and the characters find humanity through deep sacrifice and their ability to endure. Such is life.
And I promise I’ll try and write more
:-)
“The Surface of the Sun” – The Film’s Grand Number
“Only dream I ever have… is it the surface of the sun?
Every time I shut my eyes… it’s always the same.”
Found this in my external hard drive. I think I wrote it eight years ago.
Seconds One second makes me happy,
one second makes me cry.
Two can hold me down,
but just one more can make me fly.
If I live to 82,
1,994,752,800 until I die.
Words cannot describe how meaningful it was for me to quit my job and backpack the East Coast. I will never forget the places I saw, nor will I stop loving the people I encountered (unless, of course, I suffer a case of explosive amnesia). Words cannot describe the change that occurred within me those three weeks, but if I had to try, it would go as follows:
Plane.
Orange.
Tuba.
Aragorn.
Enjoy :)
(Click the titles for my reviews on some of the places I visited…)
