2 weeks; 14 days; 336 hours; 20160 minutes; 1209600 seconds....
However you measure it, that's how long it's been since I wrote my last blog.
That's a day short of how long it has been since I met who I believe to be the love of my life.
Don't ask me how I know. It's nothing you haven't read in cheezy love novels, or even status updates of 16 year olds on facebook. However, I've come to learn that even the most in-love, iconic, "perfect" couples are still learning what love is to them. When you meet someone new and start to develop feelings for them, you start telling each other you love each other. Then something tragic happens and you part. You try to erase them from your past and realize that it wasn't love. Then the next one comes along and the process repeats.
However, I think if I were to be truely honest with myself, (and perhaps if you were with yourself too...) I could look at all my past "loves" and realize that although I had strong feelings towards them, I never came to the state of "not being able to see myself without them." I could see myself with any one of them but Brian...well, Brian I can't see myself without. In a matter of two weeks he has made a home in my heart and not just him but his son, his mom, his dad, his sister, his brother, his friends, hell even his dogs!
Call me crazy but I just know I'm going to marry this guy. I've gained a new family, new friends, the love of my life and a new perspective on my life. As it's probably been noted by my previous blogs, I was severely depressed before I met him. I had given up on God, Love, Family and ever being a successful human being.
But now....well, now I'm just plain excited. I realize that everything in my life up til now has just been shaping me to become the person I am today which just happens to be the one that Brian fell in love with and that's all that seems to matter to me right now. He gives me courage, hope, joy, life and even thrill.
He's my best friend and my lover. I can't wait to live a wonderful life with this man and I've only known him for 20160-ish minutes.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
And Suddenly the World Seemed So Far Away
Where to begin, I'm not even sure. As apparent in my last blog, I'm not a hopeless romantic. Until now I've felt like Van Gogh...rejected by God and Love with nothing left but my art. And my art doesn't even make me millions. But me as I am today has found me in the presence of someone who has changed how I look at connections, flirtations, relationships, expectations, and realizations. I'm an open-minded person but I'm trying to learn how to read people regarding who is good for me and who isn't. I always end up being so wrong. I was so wrong about him. He was open and up-front. He lives an honest life-style and does what he can to get by. I was afraid he was just like all the others but he's not. Hmmm song lyrics will help me explain what I feel for this guy. My brain is too twitterpated to connect my thoughts in an educated fashion.
-You were meant to be near me and I want you to hear me say we'll be together everyday.
-Dont pass me by, don't make mecry, don't make me blue cause you know darlin I love only you.
-Take a look around and see that you and me are meant to be.
-I want you, I want you so bad it's driving me mad.
-Life could be a dream, if you would tell me I'm the only one that you love.
-If it feels this good getting used, than just keep on using me until you use me up.
-Boy, you've left me speechless
-You've popped my heart seams
-I only wanna be with you
-Like an apple hanging from a tree I picked the ripest one
-It cannot wait, I'm yours
-Scootch on over closer dear and I will nibble your ear.
-The magic word is any word so just say it.
-I only have eyes for you.
-My perscription isnt quite 20\20 but you're the only thing thats focused in my view.
-If you grew to be too old and scared to dream I would whisper the wills of the things you once believed in.
When obsessed with a man, what is a girl to do?
-You were meant to be near me and I want you to hear me say we'll be together everyday.
-Dont pass me by, don't make mecry, don't make me blue cause you know darlin I love only you.
-Take a look around and see that you and me are meant to be.
-I want you, I want you so bad it's driving me mad.
-Life could be a dream, if you would tell me I'm the only one that you love.
-If it feels this good getting used, than just keep on using me until you use me up.
-Boy, you've left me speechless
-You've popped my heart seams
-I only wanna be with you
-Like an apple hanging from a tree I picked the ripest one
-It cannot wait, I'm yours
-Scootch on over closer dear and I will nibble your ear.
-The magic word is any word so just say it.
-I only have eyes for you.
-My perscription isnt quite 20\20 but you're the only thing thats focused in my view.
-If you grew to be too old and scared to dream I would whisper the wills of the things you once believed in.
When obsessed with a man, what is a girl to do?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Dare to Dream of Love
Erik Erikson believed that we go through seven major stages in personal development and at the beginning of each new stage there is a crisis. There is one crisis that deals specifically with the decision to join other humans or to be alone. Some would say that Mr. Erikson was wrong because everyone automatically chooses not to be alone. I don't know how this stuff works but I know I feel as though I'm going through this crisis now.
I'm beginning to wonder about true love and it's existence or not. I'm sure many of more educated men and women have studied the subject and written about it. But I feel like there are only two options that currently exist. You're either a realist and see a couple that doesn't fit together and think "she could do better". Or, you're an idealist and see this same couple and think "they're in love." So is it desperation that drives the gorgeous girl into the arms of the fat, ugly, bald guy? Or is he her someone, the one she wants? I don't know.
But what I do know, is what I see. I look at my parents. They found out they were pregnant with me just months after they met. They're still together by some divine intervention but I don't believe they are soul mates. Yet they are too afraid to break apart and find someone more like themselves. Perhaps they're afraid that anything better is just a fairy tale. But I don't believe that they have "settled" because they have good times together but they would make better friends than life partners in my opinion.
I look at my brother and his wife. There was no pressing matter that forced them into marriage. There was no child, no money in it, perhaps time was looming over them with my sister in law being close to thirty and wanting to have kids at some point soon. So, they married...fast. Although she deals with my brothers anger problems and anxiety better than anyone I know, it is still the most pathetic marriage I've ever witnessed. It's a buisness deal, a machine, a system, a deal, even a game. She cheats on him emotionally so they move out of state for him to find my best friend and "fall in love" with her overnight. So they're even. Once that wave has passed, it goes back to her being his personal slave and him abusing her verbally and emotionally every day out of frustration towards her ignorance about close to everything that matters.
I don't know that I've ever believed in true love, even outside of romance. But I used to find hope in my relationships with my friends. My best friend since child hood knows my ins and outs. She reads me like an open book and we can be continents apart for a year or more with no contact and pick right back up where we left off. But thats just it, I practically beg to spend time with this girl anymore. It used to be so easy when we were kids. I would just walk two houses down. Now, we're grown up. She has a kid and is in school to become a nurse. I'm still living at home, working part time and going to school full time. I know she still loves me and I, her. We're both busy but it goes beyond that. She's replaced me with someone in a similar situation to hers. A girl who had a child young and is now a single mother. Any spare moment she has (which is rare) is spent with this girl. I don't feel like a real "best friend" would replace you. You shouldn't have to beg for your best friends attention.
So, in middle school I started hanging with this group of people. At the time, we were extremely similar and became in seperable. We took our friendship very seriously and believed that one day we would all be 80 and talking about the good ol days. I suppose it's still possible. But we've all changed so much. We began to be busy with our own lives and goals. We still hang out but after having different jobs, schools, boyfriends\girlfriends and making new friends, we've drifted.
Then I look at my current close friend. We only met a little over a year ago but we relate and we support each other. We have fun when we hang out together and I genuinely care about her. But I feel like we lack the history. I feel like without knowing each other not just as we are but who we used to be is important and I can never give her that, nor can she give that to me.
So where is the real love? Where is the true love? The Disney classics have trained me to believe there is someone out there that will fill in the blanks of my happily ever after. But if that doesn't exist in the way that Walt painted it, should I settle? or make the decision to be alone?
I'm exactly 3 months shy of 21. And to date I've had 4 men ready and willing to marry me. Two proposed and the other two already told me they had plans to. Being that I am in a state of availability you can guess what my answer was to all of them. Not only did I reject them but I RAN! I can't even commit to getting to class on time the next day and they want me to commit to the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
Dear Future Boyfriends,
Don't ask me because that will be the day I leave you. Call me afraid to commit but I've been in love before and it wasn't enough to make me say "I do."
-Jessie
I'm beginning to wonder about true love and it's existence or not. I'm sure many of more educated men and women have studied the subject and written about it. But I feel like there are only two options that currently exist. You're either a realist and see a couple that doesn't fit together and think "she could do better". Or, you're an idealist and see this same couple and think "they're in love." So is it desperation that drives the gorgeous girl into the arms of the fat, ugly, bald guy? Or is he her someone, the one she wants? I don't know.
But what I do know, is what I see. I look at my parents. They found out they were pregnant with me just months after they met. They're still together by some divine intervention but I don't believe they are soul mates. Yet they are too afraid to break apart and find someone more like themselves. Perhaps they're afraid that anything better is just a fairy tale. But I don't believe that they have "settled" because they have good times together but they would make better friends than life partners in my opinion.
I look at my brother and his wife. There was no pressing matter that forced them into marriage. There was no child, no money in it, perhaps time was looming over them with my sister in law being close to thirty and wanting to have kids at some point soon. So, they married...fast. Although she deals with my brothers anger problems and anxiety better than anyone I know, it is still the most pathetic marriage I've ever witnessed. It's a buisness deal, a machine, a system, a deal, even a game. She cheats on him emotionally so they move out of state for him to find my best friend and "fall in love" with her overnight. So they're even. Once that wave has passed, it goes back to her being his personal slave and him abusing her verbally and emotionally every day out of frustration towards her ignorance about close to everything that matters.
I don't know that I've ever believed in true love, even outside of romance. But I used to find hope in my relationships with my friends. My best friend since child hood knows my ins and outs. She reads me like an open book and we can be continents apart for a year or more with no contact and pick right back up where we left off. But thats just it, I practically beg to spend time with this girl anymore. It used to be so easy when we were kids. I would just walk two houses down. Now, we're grown up. She has a kid and is in school to become a nurse. I'm still living at home, working part time and going to school full time. I know she still loves me and I, her. We're both busy but it goes beyond that. She's replaced me with someone in a similar situation to hers. A girl who had a child young and is now a single mother. Any spare moment she has (which is rare) is spent with this girl. I don't feel like a real "best friend" would replace you. You shouldn't have to beg for your best friends attention.
So, in middle school I started hanging with this group of people. At the time, we were extremely similar and became in seperable. We took our friendship very seriously and believed that one day we would all be 80 and talking about the good ol days. I suppose it's still possible. But we've all changed so much. We began to be busy with our own lives and goals. We still hang out but after having different jobs, schools, boyfriends\girlfriends and making new friends, we've drifted.
Then I look at my current close friend. We only met a little over a year ago but we relate and we support each other. We have fun when we hang out together and I genuinely care about her. But I feel like we lack the history. I feel like without knowing each other not just as we are but who we used to be is important and I can never give her that, nor can she give that to me.
So where is the real love? Where is the true love? The Disney classics have trained me to believe there is someone out there that will fill in the blanks of my happily ever after. But if that doesn't exist in the way that Walt painted it, should I settle? or make the decision to be alone?
I'm exactly 3 months shy of 21. And to date I've had 4 men ready and willing to marry me. Two proposed and the other two already told me they had plans to. Being that I am in a state of availability you can guess what my answer was to all of them. Not only did I reject them but I RAN! I can't even commit to getting to class on time the next day and they want me to commit to the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
Dear Future Boyfriends,
Don't ask me because that will be the day I leave you. Call me afraid to commit but I've been in love before and it wasn't enough to make me say "I do."
-Jessie
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Grandma's Hands
I feel as though this blog has become a neglected ghost town, just waiting for the day that it will be rediscovered by historians who see stories of love and hope etched within it's walls.
My usual topic retracts back to music whether I intend it to or not. Let's see if I can be intellectual about my feelings in this blog without going back to music. I'll also let you know ahead of time that this blog is going to be more emotional than previous. I apologize for adding more sadness to this already weeping world.
By all definitions of the word, whether you use dictionary.com, urbandictionary.com or good ol' Miriam Webster, my life is a state of helter skelter presently. I suppose it all started May 21st 2011. That's the day that my great-grandmother passed away. I don't believe there ever was a college student as close to her great-grandmother as I was. She was just shy of 81 years old...I am just shy of 21 years old. It's very rare to for someone my age to even have a great-grandmother, much less have a relationship with her.
She went into the hospital right before finals at Antelope Valley College, a sunday to be exact. I thought she would make it out like she always did. She made it through plenty of heart attacks, strokes, hip replacements, asthma attacks and seasons of pneumonia. What's a little trouble breathing and a headache? Apparently it was the end. I walked into the hospital room Monday afternoon to see the shell of a woman that I once knew. I was frightened by what I saw. I expected to see the usual when "Mimi" went into the hospital...my great-grandmother wearing different clothes and an IV in her arm. But this woman, I didn't recognize. She was pale, shaking, and unable to speak or communicate. She was hunched over to one side and made everyone aware of her pain when nurses tried to straighten her fragile body. Her eyes wouldn't meet my gaze as I searched her face for the woman I knew. It became quickly clear that I only had a short time with her because the real "her" was fading in and out. I'd like to think that Jesus was walking with her over the next few days but I cannot be sure. All that I am sure of is that sometimes, she was there but most of the time, she was not.
I was off Tuesday, just two days before she was to pass. I sat by her bed side morning to night stroking her face even though the doctors strongly believed she could have menengitis which is highly contagious. I knew that wasn't what it was. It was just her time and unfortunately it was painful for her. I waited patiently for the real her to come through. It was afternoon. I can't tell you the exact time but she could because my Mimi remembers time almost down to the second. She lifted her head a little off the cold, paper hospital pillow and with a very weak, broken, tired voice she said I love...you. I could barely understand it and almost didn't believe I had heard what I had heard. She hadn't spoken any bit of sense to anyone in weeks.To be completely honest I didn't even say it back. I smiled briefly then began to cry, mostly to myself. A tear ran down my face and I watched her fall back against her pillow and become lost again in that state of barely being alive. My grandfather walked in and startled me back into the jaded, quietly strong girl that I had become to my friends and family since I first saw my best friend in this state.
I stayed by her side into the evening on tuesday but decided to leave for the latter portion of the evening once my mother arrived, to keep my sanity. Wednesday is a blur for me. I know I worked in the morning and had school in the afternoon. I had the oppurtunity to see her Wednesday evening but my heart sank at the thought of going through the emotional roller coaster that I endured Tuesday, so I went to my friends for an escape. I regret that to this day but I've been told everything happens for a reason. Thursday morning around 6:25am, she passed away. This was how I was told: I was asleep, dreaming about the last few days. I woke up to my mom's voice. Not as harsh and hurried as it is on any other natural thursday. As soon as my eyes opened I had a flashback of the day my aunt passed away. I knew what was going on when I saw my mom emerge through the haziness of my own eyes. At that moment my own feelings were cast aside instantly, not by any fault of my mom or my own. This is just how I function. My mom sat on my bed and said plainly "Your Mimi passed away this morning". I threw my arms around my mom and told her "it's okay, shes no longer in pain." I held my mom and let her cry, fighting back my own tears. Beyond that, there was not much else spoken between the two of us that morning.
My mom rushed to the hospital to be with my Grandfather. I got on the phone to deal with my arrangements for work. I would like to paint a better picture of my workplace with this story but there is no way of doing that. I called right at opening. A woman I work with who is considerably older and more soured by the world's negativity answered the phone with a new, early morning hate for whoever was to be on the other end of the line. After she greeted me with a "hello?" I said "Hello, this is Jessica." Apparently there was a bad connection and my co-worker decided it was better to hang up on me, than to try and establish a better connection but not before a pig-like grunt of disgust as if it was my problem that the connection was bad. I re-dialed the number and was met with an even more firey greeting of "HELLO?!?" I calmly explained my situation and thanked her for dealing with me. Battling her negativity was not going to be an option today so I let it go.
What was to come next is extremely private and I would be concerned for your well being if you wanted to know about my trip to the hospital and the second to last time I see the hands of great grandma that once held me.
My journey after however, is to be posted at a later date.
My usual topic retracts back to music whether I intend it to or not. Let's see if I can be intellectual about my feelings in this blog without going back to music. I'll also let you know ahead of time that this blog is going to be more emotional than previous. I apologize for adding more sadness to this already weeping world.
By all definitions of the word, whether you use dictionary.com, urbandictionary.com or good ol' Miriam Webster, my life is a state of helter skelter presently. I suppose it all started May 21st 2011. That's the day that my great-grandmother passed away. I don't believe there ever was a college student as close to her great-grandmother as I was. She was just shy of 81 years old...I am just shy of 21 years old. It's very rare to for someone my age to even have a great-grandmother, much less have a relationship with her.
She went into the hospital right before finals at Antelope Valley College, a sunday to be exact. I thought she would make it out like she always did. She made it through plenty of heart attacks, strokes, hip replacements, asthma attacks and seasons of pneumonia. What's a little trouble breathing and a headache? Apparently it was the end. I walked into the hospital room Monday afternoon to see the shell of a woman that I once knew. I was frightened by what I saw. I expected to see the usual when "Mimi" went into the hospital...my great-grandmother wearing different clothes and an IV in her arm. But this woman, I didn't recognize. She was pale, shaking, and unable to speak or communicate. She was hunched over to one side and made everyone aware of her pain when nurses tried to straighten her fragile body. Her eyes wouldn't meet my gaze as I searched her face for the woman I knew. It became quickly clear that I only had a short time with her because the real "her" was fading in and out. I'd like to think that Jesus was walking with her over the next few days but I cannot be sure. All that I am sure of is that sometimes, she was there but most of the time, she was not.
I was off Tuesday, just two days before she was to pass. I sat by her bed side morning to night stroking her face even though the doctors strongly believed she could have menengitis which is highly contagious. I knew that wasn't what it was. It was just her time and unfortunately it was painful for her. I waited patiently for the real her to come through. It was afternoon. I can't tell you the exact time but she could because my Mimi remembers time almost down to the second. She lifted her head a little off the cold, paper hospital pillow and with a very weak, broken, tired voice she said I love...you. I could barely understand it and almost didn't believe I had heard what I had heard. She hadn't spoken any bit of sense to anyone in weeks.To be completely honest I didn't even say it back. I smiled briefly then began to cry, mostly to myself. A tear ran down my face and I watched her fall back against her pillow and become lost again in that state of barely being alive. My grandfather walked in and startled me back into the jaded, quietly strong girl that I had become to my friends and family since I first saw my best friend in this state.
I stayed by her side into the evening on tuesday but decided to leave for the latter portion of the evening once my mother arrived, to keep my sanity. Wednesday is a blur for me. I know I worked in the morning and had school in the afternoon. I had the oppurtunity to see her Wednesday evening but my heart sank at the thought of going through the emotional roller coaster that I endured Tuesday, so I went to my friends for an escape. I regret that to this day but I've been told everything happens for a reason. Thursday morning around 6:25am, she passed away. This was how I was told: I was asleep, dreaming about the last few days. I woke up to my mom's voice. Not as harsh and hurried as it is on any other natural thursday. As soon as my eyes opened I had a flashback of the day my aunt passed away. I knew what was going on when I saw my mom emerge through the haziness of my own eyes. At that moment my own feelings were cast aside instantly, not by any fault of my mom or my own. This is just how I function. My mom sat on my bed and said plainly "Your Mimi passed away this morning". I threw my arms around my mom and told her "it's okay, shes no longer in pain." I held my mom and let her cry, fighting back my own tears. Beyond that, there was not much else spoken between the two of us that morning.
My mom rushed to the hospital to be with my Grandfather. I got on the phone to deal with my arrangements for work. I would like to paint a better picture of my workplace with this story but there is no way of doing that. I called right at opening. A woman I work with who is considerably older and more soured by the world's negativity answered the phone with a new, early morning hate for whoever was to be on the other end of the line. After she greeted me with a "hello?" I said "Hello, this is Jessica." Apparently there was a bad connection and my co-worker decided it was better to hang up on me, than to try and establish a better connection but not before a pig-like grunt of disgust as if it was my problem that the connection was bad. I re-dialed the number and was met with an even more firey greeting of "HELLO?!?" I calmly explained my situation and thanked her for dealing with me. Battling her negativity was not going to be an option today so I let it go.
What was to come next is extremely private and I would be concerned for your well being if you wanted to know about my trip to the hospital and the second to last time I see the hands of great grandma that once held me.
My journey after however, is to be posted at a later date.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Rob and Ruby
Let me tell you a little story about one of my favorite subjects...MUSIC!
I have this friend who is musically inclined to say the least. He plays guitar, piano, harmonica, ukelele and of course sings with the voice of an angel. *sigh*. I wish that I had these talents but I still thank the good lord above that I do have some aristic ability in the ways of painting, theater, photography and of course writing. (You can disagree, that's fine.)
So, when I heard my good friend, Ian McCartor sing his original work, a song called Rob and Ruby I decided I had to do more with it. I can't sing the song but there must be somewhere else I can take it. I decided to take it to NaNoWriMo, short for, National Novel Writing Month. This takes place in November. You have a month to write an entire novel of 50,000 words and the best novels win prizes. I knew I wouldn't be able to put out a good piece in a month but it would push me to get a jump start.
The song Rob and Ruby is about a girl who has decided to save herself for the right guy. She meets a guy named Rob who is very different from her but when Rob wants to make his move, he is stopped by his own persecution about the innocense that is written on her face.
Although the song represents only a moment in time, I feel like it would be easy to write a whole story about the two. The song also starts off like this: "An old man told me an analogy, about a guy named Rob and a girl named Ruby." When I hear a character without a story, my mind starts reeling. I decided (with Ian's permission) that the old man is Rob and he tells people his story to remind the younger generation of the worth of someone who doesn't give themselves up to anyone.
HOWEVER, this has become one of the hardest challenges I've yet to overcome artistically. I still have no idea if Rob and Ruby end up together, how they meet and I've even thought about killing Rob. I don't know how Ian would feel about that but he knows I'm writing the novel. I started the novel in November of 2010 and got the general idea of who Rob and Ruby are before they meet and how they function from day to day. They are both college students but Rob just barely skates by to be allowed to stay in the dorms whereas Ruby lives life a little less frivolously.
I don't know why this has been so difficult for me. I know my biggest dilema is whether or not to go with realism or idealism. Idealy, Ruby keeps her innocense and changes Rob's heart to wait until they are commited. Realistically, Rob sways her and best case senario, they stay together.
My plan is to make a decision before November of 2011 so that I can get yet another boost and try to get a few thousand words done in a month. I will have to let you all know how that goes. Any ideas would be welcome in the comment portion of this blog!
I have this friend who is musically inclined to say the least. He plays guitar, piano, harmonica, ukelele and of course sings with the voice of an angel. *sigh*. I wish that I had these talents but I still thank the good lord above that I do have some aristic ability in the ways of painting, theater, photography and of course writing. (You can disagree, that's fine.)
So, when I heard my good friend, Ian McCartor sing his original work, a song called Rob and Ruby I decided I had to do more with it. I can't sing the song but there must be somewhere else I can take it. I decided to take it to NaNoWriMo, short for, National Novel Writing Month. This takes place in November. You have a month to write an entire novel of 50,000 words and the best novels win prizes. I knew I wouldn't be able to put out a good piece in a month but it would push me to get a jump start.
The song Rob and Ruby is about a girl who has decided to save herself for the right guy. She meets a guy named Rob who is very different from her but when Rob wants to make his move, he is stopped by his own persecution about the innocense that is written on her face.
Although the song represents only a moment in time, I feel like it would be easy to write a whole story about the two. The song also starts off like this: "An old man told me an analogy, about a guy named Rob and a girl named Ruby." When I hear a character without a story, my mind starts reeling. I decided (with Ian's permission) that the old man is Rob and he tells people his story to remind the younger generation of the worth of someone who doesn't give themselves up to anyone.
HOWEVER, this has become one of the hardest challenges I've yet to overcome artistically. I still have no idea if Rob and Ruby end up together, how they meet and I've even thought about killing Rob. I don't know how Ian would feel about that but he knows I'm writing the novel. I started the novel in November of 2010 and got the general idea of who Rob and Ruby are before they meet and how they function from day to day. They are both college students but Rob just barely skates by to be allowed to stay in the dorms whereas Ruby lives life a little less frivolously.
I don't know why this has been so difficult for me. I know my biggest dilema is whether or not to go with realism or idealism. Idealy, Ruby keeps her innocense and changes Rob's heart to wait until they are commited. Realistically, Rob sways her and best case senario, they stay together.
My plan is to make a decision before November of 2011 so that I can get yet another boost and try to get a few thousand words done in a month. I will have to let you all know how that goes. Any ideas would be welcome in the comment portion of this blog!
Vanilla Ice Vs. Queen
If you are a child of the 80's and 90's you probably think of Queen and Vanilla Ice when someone mentions sampling trials. It's a huge problem in the music industry, and not just because musicians like to sample each other without permission but because a lot of artists claim sampling to gain the publicity or music. It's a very blurred line and often times there is no defining rules, just the opinion of the judge preciding. In the case of Ice and Queen, they were settled out of court for undisclosed sum when Ice's song reached number 1 in the U.K and Argentina. However, there was one difference for Ice to stand on. There was an extra note thrown into his music that wasn't in Queen's song. But would it have held up in court? It's common for artists to settle out of court, which is possibly why it is a problem. Because any artist who hasn't "made it" yet can claim their music was stolen from a huge artist and make money and fame overnight just over the accusations alone.
However, there are also positive cases of sampling. Sometimes bands get each other's permission before using the music. For example Weird Al's whole career is reliant upon artist permission to use their music and manipulate their words. He's taken the biggest names in music and thier biggest hits and turned them into comedy genius. He turned "You're beautiful" to "You're pitiful" and "Gangster's Paradise" to "Amish Paradise" and "Ridin Dirty" to "White and Nerdy". But there are also serious artists who sample and cover each others music and it's perfectly acceptable once an agreement is reached about how it will be used. For example one of the artists I mentioned in a previous blog love to use other people's music. They are the Beastie Boys. As destructive and rebelious as they can be, they do get permission from artists that they sample from like Santana. They don't try to copy the music and call it their own. They just take it and often change the form to pay respect to their favorite artists. The Beastie Boys often speed up the music so you know what it is but it's adapted to the tempo that the beastie boys work in.
Over the years sampling has been given a bad rap. The word has a negative connotation to it. But clearly there are positive and legal ways to deal with sampling.
However, there are also positive cases of sampling. Sometimes bands get each other's permission before using the music. For example Weird Al's whole career is reliant upon artist permission to use their music and manipulate their words. He's taken the biggest names in music and thier biggest hits and turned them into comedy genius. He turned "You're beautiful" to "You're pitiful" and "Gangster's Paradise" to "Amish Paradise" and "Ridin Dirty" to "White and Nerdy". But there are also serious artists who sample and cover each others music and it's perfectly acceptable once an agreement is reached about how it will be used. For example one of the artists I mentioned in a previous blog love to use other people's music. They are the Beastie Boys. As destructive and rebelious as they can be, they do get permission from artists that they sample from like Santana. They don't try to copy the music and call it their own. They just take it and often change the form to pay respect to their favorite artists. The Beastie Boys often speed up the music so you know what it is but it's adapted to the tempo that the beastie boys work in.
Over the years sampling has been given a bad rap. The word has a negative connotation to it. But clearly there are positive and legal ways to deal with sampling.
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