INDEPENDENCE:                               


    What a concept, "Independence." To be self-reliant. To be unburdened by outsiders. To make decisions solely on your own. Such a rudimentary concept but it honestly means a world of a difference for those who yearn for it. Heck, WARS have been fought in order to make this mere word a reality. Our nation is forever indebted to the word. Many yearn and struggle to exact the realization of this word in their own lives. That's where I come in. I am a part of this majority of strugglers and therein lies the walking irony that is my existence. Let it be known that I am a huge fan of Indie (short for Independent for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term) culture, be it Indie Rock, Indie films, or Indie games. I have come to embrace the fundamental core beliefs of the "Indie way of life," which has come to receive much scrutiny for being "in," nowadays. I can attribute this predilection to a single event - when I first heard the song "Meantime" by The Futureheads. I can firmly say that that song changed my life. I was instantly enticed by the wondrously confounding sounds occurring within my ears, along with the meaning of the song. The four men that comprised the group understood the main tenets of core Indie: the music is always the most important part of their occupation, fame is not a goal to have in mind, and that music is a medium to be more than just catchy and impressive; it can be used to tell stories and teach lessons. I was immediately smitten with their mindset, and because of them I have found some of my favorite bands. Acts such as (brace yourself for an impendingly long list of band names) The Futureheads, Franz Ferdinand, Little Comets, Young Knives, The Static Jacks, Good Shoes, We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Strokes,The Wombats, The Pigeon Detectives,  Phoenix, We Are Scientists, The Jealous Sound, JOYWAVE, Vampire Weekend, Locksley, Oceanship, Two Door Cinema Club, Plumtree, Metric, and Mona, have all internalized these core beliefs and use it to exercise their independence. This serves to explain why it has always been a side-dream of mine to start up my own Indie band.
     However, this fails to explains the irony that I embody. Here I am, a man who claims to love the Independent culture, but it's truly the case that I simply envy it. I strive for it. I as a being have been subjected to a lifetime of subordination by my Procreator. Condemned to a life where it is frowned upon for me to do anything but her command, I often lay awake at night, preparing myself mentally for a life where I could live free from her control. Even in my soon-to-be age of nineteen, I have yet to open my oppressed mouth to her. It's as if I am some sort of male variant of Ella Enchanted, forced to life a live of obedience. I deserve better than that. I deserve to embrace the lashout-like intuitiveness of my musical mentors, who have taught me so much. Yet, I remain complacent, and decide to blog about it, rather than put my money where my mouth is. Le sigh. I am more contradictory than a pack of Starbursts.