Saturday, September 29, 2007

pour my life into a papercup

"Otherside" is my favorite RHCP song. I originally liked it without having the faintest idea as to what it was about, and I love the fact that nobody agrees; everyone's got a different interpretation of the lyrics.

I like to think of it as a song about addiction, and therefore about a part of oneself.

I have a fascination with the idea of addiction. This is mostly because I think addiction goes much deeper than its typical depiction, that is, addiction to something material (drugs, alcohol, etc.) You can take this as you like, but I think that there's a lot, in a more emotional-spiritual sense, that we are addicted to. And some of the things we are addicted to are good for us and some destroy us, but it's always a fight to undo them or to resist temptation, as it were. Because they're so much a part of us and we want them so much and we're fighting ourselves, not something outside ourselves.

"How long, how long will I slide..."

It's the images that really capture my attention, though. "I heard your voice through a photograph" coupled with the sequence in the music video is just fantastic. And so is "pour my life into a papercup/ the ashtray's full and I'm spilling my guts."

Or better yet, the "I don't believe it's bad" lines and "I yell and tell it that/ It’s not my friend/ I tear it down/ I tear it down/ And then it’s born again."

I love those lines. There's nothing I can tear down that will stay dead, you see; it always comes back to life. Nothing ever ends; it only continues on in an everlasting kind of dance. Sometimes you win and sometimes you fall and sometimes you're just too tired to care.

We're all addicted to something, aren't we?

7 comments:

haKiruv said...

I find it funny that you write about the things I'm currently thinking about. Working in a gas station, I sell cigarettes to a lot of people and I'm a bit fascinated as to why people smoke. I can usually tell if someone's not a smoker. I think it's a very complicated subject. My addiction would be my computer.

Chana said...

Hakiruv,

See, that's really interesting. How can you tell whether or not the person is a smoker? Is it something obvious or something more subtle, like a certain kind of look?

haKiruv said...

It's when they're ordering that I can pick them out. Out on the street might be slightly different.

Non-smokers sound clearer in their voice and they are typically "more vibrant in appearance. They have healthier looking skin and their eyes aren't as dim. Staining is also a give-away, like miscolored fingernails on women, stained teeth and bad gums. Yellowed facial hair under the nose of men is also a give-away. There are a lot of things, but I'm not 100%.

It's harder to detect younger people. Some are just experimenting, yet most are just starting and it's hard to tell if they smoke. I think social factors and personality types are a leading factor to detect this age group, but I'm not that good at detecting them yet. A lot of the young women that smoke wreak of insecurity and it's sad.

Then there are some people that completely throw me for a loop, like the girl that came in a couple weeks ago and bought dip for herself.

haKiruv said...

What's also funny, is tell me what the person smokes, and I can usually come close to determining their demographic. For instance, I can usually guess what the person smokes before they ask.

For instance, young people usually like the "exotic" blends that Marlboro and Camel produce. After a while, they usually start smoking more common cigs like Marloboro Lights.

It's sad.

Jack Steiner said...

They are one of my favorite bands.

Scraps said...

Oh, what we put ourselves through, with our addictions. I'm not sure everyone's addicted to something, but I think that most people are, in some form or another. Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol or cigarettes; others are addicted to less tangible things, like approval or pain. We all need to feed our souls something...

Anonymous said...

Chana, or anyone else who has their own answer for this...

This is mostly because I think addiction goes much deeper than its typical depiction

How so?

I think that there's a lot, in a more emotional-spiritual sense, that we are addicted to.

Hmm...interesting, but true. What were you thinking of?

Scraps,
Some comments and questions:

Yes, our souls all need to be nourished... So I guess in your opinion alcohol or drug addicts are trying (unsuccessfully) to fill a void in their souls through their addictions?

Do you think everyone is addicted to something? It sounds like that's what you're saying...

Usually "addiction" has a negative connotation. Do you think all addictions are bad?

And is there anything else we can do so we don't need to feed our souls addictive material? Like, is prayer or a connection with G-d considered an addiction because it feeds our souls? Can one be addicted to G-d?

Aright. That's enough pondering material for now... :-)