OBAMA!

Yes We Can Obama Song by will.i.am


We Are The Ones Song by will.i.am

These 2 videos are songs by the artiste/producer, will.i.am . These 2 songs' main motive is in supporting Barack Obama, during the election period in the United States. It was down to George W. Bush, John Mc Cain or Barack Obama. For war, or Against war. Some basic background knowledge is that George W. Bush, John Mc Cain and Barack Obama are the candidates in the election for president in the United States. George Bush and John Mc Cain are FOR war, and Barack Obama is AGAINST war, and more active in the nation's internal interest.

From these 2 videos, we can see that many artistes, celebrities have been roped in for the 2 songs. Celebrities, no matter singers, or actors have appeared in this video, all just to show their support for Barack Obama. To name some of the stars, there is Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Nicole Scherzinger, Kate Walsh, and of course, Will.I.Am himself. The celebrities have gathered to show their support for Barack Obama. This support, shows not only through the songs, but also through the celebrities' willingness to step up and appear on the videos. Being public figures, some may be concerned as to, whether appearing on such a video and openly showing their support for Obama may turn some of their fans off, or cause their fans to stop supporting them just because they support Obama. But showing their faces in the videos show their support towards Barack Obama. This sort of support shows non-verbal communication. The celebrities don't have to spell out that they ARE supporting Obama, but seeing them in the video, showing their faces and singing, this is already showing their support for him.

Team spirit, group synergy, moral support, all these are showing in the videos.

The first song, Yes We Can, used some parts of Barack Obama's speech, and I thought that was a really wonderful idea. By using his words, it also brings people to take note of what he had been saying. How many of you get turned off once you hear someone giving a speech? I, for one, switch off after listening to the speaker for about 2 minutes or so. Especially if the speaker is a boring one. By incorporating his words into the song, will.i.am also managed to get people to LISTEN to what Barack Obama had been saying.

The second song, We Are The Ones have the celebrities/people in the video sharing what they would like to see change, what they would like to have in America. Quoting will.i.am, "people say Obama's words are just words... but... when was the last time "words" weren't important...???... when was the last time a great leader didn't use words to lead...??... when was the last time a person didn't use words to describe how they felt...?... when was the last time "words" weren't empowering...?... and we can all recall the last time "words" were used to divide us and install fear..." Words, are indeed, seemingly one of the most important things in our lives. Words are in our everyday communication with each other, be it verbal, or non-verbal. We use words in prints, in writing, even what you are reading now, are words. That is also probably why will.i.am decided to have people saying out what they want, instead of just simply singing some lyrics out. In We Are The Ones, if the word "The" were to be taken away, it would say "We Are One", which also implies how will.i.am wants America to be one. Being a country as a whole, differences aside, skin colour aside, and as ONE. Quoting will.i.am, "and now "United and "Standing"...for something... we know the power of "US"... and we have a person who represents the "U.S."... "US"... "we are the ones we've been waiting for"..." US, stands for United States, as well as US, all of us as a whole. We are the ones we've been waiting for, he probably means that the US citizens, are the ones who would make the difference, and for all of them to unite, was what everyone has been waiting for.

Team work, team spirit, group synergy.
The elections end only in August 2008. I am not an American citizen, nor am I someone who is interested in politics. But after watching this 2 videos, and sensing the call for the end of war, for a better environment, I sure hope Barack Obama wins the election. ;)

Jane.

Call Me When You're Sober - Evanescence

Call Me When You're Sober - Evanescence

Seems familiar to anyone? I've been doing some work on this song, so its not unfamiliar to me. While I was looking for some performances of this song on Youtube, I found this, the song's official music video. What intrigued me was the use of the interesting settings and storyline used in this video.

Don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
You want me,
Come find me.
Make up your mind.

Should I let you fall?
Lose it all?
So maybe you can remember yourself.
Can't keep believing,
We're only deceiving ourselves .
And I'm sick of the lie,
And you're too late.

Don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
You want me,
Come find me.
Make up your mind.

Couldn't take the blame.
Sick with shame.
Must be exhausting to lose your own game.
Selfishly hated,
No wonder you're jaded.
You can't play the victim this time,
And you're too late.

Don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
You want me,
Come find me.
Make up your mind.

You never call me when you're sober.
You only want it cause it's over,
It's over.

How could I have burned paradise?
How could I - you were never mine.

So don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
Don't lie to me,
Just get your things.
I've made up your mind


Those are the lyrics to the song. From the lyrics, one would probably be able to guess that the storyline to this song is of this girl who is neglected by her other half, who only goes back to her when his affairs outside have ended, or when the girl threatens to end the relationship. ( You only want it cause it's over,) (We're only deceiving ourselves. And I'm sick of the lie, And you're too late.) shows that the girl knew of the guy's infidelity, yet refused to face it.

The music video seems to be set in the medieval period, with the majestic castle-like background as its set, the use of the long dining table, and the male lead's dressing. The start of the video was the female lead/ vocalist (Amy Lee) stroking the wolves during this part of the song at 0:36 of the video. ( Should I let you fall? Lose it all? So maybe you can remember yourself. Can't keep believing, We're only deceiving ourselves. And I'm sick of the lie, And you're too late.) It seems to hint that she's plotting something against the guy. I suppose this is probably due to the fact that wolves have always been seen as fierce animals, that attack and kill. Doesn't help that the wolves looked kind of hungry.

Part 1:30 in the video (Couldn't take the blame. Sick with shame. Must be exhausting to lose your own game. Selfishly hated, No wonder you're jaded. You can't play the victim this time, And you're too late.) shows the male lead trying to get intimate with her, while she simply doesn't seem very interested in responding. This part seemed to imply that she was mocking him for letting her find out that he was having an affair of sorts. This is furthur enforced with the lyrics - Sick with shame. Must be exhausting to lose your own game. She moves away from him in the part where she sings - And you're too late. Which also implies that she is giving up on him.

The next part of the video where the chorus is sang, Amy Lee appears with an entourage of dancers which could also be seen as her supporters. The people who have been there with her when the male lead was not around. ( Don't cry to me. If you loved me, You would be here with me. You want me, Come find me. Make up your mind. ) The lyrics also show that she is ready to give up on the relationship that they have been in. - You never call me when you're sober. You only want it cause it's over, It's over.

How could I have burned paradise? How could I - you were never mine. seems to imply that she has burned her own hope. Similarly at this point at the video (2:57), the wolf that she was stroking at the start of the video walks off, seemingly implying that she has decided to set the wolf on the guy.

The last part of the song shows that she has decided to give up on the relationship with the guy and make it known to him - Don't lie to me, Just get your things. I've made up your mind seems to show that she is chasing the guy away from her castle. The last scene where she walks on the long table towards the guy also seems to imply that she was having a show down with the guy.

Well, lesson learnt, guys? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. HAHA!
Hopefully that helped in the understanding to the video! :)

Jane.

Changes in one is very common, people are all ever-changing. For myself, I think that the biggest change in me since young would probably be a change in attitude towards talking. From young, I was rather chatty and it seemed that I could chat with almost anyone and everyone. I used to talk to my mother's student's parents as they waited for their kids to finish their lesson. I would take a photo album out and show them the photos, talking to them in the meantime, about anything under the sun. I would start talking about where the photo was taken, to when, to my feelings then, and continue digressing, and somehow, the topics would lead to things like current affairs, politics, gossip, and all sorts of other topics. Young as I was, I knew about the affairs that were happening in the country, not because I read the newspaper, but because I talked so much to others. Other than them, I would talk to my friends, my teachers, a random lady who sells drinks in my school's canteen, even my mother's friends, I could talk to them and rant on endlessly.

I stayed this way throughout my primary school life, all the way till my secondary school life, when people started to seem more complicated and started reading more into things than they used to during primary school. Many a times, even the most superficial comment I make such as, "your previous hairstyle looked better." would offend my classmates, leading them to think that I didn't think what they thought was nice, was as good as it seemed. Or when they asked me on a certain subject that I wasn't too sure about and I told them what I thought was the answer, often I would get the blame when it turned out to be wrong. But to me, I only told them what I thought would be the answer and did not affirm with them that that was the correct answer. In my point of view, I was merely trying to help my classmate, even though I was unsure myself. Because to me, I would like to try and help my friends in any way that I could, but to them, they questioned me as to why I gave them the wrong answer. Other than that, I tend to divulge other people's information. When one of my friends ask for another's email address, or phone number, or any other personal contact, thinking that I'm very helpful, I would give it to them. But unknowingly, I was actually giving away my friend's personal information. Often, when someone asks me why I let someone else know their personal information, my immediate reaction would be "because they asked for it", and it would be because the people asking for it are my friends. But to others, giving away their information without asking for their consent, was actually divulging their personal information to some extent.

Hence from then on, I changed my attitude towards talking. I still was very chatty, but I didn't dare to open up to people who I was not familiar with. I only dared to be myself with my closer friends. From being very chatty and talkative to anyone, I started to withdraw from the crowd. I disliked being in new and unfamiliar places, and I didn't like talking to strangers. I didn't like the idea of talking about myself, or talking about someone else to someone whom I barely knew, for fear of offending them, or of divulging my friends' information accidentally by talking about their experiences, or their lives. To some extent, I would say that some sort of psychological barrier was actually formed, which then stopped me from talking as much as I would have, had I not been so afraid of so many of those negative things that would happen. In my opinion, I felt that talking lesser would then allow me to have less chances to make mistakes, less chance of offending others, of letting slip information, of so many of the negative things that would happen if I talked as much as I used to. To others who did not know me, I appeared to be cold, unfriendly, and even shy or scared.

But things took a change in my year in secondary 4, when I and my good friends almost fell out, once again, because of talking. Till that point, I didn't talk much to anyone else besides my closer friends. But who made me change again, was the fact that my close friend actually misunderstood what I said, and thought that I was mocking her. In my group of close friends, news spread and everyone thought that I was the one bad-mouthing my friend. Eventually, things did clear up between the both of us, but from then, a barrier of some sort was formed and I never did talk as much as I did, even to my closer friends, for fear of straining our relationship, for fear of the unnecessary fights between us which might occur. Thus in conclusion, I would say that changes would affect everyone in some way, or other, its just a matter of whether it’s a change for better, or for worse, whether the change affected the person positively or negtively. I wouldn’t say that my change was for the better, but at least it made me take note of what I say, and thinking twice before saying anything.

I guess now that I'm a communications student, I will learn more about communicating with others, and not be so afraid anymore! :)