Did words evade me when it came to writing this post? Was I just kind of lazy? Or were the words too many with every expectation that the words would end up lost in the pages of this blog? I wonder sometimes, but my wondering doesn't consume me. The words are everywhere, but nowhere all at once...
Words in the Wind
A lot of words have gone into the blog posts of Tossing It Out over the past decade plus. I have played with words and dallied with ideas. At times I have attempted to inspire, inform, and incite. Perhaps there have been some successes while at other times I've considered just putting all the words aside and forgetting about this particular writing platform. And yet I remain.
In my third post back in September of 2009 ( a post upon which no one commented so I'm not sure it was ever actually read by anyone), I presented this mission statement for Tossing It Out:
The "Tossing It Out" blog is here to entertain, stimulate, and inform whenever possible. The author will make every attempt to be accurate and fair at all times and will be open to the input of any readership the blog may develop. There is no set course, no absolute purpose, and the content, though at times random, will strive for cohesion and clarity.While I do believe that I have mostly lived up to this statement in my acts of writing, my goal of "tossing out" ideas, controversies, and other contemplations has fallen by the wayside to a great extent. Though I have managed to keep a fairly consistent participatory readership returning to my music posts and my monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group posts, there is rarely the level of engagement in the comment section like I had once envisioned. Now, to be sure, there are still some wonderful comments that continue to come my way, but something still seems to be lacking.
What it comes down to is that there is so much more that I'd like to say at times and yet I hesitate to let the words flow. Maybe it's a concern of losing readers because of controversial ideas that turn some of them off. It has happened on my blog as well as others I've followed over the years--maybe even some of your blogs. People get offended--they get mad. They go away.
"It's only words and words are all I have to take your heart away" says the Bee Gees song. And when I've tried and failed and instead of taking hearts away, I've sometimes driven them away. But that's life I guess when you have opinions.
So now I perfunctorily write words in regular monthly posts about music and writing. Just to keep the blog alive in one respect, but also on a precipice of wanting to say something and yet stepping back when I'm too close to the edge of the cliffs of controversy.
Does anybody really want my words? Do they need them? Do they want or need your words? We go on writing. Or posting pictures maybe. Or perhaps sharing videos. We write words, speak words, read words, listen to words. Does it matter?
Missing Persons said it pretty well in their song "Words":
Do you hear me
Do you care
My lips are moving and the sound's coming out
The words are audible but i have my doubts
That you realize what has been said
You look at me as if you're in a daze
It's like the feeling at the end of the page
When you realize you don't know what you just read
What are words for when no one listens anymore
Those are my words on this Labor Day. What are yours? Maybe you can leave some thoughts in the comment section.
Battle of the Bands Results
The Battle at hand was a three-way match between Bee Gees, Neil Young, and Missing Persons all performing different songs with the same title of "Words". I know all three songs well and I like all three almost equally well. However, in the interest of the Battle I must choose one as my own favorite.
I began listening to Bee Gees early on in their career and their song "Words" was a standout favorite for me in their early years. This is a classic hit that I still enjoy hearing. I couldn't recall the Missing Persons song by title alone, but when I heard it I realized I'd heard it many many times and always liked it. It was an MTV and radio mainstay in the eighties and hearing their "Words" again reminded me how much fun eighties music was for many of us. Most of my music buying was in the eighties, though never did I buy an album by Missing Persons. But I think their song is excellent especially after focusing on the lyrics which have maybe more to say in our time than four decades ago. "Words" by Missing Persons in my view is a great song and I almost gave my vote to that one.
Which brings me to the song that really inspired this Battle. Back when Neil Young's Harvest album came out, the song that most caught my attention was "Words" even though there were other songs that got more critical attention and airplay. "Words" had that spacey dreamy sound that attracted me to Young's music so much. At the time I commented to friends on a number of occasions that even though being the longest song on the album clocking in at over six minutes, I wished it were even longer. I wanted it to last the entire album side. From the comments some readers left on my Battle, their is some disagreement about my thought to the point that some even think it's one of Young's worst songs. It is one of my favorites.
After the Harvest album had been out for a while, my dream of the long version of "Words" came true when Young released the double album Journey Through the Past with a version of the song that lasts sixteen and a half minutes. A nightmare for some of you I guess, but for me I was in "Words" heaven.
And of course what this all means now is that my vote goes to Neil Young's "Words" even though I almost equally enjoy hearing any of these three songs.
Final Vote Tally
Bee Gees 11 votes
Neil Young 5 votes
Missing Persons 5 votes
Next Battle of the Bands on Tuesday September 15th
I've got plenty of words about plenty of subjects, but for now I'll keep them to myself. When I vent these days it's usually on Facebook or Twitter. Now those are places where words fly freely and I've only been placed in "Twitter jail" twice so far. I'm trying to be careful.
