humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of music professionals, amateurs, inspiring students, celebrities, lifestyle influencers, and general feel good human stories in the music sphere.
Fringe Mellow opens with Our Brand.
Hi, My name is Lance and I'm not all I'd hoped I'd become. I'm a husband, father, friend, and creative writer. Yes, I wanted to be all these things! But I think in the beginning I thought I could do all these things easily since they are the things, I am passionate about and are consistent in my life. The truth is I wanted to be a good husband, father, friend, and creative writer however there is always room for improvement and it's our shortcomings that we associate with the most.
By Fringe Mellow5 years ago in Beat
Visual Audio Abstraction
Visual Audio Abstraction By: Nancy R. Rouse Born in 1977, the offspring of a Vietnam War veteran who had been repeatedly poisoned over the course of his service by Agent Orange. Though his country finally came to their senses decades later acknowledging the first victims were affected by the terrible herbicides, little was known as to how far the reach of altered environmental genetics. I am the product of such an unwilling thing. Raised as if everything was normal, many times growing up in school getting reprimanded for not grasping the concept of the verbal instructions. When I was caught staring out the windows of my class room instead of paying attention to the abstraction that fell upon me, I was made to stay in detention for recess to write over and over again, "I will not stare out the window during class." Unaware myself that the world around me had a very different perception than what I had been cursed with. I was born with a severe hearing impairment due to my father"s fate of being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Only perceiving sixty percent of sound in my left ear. My right ear, completely deaf. You see, staring out the window made more sense as a child, the way the wind blew leaves across the sidewalk or how the occasional bird danced in the wind. That was my comfort the music I could see in the realm of static and Visual Audio Abstraction as the background was swept away by inaudible sounds the subject was pushed to the front dancing in an array of abstract composition and colour. Early on I began to vaguely communicate through my artwork unable to truly connect with those around me. Helen Keller once said, "The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus-- the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man."
By Rev. Nancy R. Rouse5 years ago in Beat
What I Learned About Racism At The Wacken Open Air Festival
In 2015 I visited the Heavy Metal Festival in Wacken, North Germany, with my nephew and my niece's husband. The Wacken Open Air is the biggest heavy metal festival in the world and takes place every year on a site in the small village of Wacken. More than 70.000 visitors fire up a big party there for several days with international stars of the scene and numerous newcomer bands from all over the world.
By René Junge5 years ago in Beat
Music in My Life
Music is one of the most important things in human life as it inspires, helps to achieve one’s goals, live a full life, and be happy. I have been listening to music since my childhood and it made a great impact on my attitude to life as it became my source of energy when I was weak, a hope when I thought everything was falling apart, and a healing for my broken heart. Music always finds some ways to help to get to know new people or get closer to the people one already knows and loves.
By fred perry5 years ago in Beat
Metal Health will Drive you Mad
I was in my Italian grandparent’s old, brown Ford LTD, in the backseat. Even though the Sun was high in the sky and the cloud coverage was minimal, I was still enshrouded in a type of darkness. An overhang jutted out from the funeral parlour over the temporary parking spot. I was tucked into the uncomfortable vinyl crevice, trying to be as insignificant as possible. Sweat ran down my back underneath my jean jacket (unfortunately with no patches… I was too scared to try and ruin the perfect balance of a fading coat). The white collar of my dress shirt underneath poked out to remind me of the formality of the whole affair.
By Leif Conti-Groome5 years ago in Beat
Oh! The Misunderstanding of Being a Teen!
1975. Gen X: I am one of those like they don’t make them anymore. High school. I hated it. Loved learning but hated the people: students and teachers alike! What a bunch of idiots, mean spirited persons were they! I was their sacrificial lamb.
By Sylvie Gagné5 years ago in Beat
Shuffling Around Weird Places
Growing up I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I know the case of the Emo loner kid. The problem with the original profile is that it's usually some skinny white kid going through some angsty loner time. However, I don’t even fit the bill there. I am a big fat black kid who just wanted to belong. I am the black sheep of my family. I have always been naturally quiet, shy, glued to a book or weird show. My family never failed to let me know that I didn’t belong. Why aren’t you normal they would ask? Or what are you going to wear today let me guess something all black and a hoodie? They would laugh so hard, but it would hurt so bad because no one ever made fun of what they read, watch, or wore. So, when I had my cd player I never felt more at home or like myself. Most emo music videos felt like my life. Picked on for something stupid or overlooked for something crazy. Yep, that was me the emo black chick with the cool blue cd player. My first time hearing one of my favorite songs was when I was getting yelled at by my aunt. She said, “You don’t dance, don’t work, have any extracurricular activities how you expect to make it Victoria?” I didn’t say anything at the time out of respect and fear of getting kicked out of the house. She stormed off and I sat on the bed I literally heard something similar to the argument I just had with my aunt. “You like d&d, you can’t dance, and you can’t do karate how do you expect to make it? I don’t wanna make it I just wanna…. The intro to I’m Not Okay by My Chemical Romance I was hooked instantly so much so I almost missed school that day. I never heard someone speak like me or act like me. I was so thrilled that I found a genre of music for me. I HAD FOUND MY PEOPLE!!!! I’m not a hero I’m just a girl that’s it. Now that I found this band, I needed more hooked like a kid on phonics I searched for more music. I discovered Panic! At The Disco next with I Write Sins Not Tragedies I loved it instantly the weird themes the lyrics it was everything. A Fever Who Can’t Sweat Out is my life’s album. The lyrics, beats, and melodies on that album is insane. For example, in the song There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Though of it, Yet Brendon says I’m The New Cancer I Never Look Better And You Can’t Stand IT. That line is such a confidence booster for me then and now. It helps me keep my chin up even if I’m having a tough day. Every time my heart got crushed it was to MCR and P!ATD I rushed. Speaking of feeling inadequate especially around boys since I was a fat chick no boys looked my way except for when it was time for those boys to make a joke with their friends. Yes, because I am a big girl, I have no feelings, or desire to be with someone ever very funny guys. That’s when I discovered Fall Out Boy’s Sugar We’re Going Down as a young lady this song had everything I was thinking. I’m just a notch in your bedpost I hate to say this but sometimes I wanted intimacy so bad I did want to be a notch in a guy’s bedpost growing up, but this music helped me realize I should want more for myself. I discovered All American Rejects their songs Dirty Little Secret and Swing Swing called out to my heart. Though I wanted more for myself I still wanted a guy even if I had to be his dirty little secret which ended up with me having a broken heart. I would listen to Swing Swing every time too It took me a while to learn this lesson that I deserved more. Once I got this down packed, I fell for a guy that I saw a future with well as far as a 16-year-old girl could think anyway. I discovered Yellow card’s Ocean Avenue which is not just a good song but a terrific album. Though, I could not speak to him most days and when I felt like that, I listened to Avril Lavigne’s album Lets Go particularly the song Things Ill Never Say because I was so shy, and I wish I weren’t. Anyway, once I got the nerve to talk to him, I felt like Ocean Avenue was to be our song to run away to however that was not to be the case since he graduated and moved on without me. I went through a rough patch after that I would listen to Jimmy Eat World Sweetness, and The Middle it helped me remember that life can be sweet, and I’m not left out of things they will happen when they are supposed to happen. In turn, I wanted to have rebellious like Sum 41 in Fat Lip and Good Charlotte in The Anthem. Green Day made me feel like I can take down the government with the American Idiot album. Songs such as Holiday, American Idiot, and LetterBomb had me feeling invincible. My family saw it as a phase a weird one, but I was hardcore. In turn to dealing with school and boys, I mentioned family earlier that they made me feel like an outcast, but they also put more responsibility on me that they shouldn’t have. For example, taking care of their kids. I lived with my aunt and cousins since my dad was going blind, he could no longer take care of my sister and me. So, since I lived with them, they thought they could just do whatever they wanted and live me with their responsibilities. When I felt like it was too much to bear, I would listen to Simple Plan a lot of songs such as I’m Just A Kids, Welcome to My Life (I spent a lot of time crying to this one), Perfect (this one too), I’d Do Anything, and Shut Up! (more things I wanted to say but no gall to say them). I did my best to do whatever they wanted so I kept my mouth closed and my head down until I graduated high school. Later on, I got MCR’s The Black Parade album, it spoked to me because people have always put pressure on me about my mom’s death and carrying on the family name. I have no intention of having children, but this album said what I wanted to say to my family. The music that I grew up listening to help me be the cool person I am today. I learned it is great to feel empowered but have a direction with your empowerment. I chose to use my voice to write awesome stories and remember where I came from through the memories these songs created help me understand where I am going. A just think this all started over an argument about me cleaning my room and how I expected to make it.
By Victoria Moore5 years ago in Beat
Deja Entendu. Top Story - May 2021.
The school bus window felt cold against my forehead. My head was leaning against the glass as I stared out into the suburban abyss that I called home. It was winter in northern Ohio, and that meant snow and freezing temperatures. I had lived there all thirteen years of my life, but I still wasn't used to it.
By Kelsey Will5 years ago in Beat
The Pantera Party
As I stood in the kitchen talking to Sarah, I suddenly became aware of the deafening silence coming from the living room. It was off. Someone had turned off my Pantera CD. The person who silenced my outward thoughts, my escape from the anger that sweltered inside me, would pay. “Who turned off my Pantera?” I screamed at everyone in the living room. As my face turned beet red with vexation, I almost popped a vein in my forehead. Complete silence. No one dared confess they were the fool who had awoken the beast. I wrathfully pressed play on the CD player in an attempt to focus my exorbitant amount of rage on something other than the living, breathing bodies before me. I stomped back to the kitchen to finish my conversation with Sarah. As the CD screams the words “the releasing of anger can better any medicine under the sun” I thought to myself how truly accurate those words were. Pantera got me. All the teenage angst, being lost, rejected, alone. They seemed to understand my very being and expressed it in a way I, myself lacked.
By Lyn McClatchey5 years ago in Beat
