Stereotypes

DIrishB

DIrishB

The Timeline Guy
Joined
May 27, 2004
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You are all just obstacles on my path to Nirvana.
This is a shortened version of a song called "Stereotypes" I wrote for a band I was in a few years ago. A little while after that I entered it into a poetry contest and won second place, but had to shorten it down quite a bit to under 30 lines for entry purposes, so I had to take out the middle verse and chorus. If I ever find the notebook with the original I'll add those in, but I like this version too. Let me know what you think.


Stereotypes

My stereotype is a Sony
Because not all Italians eat macaroni
Not all us Micks hit the bottle
And not all little people waddle
Not all Vietnamese eat their pets
And not all ex-virgins have regrets
Not all black men like fried chicken
And not all Arab briefcases are ticking
Not everywhere does Trump have clout
But when talking to a deaf man
I know it'll do no good to shout
Because I can still draw a picture for a blind man
Even if he can only see it with his hands
Hands that are wrinkled and bony
Attached to arms that are tired and lonely
Because his only stereotype is a Sony
Not every Asian is good with numbers
And not every genius produces wonders
Not every Jew is tight with a dollar
And no pet likes wearing a collar
Not all cheerleaders put out
And some pessimists won't always doubt
I still don't know what this is all about
But I know when talking to a deaf man
It'll do no good to shout
I can still draw a picture for a blind man
Even if he can only see it with his hands
Hands that are wrinkled and bony
Hanging from shoulders that are tired and lonely
Because his only stereotype is a Sony
 
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marvelman said:
You know, I actually really liked that. It was a very smart poem/song.
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Thanks!! From the people who heard it as a song and those who I showed it to as a poem I've gotten really good feedback (and I assumed only a small percent were lying and actually thought it was crap).

Lithium said:
hmmm. what kind of music did you write this 2 be?
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It was a sort of soft Alternative. It was actually one of my favorite music pieces my buddy came up with, he came up with some great chords for the verses and chorus, very melodic and different sounding, but it worked quite well. I wrote this song a little after 9/11, so especially then did it have a special importance, at least to me, but I think the message works regardless of setting/time.
 
I like it. Its diffently been brooded over and written to perfection but being the music loverI am. I HAVE to hear it in the rhythem it was meant to be in. Any chance you could send it to me, or somehow allow others to get a copy?
 
Ultxon said:
I like it. Its diffently been brooded over and written to perfection but being the music loverI am. I HAVE to hear it in the rhythem it was meant to be in. Any chance you could send it to me, or somehow allow others to get a copy?
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We never recorded it, just played it live at clubs/bars. I would love to record it and a slew of other songs we wrote. Actually been seriously considering either "getting the band back together" (to steal a line from Jake and Elwood), or starting a new one. Its been a few years since I picked up a bass guitar but I'm sure once I get it in my hands it'll be like riding a bike.
 
DIrishB said:
We never recorded it, just played it live at clubs/bars. I would love to record it and a slew of other songs we wrote. Actually been seriously considering either "getting the band back together" (to steal a line from Jake and Elwood), or starting a new one. Its been a few years since I picked up a bass guitar but I'm sure once I get it in my hands it'll be like riding a bike.
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And so...the mission from God has begun. After posting this thread I called up my buddy Casey (played guitar in our band The Nameless). He finished with school (he got his degree in Sound Engineering) in May and is living about an hour south of me. We made plans to meet up next weekend and start the band again. We're going to have to find a new drummer and bassist as our drummer Josh is in jail now (though he should be out the end of this year) and our bassist AJ moved to New Jersey (he was always flaky anyway, as I would often have to fill in for him on bass and do the singing). I could always fill in on drums, but we'd have to find a new singer (unless I pulled a Don Henley and did both). Anyway, really excited about this, let you all know how it works out.
 
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Haha, that song is really cool.
 
Johnny Bravo said:
Thats a really clever song, i like it.Just one problem-cheerleaders do put out.
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Yeah I know, thats the stereotype, just pointing out that NOT ALL do. Trust me on that. I found it funny in high school about cheerleaders, either they were total sluts, or total snobs. One or the other. Kind of weird how they were so polarized.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words about the song.
 
Hey, can we start posting any songs we wrote in here, or should I start a songwriting thread where people can post songs they wrote, or what?
 
marvelman said:
Hey, can we start posting any songs we wrote in here, or should I start a songwriting thread where people can post songs they wrote, or what?
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I have no problem with it, I guess its up to you. Don't see any reason why you can't post a thread specific to your song/poem in the Fan Fiction & Art thread. But then again, if you want to post it in this thread feel free.
 
Eh, more I think about it, the more I think it'll be better to start a new thread for all written songs/poems in the Music area of the site.
 
b-b-b-bump. Sorry, I just want to see what people think of it. I wouldn't care so much if you all were a bunch of blithering idiots, but I know we have a lot of intelligent and well-spoken members on the board and am interested in your reviews, constructive critisism, or just plain telling me it sucks.
 
marvelman said:
Hey, can we start posting any songs we wrote in here, or should I start a songwriting thread where people can post songs they wrote, or what?
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Well, we had the "April is Poetry Month" thread in the Lounge a few months back, so there's no reason people shouldn't post poetry/song lyrics here in the Fanfiction section, too.

While UltimateE and the mods have the final say, my suggestion on this would be for each poet/songwriter to start a thread with his/her name on it and collect all their poems on that one thread for easy reference. I'm suggesting we do it that way because poems tend to be much shorter than stories. It would be only a minor amount of work to start a Poetry section in the Index, and I could do a link directly to each poem/song so people could find it easily among all the commentary and responses posted on the thread. (There probably wouldn't be any entries for poems on the "Series" listings, unless people write poems abut Ultimate Marvel and/or comic book series, but I could certainly do something by Author and Title/First Line.)

Or, those poets/songwriters who are prolific could each start his/her own thread, with possibly an additional general "Poetry" thread for people who have only one or two poems/songs they want to post. I'm not sure how many poets we have here, but we did get a good response to the "April" thread, so there may be more lurking onsite than I think.

And DIrishB, I'm presently working on a larger commentary on your poem than I posted in the "Social" thread. The only problem is that some of your lines result in my throwing in either personal reminiscences or (in one case) odd bits of U.S. history, and I'm not sure that's really what you want....
 
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