Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Pop Song Remix Needs a Music Video

So for those of you who are familiar with the pop song "Sail" by AWOLNATION, I wrote a spinnoff version called "Whale" based on Moby-Dick.  Dr. Burton said I could post the lyrics below.  I wanted to make a music video, but I wasn't able to record a video over a kareoke track of the original.  So I need help on that end.  But here are the lyrics, as well as a few (crude) illustrations that I would want to use in a potential video.  






Whale!

This is how the crew will die
white whale's gonna make us cry
blame it all on Ahab, baby,

Ahab's gonna work us all
we're gonna pay for his bad call
Blame it on the devil, baby!

Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!

Maybe we should jump this ship,
maybe everyone should quit,
blame it all on not enough pay, baby.

Maybe this just wasn't right
Maybe we picked the wrong fight
blame it on monomania, Baby

Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!

La la la la la
La la la la la oh!
La la la la la,
La la la la la oh!
La la la la la,
La la la la la,

Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!
Whale!




Deciding to consider a deeper context for this remixed song, I noticed that the original talks about disturbing mental health issues, which reminded me of Ahab's monomania.  So considered in that light, I looked up "monomania" in the text of Moby-Dick.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines monomania as a mental disorder or emotional state in which a patient is continually drawn to a single subject. Modern psychiatry would identify some cases as OCD.  From the usage of the term in the novel, not surprising for a 19th-century text, monomania is regarded as something to be dreaded.  To the monomaniac Ahab, the world around him exists only to satisfy his wishes, and even the "veriest trifles" point to the theme he seeks.  And the things that drive him away from his goal he distrusts.  Ishmael/Melville associates monomania and "madness" in general with disorder, with savagery, with the infernal imagery of the try-pots. As someone who has experienced OCD personally,  an obsession of that caliber does get to be a drag after a while.

 I feel like the song I've written is a reflection of how the crew of the Pequod tries to cope with the instability of its commander.  From both the text of the novel and the song I've written, Ahab's obsession takes its toll on the crew as well.  In writing this I was also inspired by the Divine Comedy music video "Fail," which laments the draining academics of BYU.  

So, anyone wanna help me make a real music video?
 

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