just be real

(not my best, but it's real talk)

i hate it when the song that plays on the radio is not the same version as the one on the CD. i'm the type of person who likes to listen to a song so much that i can attempt to imitate every ornamentation. i like to hear the song on my iPod and then hear it in the car on the way somewhere without longing for the exact way the harmonies came together in the album version. if there's a discrepancy between versions, there's some degree of unpredictability. i'll eventually learn the notes over, but i'll always prefer one version to another instead of just enjoying the song.

let me explain.

we all have our own song, our own unique personality. let me stress that your song belongs to you, and only you. i may be able to sing your song, but my cover will be nothing compared to the original; i can appreciate you, i can even act like you, but i can't be you. so it's your song. you can do whatever you want with it, but how you choose to sing it in different capacities will not go unnoticed by others.

consider the radio to be a public outlet, where anyone you meet can hear something of your song and decide for him/herself whether he/she likes it. conversely, consider a CD or something of that nature to be a private outlet, something reserved for those who truly know and appreciate you. these people have heard you on the radio, and they know what you're about.

but if your song changes from radio to CD, if you buy into this whole "album version" thing for your close group of fans and come out with another version for the general public, there's a problem. remember, this song is your personality. it's what makes you who you are. if you have two different versions of your personality, people may not know how to respond. they knew you so well in one capacity, but now it's hard to tell if they're talking to the same person when you're all in a different venue. why is there a discrepancy between what you want everyone to see and what only your closest friends see?

i guess what i'm trying to say is..."twofacedness" is an issue that rears its ugly, chimeric head throughout our everyday lives. it's one thing to put a guard up to protect your feelings, but quite another to act so different around different individuals that no one knows who you are. when people express how they feel about your shifting personality, don't say that everyone you know acts "fake." turn your sights inward for just a second. listen to your song again. think about who you might have shut out as a result of your unpredictability.

we all are guilty of putting up facades; yes, some of us sing our songs at least a little bit differently every day. but ideally there is no difference between the album version and the hit that plays on the radio.