Song of the Week: It’s Only a Movie
OK. I know I told you we were supposed to have a student post this week, but that has been postponed until next week. I had a hard time finding a song for this week. I wanted to post this before I left school today, so I had to use something that I already had on my computer. This is one you’ve probably never heard of, but that’s kind of my goal in this is introducing you to new stuff. I don’t think it would be interesting for you to write about a song you’ve heard 100s of times already.
This is by a band called Okkervil River. It’s the first song I ever heard by them and it made me want to look into them more. It’s called “Our Life is not a Movie or Maybe”.
It’s no secret that I LOVE movies. I mean, my DVD collection is even more out of control now than when I told you about it at the beginning of the year. (I’m about to hit 2100). I LOVE movies. But sometimes I think we get so wrapped up in our own little fantasy worlds that movies provide us with that we forget that real life is seldom like the movies. Things don’t always work out the way we plan them. We are not always the “star” we like to make ourselves out to be. Sometimes we need a reminder of that. That’s what this song does for me. Enjoy. Say something intelligent.
Listen. Hear:
01 Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
Our Life is not a Movie or Maybe
Okkervil River
It’s just a bad movie, where there’s no crying
handing the key to me in this Red Lion,
where the lock that you locked in the suite says there’s no prying.
When the breath that you breathed in the street screams there’s no science.
When you look how you looked then to me, then I cease lying and fall into silence.
It’s just a life story, so there’s no climax.
No more new territory, so pull away the imax.
In the slot that you sliced through the scene there was no shyness.
In the plot that you passed through your teeth there was no pity.
No fade in: film begins on a kid in the big city.
And no cut to a costly parade (that’s for him only!).
No dissolve to a sliver of grey (that’s his new lady!)
where she glows just like grain on the flickering pane of some great movie.
It’s just a house burning, but it’s not haunted.
It was your heart hurting, but not for long, kid.
In the socket you spin from with ease there is no sticking.
From the speakers your fake masterpiece is serenely dribbling.
When the air around your chair fills with heat, that’s the flames licking
beneath the clock on the clean mantelpiece. It’s got a calm clicking,
like a pro at his editing suite takes two weeks stitching up some bad movie.
Ok, this is by far the wierdest song musically i have ever heard. but the message is great. its saying that there isn’t a back story, and that life won’t at some point with a happily ever after. also, it says that the things that happen within life are not fake, and not unrealistic, like the haunted house burning line. great message, tchrman.
Patriotsrule 5
And another interesting song posted by tchrman! That was an odd break in the middle of the song when there was no singing and just random noises: I assume that was the “awesome” soundtrack for the movie. Id also have to say that that would be a very bad movie because its missing all of the aspects a great movie would have like all the editing techniques like the dissolves and cuts. Sadly it appears that the kid making the movie thinks its the best thing ever because apparently they have a suite just used for editing their lame crap that they think is great but is not according to everyone else.
Well the singers voice really threw me off at first. This song was really interesting. I think its saying that movies make things so dramatic and everything always works out for the main charactor. Sometimes we pretend like our life is a movie and we try to make things more then they really are. We have to take a step back and rethink things sometimes, hweather or ot something is important or not.
~corgilover5
i have never heard of this band. and i’m not sure about the singer, he sounds like he’s trying to hard. but the message is still good
I know a lot of people are going to complain about his voice, especially in the chorus, but that is not really what bothered me. It was the fact that the chorus was just so cheesy musically. This song could have much better if they kept it much simpler, just as it was at the beginning. The whole chord piano part in the chorus just ruined the whole song(oh and what was with the the frikkin choir singing one note and cutting out? It just completely ruined the song.)
Well I’m having a hard time with this one. I guess it’s saying that life isn’t cliche like movies are. That’s my best guess at least. It says there’s no climax. That could be true I guess. Some events in our lives have a climax, but not so much our whole life in general. The in the plot line could mean the person had a great idea for the movie but didn’t live up to the whole thing.
I need some discussion with this one. There are currently no posts, so I’m excited what you have to say. I am under a writers block though
Like evryone else that commented before me, I thought this song was….interesting. However i has a cool meaning. I think it means that some times people get all worked up in movies and try to make there lives like one but it isn’t. Its saying that life isn’t as big and exciting as movies are.
-captainlazy6
I’ve got to admit, I didn’t like the melody at all. The lyrics were great but his voice threw me off. Even my brother made a confused look when it started lol. Anyways, I did think the lyrics had tons of meaning that I really appreciated. I interpreted it as saying that you need to stop daydreaming about your happy ending as in movies and make it a reality. By the time you figure out it is up to noone else but you to make that ending, things make have already changed irrevocably. I liked it because it made me think about how not-crappy life is instead of the bad.
I also fully agree with GirlsNotGrey’s post
I think this song sounds very good. I think that the writer is saying that a friendship or relationship is like a boring movie or no fun anymore, and that they can’t confide in each other anymore
that was the wierdest song i have ever heard. the singer was really bad im sorry to say and his voice and the song, and instruments kinda scared me..alot! but i agree with Patriotsrule 5 that life is not always what we want it to be. and when something bad happens we just have to start over and find another happy thing or thought. I think more movies should come out that have no happy ending annd have it be something that can happen to anyone. it sort of made me alittle depressed to know that ppl dont have the better things in life and makes me feel that i should appreciate the things i have…..but wierd song!!!
I thought that this song was basically saying how we are not in the middle of a fantasy. We are living in the real world and everything doesn’t go like we want it all the time. When we watch movies, we sometimes think that we could be that person who gets the other person of our dreams and we will live happily ever after. Nothing perfect happens on this earth. Even though we would like to live in a “movie”, its not reality and we can loose sight of the real world.
-jellybean6
Okay, so I’m going to have to agree with Patriotsrule5 and Procrastinator5000 on this one. I agree with Patriotsrule5 because this song is extremely weird musically. I agree with Procrastinator5000 because this song would make a horrible movie soundtrack. It leaves much to be desired. A movie soundtrack should include something with a lot more musical impact than this song. But hey, it wasn’t that bad. I liked the music towards the end…when the singing stopped. This guy’s voice is just not hitting me right, I guess.
-Pinky5
GirlsNotGrey, i have to agree with you. i got some writers block too. and your plot line idea could work
Oh my god this guy can not sing. at all. i have no idea why they would use this in a movie. i didnt get the message that well and i turned it off halfway through. and whats up with the choir?
californiastar#6:
I liked what you said about movies and making them into something that could happen to anyone. Most movies today aren’t anything that would actually happen to the everyday, average person. But who knows? I also felt the same way about how some people don’t have as many or as nice of things that we do. And even though my family is definitely not the wealthiest, I am still extremely grateful for what we do have and the education I received when I was younger.
-elraha6
this song was so weird… i really found no point to it either… its like rap…. a bunch of words and phrses all put together….. and whats up with the background music?? that makes it even weirder…. i do not like this song whatsoever… the person who wrote and sung this should be ashamed of themseleves because this is AN AWFUL song!
This song is really strange. The song reminds me of the movie Juno and its music that accompanies the actors. The vocals and music are very intresting. It sounds like a jumbled mess. It reminds me of life. Life is not normal and a lot of times its a jumbled up mess. I think that comparison can be drawn from the lyrics and melodies that are played.
I am about 50/50 on this one. I didn’t really like the musical part of it, but the concept was good. I think it’s saying that everyone just lives their own life and acts like it’s no big deal. That we take for granted the little things. That it’s silly to worry about negligible matters. That if we saw our life as a movie, we would also see how fortunate we are.
Hi5
WEll i’m going to say I agree with corgilover%. I thought the songs message was very interesting, but the voice threw me off a little. I thought it as sort of cool for the guy to look at life like a movie because in so many ways i is, but its not one of those things you imitially compair your life to. Well all in all good pick, it does kind of make you want to check out some of their other stuff.
Ok so I didn’t like the song that much. I think that whoever is singing the song is trying to sing out too much. The only thing I did like about it was the music. I liked the beat and I liked when then song started to pick up and then it would kinda slow back down. Overall, I think the vocals completely messed the whole song up
Ok, so a very interesting song! The guy’s voice kind of scared me at first and threw me off a little bit. haha Anyways, I think that this song is trying to relate to how we try to live out our lives. WE want everything to always be perfect in the end, just like what usually happens in the fairytale ending of a story, but we dont always get exactly what we want. Everyone goes through difficult times in their life and we just have to help one another get through things. Different but interesting song!!
Procrastinator5000
your right! it is a pretty interesting song. i thought the music was cool until it started freaking out like right before the third verse. the voice kinda scared me a little though! it was crazy and came out of nowhere the first time! but oh well. yeah it was interesting all right.
ps Procrastinator5000 your name is kind of ironic considering you posted the first day he said it was up and like really early in the afternoon. and you were the second one to post! haha its kinda funny
just thought id throw that in there.
pss Im not trying to be mean i swear! i just thought that was funny! i didnt want you to think i was being mean so there
psss i wish i thought of it first!
pssss im done now i swear
6teen
I agree with jellybean6. And basically, everyone else too. I know that feeling the person is talking about- how we want our lives to work out like a movie and have the perfect ending. When we watch movies, we want our lives to be like the movie, and, as jellybean6 said, loose sight of the real world and how to deal with it.
Haha, so this song was quite interesting. It reminded me of those cheesy 80’s British Pop bands you see in movies sometimes (if that made any sense
) Anyways, I actually enjoyed it a lot. I really liked the part about how our life has no climax, because it doesn’t. At least not like in the movies. Everyone has such high expectations for how their life should be, because of what they see on tv. In reality, you may have several exciting moments in your life but there is no huge, breath-taking, heart-stopping, kodak-moment climaxes. Life just doesn’t happen that way.
whywas6afraidof7?
Well really liked this song the message was interesting. But we all want our lives to be like movies. You know we all want out happy ending. But usually we don’t. Oh well…
I agree with AHS21#856. I don’t think that guy could sing either. He kinda got on my nerves. But i still liked the song in general. It had a good meaning.
uhm, i can already tell you that i hate this song.. sorry, but its too weird for me. can this even be considered music? but i guess the words were pretty good, kind of depressing to me. if the words were with different music & especially a different singer, then i might have enjoyed it! but the words mean to me that life isnt going to be like a movie. that it isnt going to be a basic situation, a climax, and a resolution, no matter how much people try to make it that way.
-thebestauntever6
ok. sorry if i hurt anyones feelings but this might just be one of the worst songs ive ever heard. I understand what the lyrics are talkin about kinda, but i jus think its bad. The message its sayin is that life is not like a movie or maybe even a book. Life is life and theres no script, it jus comes at you spontaniously and you have to deal with it. Not eberything in your life will have a perfect fairytale ending, so dont expect it. Overall, good message but bad song
OKAY….that song was pretty wierd. The lyrics were good and everything, but the sound of it was soooo awkward!!!! I didn’t like the song….sorry =) The wierdest part was the guy’s voice. He really cannot sing. And he ruined the lyrics because it sounded like he was trying to scream. But seriously, the very end was pretty different, too. I just didn’t like the song; I just liked the lyrics. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I mean it was okay and all; his voice just….wow! I’m pretty speechless…..I’m sorry ;(
<3,
cheersince6
Alright, so the middle of the song creeped me out a little, because I was alone in a quiet room. xD Just thought I’d share.
I totally get this song. Life is like a bad movie. I mean, jeekZz, I wouldn’t want to watch a movie about my life. It would be depressing. Not that I have a bad life or anything; Real life just isn’t ALWAYS something that people are happy or satisfied with. Most of us don’t have a specific, special plot for our lives. Reality is harsh. Things happen that don’t make any sense at all. And, often, we don’t get the happy ending that we want. The music totally went along with it. The music and the lyrics and the voice fit perfectly. The singer sounded he didn’t know the exact words he wanted to say, or even what point he was trying to get across. It’s like he only said what came to his mind. Even the title is like that (Our life is not like a Movie or Maybe). Life is such a curious matter, none of us seem to be completely sure of what to make out of it.
xD
Although, that was some pretty boss rhyming acction he had going on there at the beginning of the song:
Crying
Lying
Lion
Science
haha
-GummyWormCasserole6 dahling.
jellybean6:
I completely agree.
We’re always living in a dream world, thiking that if we just wish and wish and wish and wish, then we’ll get whatever we want suddenly handed to us with the flick of a magic wand. We assume that our lives can be like movies, because they’re full of romantic and likeable ideas, but we loose so much time not making the most out of who we are and what we have.
-GummyWormCasserole6! (is mmm mmm delicious, especially with orange sherbert)
In order to ensure that my comments are meaningful and not just whether I like the song or not, I decided this week to comment before I actually listen to the song so my comment doesn’t revolve around what I thought the song sounded like, so I have not currently listened to the song yet. However, I took the words to mean that many people are so wrapped up in movies or video games that the line between what is fantasy and what is reality becomes very hazy for them. This song seems to be a reality check for those people. It talks about how different life actually is from fantasy and how there is’nt just one climax. Also, that life doesn’t slowly fade in and start like movies but it abruptly starts without warning sometimes.
I really didn’t like this song. The guy’s voice, of course, was really annoying. And the song itself was kind of cheesy (I think someone’s already said that, but oh well). Plus, the words are disjointed and nonsensical from the beginning. “Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe”…. maybe what? This guy needs singing lessons and a good english tutor.
The whole song sounds like the soundtrack for some bad 80s movie where there’s some kid walking around without a purpose and then he finds his purpose thanks to some old creepy guy and then after a 30 minute struggle his life is complete and he’s got some girl who he could never get the attention of in real life but she values his dedication or something like that and so she’s gonna marry this loser and have like twelve kids who are gonna be the basis for the even worse sequel.
Ugh.
~ctg876
I didnt like this song that much because the guy’s voice was horrible. The lyrics were weird and i didnt get anything out of them. This song wouldnt make a good movie soundtrack. It would hurt peoples ears too much.
I had a hard time listening to the song because of the vocals, but the song had a good message. I think it meant that most movies we see have intense scenes and then always turn out all happy for the character, but life isnt like that at all.
I agree with ctg876. The guys voice is really annoying and its hard to listen to the song. if there were a better singer the song might be better.
cheersince6-
i agree completely. While the lyrics are alright, the song itself is extremely awkward. the dude cannot sing, and he does indeed try to scream his way through part of the song. haha i think it was a weird song of the week.
-youngmoney5
Umm its an ok song i guess. I didnt like it to much. I thought it got kinda annoying how he would go all out on one word in each sentence then his harmony was all jacked up. And what was up with that wierd puase rite in the middle with the three year old drunken baby piano playeb!?!?! wierd much! i came to figure the band liked that sound though cuz they ended the song with it too. And the lyrics they were alrite they made sense and in the second verse iy kinda had a rhyme sceme goin.
weird, but kinda cool at the same time. i liked the message and the flow of the music i didnt think the singer was all thet great, but oh well…
-danumbah5
i like how ctg876 waited to listen to the song till after he had posted the comment so his/her opinion of the song didnt effec there answer. prettty dang smart if u ask me.
swelltastically,
SwellOgresCanCookEnglishRadish5
i like this song… it brings you to reality. it reminds that no one persons life is perfect. n tho we want to believe we live in a fantasy world… we do nawt! we all have stuggles trials n tribulations! n we all must over come! lol this was nice…
———->PinkPrincesz05
I actually really like this song. The lyrics flow really well, and line by line they all connect. The music was really cool. The way you could keep up with the beat was nice. The over all message was kind of fuzzy, but I think I got the gist. It is about living life while you can, even though at time it can seem monitions. I liked the whole movie view, because sometimes life is like a bad movies, and sometimes you need to remember that this is all it is.
It’sMe!5
I love this song! Ironically, I actually think that this would be a really good song to be in a movie. Like the part of the movie when the main character thinks his/her life sucks because of the place they’re at in their life. It really makes me think about novels too because those are more like to really tell you that everything isn’t happily ever after.
I have to say, personally though, I disagree with the message. (I know what you’re thinking, wait you love it but you disagree with it.) People can relate to this song especially when they feel like crap, or they feel that the world is out to get them. That’s why I love it. I’ve even felt this way at some point; it’s human nature. After a while I realized, life is creating your own story and climax. I believe that life can be just like a movie and everything can be happily ever after in the end. You must take the initiative. You can’t sit around and wait for every broken heart to mend itself. Don’t let life happen to you, but you need to happen to life (if that made sense).
One verse in the lyrics really got to me though. it was “It was your heart hurting, but not for long, kid”. It’s like I know your got your heart broken, but it won’t hurt forever. Life goes own, and its short! Take advantage of it. That’s what I got from it.
autumnnewmath6
this definately is not one of my favorite song of the weeks. it like has no rhythm that i can find. And i couldnt comprehend the lyrics wither. So i went ahead and watched the video. well, that made no sense either. It was like them rocking out in a hotel room? yeah. but i think it had a good message. like it is not always going to work out in the end kind of thing.
This song is really werid.. like the lyrics are good if your just reading them but like i just can not even get past the oddness..it reminds me of a rock band song or something. yet oddly i just wanna dance, I can see someone rollerblading to this..
This song was ok, after all I’ve never heard of this band, but the song was ok. The guy can’t sing for one thing, but the lyrics were nice. I think what he meant was that when the movie has no crying, it falls silent, like silent movies, no expression whatsoever. The drum part was very nice, and I do love how he sang it with an edge, although he still can’t sing, he sang with an edge.
corgilover5: the singers voice threw me off too. it kinda scared me there for a second. but i agree that movies make life seem 1000% better than it really is. not everything is gonna b a happy ending. i kno i sometimes plan stuff out in my head and they completely do not end up that way. it always seems like it would b cool to have a happy movie life, but thats just not how its gonna happen. we have 2 remember to put things in perspective and separate reality from fantasy.
~quartergirl5
@autumnnewmath6
Now that I think about it, this is a good song to be in a montage. Like if their best friend moves and the character is moping around about it. My second listen was better than my first. But now I’m listening to AFI’s brand new CD, so if I go on my brain will get confused and start talking about it instead of the movie song
Cheersince6
I agree with you about the song. It is extremely awkward. the lyrics are ok but the song is jus bad. And you right about the singer. He cant sing. He tries way too hard and screams. The song is very weird
I also agree with tnvols6. I don’t think the person could sing either. But that’s not always the main part or purpose of a song and I think this song supports that. It was overall one f my favorites.
haha…wow this is a weird song indeed! the lyrics didn’t really make sense to me. like im not sure what this song is about…maybe i should listen to it again but it scares me.. haha…not my favorite, but for some reason i did like the line where it says “It’s just a house burning, but it’s not haunted”
rocketsummer6
I agree with you. The lyrics are good if your just reading them.The lyrics paired with the music skews the flow of the song for me. The oddness of the song seems to have a negative effect on the listener. Oddly enough i can see people rollerblading to this song. Nice comparison.
DarkMoon6
corgilover5: the singers voice threw me off too. it kinda scared me there for a second. but i agree that movies make life seem 1000% better than it really is. not everything is gonna b a happy ending. i kno i sometimes plan stuff out in my head and they completely do not end up that way. it always seems like it would b cool to have a happy movie life, but thats just not how its gonna happen. we have to remember to put things in perspective and separate reality from fantasy.
~quartergirl5
rocketsummer6, i totally agree. I read over the lyrics & it sounded great but when I played the song, i didnt like it at all.
captianlazy6:
I agree with you! Life isnt like movies at all. For a while i thought that the mom/daughter fights would end up in real life like they do in the movies. That kind of thinking ended when i got in mu first one. Sometimes life isnt as big as the movies but sometimes it could be bigger. Life is very dramatic.
~corgilover5
superchica06,
I think I should start doing that, too: reading the lyrics before I listen to the song. The point of the song of the week really is supposed to be about what we get out of the song, the songs meaning. A lot of us listen to the music and it makes it harder for us to figure the song out. I understand your interpretation of the song. Sometimes we loose ourselves.
-GummyWormCasserole6 !
In response to all the haters:
I think this is a great song! The singing and the music and every aspect! I suppose all of you could have done better?? I think not. (except for me. i could have done better because i am the best.) But please give them credit. They are very talented and deserve respect.
Yeah… this is weird. Okay, I guess it does have some meaning. I think it means that life isn’t planned and played out like a movie. Theres no retakes and you get what you get. Its raw and uncut and you have to take the good with the bad. Well, thats at least what I get out of it. I actually liked the song, despite its weird charm. Its, unique.
:)
There is something very unique about this song. Im not quite sure what it is though. Life is definetly like a movie. If it wasnt, then life would be completely different! when we make movies we base it off of real life. So, yes…movies are like real life.