Relate,

It's come to my attention that actually, a hell of a lot of people read this blog! Well, at least a hell of a lot more people than I thought, so in which case - Hello people :)


It did get me thinking though... (oh mann, not AGAIN!) - what is it that's draws you to read anothers blog? I know I've said why I got one in the first place several times before, but why do I read others, and others read mine? Particularly ones by people that I know - when I could just talk to them and find out for myself what's going on in their own little world!


But I think - and remember that this is only my opinion - that people read blogs (especially nonsense ramblings like mine), much like they listen to music or look at paintings. It's all about how you relate to it. Like right now, maybe you've read something I've written and it applies to you somehow, maybe that makes you feel a little less alone that somewhere out there is thinking and feeling exactly the same way... I know thats a thought that comforts me quite a lot.

Cheesy, I know...

But like I said, the music we listen to says a lot about our personality - you know I love my quotes and you'll know if you read a lot of what I write, the majority of those quotes come from Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, (which coincidently I'll be watching for the 5th time next week!! It only came out last year.. safe to say, I'm obsessed :P). So why do the quotes appeal to me? I think they speak a lot of the truth - there's actually a song in it called "The Beauty Underneath" - hence the name of this blog! And of course, the hero[/villian?] of the story wears a mask - to hide from the cruelties of the world. Because of his diformities, people treat him like a monster, and eventually, he becomes the monster he believes he must be - it's a tragic story, and in Psychology they call it Self Fulfilling Prophecy.

A song we looked at in Psychology, it's called Self Fulfilling Prophecy, by Maria Mena - give it a listen, it's sad but it sort of outlines the concept.

So why do I listen to it? Why do I relate?! I'm hardly a murdering genius with a hole in my face and a love for a ditzy opera singer - no no, I like a lot of the message behind it. I like the whole thought of looking for what's behind the mask, and the fact that despite the terrible things he's done, despite his appearance - that right at the end, you're actually sad he loses. You want him to find the love he so desperatly craves - you want him to have that chance of happiness - and that's good, isn't it? To appreciate beauty that's not almost apparant to the naked eye?


It's the same with art you know. I could stare at George Frederik Watts painting, Dame Ellen Terry for hours - it's beautiful, there's no denying it. But it's only when you dig further you find out it's actually a painting of his young wife, she was just 17 and she later became a famous actress. She cheated on her husband several times and they were divorced, but when he painted her all he knew what that he was passionatly in love - and that, that moment, is captured perfectly. Here, see...

So do I care that my music and art aren't exactly "cool"? Of course not. It's up to me, surely?! Perhaps I'm just "goony", but maybe, just maybe, music isn't about listenning what everyone else is listenning to? Maybe it can be about something that really matters to you, something you can't listen to without even changing the way you breathe! Something that stops your heart, makes you cry, makes you laugh? Makes you feel.


I just think it's important, that's all.

"Stranger than you dreamt it,
Can you even dare to look,
or bare to think of me:
this loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell,
but secretly yearns for heaven,
secretly... secretly...
Christine...

Fear can turn to love - you'll learn to see
to find the man behind the monster:
this repulsive carcass, who seems a beast
but secretly dreams of beauty,
secretly... secretly...
Oh, Christine..."

Phantom of the Opera