Pink is on TV, telling stories
behind her songs, between singing
them & has a moment of caution,
acknowledging she may ruin the images
in our heads by doing this, the feeling
we get in hearing the song & where
it takes us, unraveling our illusions;
the first kiss, dance, break-up,
middle finger to the pastor
that preached against long hair, death
of a loved one, be-littling or raising hell
bow ballsy & brash she is,
thrashing all these perfect moments,
interpretations we hold dear
making us see the artist
as well as the art
& human---
losing her husband, the anger & angst,
meeting him again in Vegas, a hotel bed,
past drug use & Sober, how your mother
& lover push your buttons---blurring
the lines between the stage & crowd
because we've been there
or believe ourselves too good
a liar, passing off
we haven't
if we're honest
which makes the best verse anyway,
& is why we sing in the shower,
in the car or in line at the grocery store
though usually alone, not on stage
where people can see how jacked up
we are & not all that
much
different
from them
written for Poetry Jam
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82 comments:
I heart Pink. She tells it like it is. She is a bit vulgar, but it seems like most are these days. :)
I don't much about Pink except that she refused to sing at Prince William's 21st because of the royal family's comittment to hunting.I think those people who have perfect marriages and families are phonies too.
You capture a sense of the relative honesty and directness of Pink's songs (unusual within a largely anodyne pop genre) and the way in which they relate to our own emotional experiences.
Yes, Pink is one who calls it as she sees it! I like her music. (My daughters couldn't believe I had a Pink CD in my car!) Nothing is sacred to her....she definitely has her niche and doesn't care about RULES.
hahahahahaha Sounds like a microphone HO to me. It's alright to be and to be honest in front of your audience...hell what's the difference between doing it live and doing it on a 'puter screen? No matter where or who it's still public nudity. Living without the mask and telling truth despite having nothing to hide with.
i love what you've written. there's so much behind people, even those we think we know, that makes me oh so fearful to judge... because we just do not know where they've come from, where they've been...
....Pink, a living proof of genuism... I liked not only her music but also everything 'bout her...raw & natural...never hiding...not even camouflaging to be a likable...to be called human... What a perfect example you give us today Brian...current & in any levels universal...smiles...
The filming of her songs comes across as brash and vulgar but, I love the meaning behind her songs...the same goes the Lady Gaga. Yeah, there are many times when I felt that I could come out clean in public :P
in Wisconsin a local contemporary Christian station is encouraging us to listen only to christian music to see how it changes our lives in 30 days... everyday they interview someone who calls in to give a testimony of how their lives have changed... it's been sweet to hear how people's lives are richer
Hmm, I have heard of her. Have to go investigate. Do not like many women singers of late. So I will let you know!
I learnt the hard way that things are rarely as we perceive them...
However I enjoy my more positive slant; after my vicious, slashing
younger days...
I admire artists (like Pink) who shares with us their own journeys and raising above their own challenges ~
The best verses are from the heart, like yours ~
Happy day Brian ~
I don't know much about her music so I can't speak to it, but I do know how much I enjoy your poetry about her process. :-)
I love Pink. I find her to be so different from most contemporary artists. Most contemporary artists have no depth to their lyrics...she is a wonderful exception.
Being honest is definitely the most difficult road. It is good that the older we get, the less people's opinion about us seems to matter.
I'm with DJan on this, Brian. I nothing about Pink but you do compose fine words.
Yeah no real bs with her
She says it no matter if it will ruffle someones fur
Those middle fingers though
You have to watch where they show haha
Nice! Her transparency is refreshing, isn't it?
I really don't know that much about Pink, especially not her personal life, but the best verses are truly from the heart, when a person shares their life and their feelings with their audience.
Love Pink sorry I missed that. But love your version :-)
I think you summed Pink up beautifully, she marches to the beat of her own drum, I like that,
If we look close enough, we might be very surprised to see that indeed we are almost all the same...fame, no fame...the pain hurts...the joy delights...famous artists just have the world for a stage...
I do like Pink...she seems to be honest...:-)
It's no surprise that you relate to an honest artist. That's what you are. And I suppose good, honest art connects us to our humanity. That's what you do.
We are all one and you show this in the best way- good for you!
Yep. True dat! We all have been there...whether we are willing to admit it or not...we don't need to be judging Pink just because she is willing to "put it ALL out there." It might be brash and it might be ballsy...but I appreciate her willingness to be brutally candid.
I wonder if it hurts them admiting and uncovering who they really are. Kind of lose the mystique!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I like her hair ....... ? (I like your poem)
I really love this, Brian. It touches me.
ha..i can relate to every jacked up artist for sure..the most broken people are often the most extraordinary artists as well...love that she's honest... perfection is for under glass on a shelf... def. hungry for the real..
I never would have had you down as such a pink fan, I really enjoyed this, as I think she would
We can learn so much from the verses of the artists. We have learned so much about you from your verses!
Yeah, we are so different from them. They are train wrecks and we have everything in perfect order. (By the way, that statement is an example of sarcasm.)
So very true Brian! I love Pink! You always put things in such a way...it makes me think "wow, I never thought of it that way!" Great write!
Excellent appreciation of the artist and what brings even modest artists like me to this form. My daughter likes P!nk because she sounds like she's always to kick some ass. :) Good poem, my friend.
Joan Jett said that this was why she didn't come out for so long, because she wanted to maintain the illusion, the fantasy, for her fans who liked to think of her as straight.
Music, or any kind of performance art, really demands an alter ego, I think. To bare one's self as a creative person must do, and to do it on stage night after night, just sounds too hard, to me. I think I'll stick with blogging!
"if we're honest" is striking. I was listening to a Robbie Williams song on Radio today(British pop artist) Thhese lines struck me: "I confess, you think I'm strong, you're wrong, you're wrong" It's true that famous or anonymous we all have issues and honesty is a truly attractive quality. Great work once again :)
Interesting post Brian. Whenever I read about Pink, her acrobatic performance (at the Grammy's I believe) comes to mind. Wow, that was an amazing performance. She is one talented woman.
Not much at all. Beautifully real, Brian.
Alas, you have me here. I know nothing of Pink, though images came into my head as I read this. I shall be away shortly to research. Even so, A remarkably fine offering. Good to have read it.
I like Pink and enjoyed listening to her share her heart. It takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable like that to the world. This is a connection we all have - stories that hurt us, stories we're proud of and love to share, stories we're ashamed of and don't want to share, etc etc etc. It's just part of being human. Who are we to judge....
I love Pink for this very reason. Her story behind her songs. She's definitely been there, done that and not afraid to talk about it.
I'm a fan of Pink, too... and you know how much I love music. Poetry is music.
P.S. I agree with Tara.
Love Pink...one of my favs! Her voice and choreography are excellent.
Pink rocks it
my girls and i love her
and i sing in the shower, too! Hee!
and the car is my favorite place to sing....the other on the road people must htink i am nuts!
I am struck by your sense of how we lie to ourselves and to others--and really, how at base level, we are all so very similar--cheers Brian
Oh dear I am behind the times--do not know who Pink is. But she sounds like my kind of lady from what you say. Excellent interpretation of the prompt.
What a surprise, B ... I prepared a poem for Jan 24th along the same lines ... minus Pink's vulgarity ... everything else is lived by cat ...
so damn true... not so different from them... well said that, man. Been a while since I've raised a lighter (I tend to associate that with rock ballads of the late 80s/early 90s! hehe) but still sing mah songs whoever the hell's listening. We have to, right?
I like this one so much I'm holding my lighter up for you :) The last few stanzas are my favorite.
It is very brave to reveal every detail of one's life.
I think I saw her being interviewed on TV only a few days ago.
Maggie x
Nuts in May
It takes a special kind of courage to give away the secrets of your life like that. Pink, I mean, not the singing in the shower.
Yes, it's very nice, I love this poem and live those few perfect moments that life gives us.
This sounds so good Brian and love how you make the picture of others persons!!
How refreshing to hear honest songs, about real moments,dark days and despair, all connecting to how we all are, with or without the proverbial silver spoon.
Lots of truth is this bri--it's those who touch us, awaken that sense of kinship, who can really speak through Art(music, poetry, painting, whatever) It's that sense of our commons and not our divergences.
I think it's great that famous people speak out. Helps us realise that we're all the same under the skin. All love, all suffer, all celebrate... Don't know much about Pink, but good for her!
tour de force. cool
Happy Aloha to YOU
from Honolulu,
Comfort Spiral
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Agree with Joy - oddly it's the homeliness that we crave in the celebrity - what is ordinary and not so different.
Thanks as always for all you do. k.
Truer words.....
We all might think it but she has the balls to say it. Good on her. Your poem captures the ambiance well.
The Light doesn't stay in the rain, but songs will be sang nevertheless
nice close here re: the honesty. Never been a big Pink fan, but definitely has a few songs I dig. You know, I really like how you mentioned she said the backstory could change the way we look at the songs. I believe that about poetry and art as well. As the reader/viewer gets an interpretation in their mind, which is how it should be, but then if the author/artist says what the piece is really about, then perhaps the luster wheres off a bit. Yet, we crave backstories and information about our artists, which is good that we care enough to want to know, but then again, there is another side to it as well. Strong write Brian.
I loved her debut album (which I still got on tape). I always saw her as more rock than R'n'B and she didn't let me down. Great poem.
Greetings from London.
Pink is my favorite color, not my favorite singer, but I do like some of her songs. I like how you can write about such varied topics and make them interesting. I bet you can write about a log and make it have emotion.
Loved this piece of writing. You're right - we've all been there in some form or other.
if we're honest, which makes the best verse anyway - love this line! Honesty always the best policy!
what's the old saying...we all put our pants on one leg at a time... fame, fortune or otherwise, we are all still human...good point here.
Perhaps that is what art and artists help us do... to like ourselves a bit more, or at the very least, not make us feel quite so alone.
I like her voice and I like the Fucking Perfect song especially. But not ballsy - she is plenty courageous without resorting to male organs she doesn't need.
like a magician revealing his tricks, the illusion destroyed is a bit depressing. I like puzzling over lyrics sometimes wondering what the writer intended and if my initial feel is right, but at the same time, I like being able to cling to my own interpretation at get lost in my own meaning of the words.
I am not so well versed about pop culture - I only saw her perform once: Pink was suspended on air while water was pouring on her. I think it was one of those awards. I thought she was an impressive performer.
I love Pink! Especially the songs like Stupid Girls. I wish I'd seen it. Maybe it will repeat.
Brian, I love Pink-her music is so compelling, probably because she doesn't have too many filters-I really like your take on this, especially singing by ourselves, contrasted with on stage, we are not so different :-)
Don't know much about Pink but really like Your verse and speaking what is true.
There's nothing like a brash and ballsey woman who tells it the hard way and moves on to other business. Pink may be brash and vulgar, but sheis pretty authentic ... good choice of a classic 'rule breaker', Brian. Well done!
Oh this is so brilliant! Pink is too, and I wish....oh, I wish...that she could read this.
Pure enjoyment.
Never really went there, thinking of WHY Pink's words are hers. I imagine all our words are painted with different ink than those who read it see.
I love this stanza:
"bow ballsy & brash she is,
thrashing all these perfect moments,
interpretations we hold dear
making us see the artist
as well as the art
& human---"
Funny with layers of meaning
Love this...love that she was honest ..it takes a lot of courage to put it all out there...sadly people always judge.
She sounds honest which is good. Gotta have that right above all else--to thine own self, be true.
i love Pink!
it's funny, i guess ~ when i am reading someone else's work, i want to use my own imagery, especially in books. but i am disappointed when someone comments on my blog and interpreted what i said in a way different than what i meant.
Pink is definitely a rule breaker! as are you, sir!
thank you for joining in at Poetry Jam!
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