Forever

Song: Forever
Artist: Red
Album: Innocence & Instinct (deluxe only)
Released: February 2009

 So, I forgot to mention in my last post that there is a video bar off to the right that has videos for the songs I am listing, and some other junk that youtube pulled up off the keywords I put in. The video for 18th floor balcony is a live performance that freaking rocks. So if you liked the song I recommend that one it's the one with the dude standing at a microphone. Unfortunately the real video for red didn't pull up, but you can listen to the song while you ponder the meaning of the album cover art, it is a sketch from Dante's Inferno I believe. If any of you have blogs and can tell me how to better control what videos, on the video bar, I'm all ears.

At any rate lets get to Forever by Red shall we. You can find the full lyrics at the bottom, I changed my mind on that one already. I first discovered Red when I went to see Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace in concert, and Red opened for them. I had no idea who they were and I was completely blown away by them, they were so goood live. I have a heightened respect for bands that can actually perform live especially singers who load their studio recordings with ridiculously high notes, and still pull it off live. Michael Barnes (lead singer) has got some pipes and it is doubly impressive when you consider that on the studio recordings the vocals are highly harmonized, echoed, and overdubbed. These recording techniques give the vocal a very crisp, and stylized sound. Its the reason you sound so much better when you sing in a group of people, the other voices hide any flaws in your singing. Listen closely to a Brittany Spears song sometime (or better yet a rapper trying to sing) you'll hear about sixteen other voice tracks in it, on nearly every note. Sure they're all probably her voice but you can make anyone sound good that way. When performing live the best you can do is add an echo to the mic. This is why I have so much love for Red, Barnes belts it out on every song and he executes in person as well as the studio makes him sound. The band matches Barnes, in the intensity they deliver on stage, very energetic and entertaining. A lot of rock musicians just kind of stand there and play the song, these guys are all over the place, the way you'd expect them to be at a show. If you have a chance to see them play, I recommend seeing them, you won't be disappointed.

Forever is a hard driving song that starts off with a bang, and quickly moves from verse to pre-chorus, to chorus, in the fashion of a sonic storm. The flow of the song is so fluid that it sucks you in and forces you to feel the music over the rise and fall of verse, pre-chorus (I believe there's a more technical word for that, but you get my drift), and chorus. It's a beautiful crescendo of feeling. While the music style is very aggressive, the lyrics are story of redemption and real change. You'll find in the posts to come that I am a sucker for songs of redemption, as I've found myself in need of it on many occasions. Jasen Rauch, the bands guitarist and main composer, sometimes struggles with trying so hard to say the right thing in the lyrics that he gets in the way of the integrity of the overall flow of the verse. He also tends to write heavy riffs just for the sake of being heavy. You don't see either flaw in Forever though. As I said the flow of the song is really well done, and it has a bit of a Breaking Benjamin feel in the lead guitar work. I'll also say if you want to hear what a distorted bass line should sound like, it's in this song.

Beyond the music, what really drew me into this song were the lyrics, I couldn't quite catch all of them on the first listen, so I went home looked them up and the listened to the song while reading. I like to do this when I find a new song because, you can get a better feel for the tone of the lyrics while listening to the vocal. As I read It reminded me of the renewed spirits I would see while serving a mission for the LDS church. A lot of people are turned off by Christian themes in their music, which I don't understand, because if I don't like the theme of the lyric I usually try to twist the meaning of the song to fit something I do like. I on the other hand embrace it so long as it is not preachy. Songs from the Christian perspective are very welcome to me, well because I'm a Christian. So however you feel about the LDS church it can't be argued that the work we did wasn't good. We fought alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, disloyalty, dishonesty, and helped breed forgiveness, tolerance, hope, and charity.  At any rate some of my greatest joys came from seeing people change their lives for the better while serving in the New England states. To see the change in their entire countenance was remarkable, and was a glory that cannot be described. As Ed Kowalczyck wrote "words are too feeble, they cannot contain". This joy that a person feels when they find themselves out of the pit they were stuck in is perfectly described in the chorus. Barnes sings of his interventionist thus but you chased me down and broke in, just when I was done believing, spun me 'round so close now, I can feel you breathe, the sunlight burns inside, and I feel so alive and, help me now, tell me how, how can this last forever? Having personally been on both sides of a similar fence I can identify with the gratitude he then expresses in the bridge which also is quite nice: you gave me so much more, than I could ever ask for, but I turned and followed, a road that left me hollow, and still you waited for me to come back home, you brought me home. I think it's something you can only really truly understand if you've been there. I think most of us have in one way or another, and whether you are crediting your intervention to Christ or to a dear friend or parent, it doesn't really matter. All that really matters, or at least all that I really care about is that it helps you feel that breath of fresh air.

Forever lyrics

I try to run, I try to hide from a voice I couldn't
satisfy
That was me, Always needing more
And letting go of all I had before
Cause it feels like the end
A wound that I can't mend
I just can't fight any longer
You waited 'til I sobered
You came when You knew that the game was over
I didn't even want to be found

But you chased me down and broke in just when
I was done believing
Spun me 'round so close now
I can feel you breathing
Sunlight burns inside and
I feel so alive and
Help me now, tell me how
How can this last forever, forever

I ignored the signs, opened every door
But I couldn't find what I searched for
I try to fight but I turn and run
Every move I make is the wrong one
You patiently waited for my next mistake
I know it won't be much longer
You waited 'til I sobered
You came when You knew that the game was over
I didn't even want to be found

But you chased me down and broke in just when
I was done believing
Spun me 'round so close now
I can feel you breathing
Sunlight burns inside and
I feel so alive and
Help me now, tell me how
How can this last forever

You gave me so much more
Than I could ever ask for
But I turned and followed
A Road that left me hollow
And still you waited for me to come back home
You brought me home....

But you chased me down and broke in just when
I was done believing
Spun me 'round so close now
I can feel you breathing
Sunlight burns inside and
I feel so alive and
Help me now, tell me how
How can this last forever, forever

P.S. don't forget to rate the song ;)