Is There a Cure Among Us?
Of all the things I don’t wish to ever seem, depressed or despondant is right at the top of the list. But sometimes, I watch the news or look at my life held up to a standard that well…I can’t stand up to, and I get stunned.
I feel like maybe I’ve fallen short. Maybe I don’t do enough. Maybe that guy on the street should get my spare change. Maybe every weekend of my life should be given to some charity that is bigger than me. I know those people. They do more than I do. They give back more than I do.
Do I fall short by that standard?
And then I think about things that are judged subjectively. Things that don’t have as much to do with reality, and have more to do with interpretation than what truly is…
And for some reason, I think of this song, and this band.
I love Collective Soul. And when I say that to people they say, “Why?”…
And I start rattling off all of the songs that they’ve had that have been hits…and that inevitably whoever I’m talking to winds up saying;
“That was them?”
“I LOVE that song”
“Wow, I always thought that was (INSERT BAND NAME HERE)”
And when I think of not measuring up….of feeling shortchanged or insufficient…or why don’t we do better as a race than we do….
I think that sometimes we don’t get enough credit for what we’ve really done. And that doesn’t mean that we’ve done enough…it just means that sometimes we don’t say “look what we’ve done already” and that in giving that recognition, we can’t be inspired to do more. When I thnk of this, of the shortchanging and the failure to recognize what has already happened, I think …well…
I think of this.
Are these times contagious
I’ve never been this bored before
Is this the prize I’ve waited for?
Now as the hours passing
There’s nothing left here to insure
I long to find the messenger.
Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run
Is there a cure among us?
From this processed sanity?
I weaken with each voice that sings
In this world of purchase
I’m gonna buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities
Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run.
yeah, I run.
Have I got a long way?
Have I got a long way?
Have I got a long way to run?
Have I got a long way to run?
Yeah I run
(Have I got a long way to run?)
Yeah I run
(Have I got a long way to run?)
Yeah I run
(Have I got a long way to run?)
Yeah I run
(Have I got a long way to run?)
Collective Soul’s “Hits”…
Year/Title/USA Billboard Charts/Album
1994/Shine/11 1( 
4/Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
1994/Breathe /12/Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
1994/Wasting Time/Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid
1995/Gel /2(4) 14/Collective Soul
1995/December/20 1(9) 2(1) 11/Collective Soul
1995/Smashing Young Man/8/Collective Soul
1996/The World I Know/9/ollective Soul
1996/here the River Flows /1/Collective Soul
1996/Reunion/15/Collective Soul
1997/Precious Declaration/1(4)/Disciplined Breakdown
1997/Listen/1/Disciplined Breakdown
1997/Blame/11/Disciplined Breakdown
1997/Maybe - /Disciplined Breakdown
1998/She Said/16/Scream 2 Soundtrack
1999/Run/12/Dosage
1999/Heavy/1/Dosage
1999/No More, No Less/32/ Dosage
1999/Needs /Dosage
1999/Tremble for My Beloved/35 /Dosage
2000/Why, Pt.2/7/Blender
2001/Vent /34 /Blender
2001/Perfect Day/29/ Blender
2001 /Next Homecoming /39 /7even Year Itch
2004/Counting The Days /8/Youth
2005 /Better Now /9/Youth
2005/ How Do You Love? /16 /Youth
2007/Hollywood /25 /Afterwords
on September 23, 2007 on 7:59 pm
Thanks for reminding me of exactly what I needed to hear. “December” is also one of my favorites, on my distance running mix.
on September 24, 2007 on 2:09 am
beautiful.
december is the first song i learned to play all the way through on guitar.
on September 24, 2007 on 7:49 am
We all want acknowledgment of our efforts, and when we don’t get it, or when it’s given elsewhere, it can be difficult to stay focused on why you did in the the first place. I’ve found this especially true in creative efforts.
and here’s a perfect example:
This was our entry into the “Think!” films contest to make your own version of “The Aristocrats”
(totally NSFW without headphones)
http://www.blackroses.com/~skip/tower/mphtower.com/videos/Aristocrats_High_1024.wmv
I got credited with writing only six words: “a bottle of creme de menthe”
the truth was that I helped write a lot of it.
on September 24, 2007 on 2:29 pm
Seung-Hui Cho’s roommates said he listened to “Shine” repeatedly.
…take that as you will.
on September 24, 2007 on 2:55 pm
*sigh* december
xoxo
on September 24, 2007 on 2:59 pm
and..for the record..i heart cooler than jesus…
xoxo
on September 24, 2007 on 3:16 pm
Dagny; You’re quite welcome. I’ll gladly remind you whenever youneed it.
Roissy; December is a bad ass tune…and seems to be a Collective Soul fav. You should see them do “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” live.
Skip; that is FRIGGIN’ HYSTERICAL…not that you got screwed out of the credits, but to film itself.
Meokat; I’m kinda thinkin’ that I’ll be thinkin’ of that everyt time I hear it now!
Suicide Blonde; Cooler than Jesus ROCKS…and so does December. I bet it sounds great on a Gretsch, too.
on September 25, 2007 on 4:13 pm
“run” is actually one of the only songs of there’s that ever really struck me - i’ve got it on the iPod, and it’s actually (surprise) a good song to run to. well, for a slow-ass like myself.
as to whether there’s a cure, if it’s not among us then it sure as shit isn’t anywhere at all. that’s the only thing that gets me up in the morning, for certain.
on September 25, 2007 on 4:14 pm
“there’s”? “theirs”? what’s the difference?
god, i’ve got to go home.
on October 11, 2007 on 10:40 am
Random fact: Collective Soul was the #1 artist played on rock radio in the 90s. More than Nirvana - more than everyone.
Totally agree that most people don’t even realize some of their fav 90s songs are CS! Haha.
I still have “The World I Know” single on cassette. LOL.