My new heroes

Songs in modern pop music almost always talk about the same things. They're either a boy-wants-girl scenario or vice versa, or something else along the lines of corny love scenarios. How many songs are sung in second person (i.e. with an object "you")? That's right. A lot.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I choose to base how much I like a billboard song on its beat and artistry rather than lyrics more often than not. There are two exceptions to this rule:

The first one is if a song's theme is a long distance relationship. I like to fantasize that one day I'm going to be dating a smart, dreamy European (preferably French) studying medicine in London or Paris, and we'll have met on some extravagant adventure in the ends of the Earth, but we had to go back to our respective prestigious universities to continue our studies before eventually uniting in marriage and traveling the world healing people and raising beautiful perfect Eurasian children.

Here's an example: Hunter Hayes' "I Want Crazy."

"Who needs to play it safe in love? Let's be crazy!

"I've searched the world and I know now, it ain't right if you ain't lost your mind."

I know enough songs with this theme to make a playlist, but here's one more that blatantly states, "So remember in your heart when we are apart that there is no need for crying, 'cause even if I am halfway 'round the world, that won't stop me from loving you" and that "When the miles are growing you and I will still be going strong." 

I advise you not to watch the video. Just listen to the song if you're in the mood for some early 2000s sounds.

I strive to do admirable things in my life. Dating my fantasy man when he lives across an ocean from me and maintaining a healthy relationship is one of the things on my bucket list.

That strayed way off the point here, because I intended to create this blog entry about the second reason I choose to like songs for their lyrics. I only realized that I liked songs under this category today.

 Ever since I was very young, I always liked to read about the mysteries of today's world, and I liked to continually ask myself questions, much like the people in this song.

It's called "Someday We'll Know" from this movie called A Walk to Remember based on a book by Nicholas Sparks (no, I have not watched it, nor do I have any urgent plans to). It's a duet, yes, it's a love song, but I would listen to it a lot in elementary school. The two hopeless romantics ask rhetorical questions like, "Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart?" or "Does anybody know the way to Atlantis?" As a kid I was (and still am) a fan of unsolvable mysteries, fascinated, awed, and at times terrified by them.

Obviously, this song still falls under the whole love song deal, but I recently discovered (more like, was shown) two songs that fall under a whole new category, one that combines my appreciation of music and mystery, the one that is the second in my which-songs-I-like-for-their-lyrics list. 

I think I've stalled enough.

I call it the "unanswered questions of life" category, and for now it is only taken up by one artist:

Two brothers from a Norwegian variety show who call themselves "Ylvis," who recently posted this video on YouTube on September 3, 2013 that has now gone viral.

What does the fox say? I feel like a character so vital to children's literature should have some kind of distinct noise. Its clever and mischievous reputation is an instant go-to for picture book writers. But what of the ill-fated parents who have to read said storybook to their toddler and have no idea what sort of onomatopoeic noise to assign to the fox? These questions are not questions the average person ponders on a day-to-day basis, but Ylvis has made this dilemma very clear in this powerful and thought-provoking song.

Personally, my favorite fox sounds are "wapapapapapapow," "hateehateehat-ho," and "aheeaheeah-hee."

I thought that was it, but then I found this video, aptly called "Stonehenge."

"When I make my jalapenos, calamari, and prosciutto, I'm the king."

"What's the meaning of Stonehenge?"

This music video is an epic unfolding whose hero is a purportedly successful average male whose true calling in life is discovering the reason for Stonehenge's existence. It's a very meaningful video that awakens the truth-seeker in all of us and shamelessly promotes the Honda Civic. When it comes to humanity's unsolved mysteries, speculation plays an important role, for without it, we wouldn't have these mysteries at all. Ylvis speculates that maybe Stonehenge was "a giant granite birthday cake" or "a prison far too easy to escape." What do you think it could have been?

Ylvis is so inspiring and has renewed the wonder inside me for certain mysteries. After all, part of what keeps us human is the fact that we cannot truly know everything about the world we live in, but we can ask however many questions about it as we like, retaining the infinite curiosity bestowed upon us when we were children throughout the rest of our lives. It is important to never stop wondering. 

Which means that contrary to my parents' irritation, my asking the question "What's for dinner?" right after having lunch is now completely justified.