June 1, 2008
Madonna’s “X-Static Process”
As I was commenting on an earlier blog, some of my favourite songs off Clay’s new CD are those that come from a vulnerable place. I was thinking about that last night, and up popped in my mind a song which I loved some years ago — Madonna’s “X-Static Process” (from her album American Life
There’s such a sense of vulnerability in the lyrics — “I always wished that I could find someone as beautiful as you / But in the process I forgot that I was special too.” — and it’s even more poignant coming from a woman as strong as Madonna seems to be.
I look at the song as applying on a more general level as well. It’s such a human thing to want to fit in, to be on the inside, and that makes us try to be more like what we think our peers, our employers will think impressive/cool. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, unless of course you happen to lose your integrity, and thus the best side of yourself in the process. Have you ever done this: Abandoned or distanced yourself from your friend or someone who has been kind to you because some of your other friends didn’t like him/her?
My friend and I were talking about this the other day, and this happens quite a bit in the workplace. It looks like we never quite lose the mentality we developed in school — where we learnt that the price of being in the ‘in’ group is not being too friendly with those people who are ‘out’. Something to think about, isn’t it?
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Lyrics: X-Static Process
I’m not myself when you’re around
I’m not myself standing in a crowd
I’m not myself and I don’t know how
I’m not myself, myself right now
Jesus Christ will you look at me
Don’t know who I’m supposed to be
Don’t really know if I should give a damn
When you’re around, I don’t know who I am
I’m not myself when you go quiet
I’m not myself alone at night
I’m not myself, don’t know who to call
I’m not myself at all
I always wished that I could find
someone as beautiful as you
But in the process I forgot
that I was special too
I’m not myself when you’re around
I’m not myself when you go quiet
I’m not myself all alone at night
I’m not myself standing in a crowd
I’m not myself and I don’t know how
I’m not myself, myself right now
Don’t know what I believe
I always wished that I could find
someone as beautiful as you
But in the process I forgot
that I was special too
I always wished that I could find
as talented as you
But in the process I forgot that
I was just as good as you
Direct link to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vod55_8Ioo&hl=en
Crooked Turret 