Essay #19

FINAL DRAFT

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
4/8/10

Slipknot
One Band that relates to Romeo and Juliet

(TS) The phrase “Never judge a book by its cover” represents the band Slipknot. (CM) First of all, this band dresses in masks that cause people to assume they were designed by creatures of the pit. (CM) Not only do the musicians in this band dress horrifyingly, their music is hardcore, having heavy instrumentals and rough vocals, preventing some people from appreciating the technique and intricacy of their songs. (CS) If you can put aside appearances and first impressions, you can dig deeper into the band’s songs and discover the deep and complex meanings in their lyrics, sometimes relating to well known literature such as Romeo and Juliet.

(TS) One of my favorite bands called Slipknot has a song titled, "Before I Forget" which has two lines in the chorus that I’ve realized have a deep meaning: “I am a world before I am a man” and “I was a creature before I could stand”. (SD) The first line I found tricky to interpret, but after analyzing the lyrics, I finally deciphered (thesaurus) them. (CM) Corey Taylor, the intense lead singer for Slipknot, (appositive) is describing how he has a duty to protect the world and preserve its health. (CM) His responsibility to help his planet maintain a good condition is more important to him than maintaining his own health, because if he dies, life goes on, but if Mother Earth dies, humanity ceases to exist. (SD) I found the second line was much easier to understand but the meaning was no less intricate. (CM) The song’s lyrics express how in life you must learn how to do a task properly before you can achieve it. (CM) When the singer was a “creature”, he knew nothing, but he slowly learned, slowly gained new knowledge, and slowly prepared for his goals, allowing him to stand ready when it came time to take on his task. (CS) Slipknot may be a hardcore band with heavy instrumentals and intense singing, but their song lyrics do not lack in poetry or complex meaning.

(TS) In the song "Vermillion" by Slipknot, the lead singer talks about his obsessive love for someone similarly to Romeo’s debilitating (thesaurus) love of his dream girl. (SD) Romeo, the handsome but unfortunate young man, (appositive) loves this girl from afar, imagining being in the presence of such beauty. (CM) Unfortunately, Romeo’s feelings are not mutual, causing him to weaken, to shut himself in his room, to find sanctuary in himself. (CM) He has a love for this girl that is so strong it seems like he would make any notion, perform any task, or dare to take on any challenge to obtain her; she is his world. (SD) One of the lines in the song "Vermillion" is “She is home to me”, depicting how the band’s songwriter cannot feel at home without this person. (CM) He has feelings so deep for her that when she is not around to love him, he doesn’t have that safe, secure, and relaxed feeling people acquire when they rest at home. (CM) Romeo feels the same way about his crush, but because she does not have similar feelings for him, he tries to create a safe and secure feeling by closing himself in his room, but ultimately, it only results in making him more depressed. (CS) The song and the play each contain love in the words, but the love scenario isn’t the same, since unlucky Romeo is miserable without someone to return his love.

(TS) When people think of the band Slipknot, they don’t expect such meaningful music from such scary looking people. (CM) Because of the way this band dresses, they scare and intimidate some people who have no idea what they are missing out on. (CM) These musicians take the time to write songs, edit songs, and perfect songs, so when their fans ponder over their lyrics, they realize the messages they send in their music. (CS) Slipknot’s clever and intricate messages sent through their music can be applied to different types of life experiences, different types of stories, and even different types of novels and plays, because this band works hard to complete masterpieces.

Self Assessment
One of the writing skills I continue to work on in my essays is making each sentence as “word weed” free as possible. Unnecessary words can easily confuse the reader, forcing him to reread the sentence, undoing the flow of my essays. I think the strong point for this essay is the in-depth description of the band’s writing style and lyrics. The essay expresses my view clearly so people can understand the way I feel about Slipknot’s songs and the way I interpret their messages. I think one of the weak points of my essays is how often I repeat certain words. I try to space out how often I use a word by finding an adjective for it, but sometimes words have few adjectives, making it nearly impossible not to sound a little repetitive. I would give myself a B+ on this essay.