Angela White: Personal Choice 2: Rogue Waves

Recently, I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands, Brand New, in concert. I was really looking forward to this concert, as I have been listening to them since i was in the eighth grade. When the day finally came, my roommate and I made our way through the destruction caused by the nor'easter to the Norva in Norfolk and waited outside to be among the first people let in. The concert was magnificent, and they played what has become one of my favorite songs of all time, "Play Crack the Sky". This song, for some reason, has reached out to me since the very first time I heard it. On the surface, the song is about a ship sinking. In actuality, the song is about a failing relationship. I find the sinking ship more appealing. My favorite line in the song comes in the first verse in the song, when Jesse (the lead singer) sings the words "they call them rogues, they travel fast and alone, 100 foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong". This line is my favorite, not because I feel I can relate to it, but because it shows how the world can be as destructive as it is beautiful. The idea that God created something so beautiful, yet so harmful is a harsh realization. The rest of this band's music has strong themes about dealing with belief in God, but for me, this feels like the strongest point made in all of their music. If you would like to hear the song, you can find an excellent video of a live performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug63Gdj_RJ0&fmt=18