Songs for the People by Frank Gracia

Songs for the People

By Frank Gracia

I apologize in advance for not knowing all your names and not choosing a song or poem for all of you. I have chosen songs for people that have stood out for me and hope the rest of you are not offended. I would consider it a disservice to choose a song for someone I barely know. What I have decided to do was pick the people that I think I have gotten clues to their personality and have also done songs for characters in my writings.

Andrew: What would I choose for a fellow U2 fan? While stating the obvious, I chose Vertigo because your life seems to be very similar.

To the guy who sits on my left side I chose the song “The Mark Has Been Made,” by NIN. It is a nice piece without lyrics, but a haunting flow that goes into a hard upward rise and ends with the same eeriness it began with. It was chosen because there are no words that I can use that would properly delve into personality, but given that you are a fan of NIN, I thought it proper to pick a song from there collection of talent.

To the track star I picked out “Pokarama” by Weird Al Yankovic. This song is a medley of different other songs done to a high beat polka style frenzy. You have a well rounded sense of humor and you have a great talent for comedy.

To the wrestler with that impressive number of broken bones sustained through life, I chose “I Want It All,” by Queen. This song speaks to your competitive nature and pursuit of dreams.

            To our fearless leader I have chosen “We Are All Made of Stars,” By Moby. This song is about growth, change, and perseverance through challenges. The role of a teacher is to inspire new growth in knowledge, talent, and ability. To challenge the students to do what was impossible yesterday.

            For my character John from Q&A I chose “Golotha Tenement Blues,” by Machines of Loving Grace. This song speaks to John’s stone eyed calm and instinctual intensity that he brings to his work. The interrogation John conducted that started with a simple question and ended with a bloody mess that was just another day on the job.

            I now feel the need to be a little arrogant and choose a song for just for myself, but I will be moderately arrogant and choose two songs for the simple reason that I am aware of all my personalities. When I am in a good completive mood the song that firsts comes to the foreground is “The Name of the Game,” by The Crystal Method. The song that plays when I am down and out is “The Man Who Sold the World,” by Nirvana.