Pop Punk Goes Omniscient Narrator

As you probably know from reading my blog or following my Instagram @angelinasingerauthor – music and writing are my bread and butter. I write posts for Inkitt, as well as music and concert reviews for Boston Sports Desk and Motif Magazine.

But something I noticed lately, is that there’s actually an interesting cross-section between some of my favorite pop punk songs, and the stories they tell. More specifically, the narration is omniscient (that is, the story is told from the view of someone watching the story happen, almost like an eye-witness). This is usually signaled by third-person pronouns used in the song (ie. he, she, they, etc.).

Not only is this something I enjoy in the literary world, but it’s also really fun to hear in some of my favorite pop songs. Below, I’ll share some of my favorite examples:

#1: Nobody’s Home (Avril Lavigne)

Although early eras of Avril often have a tendency to be a bit too angsty for her own good, she really nails this story. “Her feelings she hides / her dreams she can’t find / she’s losing her mind / she’s falling behind / she can’t find her place” etc. show this extremely well. There’s a very poignant story here, and I really love this approach she took.

Sonically, there’s also some great string-section accompaniment, bouncing fluidly off of the electric guitars. Listen to it HERE to see what I mean.

I took this picture during her more recent Head Above Water Tour. She puts on a phenomenal show!

#2: Remembering Sunday (All Time Low)

This song is so emotional in the best way. Telling the story of love and loss, the present tense brings about some very deep feelings. Told by the words of expert songwriter Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low, it really resonates with their fans. It’s not a new song, but somehow it’s stood the test of time. With just the acoustic guitar, it really feels extra raw and authentic. Listen to it HERE.

There’s something interesting that happens about midway through the song, as the narration moves from omniscient narration, back to first-person. The effect it has is haunting.

For example, verse 1 is omniscient: “He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes / Started making his way past two in the morning / He hasn’t been sober for days / Leaning now into the breeze / Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees / They had breakfast together / But two eggs don’t last / Like the feeling of what he needs.”

Then the chorus moves to POV one: “Forgive me, I’m trying to find / My calling, I’m calling at night / I don’t mean to be a bother / But have you seen this girl? / She’s been running through my dreams / And it’s driving me crazy, it seems / I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

It’s extremely powerful, and the tense changes layered against the POV changes are so surreal.

Fun Fact: The love interest of my latest book, Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember is based visually off of Alex Gaskarth. You can find that book HERE.

#3: Brick By Boring Brick (Paramore)

By now you’re probably seeing what I mean, so I’ll cut to the chase with this one. In this strikingly-beautiful fantasy land that I was so affected by that I designed my college graduation cap after it (pictured below), Hayley tells the story of a young girl trying to escape a bad situation. Like a slightly-darker Alice in Wonderland situation, it’s edgy and creative. Watch it HERE.

Similarly to “Remembering Sunday” as seen above, it does change tenses:

Verse 1 omniscient: “She lives in a fairy tale / Somewhere too far for us to find / Forgotten the taste and smell / Of the world that she’s left behind / It’s all about the exposure the lens I told her / The angles were all wrong now / She’s ripping wings off of butterflies”

Chorus, POV 2: “Keep your feet on the ground / When your head’s in the clouds / Well go get your shovel / And we’ll dig a deep hole / To bury the castle, bury the castle / Go get your shovel / And we’ll dig a deep hole / To bury the castle, bury the castle.”

And yes, I really did graduate from college with magenta hair. The way I see it, you only live once!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little deep-dive into the cross-section between the music and literary worlds. I could’ve thought up more examples probably, but I won’t ramble on about it any further LOL. Thank you for reading if you have this far ❤

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Rolling with the Punches – How to Cope When Plans Get Derailed

My biggest dreams are to be a bestselling author and a world-renowned music journalist. Of course, I’m well aware that the first thing is probably about as likely as becoming a pop star and the second thing takes years to accomplish.

Since those ideas obviously fell through (shocker, I know right?), I’ve been looking for remote work through all the typical job finding sites, preferably for something like copywriting or marketing. And due to probably a bunch of different variables, that just hasn’t happened for me yet either.

And I’m not giving up, but I’ve come to the realization that I might have to accept that there will be detours in my professional planning. No matter what happens in the future, I gotta be okay with where I am now (very zen-like of me, isn’t it?).

So here’s where I’m at, and what I’ve been doing lately to make the waiting productive and not a waste of time:

#1: I’ve embraced freelancing as a legitimate option.

At least for now, working for myself has been really really great, and I’ll be able to pad my resume for later. Hopefully the world stops imploding soon enough, and at that point, I’ll land a full-time gig. Or hey, if the freelancing thing goes well enough, maybe I won’t even have to at all! As my uncle put it once, I could work for someone irritating and make less money, or work for myself and make more money. The choice is pretty obvious!

As far as what kind of freelancing I’ve been doing, it varies. Sometimes it’s an article for Motif Magazine, Inkitt Writer’s Blog, or an edited manuscript for a client. No matter what it is, I’m totally busy enough with whatever I find and it’s actually really fun! I’ll attach some links to my work below if you’re curious about it.

Motif Magazine: https://motifri.com/author/angelinasinger/

Inkitt Writer’s Blog: https://degfhkjgfjhf.inkitt.com/author/angelinasinger/

I’ve also still been working on my latest book, Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change (Book 2 of The Rewind Duology), but I’m not expecting that to be a full-time venture anytime soon necessarily. So I’m diverting my attention to these gigs full time (for now).

#2: Trust God.

‘nough said, right? My faith in Jesus plays a massive role here, because it helps me remember that even when I’m convinced my life is spinning out of control (or worse yet, not going anywhere at all), He’s got it covered. It’s a pretty good feeling, once you retrain yourself to think through struggles that way. So just hang in there best you can until things start to change 🙂

#3: Be nice to yourself.

Lilly’s not worried – you shouldn’t be either!

Don’t blame yourself for not having a job yet (especially these days). There are so many totally valid variables that are making the job search harder than it’s ever been. Maybe the company you want to work for isn’t hiring right now. Or the one that is being extra picky in their hiring process because as it is, they have a shoestring budget. But the overwhelming consensus us that it’s not you. Everything is just tough right now, and that’s okay.

In the meantime, fill your time with productive action steps that could lead to getting out of your rut sooner versus later. As for me, I took a leap of faith and joined the Editorial Freelancers Association – a paid database that connects freelancers with people who need their services. It was a bit more expensive to join than I typically would have been okay paying for, but I think it was a smart investment. Point is, do things that are productive, even if it feels like a tangent.

In my limited experience, sometimes side quests end up leading you right back to the main path anyway 😉

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