Day Twenty-Seven

[aruan]

From some soundcheck somewhere in the world at some point last spring. By the looks of it, it was good. That boy could wear no other expression but a smile for the rest of life as he knows it and it wouldn't be long enough.

Gone by Chased Amy

All winter long, Justin had been talking up his phrase “dirty pop.” It even made it into that interview for the “Bye Bye Bye” video: “Say it once and boom! It’s a trend.” He’d gotten so excited; talking about this new direction he had in his head. He talked it up so much it got you excited, too. When he pulled out his guitar and sat next to you on the bus, you gladly put your own notebook to the side, pushed the infant melodies out of your head, and helped him work through harmonies.

You knew this wouldn’t be ready for Strings. The thoughts were too nebulous, the beats too raw. But you could also tell that this had the potential to be big. Really big.

Huge.

And you told him so. He beamed, his excitement palpable in his smile. He accepted the hearty squeeze of your arm around his shoulder and nearly vibrated with anticipation:

“I can’t wait for Wade to hear this!”

You forced yourself not to let your smile fade as you nodded your agreement.

Uhm, yeah. I wasn't in fandom when the mess that must (by all accounts) have been the process of making, marketing, and metering the Celebrity record and its singles. Personally, I was astonished and still harbor my own bit of outrage that Up Against the Wall was never released as such. In my more bitter moments, the way Celebrity happened almost seems like an orchestrated platform to launch Justin's solo venture. Might I have issues with JC being shortchanged in face of the group and their supposed niche? I wouldn't tell you you're out of line for mentioning it.