“Slice” by Five for Fighting
Have you heard this song? It’s an absolute banger; take a listen if you haven’t heard it before:
Five for Fighting’s one of those “bands” (it’s a songwriter technically, more on that in a second) that I couldn’t listen to when I discovered them in 8th grade/Freshmen year of High School because I was too cool. Punk and Metal only please (yes I feel the irony as well).
Sometime last year I went on a deep 90’s/2000’s dive with Counting Crows (I know, don’t say it), the Fray, Goo Goo Dolls, Dave Matthews’ Band, and more. This is when I collided with Five for Fighting, and he’s so good. I’m pretty certain angels in heaven will sound pretty similar to Five for Fighting. His song, Slice, carried me through a tough workday the other day and I wanted to write about it as my monthly song:
Can you image that slice of time
Rock ‘n roll was young, people stood in line
To hear music that played into their lives
That you could carry ’til the day you died
Released in 2009/10, he’s asking if you can think back to a simpler time, maybe, a more inspirational one even. Music played into you without all the cell phones, computers, Bluetooth speakers, just radio, records and live music, that’s it.
Hey man sing me a song
When we were everyone
We were more than just a slice
Of American Pie
(If you don’t head bang this part of the song, are you even living?)
Rockers of Five for Fighting’s caliber seem to always have these inspirational patriotic anthems, but what does this mean? This reminds me of what people think Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA is really about (what it’s actually about is certainly a fun topic for another day). Slice is saying although we as Americans are from all walks of life, generations, cultures, and destinies, we still share a path. We always have something we can share.
This is when I decided to read into Five for Fighting. Do you know anything about the guy? This stud is named Vladimir John Odrasik III. His record company said the name Odrasik wouldn’t sell; he joked on the band name “marketing ploy” but he landed on the hockey penalty term Five for Fighting, which I appreciate. On top of being a singer-songwriter, John is also a columnist, sports commentator, political activist, and a philanthropist. He has a degree in Applied Science and Mathematics.
While all these things make John unique, he’s still singing about commonalities of all of us as Americans:
How can you be as nice as me
You’re not from the same slice as me
Where do we go from here my friend
Is this the way our story ends
I can’t help but feel this in today’s perspective. I have my morals and causes you’ve heard me speak on if you’ve read a previous blog, but I always do my best to remain politically ambiguous. What boils my blood is how much people sit in their divisive opinions, while discourse could carry us so much further then we could ever imagine from where we are today. I am different from you. Vladimir John Odrasik III is certainly different from both of us. We have our opinions, sure, but can’t we all admit that we don’t have the perfect answers to everything?
In these divisive times and gray areas, certainly the best path forward is working together, and more likely than not, the best fix for situations is something in the middle rather than hard pressed option a) or b). Just floating a dream — don’t mind me.
