KISS’S song “Detroit Rock City” reminds me closely of Qui Nguyen’s play “Vietgone” Qui’s parents always told him they fell in love at first sight—but really, it was just a hook up. After the fall of Saigon. In a refugee camp. In Arkansas. A kinda-true love story with a hip-hop heart.  Time Out New York called it “Exuberantly youthful… a punch-drunk mash-up of hip-hop, road movies, sex farce and Vietnamese-American history. Oh, also kick-ass fights.” I associate this play with this specific KISS song because when i hear it i think about being on the road with my friends, the person who im in love with and having the time of our lives. Its the perfect road movie song, with kiss ass scenery. The whole vibe of Vietgone is that these two characters hooked up with each other and fell in love later on along the lines. That is what KISS’s song “Detroit Rock City” is all about, getting up and going every single day, and not being worried about what IS gonna happen tomorrow.

“Hold On” by Extreme Music inflicts a direct portrayal of how my life looked only a year ago. I found myself in the darkest place I had ever been in the last 17 years of my life. I felt completely alone, and isolated from absolutely everyone in my private life. My favorite lyric of this song is ”Hey up there your arms open wide spread your wings and fly But the sun is always there to shine. The clouds don’t own the sky.” This is a direct link to my senior quote that was “She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings” by Atticus. This song is a song of hope for anyone contemplating their lives no matter what the condition of their life is. For me it was because of a controlling abusive relationship turned stalker. It is something that goes unspoken of and it happens every single day. Most victims are told it was our faults, when in fact no one is prepared for their life to be turned completely upside down. The line  “the clouds down own the sky” means that even in our darkest days there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. That although physically and emotionally scarred from the events of the past, we learn to forgive and never forget. Or else no one would be able to get on with their lives. As humans we only get one chance at living, why go through life so focused on the things of past. When we can live for today, worry about tomorrow. This song tells that there will always be a tomorrow as long as you are willing enough to fight and see it through completely to the end. I know I did and never looked back, and that choice saved my life. This song is an anthem for those losing that hope, that no one is ever alone.