What's Up |

Person bends forward and places one foot onto a block in a charcoal drawing.

Inspired by my younger self blog #4

What’s Up

“And I say, hey-ey-ey
Hey-ey-ey
I said, “Hey, what’s going on?“

Who doesn’t remember the ’90s hit by 4 Non Blondes?
I certainly do, as I was living those lyrics in my own skin.

This short story is about growth, from youthful idealism, through disillusionment, to hope.

Youthful Confusion and Searching for Meaning

When 4 Non Blondes released their album in 1993, I was in my early twenties, disoriented and inexperienced in the adult world, grappling with the challenges of growing up and searching for purpose, ”feeling a little peculiar”.

“I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man
For whatever that means” (“What’s Up”)

A Night to Remember: Seeing 4 Non Blondes Live

On November 14, 1994, I went to see the San Francisco band 4 Non Blondes at the iconic Sala Aqualung in Madrid Río. Linda Perry, the vocalist and lyricist, was in her mid-twenties, spreading her voice loudly, screaming from the top of her lungs. Oh, what a night. Even without fully understanding the meaning of the lyrics, I was immediately touched by this bewildering poetry and felt I wasn’t alone.

“And I try, oh my God, do I try
I try all the time
In this institution
And I pray, oh my God, do I pray
I pray every single day
For a revolution” (“What’s Up”)

The Power of Music: An Anthem of Hope and Solidarity

The song became an anthem of empowerment and solidarity, urging us to seek hope and revolution despite frustration and uncertainty.

Music has the power to move, touch, and resonate deeply within us, as it can be perceived immediately by our senses. The mathematical foundations of music, the relationships between numbers, harmony, and musical scales discovered by the Pythagoreans, link music to the human soul, elevating it to a cosmic order beyond our everyday experience.

Longing and Escape: The Emotional Impact of Music

A hand-drawn sketch showing a sequence of five blue rectangular shapes in a row, each with a brown ball inside or near it, illustrating motion over five seconds.

In the first rectangle, the ball rests in the bottom left corner.

In the second, the ball is tilting upwards, as if beginning to roll.

In the third and fourth rectangles, the ball rolls steadily to the right, with motion lines indicating increasing speed.

In the fifth rectangle, the right edge is jagged and broken, and the ball has burst out, trailing dynamic motion lines to the right, suggesting it has shot out at high speed.

The background is a light beige, and the overall style is loose and energetic, capturing the progression of movement over time. — A hand-drawn sketch showing a sequence motion over five seconds.

Whenever I listen to my old friend’s band, a deep melancholic feeling washes over me, and often a tear falls.

“And I remember in my mind
They say I’m daydreaming
Is it all that it seems
Or am I all the things
I’m looking for, yeah

And I see what I see
A new world is over me
So I’ll reach up to the sky
And imagine I’m a
Spaceman
In another place and time
I guess I’m looking for a
Brand new place
I remember living in a
Different life
Is there better life for me?” (“Spaceman”)

These early feelings of longing and escape, the sense of distance, the search for something more meaningful, and the imagining of an alternate existence have accompanied me ever since. This aligns with how music often evokes longing by validating our desire for connection, change, or peace, offering an emotional escape from difficult realities.

A triptych of charcoal drawings tells a visual story titled “The Jump.”

Left panel: A nude, muscular figure stands at the edge of a platform, head bowed, with a red spot on the side of their head. A translucent teal square overlays a cube shape in front of the figure, suggesting focus or contemplation.

Centre panel: The same figure, now bent over, lifts one foot onto a block, as if preparing to step up or leap. The red spot remains on the head, and a teal square highlights the foot on the block.

Right panel: The scene is mostly empty, except for a teal-tinted inset showing a pair of shoes on a plinth in the top left and a solitary red circle in the bottom right, set against a dark, shaded background.

The use of charcoal creates soft shadows and depth, while the teal and red accents draw attention to key elements, evoking a sense of anticipation, preparation, and absence or completion. — A triptych of charcoal drawings tells a story titled “The Jump.”

Still Climbing the Hill of Hope

Linda Perry’s lyrics have been a meaningful touchstone for me. Yet, I am equally inspired by the broader community of artists and poets who remind us through their work that we are not alone.

”53 years, my life is still
Tryin’ to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination, mmmmnnnnn” (“What’s Up”)

A dark charcoal background with a small inset in the upper left showing shoes on a pedestal, and a single red circle in the lower right corner. — Shoes on a plinth and a red circle inset on a dark charcoal background.

The lyric fragments are from 4 Non Blondes’ only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!.