This was the first paper of the year that I wrote for my English Honors II class
at school (I'm in 10th grade).  We had to write about something that changed our
life.  I chose buying the Goo Goo Dolls CD and the paper earned me a 100%-A. 
Brace yourself, it is long!




I've always wondered what I was going to be when I ‘grow up'.  I've had many
different ideas about this throughout my almost 16 years of living.  In first
grade I wanted to be a dancer,  an ice skater (like Kristi Yalmagoochie) in 2th
grade, and a teacher (like my mom) in 3rd grade.  My job description from middle
school was to be a "multi-talented famous person," meaning I would act (like
Julia Roberts), direct movies (like Barbra Streisand), sing (like Gloria
Estefan) and of course write all of my own material (like Richard Marx).  A job
that I would have a lot of fun with is being a child care provider.  I really
like kids (I'm the best babysitter in the world), and I think that it is neat to
get to help ‘raise them' but not actually be that parent.  I could definitely
see myself being a full time ‘nanny' if nothing else works out for me.  I have
also always wanted to be a secretary-type of person (believe it or not) since I
love to organize stuff and talk to people (on the phone).  It would be okay with
me to be a secretary if I can't get a job doing what I really love.  At some
point or another being a professional in these occupations has been a dream of
mine, but my love for one thing is the determining factor for what I have
officially decided that I want to do. . .





	I have always loved music.  Ever since I can remember I have loved to listen to
the radio, CDS and tapes while singing along.  I got my first radio (which is
very cool metallic purple and blue) at a young age.  I still like to listen to
Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond,  Mannheim Steamroller, Wilson Phillips and Cher
when I hear them.  I also still sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" every time I
hear Cher on the radio, since that was my very first ‘favorite song'.  I will
always love these ‘classic' musicians.


	Every time I hear a new song it impacts me and gives me a new feeling about
music and the music world.  When I hear N'Sync (the five worst guys in the
world) or Celine Dion (the biggest witch in the world) I always think that the
music world is crazy to let such unworthy people make what unfortunately passes
as music.  When I hear Richard Marx, Gloria Estefan, the Backstreet Boys, David
Lanz, Ty Herndon or the 17th Avenue All-Stars, I know that there are definitely
talented musicians and good music out there.  Some music that I hear by people
like Ricky Martin, Shania Twain, and 98 Degrees is just okay.   Whenever I hear
ANY music (I love ALL music), I remember how it made me feel, and I know that is
how I would or would not like people to feel about me when I sing and they hear
my song. . .





	When I first heard the song "Iris" I started crying so hard because it was the
most awesome, sweet song I'd ever heard. The song was very popular. (At one
point it was number one in five formats.)  The video was also very popular,
hitting number one on MTV and getting lots of play on VH1, too.  I sort of got
tired of hearing the song and seeing the video everyday, and I have to admit
that I did fall a bit into the "Goo Goo Dolls stink" crowd for about 20 minutes. 
When I finally came to my senses and decided I liked the song, I was found out
that I was afraid of a group called the Goo Goo Dolls and I didn't want to buy
their CD.  I though that "Iris" was their only good song, so I got the "City of
Angels Soundtrack" instead.  Then I heard them sing "Slide" on the American
Music Awards.  I thought that "Slide" was an awesome song, and I especially
loved the line "What you feel is what you are and what you are is beautiful,"
which is now my motto.  After hearing "Slide," I decided that I would get the
Goo Goo Dolls CD, if and only if it had both "Iris" and "Slide" on it.   The CD
"Dizzy Up The Girl" did have both songs on it, and was on sale at Wal-Mart for
$11.99, so I got it.


	Buying the Goo Goo Dolls CD, "Dizzy Up The Girl," was like the best thing I
ever did because the Goo Goo Dolls are the best band in the universe, and they
rock on and I love them very, VERY much.  When I got the CD, it also changed my
life because I now officially know that I want to be a singer and have the
coolest band it the world, just like Johnny Rzeznik. . .





	Johnny Rzeznik, Robby Takac and Mike Malanin are the members of the band called
the Goo Goo Dolls.  (I love the Goo Goo Dolls!)   They write, sing and perform
rock music that totally rocks my world.  I love their music because it is very
original, positive, and it makes me feel very good when I hear it.  When people
hear my music, I want them to think the same things about me and my songs.


	Another thing that I love about the Goo Goo Dolls is that they write their own
material.  Johnny and Robby sometimes write by themselves, and sometimes the
whole band is involved with writing just one song.  I think it is very cool when
the artists write their own music instead of singing other people's words
because it shows that they really know what music is all about.  Musicians who
sing their own material are truly singing from their hearts, and they know what
is trying to be said in the song because it is what they want to say.  These
musicians also really understand music because they know how to fit all of the
different instruments together with the different harmonies of the voice. 
Writing your own music just shows that you have so much more musical talent than
just having a good voice and being able to sing.  I plan on singing my own words
that I write and having people help me to write the music to go along with them. 
Writing your own material just makes the music more personal and special.


	The Goo Goo Dolls are also a special band because every one that is involved
with the band likes each other.  Johnny and Robby are best friends and love each
other like brothers.  They also both attribute their success to each other. 
Johnny says "I couldn't have done it without Robby and he couldn't have done it
without me."  When I finally get a band of my own, I will know that it is
because of the band that I will get to have fun doing what I have always loved. 
Bands also need to have people that love and support them no matter what, and
the Goo Goo Dolls definitely have some cool people that have stuck with them
since they first got together in 1985.  These people have helped them through
all of the ups and downs of producing six albums in 12 years.  In 1987 the Goo
Goo Dolls self-titled album was released and vent practically nowhere.  Then
their next album titled "Jed" from 1989 went almost nowhere.  When they released
"Hold Me Up" in 1991, they were still very un-known, but they did have loyal
fans and were touring.  In 1993 when they signed with Warner Brother records,
the Goo Goo Dolls were finally beginning to get noticed since Warner Brother
Records is a much better record company with promotion.  Finally, in 1995, the
Goo Goo Dolls were officially with Warner Brother Records, and on their fifth
album their writing and playing had come so far that people started to know
their name.  (Ironically "Name" is the title of their ‘break through' song.) 
Then when they got their song, "Iris" on the City of Angels Soundtrack and put
out their sixth album "Dizzy Up The Girl" in 1998, the Goo Goo Dolls finally hit
it big.  So, now that you know how the Goo Goo Dolls came to be, you see how
important it is to have people who will always support you.  I hope to have a
lot of people that love me and support me when I am a musician, just like the
Goo
Goo Dolls.


	The Goo Goo Dolls are also awesome because they love what they are doing and
because they don't care what anyone thinks of them.  They just play awesome
music for the fun and love of it and would love it just as much even if they
didn't have six CDS and millions of adoring fans.  My dream is just to get to
sing with a band.  I don't really care if I ever get to be famous, just as long
as I get to sing.  I wrote a poem about this and here it is. . .





I Just Want To Sing


If I never win, if I'm not number one,


If I never show up on a cover or in an article,


I won't care - I just want to sing!


If I never get to be on TV on somebody's talk show,


If I never get to dress up and wear crazy style clothes,


I won't care - I just want to sing!


If I never have a fan club and get tons of letters,


If I never sign autographs with a fancy pen,


I won't care - I just want to sing!


If I never get invited to big parties to eat fancy 
food,


If I never get my own limo to ride around in,


I won't care - I just want to sing!


If I never do a show on stage for a million screaming fans,


If I never hear my voice singing you all the words,


I won't care - I just want to sing!


Music is the universal language of love that we
can all understand and music makes the world go round.





So my goal is to be a singer and only a singer someday.  The Goo Goo Dolls
played a major part in making that my goal because of their incredible talent
and awesome personalities.  I know that I would love to be as awesome as the Goo
Goo Dolls someday, but because of them I know that it is okay if I am not. 
Thanks to the Goo Goo Dolls I know that my career goal is to become a musician
that loves singing, writes her own material and enjoys what she does no matter
what other people think.




P.S.  Buying the Goo Goo Dolls CD also changed my life by influencing how I
spend my time and money and how I act.  Here's some examples:




*I now spend a lot of time on the Internet surfing for information and pictures
on the GGDs.


*I now spend money buying GGD concert tickets, CDs and merchandise.


*I spend at least 45 minutes a day listening to their music.


*I watch MTV and VH1 more, just so I can see the Goo Goo Dolls.


*I talk to computers (GOOd computer brings me GGD stuff, GOOd printer prints it
well)


*I drive my friends crazy by talking about how cute and awesome and talented and
incredible the Goo Goo Dolls are.


*I like mustard on my sandwiches.


*I write English papers about how they changed my life.






This is a peom I wrote about them. . .It's called "an ode to the Cute Stuffs"
because I'm not really allowed to listen to them so I call them the "Cute
Stuffs" instead of saying "Goo Goo Dolls".




An Ode to the Cute Stuffs




The Goo Goo Dolls are the universe's greatest band.


They are sooo cool that I'd give anything to shake their hands.


The Goo Goo Dolls are three guys
who get lots of love, happy screams and catch every girl's eyes!




The most awesome guy in the world is Johnny.


He is the lead singer and guitar player whose last name is Rzeznik.


Johnny is incredibly talented and so adorable, making him a total honey!


He has definitely forever ‘dizzyd up' this chick!




The guy with the perfect soft hair is Robby.


He has a wild personality and unique voice.


Robby is barefoot on stage but has shoes on in the lobby.


When it comes to coolest bassist he's my choice!




The beat of the band is Mike.


He plays the drums and is kinda shy.


Mike is the outstanding drummer I like.


He's cute, sweet and nice - what a guy!




The extra guitar guy's name is Nathan.


There's also a keyboardist, I think his name is Dave.


I don't really know much about them,


‘cuz they get lost in all the rave.




The Goo Goo Dolls play music called rock,


but they also are very sweet and sensitive.


Whenever they are in my mind ‘goo goo' is all I can talk.


Say "Goo Goo Dolls! Goo Goo Dolls! Goo Goo Dolls!" and I go hyper-active.




The band that I love is the Goo Goo Dolls.


I have their pictures plastered on my walls.


The Goo Goo Dolls make the best music in the world.


They make me happy, amazed, hyper, smile and make my head whirl.




The Goo Goo Dolls are phenomenal always.


I listen to their music all 24 hours a day, all year - 365 days.


Johnny, Robby and Mike are the best guys and GGD are the best letters.


The number one saying in the world is "I love the Goo Goo Dolls FOREVER!"





For a poetry unit I did in my english honors class, I chose Johnny as my "poet". 
I had to analyze 5 of his "poems" and research him and write like him in the
unit.  I also had to present one of his poems to the class.  I presented "You
Know What I Mean".  This paper was kind of the end of the unit wrap up and I had
to write about his style of writing poetry.  (Fay put a little news blurb about
me on her web page on 9/22. . .it was pretty cool!)




Johnny Rzeznik is the world's best writer.  He puts words together beautifully
to make a poem so incredible that it has to be a song.  Rzeznik doesn't usually
plan out what he writes.  His songs are not meant to be very deep and full of
poetic devices.  Rzeznik just writes, so whatever comes out of his mind and ends
up on the paper is what the reader gets.  In interviews he says, "I just take
the song however it comes to me."  When asked what his secret to writing is,
Rzeznik said, "Post-it-notes.  I scratch little skeletons of ideas onto them and
stick them around my house, and look at them later to see what they make me
think about."  Rzeznik's songs are usually very universal in that they are about
something everyone can relate to.  His songs also touch a lot of people in a
very special way.  Rzeznik's writing is very special, and he is the best writer
that I can think of.


	When I first found out about Johnny Rzeznik, it wasn't because I was reading
his poems in a book.  I was listening to his songs on the radio since Rzeznik is
the lead singer, guitar player, and songwriter for the band, the Goo Goo Dolls.  
I heard the words to the songs and I loved how they made me feel.  I read the
words in the CD booklet, and I thought that they were very touching lyrics.  I
was impressed that Rzeznik wrote his own songs and music.    When I looked a
little deeper into Rzeznik's writing I found that he is amazing at writing
‘poetry'.


	All of Rzeznik's songs contain one or more poetic devices.  I have found
alliteration, allusion, couplets, epithets, imagery, irony, metaphors,
parallelism, personification, onomatopoeia, refrains, similes, stanzas, and 
symbolism by reading his songs more closely and analyzing them.   Some examples
of poetic devices I found are listed next.  In the song "Black Balloon" the
first line contains alliteration because it says, "Baby's black balloon makes
her fly."  There are couplets in the song "Acoustic #3" and one of them reads,
"And the least they ever gave you/ was the most you ever knew."  "You Know What
I Mean" has parallelism in two of its stanzas.  They read:




	"It's been a long, dark, lonely hall
        

	Between the cracks I can read the scrawl
        

	It's written down in a crooked rhyme
        

	That sold me out before my time . . .
        

	"It's been a long, dark, lonely hall
        

	Between the cracks I can read the scrawl
        

	Find a place that feels like home
        

	You know I, I get some clue to where I'm going"




The line "He said that Jesus Christ was just like a cop/ you know, you never
know when they'll come" from the song "On The Lie" is a simile.  As you can see,
there are many poetic devices that can be found in the lines of a song by
Rzeznik.  Of course, rhyming and rhythm are found the most often.  Rzeznik also
writes many different kinds of poems like free verse, ballad and lyric poetry. 
Rzeznik's songs all have a specific tone that they convey toward the reader. 
Some of his songs are happy and some are sad.  Some songs are simply
just-for-fun while others are filled with emotions.  Emotion plays a big role in
what the theme of the poem is and what poetic devices are used.


	Rzeznik has a wide variety of themes in his songs.  Some are fun and playful
while others are deep and meaningful.  His songs are mainly about real life
situations, events and feelings.  His themes are universal in that they apply to
almost everyone.  Since all people go through just about everything that goes
along with being human, then almost anyone can relate to a song written by
Rzeznik.  Most of Rzeznik's songs have similar context and imply that they are
written about his own life and own experiences.  All of his songs kind of
connect to each other and tell the story of Rzeznik's life and experiences, yet
they are all different and totally unrelated.  The themes of Rzeznik's songs
cover pretty much anything.


	Whenever I hear Rzeznik sing one of his songs (which is everyday!), I kind of
go into a "World of Goo" filled with GOOd things that make me feel very happy,
hyper, emotional and all GOOey.  I love the feeling I get when I listen to
Rzeznik sing me his words.  I think about what he is saying and how it relates
to me.  I always have a Goo Goo Dolls song stuck in my head.  Sometimes when I'm
doing something or hear someone say something, a certain line from one of his
songs pops into my head that pretty much sums up what happened, what I'm feeling
or what I wish I would have said or done.  Rzeznik's words (and music) say a lot
to his fans and tell a lot about him.  Many of his fans probably don't take the
time to really think about what the song is ‘saying' because they get so caught
up in how cute and amazing the Goo Goo Dolls are. But, a lot of fans also relate
to his songs and are very moved by them.   Sometimes a song can even change
someone's life.  I am glad that Rzeznik writes his songs from his heart in
whatever way they come to him.  This makes his songs very special and extremely
excellent.  Johnny Rzeznik's ability to write phenomenally well while not even
trying to is what makes him the world's (actually the universe's) best writer.