Hello friends,
The message. A little tricky to clearly articulate. Let me give it a shot:
Optimism, hope, despair, helplessness. Fear and resolution. My songs are intentionally built to have layers of meanings. Hopefully you find your layer. However, there are underlying themes that will resonate with some and not others. My earlier songs were filled with a helpless undertone - as if the world were driving me and I was complaining about it. My new material (coming soon) has a stronger tone. We're no less fucked, but we can't just go down sitting. We should eventually come to grips with the fact that we'll likely have to punch someone in the face to get the world to change. There are powers set on dismantling what we all hold dear, and writing songs with this as a red thread makes me feel more powerful than just listening to NPR and swearing to no one.
It will, and should, sound like a cop out to say that my music is my contribution. Yes, right now I'm basically writing to myself. But this will change. With time and conviction, others will find me and I them. My music has already hit home with some, and it will with others as the message is more eloquently crafted and focused and pertinent to what we all are going through. Here's hoping you get something from what you hear or see on my various sites. Whether it's a laughing at how entirely worthless the Nick Arneson Variety Hour is or relating deeply to the hopeless and lost undertone of At the Age - my hope is that I can make you think and feel something.
Finally, my message really is not for everyone. I don't want to alienate, but there is plenty of woeful, depressing music out there for the 18 - 24 year old crowd. My music is about the struggle of raising a family, facing a world on the brink, succeeding at life and not abandoning my creative side because the social pressure encourages me to hang it up. Chances are, the aforementioned demographic won't relate, yet. Don't despair though, you'll get old too. Then you can dig into my entire catalog and live it all over again.
Also, for those of you who have chosen to dedicate your time to hating entire swaths of people based on superficial or artificial reasons, or being so closed off that you feel compelled to lash out and attack those that prefer a stable, civil and morale society - your time is coming. Better get it out while you can.
Thanks all.
Nick