{"id":312,"date":"2014-12-15T19:54:05","date_gmt":"2014-12-16T03:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/?p=312"},"modified":"2016-01-19T18:24:44","modified_gmt":"2016-01-20T02:24:44","slug":"explain-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Explain Yourself!"},"content":{"rendered":"

As observant readers know, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about the meaning behind the lyrics I write. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking lately about explaining myself, explaining why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain myself, via blog. I was almost derailed, though, as I read the introduction to a book of lyrics by one of my favourite artists (Brian Molko of Placebo<\/a>). Brian doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even like to have his lyrics written out for people to read and, whilst I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share that particular dislike, the reasons he provided made sense. Suddenly, I felt like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already put so much out there just by providing lyrics<\/a>…But here I am, explaining myself. Oddly, the thing that has me finally writing up what I hope will be a comprehensive guide to why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to explain what\/whom lyrics are about is the decision to actually do a little explaining as part of the release of my band<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Each to Each<\/a> EP. No, I know, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Welcome to the chaos of my brain!<\/p>\n

\"Loki's<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, without further preface:<\/p>\n

Why I Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Like To Explain My Lyrics<\/strong><\/p>\n

(A list I scribbled whilst on the tube)<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the only person who loved a song and found meaning in it and then read or heard the band talking about what they meant by it and was completely put off the song or confused…and it ceased to be meaningful to me. Sometimes, for the sake of being fed by art, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand what the artist intended.<\/li>\n
  2. Lyrics ought to stand on their own, in the context of a song, without need for explanation. Writing them without intent to explain them keeps me from taking sloppy shortcuts. Because…<\/li>\n
  3. In an ideal world, my songs are all over the place and people are hearing them without explanation. And…<\/li>\n
  4. People are finding their own connection to the lyrics, their own meaning. Mine matters and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something to be said for authorial intent, but who am I to deny you the meaning you find? People are, I believe, most likely to find a meaning that speaks to their understanding and their context or to find, in those things that they connect with that are outside their context, a way to open their minds and hearts.<\/li>\n
  5. Sometimes, the feelings that are captured in lyrics are fleeting. They might last only as long as it takes me to write. They might even be mostly worked out but just a pushy ghost whispering words in my heart by the time I have a moment to write. If I was hurt by you or doubted you for one brief moment, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no reason to have you feel hurt or upset every time you hear a song that was written in that moment.\n

    \"Bowie<\/a><\/p>\n

    On a related note…<\/p><\/li>\n

  6. Lyrics, like other art forms, sometimes dramatise a feeling or an experience. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to help evoke a massive emotion in just a few minutes; we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have years of building up the emotional context. (Or maybe I realised the best words to get the emotion and<\/em> the rhyme\/metre is to use a word that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit more than things strictly, literally were. Ah, artistic license…)\n

    \"Little<\/a><\/p>\n

    This leads to two reasons I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to tell you the story behind a song:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an authentic emotion I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m describing, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that every moment of whatever we were doing was this massively horrible or amazing. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want anyone taking it the wrong way.<\/li>\n
    2. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want people who care about me to know that something is really that massively big because they would worry. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to worry. Better they assume it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just dramatised. (I promise, if I need help, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll reach out.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Whilst the feelings or my side of a story are mine to share, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily want to cast aspersions on or cause discomfort in the other person(s) involved. Especially if I was being a bit dramatic. Even if I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not actually hateful and I hope that even those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done the worst to me have gone on to become better people and have happy lives. (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve actually had more than one person who quite sincerely apologised to me, years after the fact, when they realised how horrid they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been.)<\/li>\n
    4. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to feed anyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s egos. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to make famous (or infamous) people who did me ache. The only way in which I let them linger in my life is by turning them into something good (lyrics, poems, characters in stories, art!). If the worst they did was break my heart by not returning a feeling, my emotions are still not here for their egos. They need to go find some other girl or boy to help them feel that, someone to whom they return the feeling so that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a healthy situation. (And, whilst some people think they know which songs are about them, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had some of my closest friends guess incorrectly about a song\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s inspiration. So, if someone tells you I wrote it about them, they probably don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about…)<\/li>\n
    5. Often, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve used the song to process through and be mostly done with an emotion or a dark moment. If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re performing, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to put myself back in that emotion to give you a good show (I am a fan of emotional authenticity). Outside that context, however, I want to be done with the feeling. (Why dwell on an old hurt when life delivers new hurts?) And some things will creep back in far too easily if I tell you what the song was about. I try to have the same policy with emotional self harm as I do with physical, which is to say I avoid it these days.<\/li>\n
    6. The meanings of the songs evolve, even for me. You know how sometimes you hear a song and it means one thing, and then you live a little more and the song evolves to mean something else? There are a few of my songs where that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened. (Bruise Me<\/a>, for instance…and I swear I intend to write about that in the tidbit I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to post about Bruise Me in the days after the album release, so read that for a concrete example.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Having told you all that, and feeling pretty sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve covered all my reasons (nine is a good number), I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to go write some tidbits about the songs on the album…give you a little peek at what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behind some of the songs.<\/p>\n

      \"Crowley<\/a><\/p>\n

      Of course, whilst I prefer not to talk about the meanings, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always interested in hearing what the songs mean to someone else. Even if, as occasionally happens, what someone hears in them is so far from my truth when I wrote them that I get confused. It gives me a chance to discover nuances and consider other perspectives. So do keep finding meaning. For me, if people are connecting and finding meaning, the songs are doing what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re meant to do, and that means my life has been worth living…worth singing about.<\/p>\n

      xx<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As observant readers know, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about the meaning behind the lyrics I write. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking lately about explaining myself, explaining why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain myself, via blog. I was almost derailed, though, as I read the introduction to a book of lyrics by one of my favourite artists (Brian Molko of Placebo). Brian doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even like to have his lyrics written out for people to read and, whilst I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share that particular dislike, the reasons he provided made sense. Suddenly, I felt like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already put so much out there just by providing lyrics…But here I am, explaining myself. Oddly, the thing that has me finally writing up what I hope will be a comprehensive guide to why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to explain what\/whom lyrics are about is the decision to actually do a little explaining as part of the release of my band\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Each to Each EP. No, I know, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Welcome to the chaos of my brain! Now, without further preface: Why I Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Like To Explain My Lyrics (A list I scribbled whilst on the tube) I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the only person who loved a song and found meaning in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,14,6,10,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists-life","category-bowie","category-inspirations-influences","category-lyrics","category-varnish"],"yoast_head":"\nExplain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Explain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As observant readers know, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about the meaning behind the lyrics I write. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking lately about explaining myself, explaining why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain myself, via blog. I was almost derailed, though, as I read the introduction to a book of lyrics by one of my favourite artists (Brian Molko of Placebo). Brian doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even like to have his lyrics written out for people to read and, whilst I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share that particular dislike, the reasons he provided made sense. Suddenly, I felt like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already put so much out there just by providing lyrics…But here I am, explaining myself. Oddly, the thing that has me finally writing up what I hope will be a comprehensive guide to why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to explain what\/whom lyrics are about is the decision to actually do a little explaining as part of the release of my band\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Each to Each EP. No, I know, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Welcome to the chaos of my brain! Now, without further preface: Why I Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Like To Explain My Lyrics (A list I scribbled whilst on the tube) I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the only person who loved a song and found meaning in […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amber Bird | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"amber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@varnishcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@varnishcentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"amber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"amber\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\"},\"headline\":\"Explain Yourself!\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\"},\"wordCount\":1243,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif\",\"articleSection\":[\"artist's life\",\"Bowie\",\"inspirations & influences\",\"lyrics\",\"varnish\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\",\"name\":\"Explain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Explain Yourself!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Amber Bird | Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f\",\"name\":\"amber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8eb6975c30ae69765b20d823b5823ec939ef0b65b4f5f2c5b1d88da86b4d877d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8eb6975c30ae69765b20d823b5823ec939ef0b65b4f5f2c5b1d88da86b4d877d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"amber\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Amber Bird is...A writer, a rockstar, and a sci-fi simulacrum...The author of the Peaceforger books (gripping near-future sci-fi), a published poet, the front of post-punk\/post-glam band Varnish, and half of transatlantic Autistic musical duo The Companions...An Autistic introvert, an idealist, a geek, and a dreamer who was (and still is) saved by others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 art and is trying to return the favor...A lapsed actor and, yes, the model for that Magic card.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.varnishcentral.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/scifiamber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/varnishcentral\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/amberbirdofficial\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Explain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Explain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog","og_description":"As observant readers know, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about the meaning behind the lyrics I write. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking lately about explaining myself, explaining why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain myself, via blog. I was almost derailed, though, as I read the introduction to a book of lyrics by one of my favourite artists (Brian Molko of Placebo). Brian doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even like to have his lyrics written out for people to read and, whilst I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t share that particular dislike, the reasons he provided made sense. Suddenly, I felt like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d already put so much out there just by providing lyrics…But here I am, explaining myself. Oddly, the thing that has me finally writing up what I hope will be a comprehensive guide to why I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to explain what\/whom lyrics are about is the decision to actually do a little explaining as part of the release of my band\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Each to Each EP. No, I know, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Welcome to the chaos of my brain! Now, without further preface: Why I Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Like To Explain My Lyrics (A list I scribbled whilst on the tube) I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the only person who loved a song and found meaning in […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/","og_site_name":"Amber Bird | Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/","article_published_time":"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"amber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@varnishcentral","twitter_site":"@varnishcentral","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"amber","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/"},"author":{"name":"amber","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f"},"headline":"Explain Yourself!","datePublished":"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/"},"wordCount":1243,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif","articleSection":["artist's life","Bowie","inspirations & influences","lyrics","varnish"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/","url":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/","name":"Explain Yourself! - Amber Bird | Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif","datePublished":"2014-12-16T03:54:05+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-20T02:24:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Loki-Cat-Brain.gif"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/15\/explain-yourself\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Explain Yourself!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/","name":"Amber Bird | Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9cda509e2d397ea9b1d9bf39ef88b58f","name":"amber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8eb6975c30ae69765b20d823b5823ec939ef0b65b4f5f2c5b1d88da86b4d877d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8eb6975c30ae69765b20d823b5823ec939ef0b65b4f5f2c5b1d88da86b4d877d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"amber"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Amber Bird is...A writer, a rockstar, and a sci-fi simulacrum...The author of the Peaceforger books (gripping near-future sci-fi), a published poet, the front of post-punk\/post-glam band Varnish, and half of transatlantic Autistic musical duo The Companions...An Autistic introvert, an idealist, a geek, and a dreamer who was (and still is) saved by others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 art and is trying to return the favor...A lapsed actor and, yes, the model for that Magic card.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.varnishcentral.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmberBirdOfficial\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/scifiamber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/varnishcentral","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/amberbirdofficial"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":628,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amberbird.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}