On the 13th of December, my town was wounded in its heart because of a mad gunman.
Of course, reactions came from everywhere. A lot of them. I love to write : the existence of this blog if a proof of that. Will I write a in-depth article on that subject? Nah. Not yet. Or maybe never. Not because everyone has done it or because everything has been said. Just because it’s a tough subject, much painful and closer to us than a mass murder in Norway or in Columbine. I’ll even go on the opposite side of the road because I think we all need to take a little breath out of this in here (here being in Belgium) and try to get a smile back on our face…
As a good music addict, once I get a jewel in my ears, I search for information and basically watch every videos I can find on the artist or the band. I was plunged into my new subject and two weeks ago, I watched a video that had been posted on a Facebook page I like.
To make the story short, I got slapped in the face. To make it long, I still have no idea if Sixx:AM’s “Skin” has been written by its members to mess up with preconceived ideas, because they have suffered of that themselves or if it’s a subtle way to tell us what might be hidden beyond the numerous tattoos they have on their… skin. What I know for sure though is that this song has a story anyway. The story of a 12 year-old little girl. Chloe.
Before explaining a few things, let me introduce you to Chloe :
Chloe lives in the United States of America, in Minnesota. As she “told” us herself, she suffers from trichotillomania, a medical condition that makes people pull their own hair. Those crisis are often caused by a depression or simply under stressful circumstances.
Take that away, Chloe’s a normal girl, you know… but sometimes, people are dumb and cruel so she has been through a lot. At school for example. She’s been called names by kids who don’t even know who she really is… No easy life, eh?
On Monday 5th December, Chloe has a day off school and is therefore at home. She makes the most of that day and records the video… and probably don’t realize what trigger the simple fact of posting it on Youtube will pull. Because the Internet community is unbelievable. The video caught people’s attention and is viewed by many people on a short period of time, making her parents a little worried at first.
The video will make its way to James Michael who will post it on his own Facebook page. Who’s James Michael? Oh… just the singer of Sixx :AM, THAT one guy you hear singing on the video. While Michael’s fans keep on raising the counter of the video, he calls his two other partners-in-crime to let them know about it. Nikki Sixx and DJ Ashba will watch and also share the video on their Facebook page, raising the counter even more.
Moreover, Chloe’s story will touch people’s heart and she will receive messages of encouragement from around the world. Some “thank you’s” too. Because that video don’t play by the “self-pity card” but is a encouragement for all people suffering from harassment. Harassment because you’re not like the others. The video is a proof that no matter what, you can walk in life with your head up high through the ordeals that life puts ahead of us from an early age. The video is also a proof that, even if we sometimes look a little different from each other, we’re all the same underneath our skin.
The story doesn’t end here… Nikki, James and DJ were REALLY touched by Chloe. Enough to have the desire to thank her. So that’s why, last weekend, Chloe got a phone call from her 3 favourite rock’n’roll guys and got the chance to have a conversation with them. I told myself modern technology is wonderful as the three guys were miles away from each other back then (Nikki on tour in Europe with Mötley Crüe and James and DJ each on different locations in the U.S, first one producing next Papa Roach’s album and second one touring with Guns’n’Roses). Hurray for the Modern World! Let’s also mention that some of her classmates came to her to apologize after they saw her video. Double hurray!
Here it is. By making a home-made video, Chloe gave another meaning to the song. That’s one of those magic moments in the world of music where a song leaves its nest and lives its own life.
As for myself, I’ve been constantly listening to Sixx:AM over the past 3 weeks. At home, in the bus, while walking in the street… Anytime my MP3 player starts playing “Skin”, I now see the video’s images in my head, have a somehow dumb smile on my face and can even display a weepy face. Try keeping a cool attitude in the bus that way! Bah.. doesn’t matter, if anyone notices, I’ll say “I’m just a girl”… A girl showing a stupid smile because there are still little moments of happiness in this crazy world of ours. ‘Cos other people’s little happiness is also sometimes provoking our own little happiness.
That week has been a tough one for the people of Liège and I myself felt very sad. As I always do when things aren’t so great around me, I hang on to music as if my life’d depend on it. I hang on to “Skin” for what it represents now that a young lady had put her nose in it.
Chloe will know about that little ray of sunlight she put in my heart while some little dark clouds were in it. Her video may not be a lot. But it did a lot. And not only to me, I’m sure. She will know about it because she deserves it. And because I know where to find her.
While thinking about it… Maybe that song would have its place in our Belgian tragedy after all… Because at the end of the day, neither the skin colour of the shooter nor the skin colour of the people who were in front of him should matter… What should matter is doing our best to make our “what’s inside” wonderful. But we’re only human after all, with our qualities and flaws. Let’s not that stop us from sometimes trying to be better human beings… right?
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