Monday, October 10, 2011

Post-Apocalyptic Purple Haze

You know, sometimes illusions are nice.  I've been listening to songs from my childhood and reading the posted lyrics. Yeah, a lot of these people were stoned when they wrote this shit, because there is tons of "what the fuck is that?" going on.  And I'm not just talking about the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven," though they certainly fit into this as well.

Not that I mind. I think a lot of bands suffer greatly whenever everyone sobers up and stops performing under the influence.  Then they just kind of become generic and crappy. Please, for the sake of your art, stay on your drugs.

Or stay chunky. I loved me some Janet Jackson when she was that 15 pounds or so overweight. Then she lost it, found her bellybutton, and lost the ability to be cool. Ever since then, her songs have been eye roll-worthy, at best.

It's also funny how age changes your perspective on things. I remember being a kid and watching videos and thinking they were so fucking cool. I watch them now and . . . yeah, no. For one thing, the drug-induced haze that made for good lyrics, did not make for good video planning. NOT. AT. ALL.

Second of all, what was with all the post-apocalyptic stuff? Did some video director get a good deal on the Mad Max movie sets and just decide to use them over and over again?  Maybe something about edgy about lots of dirt piles? I love the idea of the broken pieces of a destroyed society as much as the next girl, but how many videos can we really see in this future?

Maybe it's because there was this kind of drug-fueled ennui in the 80s that we were fast approaching destruction.  You know the whole Nuclear War thing. I still remember listening to Sting's "Russians" as an 11 yr old and feeling, OH, so serious about it.  Now, the song just kind of sounds judgie . . . like a lot of his music.

But not "Murder by Numbers." That's still awesome.

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