Patriotism, John Bull, Uncle Sam, all those figures we've created to shout about how great our nations are. They cling to our imaginations at a time when to all intents and purposes their reason for being, the nation state, seems to be losing it's grip on reality and becoming unnecessary. If anything, we seem to be undergoing a resurgence of patriotism, and nationalism, in the really real world. Recently, I've been forced to reassess my belief that I'm not a patriot. Let me be clear, I don't think of myself in that way, patriotism in the UK often seems to either come in violent racism or '2 wars and one world cup' flavours. That, or lots of clinging to the Proms and the Royal Family because apparently that's all the nation is good for. The problem is, I'm damn awkward at the best time. The things that everyone else gets excited about really don't do anything for me. I'm more energised by the fact Punk and Goth were British creations than...
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Last week was the rainbow... like you didn't get that straight away! Now that I'm feeling a bit better, I thought I'd put up something happy so there's no link this week just songs that make me feel happy when I listen to them. Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer: Songs for Acid Edward I was never into rave but for some reason, this song makes me happy. I think it's partly because Mr B has been clever in fitting everything together, but also I just think 'Acid Ted' looks hilarious. Queen: Breakthru I don't know why this song makes me happy, but it does. The beat drives it on and there's just something fun about the song. Neneh Cherry: Buffalo Stance I love the 'character' Neneh Cherry plays here, and the track is quirky and fun. Wicked: What is this Feeling This is just so catchy and fun. The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody This is just fun, the Muppets are special anyway, and them covering one of the greatest rock songs...
My disintegration continues apace, it seems. I'm honestly wondering if there's a point to this living, this life, all this busyness that seems to add up to nothing but misery and more busyness. It all feels like a highly unsatisfying cycle where the best you can hope for is to make lemonade out of all the damn lemons life gives you. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it, or if the best part of things would be to take a sharp exit to get off stage as quickly as possible. I feel as if the best part of my adult life has been a waste of time, and as if I don't have anything to show for it apart from several failed projects and mental illness. Of course, it may be the mental illness that makes me feel this way but I don't know. In the same way, I know you're not meant to compare your life to anyone else's, but I look around and all I see is happy people, people who seem to know what their purpose in life is and to have found some sort of balan...
Here, let me empty the contents of my head for you? 1) Why do we still laud Richard the Lionheart as a great king when he bankrupted the country and barely spent any time here? 2) Was William Rufus really killed by witches as a sacrifice to the Horned God? 3) How many businesses were really run by women in the Medieval period? 4) How much of modern morality derives on the Victorian age? 5) Why do we laud the Greco-Roman world when it was so misogynistic? 6) Was World War 2 the period that not only changed Britain but came to define it for the last 70 odd years? 7) If we automated all work, what would humans do with themselves?
Well, um, I missed yesterday (again) so I think I might just shift this to Saturday permanently and up the number of songs I post. Last week's theme was Death, I have no idea if anyone got that, but yay if you did. This week's is longer, harder, more power... oh wait, wrong blog... It's certainly longer because, as ya might have guessed from the title, we're going for 7 songs. So let's get started. Nena: 99 Luftballoons Coldplay: Yellow REM: Orange Crush The B52s: The World's Green Laughter Frank Sinatra: Blue Moon Pete Murphy: Indigo Eyes Hole: Violet
This is a list of the things I wonder about at times. 1) If you have a chair but you don't use it to sit on... is it still a chair? (Which is a roundabout way, I guess, of asking if form trumps function). 2) Did soldiers after Agincourt, Hastings, and other battles in Medieval history (and Ancient history) suffer from PTSD? Would they be more or less likely to suffer from it? After all, most soldiers in the past weren't trained only to be soldiers, the idea of the professional soldier is relatively recent (apart from outliers like Rome where serving as a Legionary was just part of being a citizen for a long time). 3) Do humans exist in a state of eternal paradox? 4) Why did anyone buy into the idea of the world being flat when so many ancient cultures knew it was round? As I understand it the claim that Columbus was a genius because he realised the world round came from that famed historian, Washington Irving (you know the guy who wrote Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Win...
I did mean to post this yesterday, but it didn't happen, so sorry about that. Once again, I'll post five songs and there'll be a link between them. Just let me know what you think the link is. I think it's pretty easy this week. Last week's was that all the songs had been covered by Amanda Palmer. The Men Who Will not be Blamed for Nothing: Mutiny in the Common Soldiery New Model Army: Here Comes the War New Model Army: The Charge Kate Bush: Army Dreamers Traditional British Folk Air: Over the Hills and Far Away