If you don’t listen to stations like 101X or 93.7 (KISS FM–Emma and Mazie’s favorite) and only listen to John A. or KGSR or never listen to the radio or don’t have ears, you probably haven’t heard this song. If you’re on the down side of me Gen X-wise, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard this one too many times.First of all, who doesn’t like the name Gorillaz? Come on, who? And who doesn’t like their animated universe? The first time I saw a Gorillaz video, I was a little freaked out, kind of a flashback to the Ralph Bakshi universe of my childhood. Meaning, the Fritz the Cat era, not the Lord of the Rings/American Pop era. The time when some animation was not for children. Kind of like the Big Brother and Holding Company album I have on the wall in the kitchen that was probably the most lurid thing in our house (other than the Picasso erotic drawings book–a true doozy). And then comes the anime-ification of the globe and Sailor Moon and my continuing crush on Aeon Flux (I have this leather coat…).
OK, the song, the song. The other day, when “American Idiot” became the SOTD, the song that got my attention and kept me on 101X was, you got it, “Feel Good Inc.” Before Billie Joe came on and let me know that being super fucking angry at your country could be the subject of great pop music, and that selling reconds and going to church and hating much of my own culture are in some way not really contradictory. (Even though Billie Joe and I know that most of you out there think they are, but, MY GOD, HOW DID I GET HERE? Have you not been paying attention? Billie Joe and I live in the parallel universe that isn’t animated–we can’t draw ourselves into some kind of world where everything makes sense. He has to write catchy songs and sell a lot of records because he has no choice. I have to go to church in the hope that homosexuality will become accepted into a mainstream Protestant denomination–a la the ordination of women that hooked me in the first place–and that my “Beyond Belief” gnostification of Christianity program can at least have one heart to grow in–because I have no choice.)
OK, the song, the song. SOTD has started to affect my general life. Now I can’t just listen to music and feel the song of the day when it comes. I’m always on the lookout. It’s kind of fucked things up, frankly. I am beginning to wonder if this is, like anything, obsevation affecting the outcome, Heisenberg, blah blah blah. Just checked uncertainty principle on Wikipedia, and it seems that the popular notion of Heisenberg has zero to do with quantum mechanicss. Good to know that even my most tenuous grasp of modern physics is really based on hearsay and bullshit.
Let’s go at this from a more enthographic angle. I’m pretty confident in my training in cultural anthropology and ethnography, particularly ethnographic film, where it is pretty much de riguer that observation needs to be considered a factor in the account. But really, the problem is theological and philosophical, and I have scant knowledge there and the idea of going back to the drawing board and relearning or at least revisiting the stuff that was too hard for me to understand when I was 18 and able to concentrate on dead white males for hours at a time holds little appeal.
Rules are one of the problems I’ve already discussed. One rule that keeps coming up is can I put on the music that becomes or is song of the day? Can I play God? If God is my DJ, who am I? Must I remain the listener at all times?
One thing is that I’m already tired of listening so hard. On the other hand, I’m overwhelmed by the frequency that songs touch me and make me wonder, “SOTD?” It’s like I’m both tired of listening for God and overwhelmed by how often I seem to find God.
Normal people will now interject, “Maybe that’s because this is a stupid and completely meaningless exercise. God does not speak to people personally through the songs they randomly hear through the day.”
At this point, I can’t play God. On Tuesday morning, when I wanted to listen to music on the way to yoga, I wanted the chance for SOTD. So I grabbed a CD out of the case and put it in the CD player WITHOUT LOOKING. This was of letting go and letting God. Trying not to influence the outcome. Acceptance.
You already know the song that came on–Gorillaz’ “Feel Good Inc.” Emma’s latest mixed CD, primarily horrors I try to avoid and play only when I’m in my happy place (like yesterday afternoon). [Note: technical difficulties caused a break in the action here and it's three hours later. I have to speed write before pick up. But I should report that I just saw Billie Joe on the cover of the Rolling Stone.] I’m playing it right now, because it’s not Song of the Day search time (got it for the day–bet you can’t wait to find out what it is), it’s rewind and rewrite time.
Bottom line: not only was I happy to hear it again, because it reinforced its potential as a SOTD, it lasted until EXACTLY the moment I pulled into the parking lot for yoga. Perfect timing, as it were. I love perfect timing, almost as much as I love hearing the right song at the right time. So, if I had any concern that I had messed with the metaphysics and possibly caused the SOTD to be played, there’s really no way that I can make perfect timing. Except now, when I know when to stop.
Post a Comment