The tune of life

Why is country music, alt country, pseudo-country, and wanna-be country music so sad? I know that one comedian after another, Southern or not, have taken jabs at it, from my woman done left me to she killed my dog, too ... and there's lots of whisky drenching it all. When you listen a little closer, you side with her anyway: he didn't deserve the woman or the dog and nobody knows how he affords the booze.

No matter. Apparently it speaks to a lot of people. There must be a lot of folks who shouldn't own dogs. A lot of guys anyhow. And a lot of women who know they shouldn't have pets either.

One of the reasons I think about this is because a lot of Germans I know tend to like it. I'm not sure how many of them understand the lyrics, but I'm also not sure that's what's important anyway. I think they like it because if any instrument can cry, it's got to be a steel guitar. Oh, sure, it can be silly, faux happy, but behind it is a simple melancholy that is as much a part of life as birth or death.

I don't think we listen to instruments enough. We get into songs and forget who – what – is getting them to our ears. I really don't care what you music you listen to ... it's not the style that really matters. Find out which instrument is speaking to you, and you'll have a friend forever.

Music reaches deep. Deeper than we may like to admit. Of course, you have to stop just having it on in the background. Take a moment ... just listen.

The long tail

Let's face it, Americans are highly competitive, almost ... no, to a fault. There are only winners and losers. If you don't win, you lose. Ties are like kissing your sister and the silver medal is just the one who lost gold. Too bad. I don't think most of them know how much they are missing because of this one, small quirk of thought.

A world that only has winners and losers is just another type of monoculture, that ... well, American agriculture appears to love so much as well. No, dear friends, sustainability only comes through diversity, as tough as it is to accept. It's not all about who wins, it's about who has something to contribute. And that's one of the only reasons I like modern technology.

Huh? Wha'? Whazzat? Yeah, technology. For all the evils of the Internet that too many governments think they have to get under control, the widespread, cheap access to technology has allowed us to find all the losers who aren't. Yep. For you business freaks, it's called the long tail.

Being there may be more important than being promoted. Oh sure, I suppose there are enough talented artists ... especially musicians ... who big labels pick up and squeeze dry. But, truth be told, they have never really interested me all that much. While most of my friends were hip on the Beatles and the rebels were pushing the Stones, I was a Kinks man. Go figure.

I'm not going on a promotional tour here ... don't get excited, but there's a lot more exciting stuff off the beaten track than there is out there in the mainstream. You have to want to look. You have to want to go through some dry spells, but swimming in the hidden swimming hole was always more fun than being out there with everybody else in the lake.

Surprised endings

It struck me a couple of days ago how many things have ended. I mean, there have been a lot of bright people making these claims. It's not like Joe Shit, the rag man and his cronies down at the Dingy Bar & Grill have been talking this up. OK, I did overhear at the local McDonald's the other morning that it was time to stop something or other, but those guys didn't think anything oughta end. Sure, they wanted the government out of their lives, but as long as they kept the social security checks coming, just how bad could they be?

That's part of the problem, I think. Everybody wants something to stop, but whatever it is, it shouldn't be theirs. Well, there are some things that, while they may not have absolutely come to an end, are really close to just going away. On the other hand, when we hear about "ends", we think about what's going away, but that's only one of the meanings, isn't it?

Ends are what means lead to, aren't they? And when that's the case, you can go back and read the posting from last time, and it's a whole different thing. Of course, you have to add the question marks yourself and decide where we should be heading.

The end of ends

The end of history,
the end of education,
the end of reason,
the end of capitalism,
the end of freedom,
the end of fear,
the end of hope,
the end of my rope.
The end of philosophy,
the end of literature,
the end of art,
the end of fairness,
the end of kindness,
the end of truth,
the end of wrong,
the end of the song.
The end of hate,
the end of love,
the end of everything,
The words may bend but
have they found their end,
this is the end of ends,
for nothing ever ends.