Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE

46. Over The Wall by Echo And The Bunnymen

I FOOLISHLY thought I was lucky to live in a short bubble in time that afforded me a relatively easy life, in what was already patently obvious to me, the late stages of a failing capitalist society. Then came the crash. Then came a bang as right-wing populists took the world over. And now comes the wallop. Existential threats are everywhere and a real uncertainty prevails.  

For some perspective, Ukrainian DJs were record shopping on Monday morning and fleeing their homes that very same weekend. Almost everyone likes their national flag now that everything has tragically escalated. My old workmate Lisa was the victim of a suicide bomb and it has left a massive big hole in our town. Almost everyone went out and got a tattoo. Unable to comprehend it all, let alone respond appropriately, we are instead trapped in an age of futile gesture.    

Existential questioning used to be the norm in a confused clubland, but nowadays in this post truth abyss, we bizarrely question things far less. We either die after living, or we draw the curtains on our own internal drama and exist in a state of total inertia, trying to make ourselves already dead with our futile gestures. And then we die. 

A home for most of us is a trophy for all our surrendered time. All the effort and love of family reflected back in brick and glass. Mainly glass. All those dreams of a haven are shattered in an instant. Now everything has escalated to a lot of folk. Their home is forgotten as quickly as every breath of new life which suddenly makes living momentary. Escalation is insane coz by questioning a great number of conflicting forces (an exaggerated sense of national-pride, faith, hopelessness, despair, and courage), some folk actually come alive.  

If you've fed your brain with totally fearless art, reality becomes charged with layers of meaning that bring about a dynamic understanding of life. Unlike a home, it can actually inhabit a person and serve as a call to act. 

I really hope and pray that with faith and courage prevailing, these people caught up in escalating tensions can soon once again enjoy things like the fearless might of this song. An antidote to the futile gesture if ever there was.