Posts Tagged ‘my dead cat’
If One Just One Person Did the Right Thing
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
I remember my Mommy and Daddy telling me that it just takes one person to stand up for what is right to affect change. (I think I’ve explained why I still call them that somewhere in an earlier post. If not, lets chat and I’ll tell you why. I’ll get to avoid a little work. You’ll wish for that 15 minutes of your life back.MonetXLS)
Their idea was a little bit of hope, a lot of crap. Same crap as “You can do whatever you set your mind to.” (I still can’t manage to win MegaMillions and Lord knows I’ve set my mind to that.) It definitely takes more than one person to change a lot of situations, but there’s one situation in particular that may just prove their theory.
One of my favorite albums is Portishead’s “Roseland NYC Live.” Love it. Want to marry it. I named my kitty (r.i.p.) ”Madison Portishead.” (I almost added “Chromeo” to her name when she was like 12, but that’s a whole other story. One that I once told David Macklovitch from Chromeo, which elicted the most horrified face I’ve ever seen. Royally blew that Dave-1 encounter.)
Anyway, during the song “Roads,” someone decides to start clapping along. Said clapping was not really necessary…it rarely is. But, sometimes it can be a nice touch on a live recording, if done correctly. In this case, it’s a disaster from the get-go because that person decides to clap on the ONE. And the TWO,THREE AND FOUR. And people join in! Even if you don’t play music, you have to feel in your bones how wrong it all is. It would be laughable if it wasn’t a zit on an otherwise perfect album.
The concept of a “group mind” was promoted by Gabriel Tarde and Gustave Le Bon, French social psychologists. (Go learn something.) I doubt even they imagined something as bad as what these people did to “Roads.”
If just one person, maybe a soulful person or a former high school drum major, clapped on the correct beats, he or she could have maybe changed history. Also, then I wouldn’t be so annoyed whenever I get to that point in the record.
I know, it’s been over 10 years.You’d think I’d be immune to it by now. But are you immune to homelessness even though it’s been around for years? Are you immune to war just because it keeps happening? Well, this is essentially the same thing: an atrocity about which we should never forget.
END IMPROPER BODY PERCUSSION t-shirts coming soon!
ClapClapClapClap
[The offending clapping isn't as apparent in this video , but on the record, it's like knives between your toes. Don't let it stop you from buying it., though. After about 4.2 grillion listens, I can vouch for its shear beauty.]
Tags: ADD, bad clapping, Chromeo, clapping, Dave-1, I digress, I keep digressing, just one person, Madison Portishead, my dead cat, one, people with no rhythm, Portishead, rhythm has one "y", Roads, Roseland NYC Live, whining
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