Completely Random Thoughts 18: The Ridiculous Power of A Song You Haven't Heard in a REALLY Long Time.

The image I get in my head is of really really old people falling over themselves while excitedly rushing to the dance floor because the selector at some horrible party just . . . Fell asleep or saw something in the crowd that he liked and went hunting and they hear some tune they used to love so much when they were teenagers. They fall, they break bones (because they are old as hell) and yet they do not feel pain, not even a little. Eventually, although almost completely hobbled, they do some ridiculous dance before returning to their seats for another rousing round of oxygen.

Why do these old people subject themselves to such torture? Well, besides the obvious (they’re old and . . . Really just don’t care too much what happens anymore), there is a bigger and far more profound and ridiculous reason. HUMAN BEINGS DO STUPID SHIT FOR MUSIC. That’s it. I’ve seen animals dance, but they do so, at least presumably, only on the promise of food. Last week I saw a sea creature looking thing doing crunches to the theme of Rocky and I can almost guarantee you that that whateverthehellitwas has neither ever seen the film (nor any of its three dozen sequels) nor does it have a fight coming up anytime soon. It did it because the two legged creature gives it food when it does what that thing tells it to. Meaning - Animals (who are not humans) do stupid things for food.

People??? I need not bring up material such as people camping outside of ticket offices for days at a time to get the opportunity to give away DUMB amounts of money for the opportunity to be somewhere in the same area to listen to other people play songs that they’ve probably heard thousands of times. And I also need not (even though I’m going to) mention people doing similar acts of skullduggery for CD’s - As if the store is going to sell out of the one they want, despite the fact that it knows there is a line of people with houses sleeping outside waiting on them or, as if the music sounds better earlier (think about that . . .).

Of course, I too am a human (and I mean that in the most technical of senses) and by no means am I exempt from such dumbness. Although I’ve never camped outside to buy tickets, I’ve STOOD through MANY a ten hour + show knowing that in the next day I would regret it and, even more ridiculously, knowing that at that very moment, I wasn’t enjoying myself and you know what? I look forward to doing such a thing again (and will probably do it in December).

More importantly here, however, is this very blog. I LOVE this music so much that if there is the SMALLEST of details about an artist, song, album, producer etc. that goes un-discussed in the most semi of formal senses, my feelings GENUINELY get hurt.

‘Why are they not talking about this?’
‘Am I the only one with ears?’

Still, it is my most shameful of moments which are reserved for moments when, just like the old and broken people I mentioned at the beginning, I hear a song that I absolutely love which I haven’t heard in a long time. For example, a little while ago, for some reason it became a Sizzla Day. Out of ALLLLLLL the Sizzla . . . STUFF I have, of course I end up focusing on what? Yes, you guess it - The "Be I Strong" album.

“Yes Jah
Be I strong
Whenever they rise against us
They want to, do us wrong
The power of Selassie protect us”

That song is absolutely gorgeous but the album, in full, is pretty mediocre material. Yet, even as I sit here with that moment well washed out of my system - My fingers tremble slightly with the memory that just a little while back, when that tune and its fifteen brothers and sisters DESTROYED ME.

Currently, as the year dwindles away and we get closer and closer to the joys of February (or March next year actually), the Mrs. and I have already begun ‘negotiations’ of what we’re going to do next year in the way of trips. Trinidad wasn’t so good this year and I didn’t particularly think I’d miss much in 2011, but such thoughts were short lived because a blast from the past blasted my ass.

If you don’t like this song, ‘Insomnia’ from Rupee . . . Fine, you may very well be normal. And while I have no problem with that or you, if you were to magically appear in my house (nevermind the obvious problems that would present) and cut this song off right now, you and I would have to fight. That’s just the way it would have to be.

This fucking song - Whose age I don’t even know (it appears on an album from 2001, so maybe it was from the 2000 season or the 2001 season) - Around a decade or so, at least, has probably GUARANTEED that I, too, will be spending DUMB amounts of money in the very near future. It makes absolutely no sense (it should probably be something convincing me to go to Crop Over 2k11), but where music like this plays and it is considered NORMAL, I must be. Yes, we’re going next year, not even the grave could stop us . . . Although I hope it doesn’t try.