Today’s song, “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies (1988) is an old favorite.
I didn’t learn about the Pixies until I read comments Kurt Cobain made about them, and how they play soft/loud. After hearing that, I went in search of. Listening to “Heart Shaped Box” reminded me of that.
So they were in my mind’s forefront when my wife wondered last night, “Where is my head?” That was enough for my mental Alexa to play, “Where Is My Mind?”
With your feet on the air and your head on the ground, Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Floof Without Hats (floofinition) – Floofnadian floof rock (flock) band with a synth-pop, new wave sound developed through heavy electronic processing.
In use: “Floof Without Hats achieved their most widespread success with “Safety Floof” in the 1980s.”
Someone said something about complaining. I thought, oh, boy, a new complaint.
I guess my mind’s Alexa thought that I’d requested a song with those lyrics. Next thing in my mind was Kurt Cobain shouting, “Hey! Wait! I got a new complaint.” Then it was on, and Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” (1993) was raging.
Such a dark song it is. Despite the morning’s sunshine, these feel like dark times. We were being pretty self-congratulatory about flattening the curve. Rona said, “Hold my beer.”
Out here in our little semi-rural county, we’ve seen a jump. Announcements came today that the jump was traced to a party. The original carrier was found to be from out of state.
Hey! Wait! I gotta new complaint.
I was reading about the chaos in other states yesterday. There’s little consistency between counties and cities. There’s no consistency between states or across the nation. The Golfer-in-Chief is more concerned about his rallies, convention, and poll numbers to bother about doing something decisive about the friggin’ rona.
Hey! Wait! I gotta new complaint.
In an ironic twist, the GOP, at Trump’s urging, dumped Charlotte, NC, for the convention site because, masks! Now Jacksonville, Florida, new site of the convention in eight weeks has ordered, masks!
Hey! Wait! I gotta new complaint.
Give me a little time. I’ll think of it. Here’s the music.
It’s a classic line: “Why don’t they do what they say, say what they mean?”
First, you have the POTUS backing the CDC, declaring people are supposed to wear masks (and his staff visiting with him are often required to wear masks, and have their temps taken every day), but then declares that he’s not wearing them. Mike Pence, one of the limpest Veeps in history, has been pilloried for not wearing masks when everyone else was wearing one, when told he should be wearing one, etc, while visiting places and making stops.
“Do what they say.”
Video revealings have people saying what they mean, turning on Blacks and other POC, screaming at them, “Go back where you came from, you don’t belong here,” calling them thugs, criminals, monkeys, and generally using the vilest language and deepest levels of hate that they can muster. When their words spread across the net (because we’re in the net age) and they’re ostracized and fired from jobs, they claim that’s not what they meant (they were just angry, afraid, blacked out, etc.). But it’s pretty clear that they mean what they say.
“One thing leads to another.”
And we certainly have seen that in evidence, haven’t we? Folks attend church, sporting events, bars, parties. Social distancing is shunned, masks are mocked, ridiculous claims are made (our air-conditioning filters will save you)…a few days later, people are in isolation, testing rona positive, and heading for hospitals.
Yet, we still have so many claiming that one thing doesn’t lead to another. They’re above the experts. Or, doesn’t matter. Business and the economy — making money — are more important. So the cases keep rising, and the deaths keep rising…
One thing leads to another.
Here’s the song by the Fixx, “One Thing Leads to Another”, from 1984.
Soft Floof(floofinition) – Flooflish synth floof pop (floop) duo formed in the late 1970s and achieved significant United Floofdom success in the 1980s.
In use: “Although successful in the UF, Soft Floof had more limited success in the United Floofs of America (UFA), becoming known for “Tainted Fur” as
The civic powers have decided there’s gonna a be a youth baseball tournament in our area this weekend. Thirty-two teams are coming from all over California and Oregon.
Gosh, I think this is a great idea. Snark, in case it’s not recognized.
Yes, social distancing rules will be in play. Only a hunnert people on a field at a time. But let’s see, thirty-two teams, say fifteen people to a team including coaches, support, and chaperones, and suddenly an four to five hundred people are running around town. Going to social distance? Hmmm…
Then there are fans…
Hmmm…
So, we went shopping today. Had to be done, Costco and Trader Joe’s, our go-tos. TJ was a blessed sanctuary. Everyone masked, not many people, all observing the SD guidelines and playing nice.
We zipped out to Costco. It wasn’t opening for thirty more minutes. “Should we get in line?” the spouse asked.
What line? I saw people milling. Half weren’t masked. Three fourths weren’t distancing.
“No. We’re not getting in that congregation. Let’s go to Target and get the pet supplies instead.”
Off we went.
Target…jebbus. Most weren’t masked. Social distancing? I don’t think they’d heard the term. My mind recoiled with bitterness. We’re probably looking at walking headlines, I thought. Oh, they went to a ballgame. WEnt shopping. One had symptoms but (fill it in yourself). Gosh, thirty people then tested pos. Gosh, they’re all in isolation, and gosh, some of them are really sick and in the hospital.
Yeah, gosh.
Into all of this came the 1985 Hooters song, “All You Zombies”. I don’t know if these people are unthinking, uncaring, ignorant zombies, a piece of all that, or just rebelling cause ‘Merica, Trump. Don’t know. But they strike me as zombies.
That makes “All You Zombies” today’s theme choice. Zombies come in all shapes, ya know?
A favorite song is stuck in today’s stream, but it’s quite apt for the time. Growing up in the 1960s, Shirley Bassey was a recurring fixture in pop culture. She sang several of the Bond movie theme songs, showed up on television shows, had international hits. Her voice and style were well-known.
So it was something of a delight when the Propellerheads combined with Shirley Bassey in a retro sound, “History Repeating”, in 1997.
[Verse 1] The word is about, there’s something evolving Whatever may come, the world keeps revolving They say the next big thing is here That the revolution’s near But to me it seems quite clear That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
[Verse 2] The newspapers shout – a new style is growing But it don’t know if it’s coming or going There is fashion – there is fad Some is good – some is bad And the joke is rather sad That it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
Here we are in 2020, struggling to advance rights for women, people of color, regardless of sexual gender, identity, or orientation, while a segment of society tries to anchor us to a time that’s gone. Against that, we’re fighting a pandemic, kind of like that 1917-1918 flu pandemic, and there’s talks of voting rights and states’ rights vs. Fed. rights vs. individual rights…like the American Civil War and the ongoing civil rights movement.
Also, I chose this as my theme song back in back in 2017, so, yeah, “History Repeating” works for today. And it’s a swinging tune.
Michael Seidel, writer 