From a Distance This Ain't No Meme

          My category for this 25th day of MySoLiMo is A Song You Enjoy From Your Least-Listened-To Genre.

          In all fairness, this is slightly similar to day 14's title from the original meme (which I abandoned a few weeks back because most of those titles were befuddlingly redundant and immature).  The little girl's title was A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love.  I criticized it a little already, so I'll just explain why mine is superior.  Her verbiage is too restrictive.  Readers who ponder it are discouraged when they try-on different songs (in their mental dressing room) and discover none of them fit; either they don't love it, someone on the planet knows them well-enough, or the concept of song expectations is off-putting.  My category relies on the simple assumption that everyone has at least one music genre they rarely listen to, but, can still identify an enjoyable song from.


          I'm not proud of my prejudices.  They aren't a characteristic I routinely discuss (with fingers or voice).  My strongest prejudice comes in the form of a sincere disdain for those who proudly enjoy and embrace their own ignorance.  It's easier to describe the behavior of these people from a distance.  They live in America's rural south—in Texas and Georgia and all the sad states in-between.  They enjoy watching cars race around in a circle, wearing impractical costumes, driving impractical vehicles and being hypocrites (reveling in the inherited-hatred of those who differ from them in thought, appearance, or deed...which they blithely rationalize as the will of their creator).

          Oh sky cake, why are you so delicious?

          This music, the music of those who enjoy flaunting their ignorance—American Country, Bluegrass, and Folk—are the genres I have, and will, listen to the least.

          However, I enjoy Nanci Griffith (very much a down-home Texan folk singer).  Her voice always contains a wink and a smile.  Her lyrics rarely cater to the NASCAR lovin' cowboy, drivin' his HMMWV to church with stars n bars flyin' from his antenna.  Her version of From A Distance (written by Julie Gold) is the one I prefer.
  • The 1st stanza describes, literally, our planet from high above.
  • The refrain, 3rd and 5th stanzas sketch humans—from a distance—as harmonious, peaceful, and well-fed.   
  • The middle stanza declares:  God is watching us from a distance.  (Irony?)
          Maybe yesterday's song has me still thinking about irony too much.  I get the idealized, hope-for-a-better-mankind-tomorrow message.  But, within the song's context, isn't it saying:  God doesn't exist.  If she did, he can't see all the terrible feckin shite we keep doing to ourselves from its distant vantage point.  Maybe it's just me and I'm not taking 'distance' metaphorically enough?

 Day 26:  A Quirky Song You Admire, But Can't Put Your Finger On Why

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the author is weak , COUNTRY IS THE BEST MUSIC GENRE. WHY? because it has backbone its more TRUE TO LIFE THEN ANYTHING. I am spanish and live up north in Jersey, i live both worlds and can judge tired of new york and its club head fags. i rather be hunting and fishin in the natural world blasting Hank and Aldean baby!! haha only if you people live my life you would know what im talking bout, its better then any celebrity hollywod star! jesus knows!

veach glines said...

Señor, your comment proves my point almost too perfectly (to the point of irony). Gracias.