Apart from this tickling my ha ha bone, I suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia for all things âlate 1900sâ and went down an old music rabbit hole. The band that filtered most through my memory canal was XTC. There are so many songs from the bandâs catalog that grace my personal playlists, but I found these two on repeat in my head.
The âMayor of Simpletonâ was a crossover hit for the band, and tells the story of a man who is looked down upon by his girlfriendâs peers for his lack of education...
Mayor of Simpleton
If depth of feeling is a currency
(Please be upstanding for the Mayor of Simpleton)
Then I'm the man who grew the money tree
(No Chain of Office and no hope of getting one)
Some of your friends are too brainy to see
That they're paupers and that's how they'll stay
Despite being an earworm, the music is fairly complex for a rock tune, as the bass line is contrapuntal to the melody. Itâs a love song with a simple message and driving rhythm that sticks like comfort food to your ribs.
In perfect contrast to the bubblegum structure and sound of Simpleton is perhaps my favorite song by XTC: âDear God.â
Dear God
Dear God, don't know if you noticed, but-
Your name is on a lot of quotes in this book
And us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look
And all the people that you made in your own image
Still believing that junk is true
Well, I know it ain't so, and you know
This is the one that was rolling around in my head while putting together the epilogue to the series on Israel/Palestine. I found myself increasingly frustrated by the foolishness that arises from murderously interpreting scripture.
âDear Godâ was released when I was in the 8th grade, and I distinctly associate it with fear. While I didnât grow up in a religious household, I thought for sure Iâd go to hell for listening to this song. Bad enough I already listened to âBlasphemous Rumoursâ by Depeche Mode 1,000 times. I began to wonder if there was something terribly wrong with my soul. Probably. But if there is a hell (jokeâs on me), I donât think listening to XTC is going to send me there.
I do, however, tend to find comfort in the songs of my youth and nostalgia. More than I ever found in a pew. But waxing poetic over bygone eras and whitewashing these periods in our minds (even those glorious âlate 1900sâ) can be dangerous.
Speaking of dangerous things from the past, it will be interesting to see who attends Kissingerâs funeral. If you think I go overboard on topics, Behind the Bastards did a six part series titled âHenry Kissinger: the Forest Gump of war crimes.â If youâre not a fan of BtB, get on it. This is a great introduction to them.
For as much ground as weâve covered on UNFTR, we still havenât explored the life and times of this massive shitgibbon. But boy-oh-boy is there a lot to unpack. 99 slacked me as soon as the news broke with âwhy did he get to live to 100â and ânow Jimmy Carter can die and upstage him.â
I sincerely hope Jimmy Carter joins his wife. I know Iâm the Doubting Thomas on the whole god and afterlife thing, but if thereâs even the slightest chance then, Jimmy and Rosalynn will be building houses in heaven while Hank Kissinger eats shit from the devilâs cup.
Other things Iâm obsessing overâŠ
- âmarjorieâ by Taylor Swift (thatâs not just for 99).
- My 2023 âSpotify Wrappedâ basically shows that I have the musical taste of a depressed teenage girl. (See above.)
- Elon Musk telling advertisers to âgo fuck yourselvesâ to the NY Times. Stay classy you anti-Semitic prick.
- Peter Sarsgaard is a great actor.
-Max