Well, I had fully intended to return to my American Odyssey in Song today, or perhaps write about a couple of the songs that have formed earworms over the past few days, but no, even music blogs can’t avoid mentioning what has gone on in our country this week, and yet again, what a week.
Shortly after I pressed the “publish” button last Saturday, there was another terrorist attack, this time right in the centre of London. Again, in the face of such senseless violence, the police, the emergency services and some heroic members of the public performed some amazing acts of bravery (no-one messes with a Millwall supporter). Some innocent weekend socialisers lost their lives, and others are still critically ill in hospital, but yet again no-one who was there has come out and said they will change their behaviour in any way. We are all getting a bit sick of saying it I know, but “life must go on”.
The One Love Manchester benefit concert was all set to take place on the Sunday, which to some did seem a bit too soon after the atrocity that took place there less than a fortnight earlier, but despite this even more recent atrocity it did go ahead as planned and in retrospect I am really glad. Like many, I didn’t really know much about Ariana Grande until two weeks ago, but of her own accord she really wanted to do something for the people of Manchester and for the fans who had been at the earlier ill-fated concert. For many of these fans, to attend must have been a tough call, but this time Old Trafford (the Cricket Ground) was the venue and that open air Sunday night concert provided much joy, a lot of tears and an awful lot of LOVE.
I watched the concert with DD and it was like being back in her world again after a few years away. She was of the generation that grew up watching Miley Cyrus play the teenage sitcom character Hannah Montana and here was Miley all grown up and being supportive of Ariana, planning to link up with her in making such a thing a regular event. Mr Bieber was there as was Niall Horan of One Direction and girl group Little Mix. Having a 21-year-old in the house is a constant reminder of how things have changed in a generation. Young people are very demonstrative nowadays compared with how things used to be back in the rural Scotland of my youth. Whenever they meet up, they hug and kiss each other, they LOVE each other frequently on social media, in texts and in speech. When they all hang out together, often in our back garden, there is indeed much LOVE in the air (of a spiritual nature I hasten to add) and it sometimes feels as if we have returned to the summer of 1967 when young people wanted to change the world. Although we get cynical as we get older and such idealism can give way to practical reality, the young people I know give me hope for the future.
There were also a fair few acts on the bill that were more familiar to me, namely Take That, Pharrell Williams and the Black Eyed Peas but it was Chris Martin from Coldplay who performed the song which has been used by the people of Manchester in remembrance of the victims, and to show the city’s spirit. Don’t Look Back In Anger is of course a song by the Manchester band Oasis, and was released in 1996 as the fourth single from their album, “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”. It was the first Oasis single with lead vocals by Noel Gallagher instead of by his brother Liam, but sadly those two have had a parting of the ways so it was Mr Martin instead who stepped up to the plate. Despite the fact I was a bit disparaging about his singing earlier in the year after his less than perfect rendition at the BRITs (I thought) of George Michael’s song A Different Corner, this time I think it all worked out quite well.
Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis:
So, the concert was a success and they will have raised, and will continue to raise (link to site above), lots of money for those who have suffered as a consequence. A lot to take in already for one week you might think but of course this was also the week we went to the polls again, as our incumbent Prime Minister had wanted to secure a larger majority in the House ahead of the Brexit negotiations. Oops!
Turns out she is not very good at campaigning and time and time again she was found wanting in terms of the details of her manifesto, her appearance at debates (she abstained) and her all round ability to engage as a human being instead of the Maybot she became. On the other hand her opponent Mr Corbyn has become the hero of the hour who can quite rightly claim to have, in a way, won the election. Who would have thought that turnaround could have been possible a few months ago. Lord knows he has had a hard time over the last couple of years and the smear campaigns have been brutal but he has definitely engaged with the young people of the country in a way the Maybot would never have been able to do. Again hooray for young people – At long last they have become engaged in politics and it took a jam-making, allotment tending politician whose life has been dedicated to making the world a better place, for that to happen. (He is also much, much better at social media than his opponent and quite rightly took to it with gusto.)
This time last year I would most definitely not have written a post like this as politics, religion and other controversial topics are usually cited as something to be avoided if you want to broaden your readership and not cause offence. As it turns out, a year on and I have yet to find any other bloggers who do not share my opinions so no problem there then – Where are all these Tory voters I wonder? Certainly not in any corner of the blogosphere I’ve visited that’s for sure.
So, “What’s It All About?” – It’s all about the Young People who are finally becoming energised about politics. They are full of LOVE for each other and I for one have a bit of a spring in my step today because of the outcome of the election – The battle has been lost but with a nation of smart young people coming up behind us we are on track to win the war.
Until next time….
Don’t Look Back In Anger Lyrics
(Song by Noel Gallagher)
Slip inside the eye of your mind
Don’t you know you might find
A better place to play?
You said that you’d never been
But all the things that you’ve seen
They slowly fade away
So I’ll start a revolution from my bed
Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime’s in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out
And so, Sally can wait
She knows it’s too late as we’re walking on by
Her soul slides away
But don’t look back in anger
I heard you say
Take me to the place where you go
Where nobody knows if it’s night or day
But please don’t put your life in the hands
Of a Rock ‘n’ Roll band
Who’ll throw it all away
What's It All About? 
Yes, I too am very heartened by the turnout percentage of younger / first time voters, even if every time I say the words ‘young people’, I feel like my Dad. I’m delighted to see the Maybot getting a metaphorical bloody nose. Her weaknesses were exposed for all to see during the campaign and the hubris of calling an election with the sole intention of burying the Labour party once and for all was a massive misjudgement. Unfortunately we now potentially have to contend with the often odious DUP working in cahoots with the Tories, though who knows for sure what will come next in this ever-unfolding drama. The ridiculous oaf Boris Johnson has been very quiet since the election and I’m sure he’s planning his next move.
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Oh I know it does sound as if we’re old f*rts but compared to them I suppose we are – I end up using the term as the collective noun for the steady stream of 19 to 24 year olds coming through our house courtesy of DD. I do like it though even if we often come through in the morning and find stray bodies in sleeping bags in the living room. My faith comes from having seen many of these youngsters suddenly grow up – The realisation has kicked in that in the real world, life is tough, and there are bills to pay. I know some get a bad reputation but most work really hard and it is not going to be easy for them going forward. Politics didn’t used to feature heavily in their lives but this election, and the social media aspect of it, changed all that. Can only be a good thing.
You are right though, it is likely to get worse before it gets better but nice to have a day or two of satisfaction before worrying about all of that. As it turns out I think we have far bigger things to worry about anyway and I wrote a post about that last year but for now perhaps time to get back to blogging about “the tracks of my years” (think I’ve started to forget what it’s supposed to be all about!).
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I’m in a better, more hopeful mood now that I’ve read your essay.
Thanks, Alyson, I needed that.
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As someone who I think would have been very much a part of the whole ’67 Summer of Love experience, we are starting to see a bit of an awakening amongst our young people over here. It is their time.
Hopefully the same will happen with your young people although I suspect it already has, it just doesn’t make it to mainstream news. The printed press is dead really, it’s all about social media now so hopefully a fairer balance will be found before things get so far out of hand there can be no return. I am definitely hopeful.
You will get a better sense of it all when you are out on the road with Bruce and Stevie!
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Younger people in the USA were very energized by Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic party’s presidential nomination to Hillary last year.
It’s the nature of young people to be hopeful, I think.
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Yes my daughter’s boyfriend was in the US last year when your elections were taking place – He was very impressed by Bernie Saunders. He and our own Jeremy Corbyn would get on well I think.
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I’m always encouraged by the things you say about your DD and her friends – thank you! (I need it!)
I watched some of the One Love event on TV too and yes, credit where it’s due – e.g. whatever anyone thinks of Justin Bieber, to see him walking around singing with just his acoustic guitar, no effects, no backing, just stripped back to basics, was actually really impressive! It was all very feelgood and healing after the awfulness of both Manchester and London. Now we just have to keep that up… !
As you say, though – where are all those Tory voters? I certainly don’t know any here in the blogosphere… somehow it would be hard to imagine, we seem naturally to gravitate towards those of a similar mindset. It’s quite something really considering that for most of us the first connection to a blog has just been through music, and politics may not even have been discussed before, but it must be something we pick up on instinctively, something that we can recognise simply in the way people put themselves across.
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Maybe I am biased (well I’m bound to be aren’t I) but they are a fine bunch who sadly struggle with getting affordable places to live and career type jobs – It is such a shame.
As for the concert it was a surprise for me and you are right, whatever anyone thinks of Mr Bieber, he is a very talented young man who I suspect will be around for some time.
Yes, it becomes fairly obvious if you follow someone’s blog whether they are of a similar mindset or not – Your “geek” post was a real winner where everyone came out of the woodwork to agree. Lots of us obviously of that mindset too! I will probably return next weekend and I have no idea what the topic will be as everything is changing at such a pace. Perhaps TM will even have “left the building”. A week is indeed a long time in politics.
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Nothing else to say about the election, but I did discover last week that one of my students had been at the MEN on the night of the attack. She was safe, thankfully, but the story she told in class was horrific. What amazed me was how well this girl, just 18 years old, appeared to have dealt with the experience. If anything, that gave me a little hope for the future.
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Yes a day and a half on and I feel I may (no pun intended) have overstepped the mark with the latter part of this post – Events moving very fast but time to get back to some semblance of a normal life probably.
Mr WIAA works at a college as well and although some of the students are as yet not fully formed and functioning as adults, many are, and despite having to struggle with all sorts of hardships (lack of money, poor accommodation) still manage to complete their courses and achieve great things. For DD and her friends, they have now moved into the real world of work away from student life and are really coming into their own – I am mighty impressed. I work in the public sector where the median age in my dept is 50 – no-one ever leaves so the youngsters, as well as not getting onto the first rung of the housing ladder, can’t even get onto the first rung of the career ladder. Their time will come but change needs to come faster.
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Just a test comment really; I “know” you from Rich’s blog but today followed the link. I thought that this post might be about the group Love. Check out their Forever Changes, one of the greatest albums ever.
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Gosh sorry Phillip – Just found your comment in spam I’m afraid so didn’t see it until now. WordPress has a funny way of choosing where to filter stuff to sometimes. Yes I “know” you too from Rich’s blog although I tend to drop by just to find out whether his pick was one of my favourites from ’77 whereas you are one of the knowledgeable music bloggers that put me to shame!
No this post was about the concert that was staged after the terror attack in Manchester back in June but I was impressed with all the young performers and it seemed Love was indeed in the air that night. As for the group Love I’m afraid I don’t know them – Don’t think they were as big in the UK as in the US but now that you’ve highlighted them I will definitely check them out. Sorry again for this late response and thanks for dropping by.
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Thanks for digging me out of the spam. Let’s see if this gets through.
Love’s Forever Changes is one of the quintessential 1960s records. At the same time, it sounds like nothing else.
Once at Cropredy, Robert Plant (I believe with his band Priory of Brion—extra points if you get both allusions in that name) covered a song from this album.
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I have just listened to Forever Changes and of course I know it! It pops up on soundtracks all the time but I didn’t realise until now it was by a band called Love. Kind of appropriate for this post as it turns out.
By the way, after starting this blog last year, it soon became apparent that the year I kept revisiting more than any other when looking back over the “tracks of my years” was 1967 which was odd as I was just a little kid then. All sorts of reasons why that was but one of the main ones was that I really warm to baroque pop/psychedelic pop and Love seem to fit into that category. I also think I would have been a Summer of Love hippy but was just born too late! Thanks for highlighting them.
As for the Priory of Brian I’m afraid I cheated and looked it up but I did wonder if one of the allusions referred to Life of Brian which seems to be correct.
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