Hippie Music

I mix well with people whose opinions are opposite or at least different to mine.  In fact, I often prefer it that way, since being around people with different beliefs and ideologies requires me to keep my mind sharp, whereas all too often a discussion with a fellow conservative quickly degenerates into "Democrats are so stupid, you know?" "Yeah, seriously!".

One thing I often find I have in common with liberals, though, is music taste.  I had a liberal boss once (with whom I had numerous conversations on the merits of Wal-Mart and other big business) who commented that I was a walking contradiction, spouting conservative views and listening to hippie music.  At the time my iPod was playing over speakers in the store, and I think it was either Jimi Hendrix or Joni Mitchell playing.  I actually think there's more hidden conservatism in some hippie songs (such as "If Six Were Nine," by Hendrix) than most people think; I may go into that another time.  But hey, hippies make some good music, and since they believe strongly in their foolish causes, there can be some good emotion in their songs, which is essential to a memorable song.

Hippie music is a thing of the past, right?  Nope.  Most of my favorite modern bands seem to be hippies, too.  The styles have changed, the messages have not.  If I limited myself to music whose message I agreed with, I'd be forced to listen to 90% country, 5% hymns, and only 5% good music*.  So I go with what musical qualities suit my tastes, and only avoid the most offensive of messages.  So I'm fine with listening to bands such as Cake, Sneaker Pimps, Muse... the list would probably include most of my music, even though these people are ashamed of the country I'm proud of.  I don't think I'd ever hang out with most of them, though.

Why did I bring this up?  I listened to a Muse song I'd never heard before, that was very cool (Muse is one of the best bands ever, period), and these lyrics made me laugh (listen along if you'd like, I recommend it):

Corrupt, you corrupt,
and Bring corruption to all that you touch.

Hold, you’ll behold,
And be holden for all that you’ve done.

And spell, cast a spell,
Cast a spell on the country you run.

And risk, you will risk,
You will risk all their lives and their souls.

And burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell.
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell for your sins.

Ooohhh.
Our freedom's consuming itself,
What we've become is contrary to what we want
Take a bow.

Death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch.

Pay, you must pay
You must pay for your crimes against the earth.

Hex, feed the hex
Feed the hex on the country you love

And Beg, you will beg
You will beg for their lives and their souls.

Yeah,
Burn, you will burn,
You will burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell,
You’ll burn in hell, yeah you’ll burn in hell,
Burn in hell, yeah you'll burn in hell for your sins.

Yes, the anti-war peace and love songs are still alive. And this song is definitely full of peace and love. Wait, I think this song is condemning George Dubya Bush to Hell. Yes, definitely that's what it's saying. Also, it's saying that you and I are under Bush's spell (except, isn't he too stupid to do such a thing? I can never tell if liberals think he's an idiot or a mastermind). Also, he's apparently committed crimes against the Earth, presumably for his former oil ties and for refusing to sign the Kyoto Economic Suicide Pact**. At least Muse admits that Bush loves the country, though for all their yelling about him burning in Hell, I don't think they meant to do that.

What do I like about this song, other than that it made me laugh? It's not their best by a long shot, but it's still very cool, and unusual. This song might win some sort of record for number of key changes, as it climbs to its climax. This song is technoeyer than most of theirs, but it's good. There's a vast, almost symphonic feel to it, though not to the extent of their best songs, with their characteristic arpeggiated chords and touch of strings; and there are even hints of the falsetto harmonies for which they've been compared to Queen. This song is no "Knights of Cydonia," or "Butterflies and Hurricanes," but it's still very cool.

Hippies make me laugh, but they also make some good music.

*All percentages are approximate, no statistical study was done to obtain these numbers.

**I made that name up. It's really called the Kyoto Socialistic Wealth Redistribution Act.