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by Philipina A. Marcelo
All those news stories from Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan... and on the political turmoil in the US in the middle of yet another threat of recession poised to slap the country - and the world - painfully, made me think of a song from the '80s. "Absolute Reality" by The Alarm... one of what I consider the most "powerful songs" of the '80s because of its potent message. I remember singing this with siblings and friends with all my youthful energy, and at the top of my lungs, too, at the end of those fun "Battle of the Bands" during my college days. It's almost the "anthem" of the Manila youth of the '80s (okay, at least, those who follow "alternative music" then)... and I'm so proud that it is, too. :) Needless to say, I was a fan of The Alarm... so much so that when I started teaching, right after graduation from College, all my examinations were under the file name, "Alarm '89". =)
"You may just be afraid in this power mad age... but there's one thing, we all must find some peace in our time..."
The song came out about a quarter of century ago now... and yet, its powerful message still begs to be heeded today. Here's the complete lyrics...
Ooh, yeah, yeah..
Hey, now, now...
Hey, hey, hey!
You may be rich
You may be poor
You may have nothing in this world at all
You may be black, you maybe white
You may be a prisoner in your own times
You may be lost, you may be found
You may have been beaten up and knocked to the ground
You may have belief, suffer from deceit
Or you just might be blind
Oh, no, no...
You may affect the truth
You may be seen as false
You may be a king or a vagabond
You may be up, you may be down
You may sit in judgement with the rest of the clowns
You may have love
You may have hate
You may be the President of the United States
But even you, you can't sit and hide
While the world's resources die.
This is absolute reality, reality, reality
We are all the cause,
The solution to reality
Ooh, yeah, yeah...
Hey, now, now...
Hey, hey, hey...
You may be in control
You may be controlled
You may sit down 'til you do as you're told
You may work hard
You may never work at all
You may be accused but you don't know what for
You may be innocent or partly to blame
You may just be afraid in this power mad age
But there's one thing we all must find
Some peace in our time.
This is absolute reality, reality, reality
If I may speak of truth this is absolute reality
The absolute time, the absolute place
The absolute now for the absolute solution
It's absolute reality now
Now, now, now
This is absolute reality, reality, reality
This is absolute reality reality reality
This is absolute
Oh, reality!
La la la la la
This is absolute
La la la la la
Reality
La la la la la
This is absolute
Reality
Hmm... I miss those days... those days when there is so much meaning in what people commit themselves to - including music, especially music, just because it's one of the most far-reaching media that most people can appreciate.
I bought CDs two weekends ago to update my music library... okay, who am I kidding, right? Of course, I went to see if Duran Duran's "All you need is now" was already available in the music stores here in Manila! :) Just my luck, didn't find it... so, I bought "other stuff" instead, more specifically, some compilations of the more popular songs these days - yep, "iTunes on CD"! :) Many of the songs made my head bob a bit, and my fingers snapping to some nice rhythm. Some are almost as catchy as "The State of the Nation" by Industry or Men at Work's "Who can it be now". Lots of "full-bodied", crystal-clear and seamless sound mixes that illustrate how advanced technology has become in recording studios these days... but I didn't hear much metaphors... no wisdom, or powerful messages from the stuff I was playing. Okay, ahem, maybe wisdom is too much to ask... afterall, the "artists" of these days are no U2, Style Council, Tears for Fears nor R.E.M. of the "Losing my religion" fame. :) They are a bunch of "happy people" - only a few with real talents, say, Lady Gaga, for instance - who just wanna have "fun".... As to what "fun" means these days is another story altogether! But I guess you can tell by the loads of moaning sound from most of today's music - nothing subtle about them at all... unlike Bryan Ferry's or David Bowie's delectable take on passionate love!
Oh, well... to each his own, I guess? :) I guess! I'm just getting old, that's probably what this is! Wait... I am old! Dang! =)
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Acknowledgement: Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.
