Monday 24 April 2023

Everything is going wrong, but we're so happy

Heard this on the radio last week, for the first time in a while. It's a perfectly serviceable, if unremarkable, slice of Noughties indie from The Wombats, the sort of danceable guitar-led "records that girls can dance to" popularised at the time by Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and others.

I say unremarkable but here I am, remarking on it. Why? Because at a time large swathes of the nation are getting their knickers in a knot about either the coronation and/or Eurovision, whilst public services and infrastructure are falling apart and the nation slips ever deeper into its post-Brexit, post-politics, post-truth death-spiral ... well, you have to wonder where people's priorities lie. All together now:

Let's dance to Joy Division
And celebrate the irony
Everything is going wrong
But we're so happy

6 comments:

  1. As someone who has covered both Royal happenings and Eurovision over the years, I suspect I will watch both, but quite possibly BECAUSE everything is going wrong (looks loud but just wanted to emphasise the word!). When everything is spiraling out of control and we seem to be unable to do anything about it, a bit of Eurovision fluff and nonsense will suit me well I think. I might even dust down my Bucks Fizz outfit. As for the coronation, they seem to be having trouble getting artists to sign up for the concert outside Buck Palace - everyone distancing themselves for obvious reasons. As I suspected, once the Queen passed on things would very much change.

    Not watching the news should be mandatory at the moment to retain your mental health and lots of people seem to be sticking to that. Let them be happy. My emergency alert didn't go off on my phone on Sunday, so come the apocalypse, I will remain in blissful ignorance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't get the emergency alert either. Clearly there's no space in a bunker for me, so best to leave me in ignorant bliss too.

      Delete
  2. I'm reminded of that time in the '80s when we felt so close to nuclear apocalypse... and the charts were full of frothy, frilly frivolity (sorry about all those Fs) - Bucks Fizz and the posey dancers on ToTP paid to look like they're partying, all boob tubes and ra-ra skirts - I suppose it's whatever gets you through the day but was surely an extreme escapist response now I think about it. (On the other hand, I was immersed in anarcho punk for a lot of it and more aware than ever of all the doom and gloom.... perhaps I should've gone the other route after all!)

    My alert did go off but Mr SDS's didn't... hmm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't worry, C, it's probably not too late to order a ra-ra skirt before the coronation... ;)

      Delete
    2. Haha - but I think an emergency alert would go off if I did!

      Delete
    3. But would we get it? :)

      Delete