The process of ripping songs has induced me to go through a lot of old CDs that I hadn’t listened to in (literally) years. There’s a lot of great stuff in there – buried in mostly mediocre albums, of course. One song in particular has been running through my head, and I’d like to nominate it for both Tim Sandefur’s list of libertarian anthems (more here) and Todd Zywicki’s list of best songs by relatively obscure artists. The song: “Right Here, Right Now” by Jesus Jones.
A woman on the radio talks about revolutionWhy do I like this song so much? Two reasons. First, it celebrates a truly exciting moment in history: the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War. I now have students young enough not to remember this period. They were alive, but they weren’t waiting for it; they didn’t grasp its significance. But I was and did, and listening to “Right Here, Right Now” triggers an oddly pleasant feeling of political nostalgia. Yeah, sure, we have new problems now – but at least communism is (with the exception of some sad hold-outs) dead, and we should still be very happy about that.
When it's already passed her by
But Bob Dylan didn't have this to sing about
You know it feels good to be alive
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now, there is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now, watching the world wake up from history
I saw the decade in, when it seemed
The world could change at the blink of an eye
And if anything then there's your sign of the times
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now…
Second, and more importantly, the song hits on a theme that transcends the historical: exalting the sheer love of living, appreciating what you have, and enjoying the world you live in. I feel like that all the time. Even on my worst days, I like to take a moment to remember how lucky I am to be living here and now, in Western civilization at the dawn of the 21st century.
5 comments:
I'm glad you like your new toy. Now back to the real world.
As Putin says, the fall of the Soviet Union was a tragedy. The country is poorer in every way since the break up: economically, socially, etc. A gradually change is to be preferred over an apocalyptic one. I don't know how you can stand Catamalarky. It's run by a bunch of biased macho intellectual pipsqueaks whose diatribes aren't worthy of your perusal.
Now back to the music...
That's hot.
wow, you have a Jesus Jones album? I like that song, but i don't remember if they had any other hits. That's like somebody owning an EMF album.
"I now have students young enough not to remember this period. They were alive, but they weren’t waiting for it; they didn’t grasp its significance."--I remember feeling that way when my 6th grade teacher made us listen to Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire." But even in HS when I was able to appreciate the song, I thought it was still just ok. it probabably would have been cooler if U2 or some other alternative band changed the style of music.
"...appreciating what you have, and enjoying the world you live in. I feel like that all the time. Even on my worst days, I like to take a moment to remember how lucky I am to be living here and now"--that's really neat. not a lot of people can say that.
sk
if sandefeur is making a list of libertarian songs, maybe he should include the theme song from the "firefly" series.
Take my love
Take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care
I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out
To the black
Tell 'em I ain't coming back
Burn the land
And boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
Have no place
I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me
--particularly the first stanza.
sk
oh and one more song celebrating entrepreneurism and capitalism from the group i used to LOVE as a teenager--Pet Shop Boy's. The song "Opportunity."
I've got the brains, you've got the looks
Let's make lots of money
Oh, there's a lot of opportunities
If you know when to take them, you know?
There's a lot of opportunities
If there aren't, you can make them
Make or break them
sk
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