Complex Numbers

Backwards

I fully admit that it's backwards, but it's the way I am, and I have to accept that, even if my friends and family don't understand - which they don't.

See, when it comes to music, as you've already figured out, I'm not normal. First of all, I don't either love or hate a song. For most people, it's like Beavis and Butthead: either it's cool, or it sucks. But as they once said, "If everything was cool, and nothing sucked, how would we know what was cool?" For me, there's a whole spectrum from "suck" to "cool." About some songs, I'm just indifferent.

Second... well, what's "cool" for me has a wide range of styles, including what some would call "depressing" songs and what some would call "happy" songs. I like 'em both - when they're done right. The thing is, "depressing" songs make me smile. They make me happy. I don't know if it's because of my finely-honed sense of schadenfreude, or because I just like a good sad song, or because I can say my situation is superior to that described in the song.

Meanwhile, "happy" songs make me want to cry. (I don't actually cry, of course; I'm a man, after all.) They show me a glimpse into a world from which I am forever barred from participating. It's not that my life sucks; it's just that joy has been elusive to me. I get a small taste of emotion from these songs, but I try not to overdo it.

So today's video is a song about what most would consider a depressing subject, but it's one that never fails to make me happy. It's from The Boomtown Rats, who were probably better known for their lovely, upbeat song about school shootings, "I Don't Like Mondays." I love that song, too, but for whatever reason, the one I link here is the one that sticks in my head as an all-time favorite. From the depths of 1979, I present:

(the Rats gave us Bob Geldof, who is now better known as the organizer of Band Aid and Live Aid, but I will always remember as the main character in the movie Pink Floyd: The Wall.)

Oh, and here's a more recent picture of Bob Geldof - ah, the ravages of time. http://prod.campuscruiser.com/news/22/1188826/91682/Bob+Geldof-w275-h344.JPG