Hope I die before I get old

Articles

I love music. But real music - rock music. Not hip hop, or pop, or techno, or rap, or many other genres that I just can’t stand. I listen to rock music, as well as many of the subgenres of rock music: punk rock, ska punk, metal, hardcore, alternative country (yes, that exists), classic rock, hard rock, pop punk, funk punk, and even hair metal. WIth all of that music, I’ve come up with lots of lyrics that I really like. Today, I’m gonna pick ten lyrics that, when taken out of context, apply directly to current events. Here’s my top ten list:

10. U2, “New Year’s Day” - ‘Newspapers say, it says it’s true it’s true’ = In modern times, it is all too often that people take what the media says for granted, instead of doing their own research and making their own conclusions.

9. The Who, “Baba O’riley” - ‘The Exodus is here/The happy ones are near’ = This is a sort of timeless lyric, but it implies that those who have alreayd found satisfaction are ready to move on, much like the few Americans who have attained wealth and are prepared to move to a foreign country if Sen. Obama wins for taxation reasons.

8. The Beatles, “I am the Walrus” - ‘Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe’ = This one line from the nonsensical masterpiece can be applied to today’s world when we reflect that Poe’s obsessions with strange fields of study would nowadays be considered perfectly normal, and Poe may have actually been able to avoid poverty had he lived today.

7. Iron Maiden, “Run to the Hills” - ‘White man came across the sea/He brought us pain and misery/He killed our tribes, he killed our creed/He took our game for his own need’ = This stanza, in the minds of some uninformed people who think that the War on Terror is wrong, could be the theme song for an Iraqi or Afghan refuge camp.

6. Less Than Jake, “Motown Never Sounded So Good” - ‘Things will never look up unless you start looking forward’ = A warning for our country’s economoy: if we don’t invest now for the future (in both the sotck market and in alternative energy sources), our country’s state can only get worse.

5. Dropkick Murphys, “The Walking Dead” - ‘What so new about what you’re saying? Just another generation with the same sad song’ = History repeats itself, so we have to look back to the past to change our future. I say lets get back on the gold standard, break the Russo-American Treaty, and start demanding lower tariffs.

4. Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train” - ‘I’ve listened to preachers/I’ve listened to fools’ = Stop turning on the TV and listening to what the talking heads tell you about the government and the economy; do your part and figure it out on your own.

3. Ok, I built this one up with the last one - Talking Heads, “Life Durin Wartime” - ‘Try to be careful, don’t take no chances, you better watch what you say’ = That one is for the liberals who are terrified of the Patriot Act; I’m not worried about it cause I’ve to nothing to hide - do you?

2. Green Day, “Nice Guys Finish Last” - ‘Every joke can have its truth, and now the joke’s on you’ = If you treat the truth like a joke, you will get a punchline that you really ddin’t want. So look at Senator Obama’s voting records, policies, and associations; and if that truth doesn’t scare you, talk to Stephen King about an apprenticeship.

1. For the grand finale… I just had to go here. A personal anthem, as well as an all time classic. If you don’t know this song, here is a link to it:  The Ramones, “Rock N Roll High School” - ‘I hate the teachers and the principal/Don’t wanna be taught to be no fool/Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock’n'roll high school’= This ones not political (although Johnny Ramone was a Republican), but its just a shout out to everyone  - do the right thing, especially when its the right thing for you. If you have a chance to do good, and its something you like, leap for that chance. Make some differecne and have fun doing it.

NU Online © 2008 New Jersey Jewish News