Empecemos el 2014 con una canción.
música
(Es ese momento del año) Los sueños de un visionario les desean feliz Navidad
Excuse me, Harry Dean, may I ask you a question?
No.
Would you have any advice for someone who is trying to make it?
Oh, boy…
For somebody trying to break into acting?
Do nothing.
Do nothing?
Nothing.
Why?
Why not?
I feel like I’ve been doing nothing and that hasn’t gotten me anywhere.
Then you’re in a great place, then. You’re nothing.
I’m nothing?
Yeah, I’m nothing, there is nothing.
What’s the point, then?
None… several.
That kind of takes the pressure off.
All of it.
Ain’t we all just runaways
My body is a cage
I’m living in an age
That calls darkness light
[…]
I’m living in an age
Whose name I don’t know
Travel on
Todo fluye.
Rivers and roads
De mis huesos la humanidad
Cuando las canciones nos hablan de la vida.
Get what it’s about
In my mind, there is no time
A este blog le falta un poco de música.
Ya.
Human[1]
A few months ago a cousin of mine told me about the song «Human», by The Killers: «Are we human or are we dancer? Dancer? Come on! The song is just stupid.» This post is a reply to precisely that comment.
Thing is, the song is not stupid. As a matter of fact, the song poses a philosophical and ethical question of the utmost importance: Are we beings capable of virtue, or just animals subdued by the laws of nature, which can’t control what they really are in the most profound way?
The term ‘dancer’ in the chorus line «are we human or are we dancer?» makes reference, according to Brandon Flowers (composer of the song), to american author Hunter S. Thompson’s quote, of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame, about «how America was raising a generation of dancers (people who follow a pattern and choreography instead of thinking for themselves)«.
The song, of course, doesn’t give us the answer to the question, but manages to state the problem in an almost religious way, which is not surprising due to Flowers’ personal faith.
About the singular ‘dancer’ instead of the proper ‘dancers’, which apparently annoys more than a few, Flowers said you can go fuck yourself, it just sounds better that way.
The song, both the original and the superior live version.
Lyrics can be found here, by the way.
For another post written in english on this blog, check: An honest definition of contemporary society.
[1] Este blog es y seguirá siendo un blog de filosofía en español, si bien ocasionalmente ensayaré algunas entradas breves en inglés, por lo general relacionados a temas de cultura popular de lengua anglosajona.
Los sueños de un visionario 