Monday, March 30, 2009

Creative spunk...everywhere but here

Hi there,

Its been a while but I doubt you noticed.

Baby C’meer is doing well. He seems to be moving on quite well. Still asexual but we love and nurture him like he was our own.

Anyway, this is quite a gentle return and not such a vitriolic diatribe as I imagined it would be.
I’d like to talk about something a lot of people here claim to be or believe exists here; creativity. There is plenty I'm sure. In advertising and so on even if its plagurized or people are trying too hard it exists to an extent but its the kind shit that I've already seen elsewhere in the world....too late.

I have my doubts about creativity and this place. Sad but true; this city is a far-flung breeding ground for nothing in particular. This might sound harsh but not only is the urban planning contrived, even the very thought of a creative spark is a fluffy dream in these parts.

Ya’ know, this might all just be harmful negativity but this town just isn’t built on genuine foundations. Some former jockey was going on about how grass was grown in the desert this weekend because of the Dubai World Cup and how amazing a feat that is. Ok. That is great but it still isn’t real is it? I mean if you hosed a bit of sand with some grass seeds on it, it still wouldn’t grow would it? You’d have to get some horse to shit on it before it even considered rearing its green tips above ground.

“Ummm, no thanks its too hot here…how about New Zealand?”

“NO! You have to grow here!”

Poor old grass seeds. But here is the thing. In an established city which wasn’t injected with growth hormone you have a city that has flourished through history, turmoil and some sort of evolution, which just hasn’t been the case here. It is still a baby and credit to the "visionaries" who created it but it still isn’t real and anyway, I did it first albeit when I was 12 and I was playing Sim City.

So there I am thinking ‘You know what? Give it a chance.” So Coldplay have come to town and everyone has been getting a bit giddy about it. But that is just the thing isn’t it? Everyone gets giddy about the one band that comes here. Literally, they are the only band of any genuine prowess that has come in its prime apart from Muse. Now I’m not a Coldplay fan because they are the ultimate corporate cock suckers but I understand why people are. Catchy, melodic 'Wonderwall' blueprint tunes that get everyone all emotional and reaching for their anti-depressant pills. However, could that level of talent or creativity be nurtured here. Nope. Sorry, not in a million fuckin’ years.

So I give it another chance. There are "bands" floating about here...anyway, not that I've been told they were good but their name has been mentioned so I thought 'Go on then. Let's have a listen'. Like Abri (Bob Marley is dead by the way, lads), Beat Antenna were essentially born in these arid lands. Didn’t think much of either of them but the latter without hearing them because I’ve gotten so disallusioned with anything here. But still, since people were harping on about them I thought I’ll give ‘em a listen.

Good for those lads. Seriously. At least they’ve had a go and it isn’t their fault that they’re shite because at the end of the day what have they had to inspire them? Supermarkets, shopping malls, girlfriends, the internet? Not the kind of gubbins that is going to change my life is it, really? Even if the lyrics were abstract they are far from going to gain a reaction close to "Woahh, hang on" in a place like this. People go to work, shop and get drunk here. Edgy shit, mannnnn. Yeah, far from it. With that kind of audience and that kind of band, the music 'scene' is likely to go nowhere fast.

Creativity, music, poetry, film has often thrived in adversity or through genuine inspiration. The Stones took it upon themselves to evolve Rhythm & Blues from its black roots into something quite phenomenal. Ok, they’re washed up and useless now but they had a breeding ground in which to create something amazing. They were middle-class and they did it. Not to say that you have to be working-class but imagine that so much real perspective on life and society has come from bands and individuals that were faced with the hardships of day-to-day living but still had the hope to produce absolute beauty or lyrics and poetry that were unmatched.

You can’t even walk the streets here and be inspired. In most cities across the world you could take a stroll and go ‘ohhhh look at that lovely flower or that weathered building’ and there you go, it’s the inspiration for your day. You couldn't have street artists here either...they'd melt.

You have to look for 'it' in your head and if all you’ve been doing is driving or shopping or any of the adventurous malarky you could get up to here then you’re screwed aren’t you? I doubt a song called ‘I’m doing my nails and breaking up with my boyfriend’ is going to make people sit-up.

Maybe it is just a sad indictment on modern society because there isn’t much out there that does make you want to start a revolution or be part of a movement. ‘Emos’ were the last sort of thing and if any of my kids like C'meer participated I'd kick him out of the Riding household.

"What's that fringe for? And why are you bleeding? Here put a plaster on it and watch Cartoon Network you little fucker."

The Arctic Monkeys got kids all excited in the UK but it hasn’t lasted long enough to really impact youth culture beyond fashion. Maybe its all fragmented because of MTV and the internet but its going to be a long while before we have life changing events because of the arts around us.

Maybe in the future this’ll be a place where I could rest my head in the knowledge that I could trust someone to touch my soul with their music, but I really doubt this place will spawn anything more than a ‘Meh’ from my vocal chords. Or maybe I’m just too harsh. Either way, maybe all these bands here will do me a favour and stop wasting my 5 minutes that could’ve been better spent cutting my nails.

Bye now!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You
hit
the
Nail
onthe
Head.

Dubai is one fucked up abomination.

Anonymous said...

this was my inspiration for the day

Quillock Riding said...

show yourselves