Well to be honest it's been a rough couple of weeks. I came out of hospital and did all the things that I really shouldn't and here I am paying the price for not listening to the doctors. I don't like being stuck in a chair all the time and having to suffer all the pain and discomfort every time I want to make a coffee or make some food. I should be breezing around the house now but instead it's like one step forward and two steps back and then fall over. I plan on having a quiet weekend though and get out of the chair for a few days next week, but I don't know if it's going to be possible with this being a big rugby weekend...I'll try.
On Monday I'm going to play a bit of music with a couple of friends, and it'll be the first time in a long time that I've played out in public. I should be alright though. I've been wanting to do this for ages and I've even been doing a bit of practice, I've noticed that I'm forgetting some song words here and there, I don't know if it's the drugs I'm on or old age but I might have to bring some cheat sheets.
The pub we're heading for is a gem of a spot, there's not many like it left and I hope it never changes or modernises. It's in a little spot called Ballyagran, which is basically a crossroads about five miles out of town. The owner, Billy, I've known for years and I'm hoping he'll be lashing out the guitar as well.
There's too much of what I call 'tradition' being lost these days. I'm pretty sure that every generation has said that but I'm coming from a different angle. All the things that I like are pretty organic, like music played on acoustic instruments and food cooked over flame. I know the world evolves and I'm as likely to use a microwave as the next person but I think we're coming close to the end of the line. When people stooped playing acoustic guitars in the 60's they picked up electrics, and the same with all the other instruments, and the fire has been replaced with microwaves and hyper grills and home espresso machines. But then the electric guitar or the keyboard has been replaced by the mp3 player, the d.j. mixing console and a guitar video game. The microwave has been stumped by the low cost of take-away food from all over the world, people can't cook anymore and we're heading for a generation that won't be able to play an instrument at a party for a bit of fun.
I went down to the river for a look the other day because the trout season has just opened and I didn't see a single soul fishing. My wife and daughter brought me to a local beauty spot on Sunday and even though there were twenty cars there there was only twenty two people.(yeah I know;I am that sad that I counted) All the people that were there jumped out of the car, walked their dog up and down the path for ten minutes and left without stopping once to look at the beautiful lake and fine hills around it.
So what I mean is, there's a lot of change in the world and if we're not careful we'll change once too often and completely leave the past behind. Music will always evolve, but without musicians to create it and play it, it will just turn into white noise. People will eat what they like but soon the distance between the source of the food and the meal will be too great and all we will have is generic protein biscuits. Dogs will always need exercise and people with hunched shoulders will drag them on a lead but some day we will never hear the word 'hello' again and the distance between us will get greater and our eyes might never look up at the wonderful world around us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment