by William Butler Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?


1920

I like heavy metal. I think the high wail of a guitar screaming in bitter rage can fill me with deep sadness. The fiery anger of a good riff can fill me with a supernatural high, reducing me to a primal state, where pure sound relaxes me and fills me with anger, all at the same time. It’s a strange feeling, but an amazing one. This is in fact irrelevant, as this article isn’t about metal, but it seemed as good a way as any to start a piece about music, especially since I write this two days before Halloween. In fact, what I just wrote can be applied to a lot of styles, albeit with some different adjectives here and there. This, some would say, is why music is awesome, because everyone can get what they want out of their respective chosen styles, thus proving all styles equal.
This is where I differ. I could go on a petty rant about metal being the only good style of music, but I won’t, because I don’t believe that. The fact, pure and simple, is that not all styles are equal, and metal is not the only one worth a listen. George Orwell put it better that I could in his novel Animal Farm: “All animals (read genres) are equal, but some are more equal that others” I won’t use this article to attack certain genres of music. I don’t think it can be reasonably denied, however, that while the music spectrum has some real gems, from modern trance to early blues to baroque classical music, the fact is that many styles of music are crap. Doubtless if I named one now I would be lynched by mob of its fans, but I honestly think there is such a thing as good music and bad music, and opinions can be stupid, and therefore not realistically equal. (Basically, we can have all the free speech and equal opinions we want, but someone saying that two plus two is five is still clearly an idiot)
In my mind it comes down to knowledge. I know metal and I love it, whereas a jazz fan will love his music just as much, when he knows his music. I don’t know jazz well, so I can’t really appreciate it, but surely it can’t be coincidence that all the people who really know music well seem to have similar tastes? For example, the best musician I know is a jazz/blues head, but can easily appreciate metal, dance, and in fact a lot of other music. This doesn’t just apply to music; an art fan might love a painting, while I could just stare at it, blissfully ignorant of what I’m missing, while he looks down his long art-loving nose at me.
Not all styles can be enjoyed in this manner. There is an awful lot to know about, say, blues, and people who like it really love it. Other music simply can’t be enjoyed in this way.
I must make a confession. I lied when I said I wouldn’t attack certain styles. I’ll attack some right now, even if just to fill more space…. Look at a band like Snow Patrol: they have no distinguishing features, none of the things jazz or blues or classical heads can get into. None of the interesting features that jazz or classical fans get into. Look at a Snow Patrol concert, the crowd never seem that involved, whereas at, say a techno festival, the crowd will be jumping over themselves in exitement, like at an awful lot of other styles. Bear in mind I’m just using Snow Patrol as an example, I could also cite many other bands like Coldplay or Hard-fi, ect.
The simple fact is that these bands have somehow ascended to fame with no real characteristics, no real attention grabbing abnormalities. Don’t get me wrong, this music has its place, but somehow I don’t think that place is as the most commercially successful artists on the planet. I think “Chasing Cars” is better suited to be played in nursing home. Meanwhile, an obscure proto-satanic metal band like Mercyful Fate will always be a niche market, hated by few, worshipped by few and unbeknownst to the many. Unlike a band like the Coronas for example, Mercyful Fate are an unusual band and whether you

So here we are, another referendum come and gone. We voted no, but is anyone really sure why? The fact, pure and simple, is that most of us (myself included) no both Jack and shit about politics. Yet everyone votes. Why are all our futures being decided by people too drunk to find the polling place?
The current system, which implies that anyone over a certain age is intellegent enough to vote, has some merits (cause five year-olds know even less about it) but can be much much better.......Here it is......A voting licence. A simple Civics test which all people can take, and if they pass can get the right to vote. This way, my future will only be decided by people proven to be smart enough to be trusted, and the dunb and (and smart kids) can really get the proper representation! Simple, innit? Basically, I shouldn't have my politics fucked up because a drunken 'adult' is allowed have an opinion on something they know nothing about....