Whatever You Do, Don't Mention The War*

I was washing dishes when my shitty little iPOD spun onto the Bloc Party and played Price of Gas. I got bored of Bloc Party pretty quick when they first came out. It's that kinda band that sounds really put together when you first hear 'em, and depending on your mood, it can be a good thing. But then some time passes and they start sounding real put together, ie manufactured and lacking of depth.

I lost interest as soon as I saw them live, actually. They had that going-through-the-motions plainitive appeal. Except the drummer. He was electric from the word "go".

Anyhow. Not my point. My point is, The Price of Gas played. I was scrubbing dried egg off a plate when the thought occured to me that this war has been going on so long already that musicians and flashes-in-the-pans have already come and gone. This track's three years old, and even then it was echoing a two-year-old sentiment (dating back to all the yammering about a potential invasion in 2002).

I scoffed a little when I recalled early moments of disillusionment with a soon-to-happen war. Voices in the dark were asking "Won't this just become another Vietnam?" You know, sending an army that doesn't know sweet fuck all about the multi-millenium-long struggle against would-be occupiers waged by the people of then-Persia, present-day Iraq -- a place where the people didn't want to be saved by occupiers then and they sure as fuck don't wanna be saved by outsiders now.

My generation's embraced apathy. Our elder generations are of the "well, we can't leave them hanging" opinion re: Iraq & the so-called "occupation". Thing is, it ain't ever going to get fixed, so why bother trying to hang around for a better time to book an exit? They're a nation of people who've made a legacy of defying occupation and tricking would-be tricksters. Occupation's never going to succeed. Get out now and let them solve things themselves. God knows a resolution isn't gonna happen anytime soon.

It's sad. It's weird that so many are opposed to the status quo yet here we are dancing the same dance. I mean, I even feel like some oddball nostalgic girlie writing this piece at all. We're resigned to the fact that the war will continue until at least the next election. Let's all wave the peace sign, but beyond that... if we don't talk about it, maybe it's not really that bad. Talk about whatever you want, but let's not discuss the war, shall we?

Pfft. Whatever. I've still got dishes to do, and I'm moving on to Mr. Dependable, Bob Mould, for a soundtrack to the cleaning. I wonder if it's anything ironic that the next track to spin on after The Price of Gas was "It's Too Late" by Mr. Mould? Nah... couldn't be.

*I really need to get Fawlty Towers on DVD, you know.