Friday, April 28, 2006

Hi. I have much to show and tell, but tonight I'm just going to make a meagre offering. It's on the subject of muzak. I have been restraining myself from talking about the on-tap music they pump out 12 hours a day at my local shopping centre... until now. I thought I'd heard it all until I realised I was hearing God Save the Queen (a la Sex Pistols) as I peroused the shops for my lunch. The instrumentation for every song at this centre is exactly the same - guitar, bass and drums and instead of vocals the melody is provided by a synthesiser that sounds somewhere between a soprano saxophone and a very controlled fart. This music is loudly played all day everyday - not just in the building, but in the surrounding outdoor spaces too. The tunes are usually 80's classics - you know, Material Girl, Living on a Prayer, Eye of the Tiger etc. Fairly innocuous stuff. But just picture if you will, the Sex Pistols in full flight with Sid Vicious having recently soiled his pants, being as offensive as possible, while Japanese housewives shop for their groceries. I'm not sure this was the Pistols intended audience. Viva la revolution!

God save the queen A fascist regime They made you a moron Potential H-bomb God save the queen She ain't no human being There is no future In England's dreaming Don't be told what you want Don't be told what you need There's no future, no future, No future for you God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen 'Cause tourists are money And our figurehead Is not what she seems Oh God save history God save your mad parade Oh Lord God have mercy All crimes are paid When there's no future How can there be sin We're the flowers in the dustbin We're the poison in your human machine We're the future, you're future God save the queen We mean it man We love our queen God saves God save the queen We mean it man And there is no future In England's dreaming No future, no future, No future for you No future, no future, No future for me No future, no future, No future for you No future, no future For you

The world is a strange place.