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Do you know when several small problems add up to the stress of the end of the year and you think you simply will not be able to handle all your tasks? When this happens to me, I feel at odds with all of humanity. In order not to spread even more bad mood around or at least, to be a feisty gal, but with fabulous skin, earlier this week I decided to make an appointment with a beautician for a facial.

The lady on the other side of the phone asked me to arrive at nine o’clock in the morning. I took the task so seriously that I actually arrived ten minutes early. Long story short, I left there at noon.

You might be wondering what kind of facial cleansing lasts three hours. I do not know either, because what I had was standard procedure. The rest of the time was filled with conversation. Not necessarily with me and always on her part.

Frankly, I cannot blame her. Apparently everyone is dying to talk. And talk a lot. Could it still be a remnant of the trauma of mandatory isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic? Were we like this before 2020? Or maybe, and that is personal guess, it is a mix of things with a pinch of anxiety generated by the indiscriminate use of cell phones and exposure to the internet?

The fact is that I left my self-care moment feeling completely exhausted. No kidding: exhausted. All that talking about different topics, without getting anywhere, highly reactive and with a slightly resentful tone made me physically tired.

As everything in life has different aspects, the positive side of this peculiar experience was that it made me question not only the repetitive mental behavior that I had been stuck in for the last few weeks, but it also made me reevaluate my situation.

While waiting for the creams to act on my face, some thoughts arose:

  1. Maybe I am not as bitter towards he world, as I thought I was
  2. Maybe my bad mood is actually below average
  3. Maybe, despite all the problems, I am okay.

Being okay, meaning feeling fine just the way you are, can be revolutionary. After all, well-being has a lot to do with completeness, self-satisfaction and other items that, despite of what the huge wellness lobby out there keep telling us, cannot be purchaised.

Speaking from the perspective of music creation, much of what is produced in terms of entertainment is linked to the idea that a film, a play, a book etc. has the primary obligation to awaken positive sensations and make you feel happy.

I completely disagree with this premise. Just as my three-hour facial was not exactly a walk in the park, but it achieved its goal, the transformation caused by art can come in many ways, through various sensations, and perhaps many of them are not directly linked to a feeling of well-being.

Subjecting creation to the rules dictated by entertainment industry is a gross reduction of the potential of art. Perhaps it is even a subversion of its primary role, which is to move people, to change a state of mind, a way of thinking, of perceiving ourselves on society.

Will you let your world shine beuatifully, just like a post-facial skin?

Be seeing you!

G. F.

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This morning I read another report about the sphere inaugurated in Las Vegas with a concert by the band U2. Feedback on the show has been very positive and everyone seems quite impressed with the tons of LED lights and the (poor words, so worn out) immersive experience.

I wonder if these people have ever been to a planetarium in their lives. I remember memorable shows at fantastic planetariums in Osnabrück, Germany and Lisbon, Portugal. And we are talking about the 1990s and 2000s!

Honestly, I am surprised (in a negative way) by the collective mesmerization, in the worst sense of the word, with inventions that, honestly, are nothing new (the true global cult of cars, so harmful to the environment, comes to mind).

It seems that everything that has been done before social media simply never existed. I would say there is a tendence of treating “old” (pre-social media) events as new stuff, or even worse, sometimes they are considered revolutionary, disruptive etc. The very word “experience” has reached a level of overuse by publicity pieces, that it no longer inspires the slightest confidence.

Thge point here is not to question the quality, much less the merit of the band U2 (who, in fact, neither asked nor need my opinion).The reflection I would like to bring today has to do with the widespread use of pyrotechnics in the most diverse musical events.

How much of our already weakened attention can withstand yet another bomb of visual stimuli and still reserve some attention for the music?

Among the artists you know with astronomical numbers of followers, how many people they brought to the stage on their last performance? Hard to rememeber, right? No wonder, with screens that go up and down, dancers with vibrant choreography and costume changes, musicians are just a tiny detail.

I cannot help but thinking that the sparkling lights are taking a place that should be occupied by the music/musicians.. That is, when we are lucky enough to have musicians on stage.

Currently, not only many festivals host attractions whose performances are based on pre-recorded beats, they also consider lip-sync part of the show. And I am not talking about kind-of-hidden-pro-tools-lip-sync”. I am talking about headline performers who would shameless scream words (“Jump”, “Make some noise”) in their mics, while their pre-recorded song goes on.

I am ready to hear any arguments in favor of these resources, I honestly am. However, I fear that any theoretical contortionism will end in some sort of an absolute defense of the concept of entertainment, which I am not opposed to either.

Previously this year, I discussed the difference between large and small concerts, and I am perfectly convinced that there is an audience for everyone. I do not see entertainment as a problem, not at all. The problem is, when there is nothing but entertainment.

Particularly in relation to music, the problem ist that music production has to be reduced to mere entertainment. This is indeed sad, because it means a loss, a decline in its status a form of art. Have you ever heard someone making a comment like: “Well, I did not like that film/exposition, play, because it is sad and I go out to be happy”? I have the impression that this sort of weird reasoning had spread itself throughout society.

Do you know what would really impress me? That people would no longer be hungry and that, at night, everyone would have a shelter. Other than that, honey, there is no sphere giant enough to impress me, and all I can think of all the buzz is: it has been done, babe.

Be seeing you!

G. F.