The End Is Nigh! Apocalyptic Future is Rosy for Acoustic Alternative? – From The Mind of McFarland music blog.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the end of the world. Obsession with a zombie apocalypse and the mayan calendar have been going pretty strong for the past several years. Apocalyptic signs such as bath-salt-fueled face eaters in Florida, Snooki’s baby and Chad Kroeger’s engagement to Avril Lavigne, have people convinced that the end is nigh – or if not genuinely convinced, provided with fodder to ironically discuss the future apocalypse.
I’ve had a great fondness for post-apocalyptic fiction of all sorts for many years, and it wasn’t until about six months ago that I put my finger on the appeal. There are two sides to why I pine for an apocalyptic future, the first general and the second personal.
I think one reason we yearn for societal collapse is that, for anyone living in a first-world country, survival is no longer a struggle. From the time we’re born up until our death, the basic necessities of life are a sure thing – we know that we’ll be able to find food and shelter, medicine when we’re sick, etc. As such, the drive to stay alive, which is inherent in all creatures, has no outlet. The idea that all those support structures could be ripped away and we’d be forced to fight for our very survival, while terrifying, is also inspiring and exciting.
For me, as a musician – especially one who plays (for the most part) acoustic alternative music – there’s a second motivation. Imagine and EMP goes off tomorrow, every MP3 player, CD player, car stereo and internet jukebox suddenly cease to function. When music is no longer available at the push of a button, live performance becomes the primary form of musical entertainment, and the traveling minstrel is again a relevant concept. As someone who needs nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a good pair of stompin’ boots to put on a show, that sounds mighty appealing.
The end is nigh, you say? Sounds good. I’ll start writing some post-apocalyptic songs right away!
-MMcF
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Unleaded rhythmic alt-pop fuels singer/songwriter and two-wheel troubadour Michael McFarland’s engine. Michael McFarland in the simplest summary? Writer, Rocker, Biker, Geek.
For Michael’s Music, Cd’s, Downloads, Merchandise, live show schedule, music blogs, music videos, and everything else you want to know about McFarland, visit the Michael McFarland Website at http://michaelmcfmusic.com/
Jonathan Coulton has some pretty good sorta-post-apocalyptic songs. “The Future Soon” is awesome.
I’ll have to check that out! I saw him not too long ago when he was on tour with They Might Be Giants. He puts on a solid live show, but I’ve yet to pick up any of his releases.