Friday, March 20, 2009

Kärnkraft - nej tack!

Per Gahrton, ur Cogitos senaste veckobrev:

"De som vill satsa på kärnkraft är både ansvars- och hänsynslösa. De blundar för långsiktiga effekter på mänsklighetens överlevnad och struntar i risker för människors hälsa och miljö. De nonchalerar såväl risker för nya olyckor av Tjernobyltyp, som okontrollerad spridning av kärnvapen. Och allt detta för att upprätthålla obegränsad tillväxt i en begränsad värld hellre än att anpassa mänsklighetens förbrukning av resurser och miljöutrymme. Vem är det egentligen som är förnuftig och vem är det som är flummare?"

Den som är för kärnkraft är en egoistisk idiot utan förmåga att tänka längre än sin egen näsa. Patetisk.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Boring life - boring music

I saw Sonja Aldén performing in the Annedal chuch in Gothenburg last night. A great singer, great musicians, great choir, superb performance, but there's just something missing. To be frank, if you live a content Medelsvensson* life in an average place like Huddinge, I don't think you're cut to create anything great. The best songs were written by others. Don't get me wrong, it's still super professional and very well done, but when it comes to music you need something more. After all, it doesn't matter how good of a sculptor you are, if the raw stone isn't good enough.

But how is this raw stone created? I don't know. But take Peter Le Marc as an example. He comes from another small place (Trollhättan), just as boring as his music was. But then Something happened - divorce, alcohol, inner struggle - and he creates a masterpiece, Det som håller oss vid liv, 6 years after his last record.

Bruce Springsteen is another example. His Nebraska album is a classic, but then he just got too rich, lead a too boring life and nothing really worth mentioning has come from him. Sure, some big hits, some very well made songs, but still - bad raw material. U2 after Achtung Baby. Depeche Mode after The Violator.

What happens? When they reach the fame and money they dreamt about they stop? My guess is they come into a crisis, realizing that life is still just the same - after all they are just the same they always were. The rest is just superfluous flowery surface. Then they need a few decades and then suddenly they do a masterpiece again. From Elvis in Memphis and Dusty (Springfield) in Memphis in 1969, as two superb examples. Johnny Cash through American Recordings from 1994 onwards, as another.

Good music is not born from easy lives. Sad but true?

* Medelsvensson is the Swedish Mr Smith, the average Joe.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Slumdog millionaire

This "comedy" is great! It's about how a young man whose life has been hell in the indian slum manages to get into the TV show Who wants to be a millionaire.

I wouldn't call the movie a comedy at all, though. It's a depiction of hell. And what makes me so damn angry is that while kids live in hell we spend billions on fancy housing and totally unnecessary luxury. The world needs more socialism! Money has a tendency to stick together - fewer people are getting very much richer while the masses are getting poorer. Just look at the USA! China is doing quite well. Why? Because the capitalistic system is controlled! Money has to be actively taken from the rich and given to the poor, invested in infrastructure, schools, health care, in short - investing in the mutual future. Why was the USA so successful after WWII? The New Deal! Why was Sweden so successful? The Social Democrats! Everywhere in history you see that equality leads to prosperity, and that collection of wealth to a few is the beginning of the end. So act, while there is still time!