4B. The Muse

There is no overall story

Some of these words are about me

All of them come from within me

And the keys are lost.

A few of those I regret

Most I do not.

You breathe life into me"

Today I will start anew

Towards tomorrow.

There are signs of life within

Stirring (coffee spoons)

When did I last post on Tumblr? By a simple process of deduction, it’s been 14 months since I was last here. Unsurprisingly, I had to reset my password. Much has happened in the past 14 months, in the world, if not in my life. However plenty of more eloquent witty people have written about that, so I wont bore you. So why I am back? The truth is I was never away, I was just waiting, quietly, for some inspiration to visit me, This week she did….and from an unlikely source. 

If you have kids you’ll probably have had to endure them enthusiastically sharing with you music, films, TV programmes as well as bafflingly popular internet sensations, whose only ability is being able to make money out of their limited capabilities. My own daughter has attempted, in recent weeks, to engage me with amongst other things Biffy Clyro’s latest album (passed me by, nothing much happened), Stranger Things “’its like the X files dad” - no it isn’t not remotely like it, and “The Get Down” which appears to feature random singing and dancing, my worst entertainment nightmare. At least all the clips I have been shown contain singing and dancing, so I’ve extrapolated that they have nothing to do with the plot. 

She has also been mentioning a woman called Kate Tempest for weeks, and this week tried the approach of saying “Dad, she is a cross between Kraftwerk , I mean the beats and The Streets”. This sparked my interest, so I downloaded her ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’ album and prepared to be underwhelmed. Nothing could be further from the truth, I was blown away. She is a young woman talking and singing songs (poems) about modern mostly disaffected people living along in London. Can I relate to the subject matter? Not at all, Is it gripping? Yes it is. The spareness of the accompanying sounds, her somewhat world weary delivery, the detailed observations of the minutiae of life - it all works so very well. I am now a fan. 

I know this isn’t cool for Kate Tempest and it doesn’t make me cool (nothing ever will) but I’m not ashamed of who I like and listen too - you should never be either.  My daughter was impressed I liked it so much, but rolled her eyes when I said I’d have to buy it - I’m old school and like to be able to hold my music.

So if you despair of the drivel that your kids force you to endure, keep the faith. Amongst all the dirt and rubbish, there are nuggets to be found.