"And in the morning when you rise, be sure to know your destiny cause it's all worth while, all worth while."
REACH
The Pale Fountains
Pacific Street
EMI
1984
Hace poco me vi inmerso en una discusión sobre el progreso de la civilización. Una de las sentencias causantes de la discusión rezaba algo así como: "sin personas arriesgadas y emprendedoras, que se han lanzado al vacío sin pensar tanto en las consecuencias, el mundo no habría evolucionado", que es lo mismo que decir: "la cautela, la prudencia y la previsión no son motores de progreso". Yo me tengo por un progre precavido. Vamos, que siempre estoy con la mosca tras la oreja. Es verdad que calculo y planifico mucho el futuro y a veces eso me hace demorar mis actos. Para que me entiendan, soy de los que el día anterior a salir de viaje me pongo enfermo de pensar que me voy a dejar algo esencial sin meter en la maleta. Sin embargo, y a pesar de no estar especialmente orgulloso de este defectillo mío, me aterra pensar que el mundo deba ponerse en manos de individuos atrevidos e irreflexivos, pues me parece una absoluta temeridad. Buscar el término medio no tiene por qué ser de pusilánimes. Hay un concepto equidistante entre la excesiva prudencia y la temeridad: la curiosidad, que de por sí ya tiene mucho de progre.
Some time ago I was in the middle of a discussion about the progress of civilization. One of the statements that had led to it was, "without challenging, daring people who have taken risks, the world wouldn't have developed", which is something like saying, "prudence and caution make no progress". I consider myself a cautious progressive man, the kind of person who is not a revolutionary himself but strongly supports the cause. It is true that due to my constant need of planning my future I get blocked when I'm not able to do so and then many things never come to an end. To put it bluntly, I am the one who can't sleep the night before a journey for the fear of leaving something important out of the suitcase. I am not proud of this little fault in me, but I am sure I wouldn't like to have governments fully formed with daring, reckless members as a rule. Trying to find the happy medium does not always mean weakness. Between recklessness and weakness there is curiosity, which has a lot to do with progress.
No sé cuánto de progres eran The Pale Fountains cuando escribieron Reach y el resto del álbum. Recuerdo que un amigo (gracias Javi) me pasó el LP a los dos o tres años de haber sido editado y me lo grabé casi con desgana pues por entonces no paraba de suministrarme novedades que yo no era capaz de digerir en tan poco tiempo. Pero poco a poco se abrió camino en mis oídos y ya forma parte de mis favoritos de siempre. El tema que abre el disco ya nos advierte de lo que nos vamos a encontrar: pop elegante, suave y delicado, con múltiples influencias, que se saborea con el tiempo y que hoy en día sigue fresco. Para adentrarse en él hay que ser curioso y no quedarse en la fogosidad de Reach. Además, nuestro tema de hoy trata precisamente de eso. Reach nos cuenta que a veces hay que transitar "por la otra acera" (connotaciones sexuales aparte) para conocer qué hay más allá, y así darnos cuenta de que al final "todo vale la pena". Si tenemos esa actitud, probablemente queramos "alcanzar las estrellas".
Some time ago I was in the middle of a discussion about the progress of civilization. One of the statements that had led to it was, "without challenging, daring people who have taken risks, the world wouldn't have developed", which is something like saying, "prudence and caution make no progress". I consider myself a cautious progressive man, the kind of person who is not a revolutionary himself but strongly supports the cause. It is true that due to my constant need of planning my future I get blocked when I'm not able to do so and then many things never come to an end. To put it bluntly, I am the one who can't sleep the night before a journey for the fear of leaving something important out of the suitcase. I am not proud of this little fault in me, but I am sure I wouldn't like to have governments fully formed with daring, reckless members as a rule. Trying to find the happy medium does not always mean weakness. Between recklessness and weakness there is curiosity, which has a lot to do with progress.
No sé cuánto de progres eran The Pale Fountains cuando escribieron Reach y el resto del álbum. Recuerdo que un amigo (gracias Javi) me pasó el LP a los dos o tres años de haber sido editado y me lo grabé casi con desgana pues por entonces no paraba de suministrarme novedades que yo no era capaz de digerir en tan poco tiempo. Pero poco a poco se abrió camino en mis oídos y ya forma parte de mis favoritos de siempre. El tema que abre el disco ya nos advierte de lo que nos vamos a encontrar: pop elegante, suave y delicado, con múltiples influencias, que se saborea con el tiempo y que hoy en día sigue fresco. Para adentrarse en él hay que ser curioso y no quedarse en la fogosidad de Reach. Además, nuestro tema de hoy trata precisamente de eso. Reach nos cuenta que a veces hay que transitar "por la otra acera" (connotaciones sexuales aparte) para conocer qué hay más allá, y así darnos cuenta de que al final "todo vale la pena". Si tenemos esa actitud, probablemente queramos "alcanzar las estrellas".
I don't know how progressive The Pale Fountains were when they wrote Reach and the rest of the album. I got the LP from a friend and taped it immediately as I did with all the stuff he used to supply me with, only I didn't have enough time to listen to all. That's why it took me long until I listened to it carefully and finally decided it had to be an all-time favourite. The opening track shows us what the rest of the album will be like: elegant, soft and delicate pop, which gains pedigree with the time and still sounds fresh nowadays. You need to be curious to get into it and not leaving after the first spirited track. In addition, Reach deals with that curiosity. It tells us that sometimes it is compulsory for a person to "walk on the other side" to know what's there and this way realise that "all is worth while". If we do so, we might be able to want to "reach for the stars".
Husmear en lo prohibido, atacar lo convencional, romper las expectativas son buenos consejeros de viaje para mantenernos atentos y no dejar que la excesiva cautela nos transforme en seres bloqueados por el miedo, al tiempo que nos permite asomarnos con descaro a los distintos futuros que la vida nos pone por delante.
Sniffing around what's forbidden, attacking conventionalism, breaking what's expected are good travelling companions in order to keep us alert and preventing excessive precaution from blocking us with fear, while allowing us to bareface the different futures that life has in store for us.
Sniffing around what's forbidden, attacking conventionalism, breaking what's expected are good travelling companions in order to keep us alert and preventing excessive precaution from blocking us with fear, while allowing us to bareface the different futures that life has in store for us.
PD: Recuerdo que la discusión surgió a partir de un comentario elogioso sobre Tom Ford, el diseñador de moda que ha sorprendido a medio mundo metiéndose a dirigir la película Un hombre soltero, y además recibir muy buenas críticas. Es un buen ejemplo de curiosidad llevada a su máximo exponente, y aunque desconozco cuánto tiempo estuvo el director rumiando este proyecto, se me hace difícil pensar que no gozó de buenas dosis de planificación, a juzgar por el resultado.
PS. I remember the discussion started off from a favourable comment on Tom Ford, the fashion designer, who has recently surprised the whole world directing his first film A Single Man with much critical acclaim. That is a good example of curiosity taken to its greatest extent. Although I don't know how long he director has been thinking about the project, it makes it hard for me to admit that it is the work of a reckless mind who has made no planning at all.
PS. I remember the discussion started off from a favourable comment on Tom Ford, the fashion designer, who has recently surprised the whole world directing his first film A Single Man with much critical acclaim. That is a good example of curiosity taken to its greatest extent. Although I don't know how long he director has been thinking about the project, it makes it hard for me to admit that it is the work of a reckless mind who has made no planning at all.
En fin, decidan ustedes el grado de curiosidad que quieran aplicar a su vida, pero sean curiosos.
Anyway, you decide on the degree of curiosity to apply to your life, but please, do apply some.
Anyway, you decide on the degree of curiosity to apply to your life, but please, do apply some.
Enlaces/Links:
The Magical World Of Shack and The Pale Fountains
Gran artículo! Ví que lo compartiste en last.fm y vine a leerlo:)
ResponderEliminar