Music
It’s Called Gratitude
Your daily musical reminder to take a look around, now and again
Expressing it to yourself or to those around you is one thing. Publishing an article about it without sounding like a privileged dickhead is another.
So I’ll start at the most natural place — with the Beastie Boys. In 1992 they blew my college sophomore suburban mind up with their third album, Check Your Head. They went in a completely different direction from their previous albums: drums, bass, guitar, vocals that they played and a healthy serving of scratching and samples and no bullshit. They had to, they would have turned into a joke otherwise. Instead of white boy frat party rappers, they became post punk power pop pioneers and that’s how they are remembered. Rightly so. The album I’m talking about featured such powerhouses as “Jimmy James,” “Lighten Up” and “So Whatcha Want.” But for me, the standout is four songs in, “Gratitude.”
The plain fact is that while grunge and Britpop were the flavour of the day in the early 90s for fans of rock music, the Beastie Boys were making completely different music. That, however, is neither here nor there.
What’s important is that on this song, they took a moment, looked around their charmed NYC existence and reminded their legions of white suburban fans, to do the same and truly appreciate all they have, even if it ain’t much. It could be that this was the first time many of us had had our brains rattled by hearing such a message.
The lyrics are quick and to the point. Give thanks for what you have and don’t worry about what you missed out on and what you don’t have. Accept regret and move on. Don’t let your hatreds control you. Know yourself. Master your ego. Set your mind free.
That kind of thing.
We hear this a lot these days, but not enough in my opinion. #blessed, #livelaughlove and #breathe are all hashtags that are machine painted onto mass produced on cheaply produced wall hangings you can buy for your house, hovel, rv, mancave or #vanlife at your local Target or Walmart.
These hashtags are a joke, right?
It could be argued that their meanings have been lost as a result of crass marketing, consumerism and our insatiable appetite for buying things that we are told can give our life meaning. Or it could also be argued that we do indeed need daily reminders, trite as they may be, that we really do have it pretty good. We can also stop laughing at people who genuinely feel those things. The lack of people who do is what has us in our current situation in the world.
I woke up this morning on a clear and crisp day on the shore of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. I am free of want, fear, need, violence, hate and anything else shitty that you can name.
In Jamaica, where I live, often when you ask people “How are you?, the answer comes back, “I’m giving thanks”. I love this. It is such a liberating approach to life.
I could go on. But I’ll let MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D sing us out as follows,
“Just one thing, do you know you?
What you think, that the world owes you?
What’s gonna set you free?
Look inside and you’ll see
When you’ve got so much to say, it’s called gratitude
And that’s right”
Here’s the video in all its gritty, greasy glory if you want to belt it out at home.
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