Afternoon Contemplation. . .

I was sitting here wasting my valuable time away when I asked myself this question: "Hey dipshit, what do Rush and the Taliban have in common?"

Well, nothing. Except maybe both are groups.

So, as I continue to waste my time by watching Rush's videos from their tour in Brazil on YouTube, it occurred to me what a glorious and unique creation music is. Music is quite possibly the sole binder that we have as humans, transcending all of humanity including culture, race, age, sex or beliefs. Music has played an enormous part in my life; consuming me, challenging me, teaching me. There is nothing better than coming home from a terrible day and taking it out on my Stratocaster with the 100 watt amp turned up to 11.

Anyway, I was watching Rush perform the opening song of the concert, which was the perennial classic Tom Sawyer. The crowd just explodes in a collective exudation of joy, jumping, flailing arms, screaming, and I'm certain some crying too. The people are just going berserk! Singing along, having a good time, enjoying themselves.



I thought, man, this is such a fine example of the greatness and beauty that humanity can be, when obliged. And then I thought, man, wouldn't it be awesome to get a group of hardcore jihadi, Taliban fellas and take them to see a Rush concert in Rio.

I would park them in a dark corner of the stadium and just study their faces as they observed the goings on. I would amuse myself by trying to imagine what their close-minded and indoctrinated brain cells were recording. Would they even understand that much audio and visual stimuli at once? Or would it all just register as white noise? How would they react to the mass and fervent display of emotion by the crowd? Or to the blinding lights of the display or an image painted by a laser? Could they possibly understand the concept of bridging the differences of the human race by the common denominator of music? Would the lyrics of a song like Freewill impress upon them the preponderance of individuality?



Maybe I'm an idealist because I believe a simple concept like music could help solve a few of the greater problems in the world, possibly not, but wouldn't it be neat to try?

Then after the show, I'd pack the Taliban up and send them home to their mud huts and poppy fields in Afghanistan. I would document them as they tried to explain and communicate to their brethren what they saw at the concert. I'm sure it would be so incredibly alien to them and the others that there may not be any Pashto or Dari words that could describe the experience completely. The listeners would gape in awe at the description of the great noise and light and the throbbing, undulating heap of mass that were the Brazilians. And even if the Taliban never understood the message I had intended for them, they would certainly forever be changed.

And in the end, if their needlebrains still didn't learn anything, we could just drop a bomb on them. Because, you know. . .some people never change.