My Plug in Baby

What is a man? That is the topic of today’s philosophical discussion. How do we, as humans (or monkeys if you prefer) define ourselves in this day and age. Well...

A person very close to me said something this morning that shook me up a bit:

“I want you to be careful... you’re only happy when you’re online [on Facebook or looking at Muse].”

And while this may be correct, my first reaction was denial. Now, not only did that make me a typecast of ‘a person who absolutely refuses to see the truth even when it is right in front of their noses' but it made me think. How is it that technology has risen up out of the depths of our sci-fi imagination and virtually taken over our lives? Is it even physically possible to go 1 day without using some sort of electronic device? It’s not just Facebook, or YouTube or MySpace or [insert another/one of a gazillion other online networking websites] but it’s our iPods, our cell phones, laptops, televisions, radios, cars, remote garage door openers and car starters, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, etc...

The conclusion: unless you live in a log cabin or an igloo you cannot live without electronics or technology. It has become our life-support sans the hospital. I’m not bashing technology (heck, I’m writing a blog!) it has been to humanity what the Canadarm is to the International Space Station, letting us reach farther than we ever could on our own. But on the reverse side, what happens when you remove the electronic from the man?

Well, we’d be hollow. Not hollow like the hole in the oak tree but hollow in the sense of that feeling of emptiness, of wanting more that what you’re getting from your life. Are we really happy when we’re watching our favorite shows on TV, or is it just acting like a momentary BandAid for what we’re really yearning for? Which, is exactly where Muse comes into play; Muse will fill your hollowness with a sweet cacophony of guitar riffs and soaring falsetto.
And so...

Now it’s time to plug Bellamy and his genius! One of the ‘classic’ Muse songs generally accepted to be the magnum opus is none other than Plug In Baby. On the Musewiki website (the ultimate compendium of Muse knowledge!) they state:

“It is...rumoured that the meaning of the song is Bellamy's love for his guitar, or it could be criticizing todays new technologies such as the internet, which are supposed to be encouraging people to communicate when it really separates them.”

A frightening thought at first and one could easily argue that it allows us to communicate immediately (fbook chat anyone?) with friends whom we wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to speak with. But are we using it as a scapegoat to stay within the safe and comfortable confines of our homes?

There is still more!

“As you bang your sweaty head to Plug In Baby’s monster intro, you’re actually listening to a bastardisation of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Bach ‘n’ roll, baby...”

From the article, “Guitarist of the Decade: Matt Bellamy” in the January edition of Total Guitar. Ah, virtuoso indeed!

And now a sampler of the first verse:

“I've exposed your lies baby
The underneath's no big surprise
Now it's time for changing
And cleansing everything
To forget your love”.

So, forget the false love that technology gives you, it’s a lie. Make the change and cleanse everything in your life of this false love.... ERR, maybe I’ll take little teensy weensy baby steps and start by spending less time on the internet this week...

And in closing, just as my thoughts were leading me down a very depressing road, I saw the silver lining... naw, I just saw a man walking down the street – with a BANANA sticking out of his jacket pocket! So all is not lost after all :D

Word of the day: rabble rouser