kidmercury

Well I don't celebrate Christmas, or any holiday, really -- with perhaps the exception of Diwali, which is sort of like the Hindu version of Hanukkah, in the sense that both are regarded as "festival of lights" and are meant in a way to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Though organized religion is not really my cup of tea.

But all these holidays provide good excuses to give gifts. So here's a gift for you: at the bottom of this post is a collection of Oasis' "humanitarian" songs -- songs that celebrate liberty, being yourself, and the beauty of the fact that we are all brothers and sisters in what could be a wonderful world, if we choose to make it that way. I think these songs are so appropriate for our current times; I think of them as being great symbols of the potential of the Age of Aquarius. Astrologically, the Age of Aquarius is generally thought to be a time when we collectively overcome tyranny to create a new world that celebrates individuality, peace, liberty, and a technological renaissance, among many other things. I tend to think the shift we are going through now on a global basis is part of our transition to the Age of Aquarius. Whether this represents the cool stuff I listed or the negative aspects of Aquarius (lawlessness, disorder, unpredictable violence, instability) is up to us.

From a new media strategy perspective, I think this is an example of how the concept of the music album is dying; it's all about playlists now. To put it intuitively: it's not about cherishing the memories you have from listening to your favorite albums, but rather about celebrating the memories that arise from the playlists you share with your friends and loved ones. This will result in a greater focus on releasing singles instead of albums, and in encouraging fans to create and share playlists -- to essentially make their own albums. In the case of Oasis and many bands like them, this will be a good thing: I tend to think the biggest reason why Oasis is culturally huge in Europe but not so much here in the States is that the way their albums are presented and the songs featured on them reflect British culture (sort of like how Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty have a very American feel to them). Oasis have other great songs, though, that were not marketed much -- but I think would have been immensely appealing to American culture.

Below is the playlist; underneath it is the list of songs in the playlist. I tend to think we're going to see a resurgence of these types of lyrics, especially as the world goes to hell in a handbasket over the next few years. Let's see if any artists and record labels try to capitalize on these collective feelings of yearning for a better world. Granted, they probably don't actually care about all that humanitarian crap (that's just for us stupid people who waste our time with 9/11 truth), but the marketing opportunity should pique their interest, so I'm sure they can fake their way through it, as they currently do with many of their causes (environment stuff being the leading the example, which they currently exploit very well in spite of the fact that they know almost nothing about it and thus end up doing more harm than good).

Anyway, here's the playlist. Enjoy and be inspired by the songwriting genius of Noel Gallagher, and have a safe and happy holiday.


Tracks in Playlist of Oasis' Freedom and Humanitarian Songs:

it's better people
heart of a star
let's all make believe
whatever
live forever
half the world away
the masterplan
stop crying your heart out
it's good to be free
let there be love
revolution song (solve my mystery)
don't look back in anger
all around the world