10. Father John Misty - “Bored In The USA”

Well I’ve done it folks, over a year late mind you - but still, I’ve finally reached the hallowed halls that are the top ten tracks of 2015. Hopefully good things do indeed come to those who wait, and these tracks live up to their preeminence, and are as good to you as they have been to me.

I hate to say it, but I think my procrastination has made this track sort of antiquated and passé. Now don’t get me wrong, the song’s heavy dose of thematic sarcasm is still relevant (and I think it will be for a long time), but sadly we as a country have much more pressing problems on our hands at the moment. No longer are we simply bored - in fact, the luxury of boredom is something we no longer have.

I think a more apt follow up for this song in 2017 would be something along the lines of furious, incredulous, frightened, befuddled, or desperate in the USA. The high-minded boredom of us variously assorted white, male, privileged, liberal individuals no longer has the same luster. Whereas before we would  listlessly stare down from our ivory towers, honing in on extremely farsighted problems and minute offenses, we now have an actual enemy looming at the gates. We grew soft under Obama, either uncritically coddling up to his every move or picking more and more minute causes of which to take issue with until in the end we were left quite literally haranguing a tiny speck of an issue at the expense of the ever-looming danger of the present with which we now find ourselves within.

There’s no excuse for boredom when such blatant injustices are taking place around us. Real problems call for real solutions and real action, not hypotheses and blind ideals. I know I may sound out of touch and completely privileged when saying the following, but then again I’m speaking to the privileged, those like myself, who may not find their immediate selves in danger, but rather their most basic principles of human justice and equality obliterated. Times of trial and upheaval - while awful and difficult, often have the effect of bringing something great out of those involved, of waking something that had grown lazy or complacent in the relative boredom of peace. While the high-minded snark of this track is no doubt alluring and brilliant, its no longer enough. If their was a hierarchy of political needs, sadly the ones within this song have now been relegated to the back, usurped by even greater problems. It’s depressing to think about, as we take several steps back on the imaginary path of progress, but hopefully we can find some inspiration somewhere within it all and become even better humans in the progress.