Its the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

R.E.M. – It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) – Providence, RI, 10/19/1987

I posted this song back in November, when we had an earthquake on the morning after Pennsylvania put Joe Biden over the top. I had really wanted to wait to post it until today, once we were sure we had actually rid ourselves of the Orange Menace, but how can you overlook the rare occurrence of an earthquake in New England?

In that post, I mentioned that I had a live recording from the best show I’ve ever seen, R.E.M. at the Providence Performing Arts Center, on the night of the stock market crash, October 19, 1987. I picked up the bootleg cassettes a year or two later at a record store in New Haven. This morning, I fired up that USB tape player I got for my birthday and transferred it over to SoundCloud. I think the intro to the song is especially relevant today, please give it a listen.

I am so relieved that today went off without a hitch. I am so glad we have a woman vice president. I am so thrilled that Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, killed the Keystone XL pipeline, revoked the Muslim travel ban, and on and on. In the Oval Office, he put up a big portrait of FDR and a bust of Cesar Chavez. His cabinet appointments are diverse and inclusive, and science and experts are welcome once again. That deserves a standing ovation.

 

3 comments

  1. Indeed it does Ellen! What a glorious day. Honestly, I never gave up hope. My coworkers call me Silver Linings because I’m always the optimist. I just had to believe we would prevail.

    Orange crush was finally turned inside out! Let’s savor the moment.

    Normal never felt so good.

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      1. I did. Stipe in all his socio-political genius glory. “One nation under god, indivisible, except for the Stock Market…” This is a great monologue. The prophets, indeed anyone watching carefully, knew where we were headed. Though I am a staunch defender of a free and robust media, sadly the primary outlets foregrounded money and market share over honest in-depth (i.e. boring) reporting and invrestigative journalism. To the detriment of most of us. Of course, they only share a slice of the blame. But some of “our side” became enablers of the GOP master plan. I think too that Democrats have more or less always tried to play and win from within the system and by the rules of the system. The right learned very early on that it is generally much more effective to use the rules as a shield and a club while surreptitiously bypassing same. Never bring a knife to a gunfight as they say. But light and goodness have caught their breath for just a moment and we rally and regroup here at the end of the world. I hope that we don’t for one second forget how easily it can all come crumbling down again. Suspicion yourself, wolves are always at the door.

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