Singing it with feeling

As the TV and newspapers have been saying, Belfast has had a really good time over the past few days. The MTV EMAs came to town and as I was at it, it would just be inappropriate not to comment. What a different side of Belfast it was from that which is typically shown, and how we typically see ourselves in this part of the world. Forget about all the glitz and glamour, just being part of something, connected to the rest of the world in a real way; that's what felt different about Sunday night. To watch the coverage of the event on Northern Irish TV you would think the rest of the world was tuning in just to see how we were coming along, and of course they mostly weren't, but it was good to stand in the spotlight and feel comfortable there.

And what about the TV coverage. UTV had a half hour programme the following evening covering the gig. My word it was a crap programme. There is no more effective way to take the glamour and shine away from something like the EMAs in Belfast than to have someone from the North talk about it. Seeing a UTV presenter trying to attempt to interview celebs on what is probably the only red carpet they have ever stood beside instead of reporting on missing chickens in Antrim or fuel-smuggling in South Armagh is as unconvincing as it is oddly reassuring. The news tonight was back to shedding light on a story about how some ladder down at the Titanic visitor centre was difficult to put in place or something. I swear the journalists looked relieved. I know I was.

I say I was at the EMAs, but I was actually at the City Hall concert. There was something good in the air as the crowd huddled into Royal Avenue in the cold night air between the traffic lights and watched Snow Patrol put in an amazing shift. A lot of people were just there pretty much for Jason Derulo (Jay-suun Deruulooo) but Snow Patrol (following Boyce Avenue) stole the show. There is something thoughtful, relaxed and just a wee bit sad about their music which is suited to Belfast's streets and in front of a great-looking City Hall which could be seen through the stage it helped to really create the feeling that everyone was just enjoying their free night together. I've never felt quite like that in Belfast City Centre before (especially not at night). I began their set hearing Gary Lightbody (one of the good guys) imploring the crowd to show the world what belfast could really be and thinking to myself that if I had a bag of chips I would smack the camera with it as it swooped past. Really show off our culture.

Alas I settled for giving it the fingers a few times ("Feck aff!"). But as the night wore on, and as we met strangers in the crowd and had a genuinely nice time from start to finish, I started to think more positively about it all. Maybe there is more hope for us yet here than I am inclined to give us credit for. As Gary lightbody introduced Take Back the City as a song he "wrote about Belfast" (I am certain I heard it was Glasgow, someone else said Liverpool - go figure), many of the lyrics did strike a chord:

Take back the city for yourself tonight
I'll take back the city for me

God knows you put your life into its hands
And it's both cradled you and crushed
But now it's time to make your own demands
It's a mess, it's a start
It's a flawed work of art
Your say, your call
Every crack, every wall
You can sing, 'til you drop
'Cause the fun just never stops
I love this city tonight

I was there with some foreign friends, happy that they got the chance to see the potential behind the shite. Good times Belfast.

Johnkind:

This is a post leading on from the last. I'm not gonna lie - it was initially for technical reasons (I can't work the internet sometimes) but in the end it works out well. So Micheal D. Higgins is Ireland's new president (and, rumour has it, Gringott's also). The election for victory for him wasn't just an election victory for the Labour Party in Ireland, but also for 'johnkind' - the people of this world whose thoughts and actions I agree with, am inspired by, or can relate to. It is a concept defined more by what we as johnkind are stood against than what we stand for.

Number one on my list these days are the faceless guys running the global economy and the politicians who allow these people to dictate their morals. During the global boom the majority of the world's population were shielded from the real benefits as the already rich profited enormously. After the crash, the ordinary 99% lost out as the rich continued to make millions. Anyone who has watched Michael Moore's excellent Capitalism: A Love Story can tell you about how the former employees of Goldman Sachs circumvented democracy to pretty much steal money from the ordinary US taxpayer and keep their world in profit. The guys at Occupy Wall St and Occupy London: johnkind.

US johnkind

The next on my list of anti-johnkind are the previous holders of the number one position: advertising people. I have despised most any advertising from childhood on. There are a minority of ads which practice what I would deem 'acceptable advertising'. These are the ads which simply say, "Here is the product, it does this, has this vibe, buy it if you want." Fair enough. Unfortunately, almost every ad I see goes a good distance out of its way to manipulate me, the viewer, to cloud my judgement, to make me think I need the product, to have me associate the product with love/money/power/fame/social inclusion/beauty/sex/happiness/etc. The more subliminal the better. With every ad thrown in front of me I feel myself becoming more braindead, more confused, and with my mental and personal space ever more violated. The ideas of love, family and happiness are becoming commercialised and wrapped up in purchasing power. As a society, as human beings, we should sanctify these things. Any attempt to manipulate how we interact with those ideas should be seen as an affront to our better nature. We are above that. We should be above that. BBC and SkyPlus: johnkind.

This machine kills Capitalists

One thing I have noticed going through a life filled with advertising and a recent few years filled with recession is the general lack of johnnish views among the others dandering through life at around my own age. Whether they don't really understand the economy (who does?) or they are just used to advertising (everyone is), I find my stand on these issues can often be a lonesome one.

These are issues avoided by my generation for the most part but, make no mistake, when an advertisement on TV orders you to "Call now!" - it is ordering you to put your hand into your pocket and hand over your money. When a billboard associates a car/perfume/drink/loan with sex/happiness/sunshine/beauty/love, the company behind it is stealing these things from our possesion and free availability and making them obtainable only through their product, sullying them. When you open a magazine and see a model/sports team/lifestyle behind a logo - you are looking at an attempt by men and women in boardrooms and suits to limit your personal choice, attacking your natural freedom.

And when you hear on the news or read in a paper about how a multinational corporation, or worse, a tax-payer-owned bank, is giving bonuses to its high-level employees while laying off those at the bottom, that is an affront to your human rights. When you see the government closing accident and emergency facilities in your city (as has just happened in Belfast) it is because money which should be spent improving the world we all share is lining the pockets of millionaires and billionaires. This should not be approached as an issue of what system works, what drives 'growth', or who benefits the most from our economy. This is a moral issue. These are quality of life issues. There is always a better way.