Tea + Crumpets.

"Dear Prudence, open up your eyes."

We all have a hopeless dream...

Mine just so happens to go back to a young child watching movies on BBC. I didn't know that my mother's obsession with Austin's writings would leave such an imprint on the kind of art I would take to later in life. As I've said many times before -- I admire the British.

There is something about the way they deliver a sentence. It's a gift to the ears - a kindness to the obliging air that surrounds the audible magnificence. My hopeless dream is to have a huge library filled with books and to read them allowed in a British accent to any who would come and sit.

The problem lies with me being American - and to my dismay not being able to formulate a convincing British accent. The books then, maybe are my best bet at fulfilling this dream. 

I remember hearing about the Beatles when I was young - who hadn't? They were popular and they were British. For some reason I never lent an ear. As a child I probably meant nothing by it - as I a teenager I would have to blame it on my stubbornness to not conform to the mainstream. That's rich, isn't it? My logic usually is. 

It seems silly to write anything about the Beatles - sometimes it seems silly to write about anything. In the digital age, what HAS NOT been said? We're a wordy bunch (I'm leading the pack). But still maybe there is something to reflect on.

I suppose I was struck by the social responsibility the Beatles addressed in their music. Today we've got some activists that stir up the regular and ask us if the way humankind behaves is the best way we could behave. Today's artist are usually one-sided, aggressive, or hard to learn from in their social approach. 

Yet, the Beatles spoke against war and commented on the culture around them with a kaleidoscope you couldn't help but turn. It doesn't matter if you were for the war or not or if you don't like politics or what have you -- they were master communicators. That's what artists are supposed to be. That's what music is at it's highest point - a message. Sometimes a message we hear against our own prejudice.

I'm hearing these songs 50 years later - and they still fit. They still captivate a room. That's the kind of music we need to write. That's what the radio needs to play. This art had weight because it took risks - but in that it spoke and people had to listen. How many songs are without meaning? How many words have we written that have no heartbeat? 

I smell tea and crumpets.

And I think it's time we woke up.

"I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping

While my guitar gently weeps

I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping

Still my guitar gently weeps

I don't know why nobody told you

How to unfold your love

I don't know how someone controlled you

They bought and sold you

I look at the world and I notice it's turning

While my guitar gently weeps

With every mistake we must surely be learning

Still my guitar gently weeps"

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Beatles