Chart / January — GRANT PRICE

I came to the realisation yesterday that in this miserable world of ours, I am no longer writing with the aim of becoming a (semi-)respected/bestselling author who has a built-in audience, who gets the chance to write op-eds in the Guardian and the New Yorker, who speaks at glitzy events and so on. Nope, I’m doing it mostly so I don’t despair at how messed up the world is. We’re only nine days into January and already I’ve consumed enough misery through the media and conversations with other people to last the entire year. I wonder how things must feel for people who don’t have a healthy outlet like art or sport. I wonder how things must look for people much younger than me. I also wonder how all the people I know who are currently having children are not freaking out about the future.

There’s a book that I’m reading right now which isn’t exactly doing much to alleviate my Stygian mood, but is nevertheless entertaining in how absurd we human beings are: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber. While it isn’t anywhere near as comprehensive or fact-based as Debt: The First 5,000 Years, it’s more accessible, and I’d say it’s an essential read for anybody sitting in an office right now asking themselves exactly what the fuck it is they’re doing with their lives. I wish it had been written eight years ago - I could’ve avoided a bit of destructive soul-searching at the time.

One little bit from the end of last year: Bluntly.com was kind enough to publish a piece I wrote suggesting that the Western as a genre is the perfect framework through which to critique modern society, and that modern Western films and TV shows are - whether consciously or subconsciously - currently serving as a reflection of our deep-rooted fears and often nihilistic outlooks with regard to the climate crisis. The article is available to read here.

Music for a world on fire….