I have a hard time getting my head around the fact that listening to John Fogerty or Mark Knopfler is merely one more form of nostalgia, but considering that even Knopfler is over fifty, it would be tough to conclude otherwise.
My recent purchases on iTunes include albums by both of them, two by Knopfler, but I was a little surprised to realize that my favorite song on Fogerty’s Deja Vu All Over includes both of their talents.
I think it’s actually Knopfler‘s guitar playing that I like most, but they’re also my favorite lyrics from the album, perhaps because they make me feel slightly guilty considering how many hours I spend in front of my computer and how few people I actually see since retiring to Tacoma.
NOBODY’S HERE ANYMORE
He got the latest software
He got the latest hardware too
He got the latest gizmo
up in his room
He’s feeling so connected
But he don’t talk to a soul
He got a stash of Twinkies
up in his room
Nobody here anymore
Nobody mindin’ the store
They’ve all gone
to another dimension
Nobody here anymore
She comin’ ’round the corner
Ah in a SUV
She got the latest cell phone
up in her ear
I’m running ‘gainst the traffic
She don’t see me
One hand on the cell phone
One hand on the mirror
Nobody here anymore
Nobody mindin’ the store
They’ve all gone
to another dimension
Nobody here anymore
He’s sittin’ back of the classroom
A million miles away
He’s listenin’ to the rock star on the CD
Up front the old teacher
She’s too tired to snag his mind
He’s lookin’ at the future, she’s looking way behind
Nobody here anymore
Nobody mindin’ the store
They’ve all gone
to another dimension
Nobody here anymore
Nobody here anymore
Nobody mindin’ the store
They’ve all gone
to another dimension
Nobody here anymore
Of course, I’m always amazed how much better lyrics sound in a song than they do without the accompanying music. Still, these quick sketches, particularly the first one, seem frighteningly realistic. Though we could easily have afforded it, I never had more than one television or one computer in the house when my kids were living at home, convinced that it wasn’t particularly healthy to have a kid sitting alone in their room night after night immersed in various forms of media or games.
Dave Rogers has presented this argument more often and more convincingly than I have, but I also suspect there is a real danger that virtual communities can actually weaken real communities and provide a false sense of security.
And, of course, in a greater sense it often seems that people are so caught up in their day to day communication that nobody’s looking out for the future.