It's not rubbish, it's Art!

Boring person that I am I am sitting at home listening to Sarah McLachlan's "Solace" (a cross between early Corrs and Joni Mitchell) and waiting for the repeat of "Dr Who" having been roaming around London all day and thus missing the first installment. If you have a spare moment it is worth popping in on the Degree Shows for University of the Arts London, especially the Product Design stuff at Central Saint Martin's. The great thing about modern art is that it always hits the spot one way the other. You either think, hey, that's pretty clever, or you laugh. I laughed at a piece of paper stuck to the wall and an empty cardboard box, mainly because they are produced by students, and I have an image of them getting up hungover and thinking, shit, it's due in today! And I've done jack all. They look around the room and all they can see is a piece of paper and an empty cardboard box. And they think, ah, thank God for that! Then there was the girl who displayed her jewellery designs in a fish tank, complete with fish! And another guy whose main exhibit was a hole in the wall. I wonder what they'll do if it rains.

I wish people would stopping slagging off Geldof. He's doing his best. The guy's a popstar so he's arranging some pop concerts and swearing. That's what they do. But then Diane Abbot criticises him for not having enough black artists (and what has she, an MP, and as such elected to bother with stuff that bothers us, done, may I ask?) Then he gets criticised for involving the Pope (feel free to see my posts on said Pope for my opinion, but he's still the Pope, he's kind of a key figure on the whole world stage thing.) And then everyone else criticises him for existing in general and say things like, well, we'll never solve poverty in Africa. Er, no, but isn't it worth a try? Where's the problem here? I'll bet if he wasn't getting involved at this point when it's become such a huge issue at the G8 etc everyone would be saying, hey, he had his moment of glory 20 years ago and now he can't be arsed. Well, I think he's cool, and for the record, I like the Boomtown Rats too.

And I like the lyrics of this little-known Joan Baez song:

"How long since I've spent a whole night in a twin bed with a stranger
His warm arms all around me?
How long since I've gazed into dark eyes that melted my soul down
To a place where it longs to be?
All of your history has little to do with your face
You're mainly a mystery with violins filling in space

You stood in the nude by the mirror and picked out a rose
From the bouquet in our hotel
And lay down beside me again and I watched the rose
On the pillow where it fell
I sank and I slept in a twilight with only one care
To know that when day broke and I woke that you'd still be there

The hours for once they passed slowly, unendingly by
Like a sweet breeze on a field
Your gentleness came down upon me and I guess I thanked you
When you caused me to yield
We spoke not a sentence and took not a footstep beyond
Our two days together which seemingly soon would be gone

Don't tell me of love everlasting and other sad dreams
I don't want to hear
Just tell me of passionate strangers who rescue each other
From a lifetime of cares
Because if love means forever, expecting nothing returned
Then I hope I'll be given another whole lifetime to learn

Because you gave to me oh so many things it makes me wonder
How they could belong to me
And I gave you only my dark eyes that melted your soul down
To a place where it longs to be"