Jurassic Park - A Film About The Past
From the age when Rock n’ Roll was the new Rock n’ Roll, Genesis are the latest artists to come out of retirement.
Are they doing it for the love of music? Or in order to make sure that they can afford the mortgage repayments on their holiday homes in these notoriously difficult times for ex-supergroups?
Yes, I’m being cynical. And no, I don’t really believe that they are doing it out of any real passion or a sense of care and duty for their adoring fans. Not when the inevitable arena tour tickets are…surprise, surprise…on sale for between £100 and £800.
So here comes another of my crazy metaphors trying to allude to the fact that small is beautiful, and that we, the Great Unknown, count for something in this musical landscape.
Because you know, there was a time when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. And in their shadows, hidden away from those enormous stomping feet, were the little furry creatures that today we call mammals. They didn’t make much of a stir at the time. But those wee creature were adaptable, flexible, tough. And cute. And today they are still around and the impressive and temporarily successful dinosaurs are not.
And it’s true that, for a short while, making great music became a source of self aggrandisement and fortune building. And there are indeed still a few dinosaurs stomping around to that end. There are still the remnants of an industry supporting them. But I think that all of that cheapens and undervalues the songs and wonderful music that was created.
And I believe that the music we create can be about far more than that same means to a selfish and individualistic end. It can have a purpose to build and connect genuine community at a time when even families are at war with each other.
I hope our music does at least have that aim.
Because Jurassic Park is a film about the past. That’s all it is.