My favorite band ever, Garbage, has a new album coming out Friday. These rare gems take entirely too long in between, but I'm pretty excited. (Rant: Super sad that they have no tour dates in Florida.) The new album is described as being pretty dark, and the first single, "Empty," definitely goes there. In an interview with drummer and producer ninja Butch Vig, he talks about how we all need a little darkness (I love Shirley's hair in that promo shot):
Well I know Shirley has talked about this. When she wrote the lyrics to ‘Empty’ she kind of wrote the antithesis to what everybody is posting on social media and Facebook and Twitter. Everyone is like “Look this is amazing, we are having a wonderful time!” And she doesn’t always feel that way. Look at your phone and look at the great time everyone is having – so why do I feel so miserable? I think that is why she wrote the lyrics to that song.
That sure struck a chord with me. Quite honestly, I don't want to see people having a tough go of life when I'm looking at Facebook, and I avoid posting my baggage and issues unless there's a really good reason to. I suspect that what many people post online of themselves isn't real at all. (Sidebar: I believe this is more an analog of the way people are in real life than some might think.) At the very least, most people filter the shitshow, which is not a lie exactly, but definitely an omission.
In fact, if we're friends on Facebook, or even if you just read this blog, you probably think, "Here's a guy with a lovely wife and child, who drives EV's and hangs out at theme parks." This is very much the case, but it's not even remotely comprehensive in terms of my life's big picture.
The last few months have been very challenging at Puzzoni World Headquarters, to say the least. Don't worry, it's not in the relationship department. We've faced a lot of things that keep us up at night, and there have been instances where I've felt like I could barely keep my shit together. I think we're very nearly a place where we'll turn a corner, but it's been rough.
Do I have a point? Yes, of course. The point is that we as human beings need to allow for a little darkness in life, and also understand that others may be wallowing in it as well.
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