A couple days ago was my birthday. I went through the usual range of emotions around being happy and noting I’m creeping further into being less young. Amidst this I didn’t skimp on celebrating (thanks to very kind friends) and I reveled in a much loved hobby of mine, finding new favorite songs. Venturing into new music dates me, and worse I caught myself saying: Kids today. I don’t understand their music. Why do the boys where trousers ten sizes too big? And those skimpy tops and high heels girls wear can’t possibly be comfortable. Did I sound like my mother or what!
Still I went onward in search of a cool new song. One with a message. One that would make me think about the world in which we live. Sometimes a tall order given music today seems dominated by teenagers. Even with poignant lyrics I wonder how a 16 year old really understands the intricacies of what they belt out. I stumbled across a song by Rihanna, who I’m told is all the rage. I had doubts since her last hit was about an umbrella. But this new song Disturbia got me thinking about ranges of emotions. I’ve put some of the lyrics at the end and below are reworked lyrics along with a bit about wonder and what is disturbia.
Harare is one city of wonder Rihanna might be referencing. Wonder because it still functions. Disturbia for what it does to you. The politicians don’t play nice and some of the citizens might just go under. Just to get by each day is a disease of the mind. It can control you. The city of wonder, it’s a thief in the night. To come and grab you. It can creep up inside you. And consume you. Yet many people manage to go on. Nothing heard, nothing said. Can’t even speak about it. Better think twice. Your train of thought will be altered. So if you must falter be wise. Your mind is in disturbia.
It’s not just Zimbabwean cities which expose disturbia. As much as Obama’s campaign and victory are profound, they also make me think about how US cities are those of wonder. Time will tell if Team Obama delivers their enlightened visions. The wonder is to think about the beauty of those possibilities. And the wonder is to recognize the mixed messages and disturbia so deeply embedded in the minds of far too many Americans. Obama’s new title President-Elect doesn’t change the (unintended?) message when McCain corrected a supporter by saying: Obama is a decent man, he’s not an Arab. Nor does it change that someone at a Palin rally shouted out “kill him” (presumably referring to Obama. The US often hides behind labels such as democracy, land of opportunity, or some such. When simultaneously a whole lot of Americans are, like there’s no tomorrow, unwilling to embrace difference and diversity. Thankfully over 50% of Americans felt Obama was the better candidate. Staying up all night to witness this victory afforded me a rare moment of not minding being an American. But I’m also not hesitant to point out that even though Zimbabwe is perhaps the more obvious and immediate wondrous space caught in disturbia, Obama too is up against a lot of disturbia.
What’s wrong with me?
Why do I feel like this?
I’m going crazy now
No more gas in the rig
Can’t even get it started
Nothing heard, nothing said
Can’t even speak about it
All my life on my head
Don’t want to think about it
Feels like I’m going insane
Yeah
It’s a thief in the night
To come and grab you
It can creep up inside you
And consume you
A disease of the mind
It can control you
It’s too close for comfort
Put on your green lights
We’re in the city of wonder
Ain’t gonna play nice
Watch out, you might just go under
Better think twice
Your train of thought will be altered
So if you must falter be wise
Your mind is in disturbia
It’s like the darkness is the light
Disturbia
Am I scaring you tonight
Disturbia
Ain’t used to what you like
Disturbia
Disturbia
Pamberi Trust hosted a literary discussion last night, on theme “Is writing craft or emotion?” The panelsits were Zimbabwean authors Tsitsi Dangarembga and Shimmer Chinodya, and the discussion was chaired by Stanley Mupfudza. Both speakers drew on their own works, and a number of other authors from elswhere in Africa, the US and Latin America, to conclude that both craft and emotion matter in creating great literature. But both speakers also agreed that as a motivation, emotion – the desire to convey a certain feeling to the reader – was a greater impetus to write than any interest in mastering the craft of writing for its own sake. In discussion, participants by and large agreed that both craft and emotion matter – but that emotion was of primary importance. Listen to Dangarembga urging Zimbabweans to speak out across their full range of emotions, and deepen our understanding of one another.
