In Christmas Mood!

Hey!

Happy belated Christmas to you all!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in class or not, but I'm lately enjoying the Christmas period quite a lot: time to get together with relatives and friends, enjoy those great meals, become infatuated with the Christmas spirit, eat and drink more than probably one should, but Goddamit! it's freaking Christmas!

Anyway, I have to confess that I don't really like Chrismas Carols or Chrismas songs, for that matter. I still don't have kids of my own who I can play these tunes to, and many of them feel downright corny to me. Not that I'm insensitive or a die-hard Rocker grumpy old man (which probably I am!), but there is little in those syrupy melodies and trite refrains that I can relate to (I kinda dig "White Christmas", though). The only reason I would sing those Christmas Carols in Spanish when we were kids was to get some money from parents and grandparents, and doing that at my present age would be sort of cheeky, hehe.

Anyway, ever since I heard the song which I'm about to speak about for the first time, I never fail to listen to it every Christmas Eve/ Christmas day, Like ten times in a row. Probably like fifteen, Or twenty. The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" is undoubtedly, to my ears, the most beautiful Christmas song ever written, if not the most beautiful song ever written, period.

All about this song is great: its melancholy, its Irish/Celtic-reminiscent vocal melodies and musical arrangements, its MONUMENTALLY gorgeous chorus, those great lyrics which ALWAYS give the goose-bumps when I heard them. I've come to the conclusion that if you don't like this song, you're an asshole and lack a great deal of sensitivity, but that would probably be a little harsh and unfair. 

Anyway, I dare you to not be moved by the song's intro, the moment when the song builds up after it (around 1'25") or the words which come just before that initial climax:

"I've got a feeling:

This year's for me and you...

So Happy Christmas,

I love you baby, 

I can see a better time

When all our dreams come true...".

The way the story depicted in the lyrics unfolds is also nothing short of genius, and a reflection of life itself: two lost individuals recognize a kindred spirit in each other and they just hit it off, from the very start. Romance is inevitable:

You were handsome, 

You were pretty,

Queen of New York City,

When the band finished playing

they howled out for more.

Sinatra was swinging

All the drunks they were singing,

We kissed on a corner and danced through the night...

But if romance was bound to happen in this happy-sad story, so was the fact that as it happens with human endeavors of any kind, and with relationships especially, things suddenly turn sour, as described in the beyond-awesome, call-and-response verse which comes next:

You scumbag, you maggot

You cheap lousy faggot,

Happy Christmas your arse, 

I pray God is our last. 

Even more melancholic is the bridge towards the end, where the ill-fated couple, while being toxic and harmful towards each other's wellbeing, acknowledge their mutual dependence:

You took my dreams from me

When I first met you...

I put them with my own,

Can't make it all alone,

I've built my dreams around you.

Didn't want to ruin your Christmas days, guys/girls. Fortunately, all love stories do not go like this one and consistently blissful, healthy romantic relationships DO exist and, I guess, they do so in spades. However, some old friend told me a while ago that she had come to the conclusion that happy stories are meant to be lived, while sad ones are meant to be written, and I don't know if that is true or not, but it does sound beautiful, doesn't it? Anyway, here's my little Christmas gift!

Well, that's all! I just hope you have great holidays and enjoy this song almost as much as I do!

See you in a while!

The Headmaster Ritual: the bad old days

You know what? I've been on a Smiths streak lately; which means, they've been playing a lot lately at home, that is, I've been listening to them a helluva lot during the last couple of days. The combination of Johnny Marr's gorgeous guitar melodies and Stephen Morrissey's peculiar wailing-meets-singing style and SUPER incisive and intricate, yet elaborate and thoughtful lyrics, and their overall aura of melancholy and emotional anguish make for an always welcome listen if you're in the right mood (just like when reading the works of Oscar Wilde or Goethe). They were one of the most influential bands in the history of Pop and Rock music, and well deservedly so.

I could name lots of songs of theirs which are nothing short of superb: Panic, Half a Man, There's a Light that Never Goes Out (later covered by the Spanish Pop-Rock group Duncan Dhu), Bigmouth Strikes Again, Cemetery Gates, and a big, big etcetera.

However, I was recently listening to one of my favorite songs by the Manchester quartet, "The Headmaster Ritual", when I suddenly paid attention to the lyrics (which I guess I hadn't done before), and everything just made sense: it is the perfect song to talk about education, and about those bad old days when bad teachers could basically take out on their pupils their frustration and unhappy, meaningless existence. Pink Floyd's "Another Brick on the Wall" is the quintaessential song which comes to mind about the theme of abusive teachers, but this one is just perfect in a way that Floyd's song isn't (and I love that one, so go figure!)

Just as the song lyrics begin, they paint a pretty grim picture of the narrator's school days and what his teachers used to be like:

"Belligerent ghouls run Manchester schools

Spineless swines, cemented minds

Sir leads the troops, jealous of youth,

Same old suit since 1962,

He does the military two step

Down the nape of my neck"

And of course, THAT teacher would, more than occasionally, indulge in corporal punishment towards his pupils:

"Sir thwacks you in the knees,

Knees you in the groin,

Elbow in the face,

Bruises bigger than dinner plates..."

"He grabs and devours

Kick me in the showers"

Not surprisingly, that situation makes his hapless victim quite unhappy and frustrated, willing to escape:

"I wanna go home,

I don't wanna stay

Give up education as a bad mistake...

Please, excuse me from the gym,
I've got this terrible cold coming on..."

This made me think about this neverending argument about traditional vs. modern education and what such lack of discipline we have nowadays at school and- something that, quite shockingly, I hear every now and then from allegedly intelligent people- how teachers should be entitled again to give a student a smack if they misbehave, just like the old days. All that, if you ask me, is just stupid drivel. The answer will never be physically punishing students, nor is it boasting about one's intellectual superiority, showing up pupils' flaws. Both are, in my book, forms of institutionalized bullying.

Of course, teachers should not be dispossessed of their authority and need to be, instead, given the right legal and practical tools to deal with conflicts in the classroom but society evolves at an alarmingly fast pace (technological, socioeconomic, demographic changes....)and it is nonsensical to yearn for the ways of the past.

The key, in my view, is just being a good teacher, not resting in one's laurels and try to not ignore the social changes above mentioned and reflect them in their teaching approach. Having passion for what one does is CRUCIAL and whoever resorted to this profession in search of an easy life, should definitely look for a different hobby.

Teachers who strive to bring their matters alive, making their classes dynamic and foster their students' participation will have no big problems to earn their respect and win them over.

What's your take on this issue?