"The E generation's given way to the Me generation, a repulsively self-satisfied, self-serving, self congratulatory, self-obsessed abomination of nature, a new breed of Young Irelanders obsessed with restaurants, property supplements, pubs, clubs, clothes and cars."
Ouch, ouch and thrice ouch! It's not that I'm in total disagreement with Peter Murphy's stinging assertion that Ireland's ascendant generation is nothing more than a bunch of self-serving, culturally barren twats who are, quite frankly, a complete pain in the arse. However, while I will readily admit that things are bad, they sure ain't that bad. And I must take personal exception to an over-simplified pen picture that neglects to take account of the complex, confused and scattered make-up of contemporary youth's collective conscience.
So are we one-track minded YOPPY scum hell-bent on making our first, second or umpteenth million? Are we totally bereft of any creative or progressive impulse to any way further the basic ambition of making our funny little world a better place? The case for the defence demands that we examine the bigger picture.
I'm not for one second entertaining the notion of buck-passing, or constructing another mythical 'us' and 'them' scenario. But consider the way society at large currently defines and fuels ambition. For all the gung-ho talk of the world-leading calibre of Ireland's education system, free fees and a supposed new golden age where all classes and socio-economic groups reap the benefits of learning, not a jot has changed. On the contrary, it's getting worse.
All you have to do is open one of those endless CAO/CAS supplements of College offers every September and check out how much entry levels to Third Level education sky rocket annually. Is this indicative of an ever improving standard of intelligence and learning? Not at all. It only serves to underline the fact that our school leavers are still being sucked into an unfair, unbalanced and uncaring system, which is increasingly obsessed with competition at the expense of personal aptitudes, individual talents and the fundamental things that make people tick. The message is simple: You make the grade - fair play to you. If not - tough shit, either make do with a low demand course or else get back to the bottom of the queue.
Hang on, you may be thinking. Some form system is necessary to regulate college entry. Every system has its drawbacks. But what exactly has the points bogey man achieved? Consider the following: a more pronounced class divide, a hyper-intense sense of competition that begins at school and continues through college and out into the workplace, and most alarmingly of all, a huge 400% increase in suicide for this demographic in the last five years. Is there anyone who thinks that this is something to be proud of?
So is it really any wonder that the sum effect of all the above has spawned a new generation of self-obsessed communication junkies toiling away in the Intels, Compaqs and Ericssons of this world? Is it any wonder that we have an apathetic response to the refugees issue? Is it any wonder that in the great race for world domination the existence of a counter-culture has been crushed by a giant corporate big brother?
Yes, of course, we have a talented, self-motivated and vibrant young workforce, of whom the star recruits and all our best creative minds are snapped up by the copywriters, advertisers and marketing firms. You see, Peter, I'm on your side here. But I really think it is far too cold and cruel to advance the simplistic implication that we are a nation of clueless and loveless brats purely by our own fault and design.
For starters, there is always the old adage of the more things change, the more things stay the same. It is rather unfair to launch the bruising broadside that the E generation begat the Me generation. Since when has any youth movement succeeded in producing a fully-informed and caring offspring? Punk? The Peace Movement? Glam-rock? You name it, the depressing reality is that none of these cultural forces, however influential they once were and continue to be on a smaller level, ever fully delivered the blissful Paradise Found they may have dreamed of.
Instead, we now find all that youthful rebellion in museums (or Rock Halls of Fame!), and write books on the subject of the glory days and then enjoy viewing Quadrophenia, Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine and Human Traffic. In short, we smile at the memories and shell out for the soundtrack.
Peter admits that for the most part dance as a musical or cultural force leaves him cold. Fair enough. It is something that I have both immensely enjoyed and been bored to death by. However, dance culture was/is unquestionably the most important thing to happen to music since punk, and to judge its ultimate success and failure on what happened next misses the point. Such flashes of genius, inspiration and cross-cultural communication should not be deemed insignificant.
These musings on an electronic culture dancing at the cross-roads leads me to Peter's contention that Bass Odyssey are the sole example of a non-elitist Irish dance act. This is a little unfair to the unashamedly commercial, accessible and increasingly popular work of Agnelli ... Nelson and Mr. Spring. Not to mention the contributions of numerous DJs, including Johnny Moy, Mark Kavanagh and Billy Scurry to mention just three. Also, the biggest omission of them all, a certain Belfast boy by the name of Mr. Holmes.
None of these artists has peddled a 'my groove is rarer than yours' line of blinkered self-importance. And I don't see why the achievements of these Irish luminaries should be overlooked in favour of a beat combo who are highly competent, yet also highly derivative of Massive Attack. To my mind, the Cork drum 'n' bass crew wouldn't be getting the slightest bit of attention if it wasn't for the extreme hyperbole ('the most important Irish single since 'New Year's Day' blah, blah, blah . . .) manufactured by a very slick PR campaign earlier this year.
"We need punk again. I'm not talking about music. I'm talking about attitude," said Joe Strummer recently. In an attempt to draw a conclusion from confusion, I fervently believe that there are plenty of signs of hope. For starters, it must be remembered that only when things really looked bad beyond belief did people rise up and make a fist at things. The bland pop fluff of the early '90s gave way to a magnificent trio called Nirvana dethroning Michael Jackson from the top of the charts. The New Romantic posing and horrible Thatcherite complacency at the tail end of the '80s was given an almighty kick up the arse by The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and company. In turn, this contributed to a revolution in sound and attitude in the myriad forms and beats of electronic dance music.
For our own part, we can slap ourselves on the back about U2, but since then, no one, musically or otherwise, has pushed out the barriers beyond the realm of 'industry success' and claimed hearts and minds through sweat, blood, tears and generation-inspiring passion.
Peter is again spot on when he singles out the Paddy Pop pretenders, but unlike Peter I believe that the game is not up. This is no time to stop believing, dreaming, romancing or re-inventing. Call me naïve. Call me idealistic and stupid. Call me whatever you like. The future is just about to happen. Yes, there will be trouble ahead. But while there's moonlight and dancing and love and romance - I'll face the music and dance.
The Revolution won't be televised, or at least it certainly won't be via pay per view, digital TV or the Internet. The war will be fought and won by awareness and empathy and, as the late, great Martin Luther King said, "The Weapon is Love". I don't have all the answers. But if we are all in this together then we might stand a chance. n