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I don't know why the Bruce Cockburn song title popped into my head when I was starting this post. And, what I am thinking now doesn't really have anything to do with the song - which I love by the way.
To me, the trouble with normal is that it is never precisely clear who gets to define the term and what exactly it means, and if being "normal" is even desirable. For some reason, I think normal gets conflated with average - like the average person does this or that - so that is normal behavior. The problem is that there is not really an average person - it is a construct. Like - when it is said that the average family has 2.5 kids... no family has 2.5 kids, therefore, there is no average family.
Then you have people like me who have constantly fought an internal battle of trying to fit in and trying to stand out. Are those mutually exclusive concepts? Maybe or maybe not - depending on where you are trying to fit in and what fitting in actually means to you.
Certainly, there is a danger - in trying to stand out - to be "weird" for the sake of being weird - which I don't think is a good thing - although admittedly, I have done precisely that in my life.
Also, can "normal" be a code word for excluding or discriminating against people who are different? Sure it can. White is "normal", straight is "normal", cis-gender is "normal"... Can "normal" also be a way for those in power to control the masses? Sure it can. Normal behavior is to work 40 hours a week, normal behavior is to buy a new car every 3-5 years (if not more often).
And the thing about that kind of control is that it can - at its worst - be self-regulating. Peer pressure (which while strong in school age kind - exists across all age classifications) seeks to force everyone to conform to some "normal" behavior.
So - to paraphrase Aaron Lee Tasjan... the trouble with normal is that it ain't no trouble at all. I don't have a problem when it comes to blindly trying to fit in... at least I don't anymore- most of the time...
We move along in our Featured Friday Playlist recap - today, songs 23-27:
23. "Bug Hunter" by Dude Safari
We begin this segment of music with the debut single from a new grunge pop band from Surrey. A really fun track, that I am happy to have in the playlist. Hope to hear more from this band.
24. "Salvation" by Megan Lacy
Next up, we have the title track from the debut EP by this Austin based singer-songwriter. A stunningly beautiful song.
25. "birds and the bees" by Elizabeth & the Catapult
Next up, we have an incredible track from the new album by Brooklyn's Elizabeth & The Catapult. Really great song.
26. "They'll Remember My Name" by Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band
Next up, we have a track from Prince of Poverty. Kristian Montgomery was born in Florida and raised in New England. He has one of the more colorful stories I've come across, and I have come across some colorful stories. The music is powerful and speaks from the pain of experience.
27. "Alone" by Matthew Avery
And we close this part of the Playlist with a contemporary classical solo piano composition from this San Diego based composer. A perfect way to take us out of the recap and get us ready for today's shuffle.
