We had background music on for long enough for this intriguing and clever number from Andrew Bird to pop up on the playlist a few times, bundled along side other indy-rock classics and The Magnetic Fields. The song from the 2017 album My Finest Work Yet sounded familiar but hadn’t been overly-exposed because of the seemingly digital-only platform. Named for the Greek king punished by Zeus for trying to cheat death (and also for being a bad host), “Sisyphus” is about the consequences of letting one’s rock roll—or embracing one’s fate to overcome the task. “I’d rather fail like a mortal than flail like a god on a lighting rod; history forgets the moderates.”
synchronoptica
one year ago: the end of the draft in the US (1972)
two years ago: A Carol for Another Christmas plus the Feast of Abel
three years ago: Childermass, a Roman snack-bar, specialised geographical knowledge, zodiacal music plus AI Hallmark movies
four years ago: Kanji Character of the Year, Wikipedia stats plus lost-and-found
five years ago: Trump visiting troops in Iraq, a very slow movie player plus more kanji of the year