Liner Notes

Soundscape #54: “Whoever Said Money Can’t Buy Happiness Simply Didn’t Know Where To Go Shopping”

If you walk around the central business district during peak hours, you’re likely to walk into a sea of blacks, greys and whites. White shirts, dark pants for the guys and a bit more color for the girls (but still bordering on the pastel side). The noise in the underpasses is almost unbearable with the clicking of heels everywhere. Everyone walking briskly into their offices to begin the day that would be the same as any other day. Every day would melt into the previous and fade into the next and each would be indistinguishable from the rest.

When I was younger, I had this (misplaced) sense of superiority that I will never ever be like that when I get older. In fact I once told a friend to shoot me in the face if I have to wear a suit to work. I told myself I’d never ever sell myself in order to fit into the crowd blah blah blah…

Of course, sometimes life has a funny way of biting you in the arse. Although I don’t exactly have to wear a suit to work now, I do like shopping alot. And I’m practically a bag whore. Ask my friends, they’d all tell you that there’s this sparkle in my eyes when I talk about new things. In fact, I’ve just been banned from buying anything over $50 without approval by my friends. I don’t really know what it is about shopping. Maybe it’s all about the possibilities of new and beautiful things. Maybe it’s the thought of having something new to wear to work the next day. Maybe it’s the compliments you hope to get. People spend like crazy because they think they’ve worked so hard and thus, they deserve to buy whatever they want. There’s nothing wrong with any of that of course, just as long as one does not confuse that with a sense of entitlement. Saying “I deserve it” is, after all, different from thinking “I’m entitled to it.”

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Playlist:
1. (0:00) Saturday Looks Good To Me - The Girl’s Distracted (Every Night)
2. (1:59) Teenage Fanclub - The Concept (Bandwagonesque)
3. (7:36) The White Stripes - You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl) (De Stijl)
4. (9:28) Belle & Sebastian - Dress Up In You (The Life Pursuit)
5. (13:46) The Dears - There Goes My Outfit (Gang Of Losers)
6. (17:43) Pavement - Unfair (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain)
7. (20:18) The Arcade Fire - My Body Is A Cage (Neon Bible)
8. (25:02) The National - Squalor Victoria (Boxer)
9. (28:02) Pompeii - Numbers (Assembly)
10. (32:33) Nada Surf - The Way You Wear Your Head (Let Go)
11. (35:50) Spoon - The Fitted Shirt (Girls Can Tell)
12. (39:05) Feist - 1 2 3 4 (The Reminder)