the dark side

Have you ever wondered what the end of the world will sound like? Have you considered how the soundtrack to the dark days of Armageddon might sound? If you woke up and realized that you've missed the rapture, can you imagine what music might be playing as you slowly start to realize you've been left behind? I submit to you that it might sound something like the desperately dark electronica/trip hop of Teargas & Plateglass.

In 2004 I heard one of their songs in an episode of CSI and liked it so much I blindly ordered their self-titled album from the same year (now out of print). It quickly became one of my favorites. There is something alluring about such dark music. I think it has to do with our desire for reality and for truth. This music seems to give voice to the dark things inside of us and the dark things that are happening around us. If you go to the band's website you are greeted with a large block of text, a portion of which reads "Language can no longer describe the world in which we live." That seems to perfectly sum up their approach to music. What they create is a wordless vision of all the violence, poverty and suffering in our world. When I listen to their music I imagine that they are giving a voice to the starving in Africa, to the oppressed in North Korea, to the homeless in Haiti.

Describing their music this way might make it sound depressing or overwhelming, but I happen to think it's just human. It's not all gloom and doom, exactly. There are the occasional sounds of hope. The brief appearance of harps in "The Seduction of Canned Laughter" offers evidence of something good buried beneath all the wreckage. The vocals (a rarity for this band) on "Adam's Lullaby" although sung in another language, come across as prayerful and add an element of beauty to the dark shadows. Zap Mama's contributions on "911" represent an honest cry for help, for peace. And all of their music has an international feel to it, indicating that we all have a share in this hope and in this suffering.

I'm finding it increasingly important to continue to look at the dark things in this world and within ourselves. We live in a country where our media will only show us the dark truth about the world's suffering when it's convenient. I say that's a mistake. It robs us of an opportunity to be human, to feel empathy for those who are in peril, to remember the past and use it to shape the future. Hiding the darkness only allows it grow. I'd like to use the bold approach that Teargas & Plateglass do, walking face first in and around the deep abyss of brokenness, hoping to become more whole.