Society Always Wins

I was torn between Mark Sandman's "My Cocoon" from his box set rarities collection, and Pulp's "Sunrise" for my pick. As an introvert, I do have the tendency to retreat, and I have a helluva place to retreat, surrounded by literally hundreds of CDs, an XBox 360, some choice vinyl, a decent book collection await me when I get home. And until late last year, I had an amazing companion who was always vegging on the couch when I got home.

However, as much as the alternative usually burns you...for every great concert you go to or every amazing night out at the pub you have with a few friends, discussing the state of things, there's more instances of disappointment - those times where the places are too loud, too obnoxious, and honestly, too expensive, where you drive home, kicking yourself saying "I just spent $30 I didn't have, when I could have easily had a better time at home with a book."

Jarvis Cocker seems to have been in a similar situation when he penned the closing song of Pulp's final album (at least up to this point). After a beautiful beginning, where Mark Webber's guitar sounds like a literal sunrise, Jarvis bemoans:

I used to hide from the sun, tried to live my whole life underground.
Why'd you have to rise & ruin all my fun?

The answer, of course, is that the sunrise is inevitable. As much as you try to hide from it and pull the shades close, it will eventually shine on you sometime during he day. So the only logical response is to continue to go out. Continue to risk rejection, continue to endure those horrible movies that burn a hole in your wallet, and continue to put up with the occasional moron who reduces your faith in humanity, because as the protagonist in the song says...

Yeah, here's your sunrise when you've been awake
all night long & you feel like crashing out at dawn.
But you've been awake all night, so why should you crash out at dawn?

Side note...the guitar solo on this is absolutely bitchin'...