15 August

There was real genius in George Michael’s song for Wham, Freedom. One of the catchiest pop songs ever written, but I think a much bigger artistic achievement than that. It was released in 1984. The song is about a rejection of the idea of ‘free love’, which was the 1980s version of our idiot obsession today with free speech. I don't want your freedom I don't want to play around I don't want nobody, baby Part-time love just brings me down This was a brave message too, at the time, because the gay community Michael was a part of was often very promiscuous, leaving it particularly vulnerable to HIV. People had started dying in numbers right at this time. Today I think our culture as a whole is rampantly promiscuous in everything it does. A ‘lifestyle’ culture. That’s the root cause of my dislike of travel culture, how it treats the world itself as a promiscuous set of ‘experiences’, with no commitment. Not an analogy. We’re not grounded. We have no sense of place, or commitment to anything. Everything is just fodder for our ‘fun’ times. ‘Living our best lives’. Like the whole point of the universe is our individual enjoyment and individual growth. RIP George. Wrapping that deep message up in such a beautifully catchy song - genius.