The Art of MBM: Welcome to the Future
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Welcome to the Future!
When I was a young boy, I dreamed of having my own jukebox. Jukeboxes always had this huge selection of great songs compared to the few 45 singles I owned. And you could select whichever songs you liked just by pushing a button instead of waiting for your favorite songs to play on the radio. Of course, in my imagination I owned a standard floor-sized jukebox, not something the size of a credit card that also records video.
Brad Paisley brought back these memories with the opening lyrics of his hit song, “Welcome to the Future.” He dreamed of his own floor-sized arcade game when he was a boy – now he’s got one on his phone. “Welcome to the Future” starts with a familiar theme: technology-driven product innovation. But Paisley uses the second stanza to segue to the more profound theme of social change.
On the surface, the second stanza continues the theme of technological change as it contrasts writing letters to video conferencing. But it is really making a deeper point when you realize his grandfather wrote the letters from his base in the Philippines, where he was fighting the Japanese during World War II. Paisley illustrates the transformative power of economic freedom, when he sings that he “was on a video chat this morning, with a company in Tokyo.” From mortal enemies to premiere trading partners in a generation.
Paisley’s final stanza evokes the most powerful image of social change. The mood changes as all the instruments are stripped away so it’s just Paisley and his guitar. I won’t spoil it for you but I will say that when I first heard this part, it gave me chills.
If you’ve only heard it on the radio, you’ve missed some wonderful images that Paisley uses to reinforce his themes. He also added some great voiceover segments that emphasize the generational structure he uses to tell his stories. Enjoy the music video!
Every day’s a revolution
Welcome to the Future!
So many things I never thought I’d see
Are happening right in front of me
- 7 Comments »
- Posted in Music
One of the best posts to date, Chris. Awesome.
Thanks, Ben. Now you are encouraging me to watch more music videos
Great post. BUT, I’m confused about why you posted a modern-country song under the heading “Art”? Joking, joking…..
I loved how the artist took a somewhat cliche idea (technology is so amazing; the future is now) and broadened it out. It’s not just that progress happens with video games, computer chips and economies; it also happens with peace, tolerance and individual rights. I think it really emphasizes why we focus “prosperity ~and~ well being” in the Science of Liberty–freedom leads to both.
December 7th, 2010 at 11:48 am
[...] at Cato@Liberty, David Boaz points to a post by Chris Cardiff on RootedinProsperity.com praising a song and video of country superstar Brad [...]
Thanks for the post, Chris. I also enjoyed it. The video was very interesting and inspiring.
One question that hovered in my mind as I watched it, though, was: “what are the limits of technology?” We have all these advances in technology and everyone looks happy in the video, but what about some of the more intractable problems that still exist around the world (poverty, crime, unemployment, etc.)? What about problems like creativity, humility, openness, and learning that organizations continue to face? I wonder how if technology is making it easier for them to address these problems, or if, in some cases, it can actually aggravate them.
Isn’t that a great video, Chris? Thanks for posting. I’m familiar with the video but your post helped me realize better what I can take away from it. Chilling indeed. Merry Christmas to ya’ll
December 17th, 2010 at 1:16 am
[...] Chris Cardiff notes that Brad Paisley has put the libertarian optimism of Matt Ridley, Deirdre McCloskey — and me — to music in his new song and video “Welcome to the Future”: When I was a young boy, I dreamed of having my own jukebox. Jukeboxes always had this huge selection of great songs compared to the few 45 singles I owned. And you could select whichever songs you liked just by pushing a button instead of waiting for your favorite songs to play on the radio. Of course, in my imagination I owned a standard floor-sized jukebox, not something the size of a credit card that also records video. [...]