Music, unlike painting, is not an art one can hold or touch, but yet it has the ability to hold and touch the listener. looking inward from the outside, uses his own unique perspective in crafting these songs, therefore escaping the influence of imitation, something Marr has always done exceedingly well. In “25 Hours” Marr challenges the philosophy of whether we are indeed products of our environment, and if so, can we change. Are we able to erase our past selves or, are we in fact, “erasing ourselves” and individuality by conforming to social standards instead of finding our own. The lyrics are presented as a stream of consciousness as Marr contemplates purging or erasing the influences forced upon us by our environments, cultures and traditions, and finding “the door (that) really goes somewhere.” Marr suggests we think, without telling us how to think. The door will lead to a different place for each listener if they are ready to go through it. Looking in from the outside, gives one a more objective and a less emotional view, which Marr uses as he tells himself “about all he had to do” to rid himself of the negative influences we are all subjected to. We can accept and conform to these ideologies or we can
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decide to look in from the outside and discover our own truths. Marr asserts that he is here “NOW”, stronger and more confident. He learned a “need” and that need was to find his own value, his own self-truth. The songs “25 Hours” and “Generate! Generate!” from The Messenger could have swapped places. The energetic, “Generate! Generate!” suggests it takes place after Marr has gone through “the door”. The flowing vibrancy of the music alone is enough to suggest a rebirth after Marr frees himself from the “sensations (that) jacked (his) thinking.” Johnny Marr “calculates” and “generates” through the song, shrugging off the “Congito ergo dumb” of a closed “one track mind” way of thinking. The world is not black and white and Marr is not afraid to explore the gray areas. Ruskin noted “every generation has in all probably some peculiar gift, some particular character of mind, enabling it to do something different from or something in some sort better than what has been done before.” I think this is exactly what Johnny Marr has accomplished with the The Messenger and Playland. Both releases are beautiful to listen to, the music creates an intimate connection with the listener; the lyrics challenge a different viewpoint, and stay true to Marr’s perspective. They are his own great ideas. No doubt, Ruskin would approve.
By MJ Zander