Suggested Audio Candy:

 

Måns Zelmerlöw “Heroes”

 

Inspiration can come from the most peculiar places. Last night I heard a song and said tune knocked me for six by the time the first chorus arrived, another six by the second, and a full twelve by the time it built to its crescendo. I do love me some rousing crescendo. The track in question came courtesy of a gentleman by the name of Måns Zelmerlöw and was called Heroes. However, the most startling fact was that it introduced itself to Keeper via one of the most insipid sources imaginable…The Eurovision Song Contest.

For those of you unaware of this shocking celebration of all things camembert, The Eurovision Song Contest is the longest running televised song competition in existence and has been disgracing our screens since 1956. While occasionally showcasing high-profile acts such as ABBA, Céline Dion, Sandy Shaw, and Julio Iglesias, on the whole it has been a cringeworthy affair. However, that is the appeal of this shameful contest. Sixty years on it remains a guilty pleasure for many, despite the rigged voting system and some truly dreadful songs. This being the Eurovision’s big sixty anniversary, the theme this year was building bridges and was intended to unify the participating nations through the medium of music. It worked.

I have been sideswiped on numerous occasions before and hopefully will be many more times before my number is called but the Swedish entry truly span me on the spot. Almost too anthemic to be passed as legal, wonderfully staged, and, I’m comfortable enough in my pelt to admit, sang by hotness personified, Heroes blew me away. More than anything else, Måns struck a chord with his lyrics. “We are the heroes of our time but we’re dancing with the demons in our minds”. He was onto something there.

This simple message spoke to me personally and thus I am writing this piece as a way of doing my bit for positive thinking. You see, I believe that there’s a hero in every one of us, and that a little empowerment can bring the very best out of us. Cynicism is never far away and some folk get a kick out of telling us that our goals are unrealistic and unachievable. I abhor such pessimism as it can stop us from realizing our exclusive potential as human beings and there is nothing sadder in life than frittered promise. If Bruce Lee could stop a man’s heart with a single one-inch punch then we sure as shit can too, not that I recommend practising the method. My point being that it is all inside of us.

Some of us can hold a tune, others are gifted with prose, everyone is different. However, we all have potential which remains locked purely because of a lack of belief or understanding. The demons that Zelmerlöw croons about are persistent little bastards for sure but I take him to task on one point. They’re not just in our minds. We choose our associates in life, outside of blood relatives, and certain influences can be severely damaging to our growth. It’s all about selection; choose to populate your world with those who encourage our emotional prosperity and you stand as much of a chance of succeeding as you allow yourself. Pick a rotten egg or two to fill your airwaves and negativity can be a most disheartening affair. I’ve been asphyxiated by such foul play for long, concentrated periods of my life and it is the reason why I almost didn’t pick up the quill in the first place.

As anyone who reads my work will attest, I’m still plagued by my own demons on a daily basis and they have threatened to get the better of me on a number of occasions recently. They’ll never prosper; I refuse such now that I have identified my own unique gift. One of the reasons why I post such a diverse range of material is because I bloody well can. Boundaries are tiresome, restrictive, and unnecessary. Who is to say that we need to conform to whatever is considered feasible? Should we think outside of our tidily labelled boxes then possibility becomes infinite.

Case in point; a couple of days back I posted a fiction piece named An Evening With Frogger. When you consider the fact that I am establishing myself as a credible horror writer, it may seem a little like I had lost my mind. Actually, I came across a few images on google which tickled my pickle and weaved my story around these pictorials simply because they made me grin. Like I said at the start, inspiration can come from the most peculiar places. Open yourself up to the limitless possibilities and you give yourself a fighting chance of suppressing your inner demons. Every lyric that Måns Zelmerlöw sings so eloquently is true. We are the heroes and if that sounds clichéd then I would remind you what a cliché that viewpoint is.

The cynical age we live in suggests that films shouldn’t feature uplifting outcomes as it just ain’t realistic. Reality sucks ass tubes; I would much rather live in cloud cuckoo land then drab old reality any day of the calendar. Believe that you can achieve and, should you end up with a mouthful of tarmac, then dust yourself down and get back to your feet. The moment we lose heart is the very instance when we may as well strike such noteworthy endeavors off our lists and they vacate our grasps. I don’t know about you Grueheads but I plan to buck as many trends as are conceivable for the remainder of my transience, however long that may be.

Last night, against all odds, 28-year old Måns Zelmerlöw from Lund, Sweden became another in my long list of personal heroes. You may well listen to the suggested audio candy and remain utterly unmoved and, should that be the case, then so be it. Music is as subjective a media as any other and therein lays its beauty. Even if Heroes doesn’t end up on your iPod shuffle library; I’ve done my bit and thus can sleep easy tonight. Belief can be a most wondrous thing provided you just believe in it. There’s really no great science, despite what any naysayers remark. Now, how’s that for a happy ending?

Watch Måns Zelmerlöw perform Heroes live