Be One of Us #32 - "Ball of Confusion (That's what the World is Today)"
@teamfreak16 (43419)
Denver, Colorado
September 1, 2019 11:46am CST
And why not? 50 songs with "of" in the title (Way to stretch the old imagination, dude!) In random order, we are at #32: "Ball of Confusion (That's what the World is Today)" by the Temptations.
Rap on, brother, rap on. Apparently, despite this song's status as a classic protest song, despite reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #7 in the UK, despite killer cover versions from Love and Rockets, Tina Turner, and even Anthrax, nobody was actually listening. Because 49 years after The Temptations told it like it was, things are even worse.
Hatred, racism, intolerance, homophobia, selfishness, tribal mentality, and overall mean-spiritedness are seemingly at an all-time high. What the hell is wrong with people?
Are we headed for Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek future, where humanity has overcome all of those things and works together in the quest for peace and knowledge? Or are we on the Planet of the Apes path, where humanity has all but wiped itself out to the point of irrelevance?
Sorry, Gene. My money is on Planet of the Apes.
And the beat goes on.
(Info verified by Wikipedia)
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) · The Temptations Gold ? 1970 Motown Records, a Division of U...
5 people like this
5 responses
@FourWalls (63090)
• United States
3 Sep 19
A most excellent song...with a most disturbing message.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Sep 19
Perhaps even more disturbing now. People aren't even bothering trying to hide the way they think anymore.
2 people like this
@dgobucks226 (34606)
•
2 Sep 19
Very interesting write-up. Sadly, there has always been a survival of the fittest mentality in our culture. Much like the animals in a wild kingdom our inclination is to dominate within all facets of life, but alas, this is a music post right? Great song and a big Temps fan! That period did see a swing toward protest songs in Motown like "Dancin In The Street, What's Going On and Living For The City" to name a few social/political tunes.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Sep 19
The Temptations' "Masterpiece" is one of my all-time favorite protest songs. 1972, I think.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
4 Sep 19
@dgobucks226 - Huh. I did not know that. Glad they stuck with them.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34606)
•
3 Sep 19
@teamfreak16 I did read the members fought over recording these protest songs versus wanting to get back to their earlier romantic ballad records.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27132)
• Dallas, Texas
3 Sep 19
Yea, I know. Transparency. The unredacted version of reality today. No holds barred. And they talk about A I as if it were a cool concept. I am glad there are still voices of reason out in the doomosphere, like Noam Chomsky. I miss Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. We still have Neil deGrasse Tyson and Alex Filippenko to name a few.
Subscribe to LBC: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToLBC LBC: Leading Britain's Conversation DAB Digital Radio Nationwide | 97.3FM FM London
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
4 Sep 19
I've never seen that before. Thank you, quite interesting.
@JohnRoberts (109848)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Sep 19
For sure, civil wars in the future. There never will be that utopian world people dream of. After the dust settles, I predict the last "two" groups standing will be the Chinese and the Islamic worlds who will engage in the final clash leaving a Mad Max world.
The Temps? Enough said.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43419)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Sep 19
Now that you mention it, a Mad Max future doesn't seem all that far fetched right now.
2 people like this
