I write on occasion for hilobrow.com, and it’s always a treat, in part because the topics are something to really spend time pondering, and in part because my little essays end up in good company. The latest Hilobrow series, edited by Josh Glenn, is about “analyzing and celebrating our favorite… anti-fascist art.” Contributors include Heather Kapplow, Mandy Keifetz, Tom Nealon, Lucy Sante, Nikhil Singh, and Mike Watt, among others.
When Josh first invited me to participate, I had various thoughts about things I might focus on: any one from a number of works by Gerhard Richter or Anselm Kiefer, or entries in the long-running World War 3 Illustrated, or a Billy Bragg song. By the time I weighed in, Matthew Battles had already claimed Woody Guthrie’s guitar.
Tons of examples came to mind, but throughout my consideration, I kept humming the same tune: Nick Lowe’s (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” It just so happens I saw both Lowe and Elvis Costello, who helped make the song famous, in concert separately last year, so it was especially fresh on my mind.
As I continued to nudge ideas forward with little snippets of exploratory writing, I happened to have lunch with a college friend, one I’d bonded with over Nick Lowe all those years ago. I mentioned this endeavor to him, and how it felt odd to worry a bit about a song as well-intentioned as this one. My friend, who is wise, said that feeling is what I should lead with. And so I did.
The essay begins:
Just imagine for a moment having second thoughts about praising a song as pure as Nick Lowe’s 1974 pop classic, “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” a jukebox favorite all the more famous thanks to Elvis Costello having popularized it.
Read the full piece, and all the other entries, at hilobrow.com.