Painless art should only exist in a painless world. I considered the opposite too: painful art should only exist in a painful world. Such a point would be made by an optimist or a hipster realist, or whatever, but the abundance of pernicious elements of reality aside: if there is any pain in the world, it needs to be documented and tended to. There is a point to the happiness of an activist. It is as if their indignation has sought and found some of the rewards it deserves; knowing more and more people are joining a movement is a delight. Being around more people interested in the dire causes one has joined is not the same as accomplishing the freedoms one has set out to achieve, but its a hell of a lot better than knowing there’s just as few people interested in liberating us all as there were the last time a group coalesced. And this serves to reduce the pain in the world, but in doing so it must acknowledge it. Which would by why you get Dylan performing at a million man march, and even that atrocious amalgamation of light hearted dilettantes - better known as the Rally to Restore Sanity - showcased a few political-esque (gaaaahhhh) songs instead of having fucking James Blunt or another punk ass optimist coward twaddle their way through a chorus and verse