Easter and spring belong together. Easter virtually kicks-off spring and is a near perfect blend of catholic and heathen rebirth rituals. It symbolises new life, both the resurrection of Christ and the hunt for Easter eggs can be viewed in that light. Of course, the Catholic church partially invented Easter to put a stop to pagan, fertility oriented spring rituals, but it never really succeeded, even though most of us don’t think anymore about the Easter bunny and egg hunting as rituals with a strong sexual connotation.

Enter Stravinsky’s ‘Le Sacre du Printemps’ (Rite of Spring), first performed in 1913, one of the most famous compositions of the early 20th century. A composition made for the body rather than the mind, heavily focused on percussion, rhythm and energy. A revolutionary piece of art. Its first performance caused a riot. The audience was screaming, fighting, throwing chairs. The noise was so loud the dancers couldn’t even hear the music anymore. For the right perspective: Stravinsky was a big name, not some underground composer. Translate it to 2018 and conclude that 100 years later we live in different times. Big names don’t do revolution anymore. Big names please the masses (and collect a truckload of money). The consumer shouldn’t be disturbed by something new.

Stop performing Bach’s Mattäus-Passion with Easter. Play Le Sacre du Printemps instead. Bach is the Christian thing to do. The cerebral thing to do. The right thing to do. Frankly, it’s boring. The Mattäus-Passion will never cause a riot or make you wonder if ugliness can be beauty, or vice versa. No one will ever fight over the Mattäus-Passion. Let’s play Le Sacre du Printemps and celebrate creative destruction.

Which brings me to ‘Come on Eileen’, Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ surprise 1982 hit. It’s a nice tune, an uplifting tune with a cheerful video clip. Why was it a hit? Not because of the song, not because of the singer, but indeed, because of the visuals and the blonde girl in the video clip. MTV just started and all testosterone-high boys were marveling at this girl who seemed to wear nothing under her blue overall. It’s all very simple, it’s all just a rite of spring.