Absolution

So most folks in this country know Gary Numan as the one-hit wonder behind the new wave single "Cars". What most don't know is that this guy was one of the vanguard of techno-industrial music, and has been quietly cranking out amazingly complex and beautifully dark alternative music for decades. With dozens of top-20 hits in Europe & the UK, he is often singled out as a prime influence of today's vanguard, including Trent Reznor.

Gary's still going strong. He's still delivering amazing music and amazing performances today, and looks as if he might have a magic portrait hidden away somewhere (he turns 50 next year).

So it's no surprise that his last 3 albums (as well as a 2-disc remix collection) have become favorites of mine, as they often include themes of loss and spiritual crisis.

One particular song from 1997's Exile has found its way into my playlists and my shower CDs recently. It's a pretty extreme declaration, but I find it a powerful statement of how love is the bottom line to everything, and trumps all spiritual dogma... it is the basis of existence.

I would swim across oceans
Just to talk with you
I would climb a tall mountain
Just to look at you
I'd give my soul to the devil
If you asked me to
I would walk out of heaven
Just to be with you

This is absolute
This is absolution

I will be your disciple
And I'll worship you
Burn the prophets of reason
Light the sky for you
Kill the children of Eden
If you want me to
Close the dead eyes of God
If they offended you

This is absolute
This is absolution

- Gary Numan, "Absolution"