Max Weber and Bono in a godless world (Sunday Sociological Song)
Famously, Max Weber discribed himself as religiously « unmusical ». So, it might come as a surprise that I picked him for this Sunday Sociological Song episode focusing on religion (or lack thereof). Fact is, early this week I had the chance to listen to a good episode of BBC Radio 4′s Thinking allowed discussing the weberian notion of disenchantment (Entzauberung) and… well, that was such a refreshing break from the usual xenophobic newscasts and crappy programmes about the farming of berries in Great Britain which represent so much of BBC Radio 4 everyday schedule, that I decided to celebrate by choosing a song to illustrate that. And I also decided to venture outside my comfort zone, by choosing a song by U2 – a band that (and that’s an understatement) I was never fond of. But, you know, all that talk about a man wondering in an urban setting, missing his « inner beauty » (or is it Grace?), arguing that « blessings are not just for the ones who kneel »… I like to think that it’s all kinda reminescent of old Max’s « dialectics of disenchantment and reenchantment ». Better this than surrendering to the idea of just another song about Bono trying to get laid.
Title: City Of Blinding Lights
Artist:U2
Album: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)The more you see, the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do nowNeon heart day-glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like usAnd I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the groundOh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lightsDon’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can’t seeI’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the groundOh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lightsTime…time…time…time…time
Won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this manOh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lightsThe more you know the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel… luckily
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I'm an associate professor of Digital Humanities at the Paris Institute of Technology (ParisTech) and a researcher in sociology at the Edgar-Morin Center (EHESS, Paris). Bodyspacesociety offers regular updates about my ongoing research, publications, and teaching. If you want updates on media features and conferences, please click here.
The views presented on this blog are solely mine and do not represent the positions of my institutions of affiliation.
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The special issue of the journal 'Communications' Cultures du numérique is out. Also, you might want to check my latest book Les liaisons numériques. Vers une nouvelle sociabilité?. Both published by Editions du Seuil, both available in bookshops and online.
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[...] song. By the way, Sunday Sociological Song has caught on at a couple other blogs too. Check out BodySpaceSociety and the Global Sociology Blog for more musical [...]