Myxomatosis

Myxomatosis, myxomatosis, myxomatosis. Catchy word ain't it? Probably one of the words you could use to impress people with your 'profound' knowledge of the Oxford English dictionary. Or you could use it in a game of Scrabble to net yourself 25 points for a single word.

Fans of Radiohead would have probably heard the word myxomatosis, from their album 'Hail To The Thief', but other than the cryptic lyrics of the song, what does this 25 point Scrabble word mean?

Myxomatosis is a disease that occurs in rabbits and is caused by the Myxoma virus. However, its effects differ amongst the different species of rabbits. The disease when contracted by a cottontail rabbit, would result in skin tumours; for an European rabbit, however, it is a whole different ball game. The effects range from puffiness, severe conjunctivitis, insanity, pneumonia and even death.

I was reading a discussion on an internet forum about the exact meaning of the song 'Myxomatosis' by Radiohead. It was interesting to see how a single song could be interpreted differently by so many people. Some said that the song was about George W. Bush; some looked at it as a depiction of a rock star's life; some interpreted it as a song about social hierachies and to some, it was about sexually transmitted infections.

As I read on, I thought to myself that this is bloody brilliant. To see a song and the lyrics being dissected, scrutinised and debated upon, it occurred to me that this itself, is like art. This is the kinda music that is good and it stays in your head because it requires you to think (something which is lacking in many people nowadays). Likewise, MF Doom's lyrics are pretty abstract and requires the process of killing copious amounts of brain cells at times.

It is sad to see that a large number of people turn away from music like that as some form of thought is required. Sometimes, people tend to opt for the easy way out and listen to music which has no meaning at all or whatsoever. The end result would be the zombification of a huge proportion of the human race. As the theory goes, if you do not use something over a long period of time, it will just waste away.

Well, I am not being an elitist right here. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, even couch zombies. It is like Life. You can wander around aimlessly and always choosing the easy way out, but what do you achieve at the end of the day? There is more to Life and whether or not you wish to pursue the meaning of it all, it is every individual's prerogative at the end of the day. To end, an excerpt from the song 'Myxomatosis': "Yeah no one likes a smart arse but we all like stars".