Consumption is no longer just about what we buy. It has found its way into how we measure success.

In our pursuit of more, even the things that once existed simply for pleasure are increasingly expected to produce something in return.

I was sitting near my record player the other day, listening to Janis Joplin sing “Mercedes Benz”, a satire about consumerism and our desire for the good life.

Listening to it now, I wondered if we ever really got the joke, when I was reminded of an old belief of mine.

Books taught me words. They taught me articulation and expression. But songs taught me everything else.