The Fixx have recorded some great albums and had some gigantic hits during their career (which continues to this day – their album Beautiful Friction –  released last year was outstanding).

What always set the Fixx apart from many other bands of the 1980s was that the Fixx consistently commented on the world around them and asked some tough questions.  In 1991 when this song was released  the question was “How much is enough?”  Just exactly how much stuff do we need?

And the video from 1991 is classic

Can’t you see that time is slipping away?  But I’ve got to say – how much is enough when your soul is empty?

Hey – I admit it.  I’ve been saving this song for Black Friday.  I’m all for the Christmas shopping and gift exchanges – don’t get me wrong.  But when stores are opening on Thanksgiving – we’ve got a problem.

While we were dreaming, something slipped away.  We’re drowning in possessions, playing tricks with our minds; Lost from one another…

Christmas season is upon us folks and don’t get me wrong – if you were shopping today among the lunatics – I hope it was a really fun time and found lots of bargains.

But I’m a little concerned we might be losing our perspective when we are convinced by the media that we have to gulp down our thanksgiving turkey and take off to the same lousy stores we go to any other weekend, in order to buy some discounted product that we may not even need.

Can’t we just eat dinner with our famiily?

Dr. Seuss:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!”
It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

-cj cheetham