if i may...
(and, yes, this will probably turn into a Pro-Barack Obama rant)
I saw some jerk reading the NY Post on the subway the other day. and the headline read something to the effect of "Obama crushes Hil 55-27." And my reaction was, similar to my reaction that I usually have when I see a Post, "Jesus Christ, Post." I thought, "there you go again making a mockery of our political system." I was all indignant that they were likening the presidential race, "the presidential race, for God's sake!" to a football game. It wasn't until yesterday when I realized how very right they were, in fact. It very much is like that. And suddenly and strangely I was okay with that. Its what it is. And as things is, we have the same expectations of the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday (coincidence? I think not). We have the same expectations of football players and presidential contenders. One might go so far as to say the football players have more in the way of social influence than so-called Leaders of the Free World. We don't expect our leaders to lead anymore. The Office of the President has become that of someone who just does his/her job (or doesn't and lame-ducks it up) without leading his/her people in any way. This is how it is and how people expect it to be. Who really leads this country? Personalities--Oprah, Jon Stewart, um, I don't know Brad Pitt, George Clooney (yes!). Al Gore has said he's had much more influence doing what he's doing now than if he were to be President. Bill has said the same about post-Presidential life. So the Presidency and the race therefor is deemed moot in public perception, leaving it as fodder for entertainment, sport, a reality television show.
But these leaders (or even surrogate leaders) don't want to be President. Real leaders of our country don't want to be President anymore. There are so many better ways to make a difference in the world. And the paths that people venture to make a real difference in the world, probably ultimately disqualifies one from the office anyhow.
So thats part of the reason I'm investing myself in someone who I think maybe, just maybe (and I will SO take maybe at this point) can turn the Office of the President into a place of leadership, again. The remaining Decmocratic candidates' policies are hardly differentiable if pulled out of a hat. But one of them may able to lead a nation of people, who, whether willingly or not, are bonded by this country and its principles. And however cliche they've become, they're actual. It is a good thing. And though the "people" at the Post may be watching the television on Nov. 4 waiting to see who gets to drop the pretty balloons, or who "trounces" whom, there are a lot of people in this country who feel that this is a crucial time for us and we need someone who can lead. I have not known a real leader in my lifetime. And that there is the potential to have someone who is willing to lead who might also be the President is shocking to me.
Speaking of George Clooney, why can't this guy be President? Seriously, this is what we need.
mark.
p.s. I found myself strangely emotional about John Edwards dropping out of the race yesterday. His presence was important to "the cause" and I hope he doesn't disappear.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Our Year In Music...
2007 was a mind-bogglingly good year for music. So much so that when it was over, it felt like a bit of a rest was due. That won't happen, of course, because the ball is still rolling and the momentum of '07 is bowling forward. So to put the year into perspective, we've devised this list of 15 albums that came out last year. It is, in essence, a retrospective to the best albums, but the intent was larger in scope. We want to provide a portrait, a check-point, as it were, as to where we stand (stood) in this moment in time. We want to point people--and maybe our future selves--to the art of our time that has touched us, or that we feel is important or relevant. And though we wanted to represent as much of a cross-section of artists as possible, the landscape, while rich, is not sweeping. Mostly white, indie, rock and roll, which encompasses a surprisingly broad range of sounds. We can't deny that there is some representing going on, as most of the artists are from Brooklyn or New York, or have deep ties to the place. But that is not without good reason. Mostly, though, we want to talk about it. So let's open it up to discourse, shall we?
Music may be the most important art of the modern age. And this, to us, is the most important music of a great year.
1. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Though it was one of the very first albums to come out last year, its still the one we go back to. We still wake up with the songs in our head, still are infected by the beats, are still in disbelief that something so fun and funny and joyous can be so emotionally raw and personal and dark. The more we listen to it, the more challenging it gets, emotionally and intellectually. It is simultaneously a throwback and a way to the future, but its focus is neither. It is a painfully loving album reconciling the anguish of the past and the uncertainty of the future in hopes of being a full person and finding actual love or something like it in the present. The album's centerpiece, the 12-plus minute, "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal" is an obsessive rant that refuses to let go. It is destructive and terrifying and personal in the purest way--it never feels like therapy. It, like every song on the album, is wild energy focused to a pin's point. Kevin Barnes knows exactly what it takes to ask one's self the darkest questions, and invites us in on a personal quest, accompanied by insanely danceable beats and ridiculously catchy melodies. That this seminal album comes 10 years into their career is a promising shock.
2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
James Murphy makes sounds and sense. They are always truthful and surpsingly touching. He takes his time and we wait for him. He deftly knows what to do to make us laugh, cry, think, and move, usually all at once. 10 months old, but the album feels like its been around forever. The most listenable and move-to-able album out. It hardly does justice to talk about it.
3. The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
Dave Longstreth has been looking at things from left field for quite some time now, often with exhilarating results. But it wasn't until this year's Rise Above that he bowled us away with all that his imagination was capable of. Black Flag's self contained world of skater punk-dom seems to find a frightening depth when heard through Longstreth's voice and arrangements, all of which are executed with the energy and anarchic excitement that came with the original punk movement. This music is seriously exciting and disarming at every turn, as it juggles a bizarre sense of humor and an ability to cut deep to reveal frightening truths. Longstreth and his band, with Rise Above, help to reaffirm that art will always be able to deeply surprise and transform as long as artists are willing to lay themselves bare, no matter the cost.
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Radiohead is a complete artist. Every move they make resonates from top to bottom; from the broadest political or business decision, to every single note that is played or not played on their records or live shows. The thing we get from it is this: when we think they can't take us anywhere else, when they have taken us to what must be the end of the road, they force us to go further. And up until this album it has been by accelerating and pushing our limits (I'm thinking "Sit Down Stand Up"). But this time around, it comes in drastic curves in the road. They aren't forcing us anywhere, anymore--we willingly follow. They baited us with this move to self-release the album (an incredibly bold and inspiring move) and the album is their most precise and shockingly intricate to date. The songs are more disarming and mature. The band is more naked, more sexual than they have ever been. If the tension in Radiohead's music gets any more electric, we might not be able to handle it. But Radiohead has been surprising us all with our own capacity for a very long time.
5. The National - Boxer
The Jesus-Christ-I-know-that-feeling album of the year. Perfectly articulates an inarticulate generation of lovers. See Seth's post from December below.
6. Menomena - Friend and Foe
Each song is a different world, an unpredictable adventure. From the opening kicks of "Muscle'n'Flo," its clear that the album is epic in scope. The songs take unexpected turns that range from elevating, deceptively prog, anthemic oceans to full stops, gentle flicks, grains of sand, while the lyrics remain always simply honest. Its tied together by serious ambition and a wise-beyond-their-years sense of humor. 2007 was the strongest year for drumming in recent memory, and Friend and Foe's beats rank among the fattest. These boys are playing to no one's expectations and are always surprising.
7. Battles - Mirrored
Mirrored is an unparalleled album. There is nothing unconscious about it. It is calculated and skillful and so rock solid. It is a complete work of art, compressed and refracting complex equations into jaw-dropping rock'n'roll. There is a surprise around every corner. Completely in control at all times with wild ambition. Perhaps the most notable display of their ambition is revealed in their stunning live show. These guys are clearly bringing the James Brown, sweating buckets, waking us up to the notion that it really does make a difference to be the hardest working in show business.
8. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
When will Deerhoof stop getting better? I am starting to think that this band may not ever slow down, just keep growing and growing until one day the drummer just explodes and takes the whole stage with him. That the man who is able to hold down and execute such complex and insane drum beats might one day explode instead of die seems entirely possible. This stuff is so out there in its complexity that it, at times, feels improvised, effortless. In fact, the whole band gives off that sort of explosive energy; the kind that never lets you settle down, never lets on what is in store next. Not to mention that Satomi Matsuzaki opens her mouth and what comes out is both completely sexy and potentially insane. How can you not fall in love with Deerhoof?
9. Bjork - Volta
This album was entirely slept on. Bjork is an artist in a constant state of reinvention and this album exemplifies that. While not entirely cohesive, it is an experiment in chance from a mother in perpetual motion. Its a manic and maddening album, in stark contrast to her latest releases. Its her best work since the masterpiece Vespertine and with some of the hottest tracks since Post. Bjork found herself from the cutting edge of electronic music to the cutting edge of art. Here, she starts to reconcile the two without looking backwards or forwards, but at what she is right now.
10. Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
There is one word that sums up most how All Hour Cymbals feels : refreshing. Its such a clean feeling. Precise, exciting instrumentation and crisp production gives this album a feel that is both worldly and other-worldly. I have no idea where it came from, in the same way that we can't put our finger on where that dazing summer breeze or that bitter winter chill came from. But like those things, it commands our attention. Hopeful and post-apocalyptic, they know where we are, and are using tradition to take us to the future. They shine an optimism onto what they freely admit is a dreadful state of affairs. And the light comes through nowhere brighter than in four-part harmony.
11. Grizzly Bear - Friend E.P.
This album needs to be noted because Grizzly Bear presents themselves as artists with such control over their material that they insist on reinventing and reworking songs most bands would be terrified to touch again for fear of disrupting their beauty. This boldness not only rewards the band and listener with material that meets the former songs. In technique, scope, and depth of emotion, these songs far exceed the tracks featured on Horn Of Plenty and last year's revelatory Yellow House. The album deserves its place on the list not only musically, but philosophically as well. Grizzly Bear is able to eloquently and unabashedly share their search for identity with us, through self-exploration and having their friends pick them apart. It is healing for them and somehow, we are better for it.
12. Beirut - Flying Club Cup
Even if we don't consider that everything Owen Pallett touches turns to gold, its still a very good album with some very good songs. Zach Condon is, in the best way, the natural heir to Rufus Wainwright, who was never able to capitalize on the legacy laid by his first, most grandiose and textured album. Flying Club Cup's soaring melodies and layered instrumentation put Condon at the forefront of young singer/songwriters whose albums, we are certain, will only get better with age. Though some of the songs peter out before they reach the emotional depths they strive for, when they hit the mark, it is breathtaking. For instance, "Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)" is one of the most simply beautiful songs of the year. Plus, France is great.
13. Phosphorescent - Pride
A man and his tape recorder, world wise and steeped in folk tradition, uncertain or perhaps disregarding of what is happening with the Brooklyn scenesters, it runs deep.
14. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Something tells me that Noah Lennox and Brian Wilson would be seriously kindred spirits. It is obvious from any of Lennox's output with both Animal Collective or as Panda Bear that Wilson has been a great influence on him. But the relationship is much more complex than that. Both artists have a tendency to keep their lyrical themes simple and direct so that the quality of their voice tells the emotional story. Both artists have a great deal to say about what the computer is capable of as a musical tool. Person Pitch's shifting musical landscape is so serene and alien at times that we are fairly certain that it must be from the future. Wherever it came from, this album is constantly revealing new layers even nearly a year after its release.
15. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
This album is so puzzling. The lyrics, on paper, are positively bad. But somehow when Win Butler belts them or lets them out with a breathy whisper, they make a whole lotta sense. It doesn't have the exalting anthems that make us scream for Funeral, but it presents a very strong, impassioned, and we get the impression, burned band flexing its muscles and pounding the pavement. Its a strangely American album that only outsiders could make. And "My Body Is A Cage" is one of the best and certainly scariest songs of the year.
This is how we define 2007.
Please, share your thoughts...
Music may be the most important art of the modern age. And this, to us, is the most important music of a great year.
1. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Though it was one of the very first albums to come out last year, its still the one we go back to. We still wake up with the songs in our head, still are infected by the beats, are still in disbelief that something so fun and funny and joyous can be so emotionally raw and personal and dark. The more we listen to it, the more challenging it gets, emotionally and intellectually. It is simultaneously a throwback and a way to the future, but its focus is neither. It is a painfully loving album reconciling the anguish of the past and the uncertainty of the future in hopes of being a full person and finding actual love or something like it in the present. The album's centerpiece, the 12-plus minute, "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal" is an obsessive rant that refuses to let go. It is destructive and terrifying and personal in the purest way--it never feels like therapy. It, like every song on the album, is wild energy focused to a pin's point. Kevin Barnes knows exactly what it takes to ask one's self the darkest questions, and invites us in on a personal quest, accompanied by insanely danceable beats and ridiculously catchy melodies. That this seminal album comes 10 years into their career is a promising shock.2. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
James Murphy makes sounds and sense. They are always truthful and surpsingly touching. He takes his time and we wait for him. He deftly knows what to do to make us laugh, cry, think, and move, usually all at once. 10 months old, but the album feels like its been around forever. The most listenable and move-to-able album out. It hardly does justice to talk about it.3. The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
Dave Longstreth has been looking at things from left field for quite some time now, often with exhilarating results. But it wasn't until this year's Rise Above that he bowled us away with all that his imagination was capable of. Black Flag's self contained world of skater punk-dom seems to find a frightening depth when heard through Longstreth's voice and arrangements, all of which are executed with the energy and anarchic excitement that came with the original punk movement. This music is seriously exciting and disarming at every turn, as it juggles a bizarre sense of humor and an ability to cut deep to reveal frightening truths. Longstreth and his band, with Rise Above, help to reaffirm that art will always be able to deeply surprise and transform as long as artists are willing to lay themselves bare, no matter the cost.4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
Radiohead is a complete artist. Every move they make resonates from top to bottom; from the broadest political or business decision, to every single note that is played or not played on their records or live shows. The thing we get from it is this: when we think they can't take us anywhere else, when they have taken us to what must be the end of the road, they force us to go further. And up until this album it has been by accelerating and pushing our limits (I'm thinking "Sit Down Stand Up"). But this time around, it comes in drastic curves in the road. They aren't forcing us anywhere, anymore--we willingly follow. They baited us with this move to self-release the album (an incredibly bold and inspiring move) and the album is their most precise and shockingly intricate to date. The songs are more disarming and mature. The band is more naked, more sexual than they have ever been. If the tension in Radiohead's music gets any more electric, we might not be able to handle it. But Radiohead has been surprising us all with our own capacity for a very long time.5. The National - Boxer
The Jesus-Christ-I-know-that-feeling album of the year. Perfectly articulates an inarticulate generation of lovers. See Seth's post from December below.
6. Menomena - Friend and Foe
Each song is a different world, an unpredictable adventure. From the opening kicks of "Muscle'n'Flo," its clear that the album is epic in scope. The songs take unexpected turns that range from elevating, deceptively prog, anthemic oceans to full stops, gentle flicks, grains of sand, while the lyrics remain always simply honest. Its tied together by serious ambition and a wise-beyond-their-years sense of humor. 2007 was the strongest year for drumming in recent memory, and Friend and Foe's beats rank among the fattest. These boys are playing to no one's expectations and are always surprising.7. Battles - Mirrored
Mirrored is an unparalleled album. There is nothing unconscious about it. It is calculated and skillful and so rock solid. It is a complete work of art, compressed and refracting complex equations into jaw-dropping rock'n'roll. There is a surprise around every corner. Completely in control at all times with wild ambition. Perhaps the most notable display of their ambition is revealed in their stunning live show. These guys are clearly bringing the James Brown, sweating buckets, waking us up to the notion that it really does make a difference to be the hardest working in show business.8. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
When will Deerhoof stop getting better? I am starting to think that this band may not ever slow down, just keep growing and growing until one day the drummer just explodes and takes the whole stage with him. That the man who is able to hold down and execute such complex and insane drum beats might one day explode instead of die seems entirely possible. This stuff is so out there in its complexity that it, at times, feels improvised, effortless. In fact, the whole band gives off that sort of explosive energy; the kind that never lets you settle down, never lets on what is in store next. Not to mention that Satomi Matsuzaki opens her mouth and what comes out is both completely sexy and potentially insane. How can you not fall in love with Deerhoof?9. Bjork - Volta
This album was entirely slept on. Bjork is an artist in a constant state of reinvention and this album exemplifies that. While not entirely cohesive, it is an experiment in chance from a mother in perpetual motion. Its a manic and maddening album, in stark contrast to her latest releases. Its her best work since the masterpiece Vespertine and with some of the hottest tracks since Post. Bjork found herself from the cutting edge of electronic music to the cutting edge of art. Here, she starts to reconcile the two without looking backwards or forwards, but at what she is right now.10. Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
There is one word that sums up most how All Hour Cymbals feels : refreshing. Its such a clean feeling. Precise, exciting instrumentation and crisp production gives this album a feel that is both worldly and other-worldly. I have no idea where it came from, in the same way that we can't put our finger on where that dazing summer breeze or that bitter winter chill came from. But like those things, it commands our attention. Hopeful and post-apocalyptic, they know where we are, and are using tradition to take us to the future. They shine an optimism onto what they freely admit is a dreadful state of affairs. And the light comes through nowhere brighter than in four-part harmony.11. Grizzly Bear - Friend E.P.
This album needs to be noted because Grizzly Bear presents themselves as artists with such control over their material that they insist on reinventing and reworking songs most bands would be terrified to touch again for fear of disrupting their beauty. This boldness not only rewards the band and listener with material that meets the former songs. In technique, scope, and depth of emotion, these songs far exceed the tracks featured on Horn Of Plenty and last year's revelatory Yellow House. The album deserves its place on the list not only musically, but philosophically as well. Grizzly Bear is able to eloquently and unabashedly share their search for identity with us, through self-exploration and having their friends pick them apart. It is healing for them and somehow, we are better for it.12. Beirut - Flying Club Cup
Even if we don't consider that everything Owen Pallett touches turns to gold, its still a very good album with some very good songs. Zach Condon is, in the best way, the natural heir to Rufus Wainwright, who was never able to capitalize on the legacy laid by his first, most grandiose and textured album. Flying Club Cup's soaring melodies and layered instrumentation put Condon at the forefront of young singer/songwriters whose albums, we are certain, will only get better with age. Though some of the songs peter out before they reach the emotional depths they strive for, when they hit the mark, it is breathtaking. For instance, "Un Dernier Verre (Pour La Route)" is one of the most simply beautiful songs of the year. Plus, France is great.13. Phosphorescent - Pride
A man and his tape recorder, world wise and steeped in folk tradition, uncertain or perhaps disregarding of what is happening with the Brooklyn scenesters, it runs deep.
14. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Something tells me that Noah Lennox and Brian Wilson would be seriously kindred spirits. It is obvious from any of Lennox's output with both Animal Collective or as Panda Bear that Wilson has been a great influence on him. But the relationship is much more complex than that. Both artists have a tendency to keep their lyrical themes simple and direct so that the quality of their voice tells the emotional story. Both artists have a great deal to say about what the computer is capable of as a musical tool. Person Pitch's shifting musical landscape is so serene and alien at times that we are fairly certain that it must be from the future. Wherever it came from, this album is constantly revealing new layers even nearly a year after its release.15. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
This album is so puzzling. The lyrics, on paper, are positively bad. But somehow when Win Butler belts them or lets them out with a breathy whisper, they make a whole lotta sense. It doesn't have the exalting anthems that make us scream for Funeral, but it presents a very strong, impassioned, and we get the impression, burned band flexing its muscles and pounding the pavement. Its a strangely American album that only outsiders could make. And "My Body Is A Cage" is one of the best and certainly scariest songs of the year.This is how we define 2007.
Please, share your thoughts...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Democracy: Beyond the horizon of habits
Been meaning to post on this for a minute. Finally got the impulse to do it. Found this wonderful definition of democracy from that Carl Wilson book about Celine Dion I've talked so much about. This blog is starting to turn into the Carl Wilson Appreciation Society. If it really were, I'd be writing about how I went to his reading downtown last night instead of staying home to nap and clean my room. Anyway...
Yes. I like it. And, though I would rather keep this blog away from the political--but a) how can it not be at this point in time and b) anyone who's talked to me knows my persuasions--I will say that I think there is one candidate--in this election and in my lifetime thus far--that knows this definition of democracy so well, and knows it to his/her (okay, his) core. Wilson is saying that his encounter with Celine helped him to come to this conclusion. It is fitting that HRC, as Wilson points out, picked a Celine song for her primary campaign. My suspicions are, though, that she and Wilson are not on the same page about this.
mark.
This is what I mean by democracy--not a limp open-mindedness, but actively grappling with people and things not like me, which brings with it the perilous question of what I am like. Democracy, that dangerous, paradoxical, and mostly unattempted ideal, sees that the self is insufficient, dependent for definition on otherness, and chooses not only to accept that but to celebrate it, to stake everything on it. Through democracy, which demands we meet strangers as equals, we perhaps become less strangers to ourselves.
Yes. I like it. And, though I would rather keep this blog away from the political--but a) how can it not be at this point in time and b) anyone who's talked to me knows my persuasions--I will say that I think there is one candidate--in this election and in my lifetime thus far--that knows this definition of democracy so well, and knows it to his/her (okay, his) core. Wilson is saying that his encounter with Celine helped him to come to this conclusion. It is fitting that HRC, as Wilson points out, picked a Celine song for her primary campaign. My suspicions are, though, that she and Wilson are not on the same page about this.
mark.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Uh Oh, '08!
Well. It's cold as hell in New York, oil is at $100 a barrel and an essentially meaningless circus is about to begin in Iowa which will determine the tone of election season, in turn determining the tone of the year...2008 is alive. I'd like to extend my warmest welcome to it and a fond farewell to '07. Its been a magnificent year, as far as I'm concerned, especially great for music (in case you are in desperate need of another one and I know you are, expect our always-self-consciously-obligatory-but-somehow-useful- and-ever-so-much-fun best-of list soon). Apparently it was a good year for film but I've really dropped the ball there. Although watching I'm Not There, I was convinced I didn't need to watch another movie ever.
I'm excited for 2008 and the surely great things it will bring.
I'd like to continue on the subject of criticism for a moment, though in a different direction than we've been heading. I'm finishing up Carl Wilson's new book for the 33 1/3 series, Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste. It's a keenly observed and well-researched investigation of why we like the things we like (through the lens of an avant music critic trying to give Celine Dion actually serious attention) and includes a lot of pointed (sometimes scathing, sometimes self-deprecating) critiques of the state of criticism. He also articulates in a disarming way a lot of things that I think are real personal problems in our culture (disinterest in excitement, the meat-grinder approach to new music or art or anything, which disables deep listening and is indicative of or perpetuates deeper issues). Here's a passage from near the end of the book where he is trying to reconcile his distaste for Celine with his feelings:
A little harsh out of context, but he makes some damn good points and I think its makes perfect sense with what we're trying to investigate here. Is it natural to become "disinterested" when we feel that certain sort of pleasure, that "good feeling," that tickle in our tear ducts? Could it be that Finding Neverland is actually a good movie, but my shame at letting it manipulate me into feeling made me tear it apart? (Probably not, actually). It is possible, to play the devil's advocate, that all the sappy gooey good-feeling-ness isn't actually pleasurable, but something people put themselves through out of guilt. Further, I believe there is a lot of "sentimental art" whose vulnerability and tenderness is not actually honest. It is overwrought, indulgent, manipulative even and we let ourselves be fooled. There are those of us who, out of humiliation of being fooled one too many times or perhaps a particularly bad burn or perhaps because everyone else is doing it, will shut it down, cross our arms and refuse to let ourselves or our emotions be taken advantage of. Or we look at it ironically, or cynically. Or we take the piss out of it, as it were. I think this is dangerous. Sometimes it can be so wonderful to just have something...nice.
There is a faction of bands making waves (with me and my heartstrings at least) who are really good at making really nice music, full of tenderness and vulnerability. Midlake is good at it. Grizzly Bear is great at it. Final Fantasy is so good at it, his show at the Bowery Ballroom in November was the catalyst for starting this blog. The music is pure and honest and not schmaltz in the least. If it takes a darker turn, or becomes more aggressive, it is through the artists exploration of their own goodness that it does so. It is not indulgent. It's a gift.
more later.
Happy New Year.
mark.
I'm excited for 2008 and the surely great things it will bring.
I'd like to continue on the subject of criticism for a moment, though in a different direction than we've been heading. I'm finishing up Carl Wilson's new book for the 33 1/3 series, Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste. It's a keenly observed and well-researched investigation of why we like the things we like (through the lens of an avant music critic trying to give Celine Dion actually serious attention) and includes a lot of pointed (sometimes scathing, sometimes self-deprecating) critiques of the state of criticism. He also articulates in a disarming way a lot of things that I think are real personal problems in our culture (disinterest in excitement, the meat-grinder approach to new music or art or anything, which disables deep listening and is indicative of or perpetuates deeper issues). Here's a passage from near the end of the book where he is trying to reconcile his distaste for Celine with his feelings:
"The very greatest art may ball all the shit and nonshit of existence together, the way it comes in life, but on the less exalted tiers, why must art that focuses mainly on what (Robert C.) Solomon calls "the tender emotions" take a back seat to art that focuses mainly on the harsh ones? The hierarchies of antisentimentalism seem to end in a perverse reversal of values...
It's often assumed that audiences for schmaltz are somehow stunted, using sentimental art as a kind of emotional crutch. As Solomon points out, there's no evidence for this slur: isn't it equally plausible that people uncomfortable with representations of vulnerability and tenderness have emotional problems? Sentimental art can be a rehearsal, a workout to keep emotions toned and ready for use. This doesn't dictate that those uses will be appropriate ones, and emotions alone are not solutions to issues, but sympathy and compassion are prerequisites to charity and solidarity. So between the sentimentalist and the antisentimentalist, who is the real emotional cripple?"
A little harsh out of context, but he makes some damn good points and I think its makes perfect sense with what we're trying to investigate here. Is it natural to become "disinterested" when we feel that certain sort of pleasure, that "good feeling," that tickle in our tear ducts? Could it be that Finding Neverland is actually a good movie, but my shame at letting it manipulate me into feeling made me tear it apart? (Probably not, actually). It is possible, to play the devil's advocate, that all the sappy gooey good-feeling-ness isn't actually pleasurable, but something people put themselves through out of guilt. Further, I believe there is a lot of "sentimental art" whose vulnerability and tenderness is not actually honest. It is overwrought, indulgent, manipulative even and we let ourselves be fooled. There are those of us who, out of humiliation of being fooled one too many times or perhaps a particularly bad burn or perhaps because everyone else is doing it, will shut it down, cross our arms and refuse to let ourselves or our emotions be taken advantage of. Or we look at it ironically, or cynically. Or we take the piss out of it, as it were. I think this is dangerous. Sometimes it can be so wonderful to just have something...nice.
There is a faction of bands making waves (with me and my heartstrings at least) who are really good at making really nice music, full of tenderness and vulnerability. Midlake is good at it. Grizzly Bear is great at it. Final Fantasy is so good at it, his show at the Bowery Ballroom in November was the catalyst for starting this blog. The music is pure and honest and not schmaltz in the least. If it takes a darker turn, or becomes more aggressive, it is through the artists exploration of their own goodness that it does so. It is not indulgent. It's a gift.
more later.
Happy New Year.
mark.
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