This seems to be the afternoon for music on the blog. This little post is about pop music and all that that entails….so you can’t say at the end I didn’t warn you. Early today, in an attempt to get a reaction out of a friend (nameless because he knows who he is) who still doesn’t believe in the brilliance that is Justin Timberlake’s new album, The 20/20 Experience, I compared his albums to sex. Let me preface, sex has been on my mind a lot lately. One of my final papers I am working on right now focuses on the Hebrew text of Song of Songs through an ecological lens. All that to say is I’m not thinking about anything else (in the least sexy way possible). Anyways back to the music. I was so excited for JT’s new album, it was pre-ordered and when I woke up on Tuesday morning it was already downloaded onto my phone. I didn’t stop listening to it for about 72 hours. Getting ready in the morning, driving to and from work, during work and doing homework, I immersed myself in it. So to see that this dear person in my life just shrugged his shoulders in response made me sad. Of course it isn’t like FutureSex/LoveSounds, but don’t dismiss it because it’s different! This morning I decided to listen to the two albums right after each other. Early on I had a revelation and sent him the following text message:
“Ok. So I’m listening to JT’s FS/LS. Here’s what I think: the first album could be compared to having sex in an alley it’s hot, fast and dirty. Whereas the new album could be compared to sex in a relationship, it’s sometimes slow but beautiful because there’s depth.”
I think it is fair to say that our culture idealizes sex to the point that when it is normalized and perhaps even a little bit mundane we don’t know how to deal with it. We’re disappointed and feel betrayed. So after the heightened climax that was Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, of course one would be disillusioned to the beauty of an album that is based more on sustainable experiences and emotions (even the songs are longer!). If you are one of those who had too high of expectations and were initally disappointed by The 20/20 Experience, go back and have a listen and remember that the act of sex doesn’t always produce intimacy.
People are jumping at everything Boards of Canada does, including switching the order of their videos on their official YouTube channel.
For those of you not acquainted with Boards of Canada (or BoC, or Boards), this electronic duo is known for its mystery. Not much is known about these two Scottish brothers. What is known is that they spent part of their childhood in Canada. According to a few of the rare interviews with Boards, they draw a lot of inspiration for their music from National Film Board of Canada films that originated during the culture identity seeking era of the late 60s and 70s. The music reminds you of remote industry outposts, visiting Science North in Sudbury, watching outdated nature documentaries in grade-school, or driving along the Trans Canada Highway (which, incidentally, is the name to one of their EPs).
The brothers have managed to create a powerful and mysterious lore surrounding their music. They have a giant backlog of unreleased music that leaks from time to time sparking much debate about each track's authenticity. Their music contains references to numerology, obsessions with subliminal messaging, and mathematical formulas - all of which feed into the rumours surrounding the duo. Stories surround their personal lives that include rumours of cult involvement and wild Hexagon Sun parties. Very little is verifiable though, as the brothers don't ever really engage with the public.
BoC is nothing short of prolific. The chances of you being a fan of electronic music without being able to identify Board's unique sound are slim. Many electronic music artists point to Boards of Canada as a major influence in the development of their sound. However, the closest anyone has ever gotten to sounding like Boards is an artist named Tycho. Boards were creating music that was unheard of (albeit nostalgic) from the mid 90s to 2006.
And then they stopped.
Profound music, a devoted fan base, an alluring and elusive mythology, and a radio silence that has lasted eight full years has created a lot of desperate fans - and Boards of Canada is milking it.
They recently released a set of six audio snippets containing a track matching their characteristic sound. Each track is followed by a series of numbers. A couple of these tracks came from records released on Record Store Day, another was a radio clip on BBC, and still more were from mysterious youtube clips.
The series of numbers has formed a code which as of now is:
Speculation as to what the code means has created a cult following that is both fascinating and frustrating. Does it indicate the release date of a new album? Does the code represent a new album name? Is it all just one big hoax? (Not according to Warp Records, but who said we can trust them?)
As a lover of puzzles, I'm tickled. As a lover of Boards, I'm tormented.
Either way, Boards of Canada - or whoever is behind this - are either incredibly brilliant when it comes to hype, or incredibly cruel when it comes to toying with the hearts of fans that have waited so long to hear from their beloved.
I'm going to come out and call Boards of Canada the biggest tease I know. Now excuse me while I go listen to Geogaddi for the millionth time.
With the end of the year comes end of the year lists. I thought of making a top ten, but I'll start with one.Here is my most unexpected love of this year:
Fiona Apple's - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.
This album possibly had the longest most obnoxious title ever, but inside are depths of rhythems and lyrics I have pondered and will continue to ponder.
Unexpected love, possibly unwanted love. For me, this album was not an instant friend. I turned it off, barely made it through the first music video I watched from it, and was put off by its unique flavour. However, it kept showing up! A review here, a comment in a newspaper article there, a reference on some media source. These kept pushing me back into this album, and now I truly enjoy it each time I listen to it.
This may not be for everyone; but maybe, if you are "cultured" or as persistent as I was, you will come to love this album as well, even though it might qualify in some categories of "weird."
I hope ya'll in internet lands are having a great winter season :)
What makes a great musician?In my opinion, it is creativity – pushing the boundaries of the musical
genre or even the instrument itself.Oh,
it also helps if they are Canadian.Ok,
so Colin Stetson was not born Canadian, but he is one on paper, having become a
Canadian resident as a result of falling in love with a certain Sarah Neufeld
(Vancouver-born violinist of Arcade Fire).I can accept that – a Canadian in the name of love.
Stetson is a prodigy saxophonist and has found his success
through playing with various artists such as Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Feist, and
has recently broken out as a solo artist in 2008 with his album entitled New History Warfare, Vol.
1 and a follow up in 2011 with New History Warfare, Vol 2: Judges.Here is an example of Stetson’s solo
work from his most recent album.Some love it (myself included), others hate it.
Grammy Night, will it reflect my year, specifically the strong role females played in music this past year?
Strong female artists have defined the past 366 days for me. Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday and the one-year anniversary of Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Most of the music I listened to last year lines up this way: Lady Gaga, Adele, Florence and the Machine, and for the past 3 days Lana Del Rey. There have been others who played significant be it lesser roles: a smattering of Katy Perry and Charlotte Gainsbourg, a hand full of Rihanna, a little addiction to Kesha (the equivalent of music crack cocaine - it is fun but makes you feel dirty afterwards), and momentary crushes on Natalia Kills and Robyn.
For the past three days, I have been caught up in this:
What was your year of music like? Share some highlights, what was your most listened to album?
Brilliance, as always. Maybe I am not critical enough of Gaga but I am always astounded at her level of insight into life, her creativity, and musical genius. Her latest video “You And I”, released on Tuesday, is no exception.
At a first glance, you might notice…country music? Yup, a brave attempt to cross musical boundaries, I think she accomplishes it successfully. You also might notice that the video is highly sexual, I think there is a Freudian influence in understanding existence through sex, the lack there of sex, and developmental stages of sexual maturity. One will also notice Gaga’s fashion statements. Personally, I like what she has done with the Mugler shoulders, specifically the frilly outfit. But beyond these things I think in this video she is making a more major statement, a statement about relationship.
For those of you who do not follow Gaga religiously there is something you ought to know, as of her latest album, “Born this Way”, she embarked on a narrative of “Pop Culture is our religion”. She tweeted this before the album released and it has been evident in the videos “Born this way” and “Judas”. It is an interesting narrative as this religion has moved from “The fame” (her first album – the creation), to “Fame Monster” (her second album – the deconstruction), and now the recreation in “Born This Way” (her third major album). So whenever she releases a new video I am excited by what she is going to say through it. The video for “You And I” at first confused me as I could not find the tie into the narrative she has been building. Is she taking a break from the discussion of pop culture as our religion? No, I think she has moved on to her Epistles. After watching the video a few more times I think she is moving into virtue as defined relationally and the virtue of relationship, very similar to the movement Paul makes in his Epistles. Thus, I conclude “You And I” is a look into the interpersonal relational aspects of religious existence.
Here is my reading of the video. The journey begins with an acknowledgement of the pain and grotesqueness of the journey. Often the “cushy” depiction of Christianity, or any other religion, is misleading. There is pain, angst, emotional bleeding, maybe even physical bleeding, all of which usually find their roots in the others one co-journeys with, because religious experience necessitates relationship with others. This pain is exhibited in abandonment by friends, shortcomings of others, intentional self-serving at the cost of the other, or even cheap answers intended for good that end up being severely painful. Therefore, the opening of Gaga’s video is a blatant acknowledgement of pain caused by being in relationship with others. I find this to be an honest warning about the potential harm one opens himself or herself to when embarking on the journey.
The video also contains an interesting interplay of gender roles (as per normal for Gaga). As she plays both people in the piano scenes, she continues to facilitate a dialogue of sexual identity and journey. This is one of her ongoing conversations within her videos, which all contemporary religions need to discuss in order to be relevant. This is her major discussion in her video “Born this way”, it is because of her willingness to participate in the conversation openly that her religion is growing while timid Christianity continues to wallow in its inability to have the conversation. This journey and conversation is implicitly relational, as we are not defined in isolation but by relationships with others. Religion must be functional, so when Christianity (here I make a big generalization) is too afraid to facilitate the conversation everyone is having the forum is taken elsewhere. These difficult, but necessary, conversations often end up being facilitated by the prophets of the time, who are only later recognized for what they are and the value they have given by facilitating the conversation, in this case, she is a prophetess. A final note on gender and sexuality in this video is the scene where she kisses herself, as it is an interesting statement about self-love, which is central to her religion. This is very similar to Christianity, specifically the statement in the gospels to love others as yourself. Self-love is necessary as it is a precondition to altruism and empathy.
Relationships are inherently full of violence and chaos; this is exhibited in Gaga’s depiction of the love and relationship in this video. The act of binding to another is a destructive event, as it requires some change of self-identity in order to bind to another. Love is also inherently violent and evil (see the Zizek video in Duncan’s “Wandering the Wilderness” post). Gaga captures the violence and destruction inherent in relationships through the violent imagery in this video.
Relationship, however, is worth the violence and chaos. I see this in the video as there is a movement from depictions of being bound to scenes of freedom. These are the Frankenstein scene and the leather-strap dance scene that progress into the mermaid scenes, the arrival of legs, and acceptance of self within relationship; all of which come near the end of the video.
The other aspect of relationships that Gaga tells of is the virtue of flexibility. The video moves from a mechanical nature of relationship (metal prosthetics), which is then contrasted to the mythical nature of relationships (mermaid). I think this shift speaks to the need for structure when entering into relationship but the need for increasing flexibility and creativity to further relationships.
Beyond relationship being explored within the video, this video is a new level of vulnerability for Gaga herself, in her relationship with her little monsters (fans). This occurs as she shows a very “normal” shot of herself at the piano (which is abnormal for Gaga). In doing so, she continues to reinvent and creatively redefine the mother monster relationship building a depth, which is not accomplished by stagnant personas.
The line that probably stands out to a first time watcher is, “There are only three men I will serve my whole life, My Daddy, Nebraska, and Jesus Christ”. This offers a threefold articulation of the relational nature of life. There are family (already existent relationships), friends/coupling/environment – Nebraska (new relationships, discovery – Nebraska most likely is a euphemism for Gaga’s on again, off again relationship with her male partner), and Jesus Christ articulates a spiritual side to relationships that defies objective understanding.
This whole movie then finishes with the final scenes of companionship of two very different individuals. Despite all of the angst, chaos, differences, pain, and struggle, relationship overcomes and there is final companionship that overcomes seemingly insurmountable barriers – mermaid sex.
The discussion of biases, lenses and confirmation bias on Silas' post: Extremist Religion has inspired me. The confirmation bias: most notably displayed in a psychological experiment in which people deliberately check themselves into psych wards and acted normal but found everything they did was interpreted through the lens of illness by the attending physicians and anylysts.
The problem of finding what one is looking for...
In this video Zizek says that the best things we find are the ones we weren't looking for - accidental discoveries; we were looking for one thing and found something else. Perhaps we went to Bible college to find certainty or a job and instead found uncertainty and a few friends... maybe that's better. Anyway, the inescapable personal bias leads me to this song: The Stand by Mother Mother. As usual if you are easily offended you probably shouldn't watch it.
