Tonight I've been thinking a lot about an upcoming paper I have to write for my literature class. It has a very open-ended prompt, but I've decided to write it on outside perspectives in Œdipus Rex, Waiting for Godot, and Wuthering Heights, and how they influence and are affected by the plot and narration of their respective works. It's a pretty abstract thing, at least for me, since I'm used to having very clear comparatives, and this doesn't seem to have one, although I've gotten to a bit of a start in noticing that all of the outside figures (Œdipus, who it will be recalled is from Corinth; the shepherds and other random figures from the past who bear such crucial information; Vladimir and Estragon who find themselves in some nowhere universe; and Lockwood, as well as the various outside figures in the story who inevitably die off) end up returning to some state of innocence in the end, which is a concrete start, I suppose.
In thinking about this subject, I decided to peruse JSTOR for some articles, if any should exist, and thinking myself somewhat familiar with Proust's work and curious to see how this problem should apply to the modern epic he wrote, I searched for "narrative Proust", expecting perhaps something about the discrepancies between Marcel and the narrator, or the participation of the narrator in the plot.
What caught my eye instead, however, was an article by Albert Sonnenfeld entitled Marcel Proust: Antisemite? ( http://www.jstor.org/stable/394885 ). Of course, I do not think him to have been an anti-Semite. His portrayals of Bloch and Swann, even when critical, were entirely separate from their religion, and, though I haven't read the whole article yet (the title certainly raises enough of a question for me to discuss it), raising the point of Charlus' anti-Semitism is hardly an indictment of Proust himself. The observation that the narrator "(unlike Marcel Proust), is untainted by semitic blood" seemed initially to me to be inaccurate, but may be correct after some further thought. Of course, Proust's narrator was also heterosexual, and Proust's real and fictional Dreyfusism cannot be denied (though I suppose one could believe correctly in Dreyfus' innocence without thinking poorly of his Jewish roots.
In sum, I find any idea of Proust's anti-Semitism to be so easily refuted to not be worth discussing, personally. However, I cannot help but recall a set of e-mails I exchanged with a wealthy university donor at the start of the year who wished to organize some event about Proust and Judaism who had been redirected to myself by a friend who knew of my obsession - or more accurately, worship - of the French author. Long story short, nothing ever materialized because I didn't have the proper connections at the university, and also felt a bit disingenuous to the dead man that I respect so much in having limited his work to the scope of "Jewish author", just as I should have felt to classify Kafka as a "Czech author" or Joyce as a "Catholic author". They transcend such superficial boundaries. ...but I have digressed. I would just like to note the irony here. One gentry-scholar sees Proust as the ultimate Jewish author - a supporter of Dreyfus who made Swann his hero; one academician sees him as an anti-Semite, ashamed of his own heritage, so prone to forming "Little Nuclei", as one could put it (or so I imagine Sonnenfeld would put it, as this is the only real way in which Bloch's Judaism becomes anything resembling a negative).
As for me, being a young man whose ancestors emerged from "Hebron vales" myself but who doesn't quite buy into the concept of a Jewish identity superceding any nationalistic identity (I identify first as a Mainer, something I may touch on at some point), I like think that Proust falls within some middle ground.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Poetry Thoughts
I've been writing a tad more poetry recently since my Art History class is basically finished, and I've actually also been thinking about getting it published, which I know is quite presumptuous, but I really do think I've stumbled into writing some good poetry. Part of my belief is based in my incredible snobbishness, which has led me to regard all poems regarding or referring to mundane subjects, like baseball, Hollywood, a pet dog, etc. as horribly lacking in some sort of refinement, which I guess I should call maniera, seeing as such judgment is no less silly than the exercises of 17th Century art theorists who said that history paintings were innately superior to genre paintings. In fact, I'm sure William Carlos Williams would have no qualms writing about such silly things, and he probably did, though I choose instead to remember the amazing Elysian Fields metaphors in "Asphodel: That Greeny Flower" instead.
That said, I just can't get behind something like this (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/243858), all due respect to Mr. Blackburn, the poet thereof:
It's a nice poem, but it makes me feel nothing, and I grant that I misunderstand the meaning of baseball to this country. To me it is nothing, but to apostles of Whitman, I'm sure it's just as valid as the Greek plays and olympics, about which so many great sculptures and, I'm sure, poems were created. I'm sure Joel liked it too, because it is fun, but in the end, to me, it just reeks of commercialism and some sort of nostalgia for "The good ol' days" that were just like ours today.
So what is poetry to me? To me it's supposed to be art, and I do not claim to have achieved such a lofty goal. I do hope, however, that in time I will be able to do so by asking people what they think is most powerful and most permanent (because I think Ancient Rome more permanent than Baseball - the irony is not lost on me, but I disregard it nonetheless).
It would be unfair to take pot shots at the above poem, which I believe I have done courteously since I am not here to criticize it's poetry but only use it as an example of what I perceive to be a misuse of the medium, if I did not post one of my own, so here is one:
That said, I just can't get behind something like this (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/243858), all due respect to Mr. Blackburn, the poet thereof:
—for Joel—Nice day,
sweet October afternoon
Men walk the sun-shot avenues,
Second, Third, eyes
intent elsewhere
ears communing with transistors in shirt pockets
Bars are full, quiet,
discussion during commercials
only
Pirates lead New York 4-1, top of the 6th, 2
Yankees on base, 1 man out
What a nice day for all this !
Handsome women, even
dreamy jailbait, walk
nearly neglected :
men’s eyes are blank
their thoughts are all in Pittsburgh
Last half of the 9th, the score tied 9-all,
Mazeroski leads off for the Pirates
The 2nd pitch he simply, sweetly
CRACK!
belts it clean over the left-field wall
Blocks of afternoon
acres of afternoon
Pennsylvania Turnpikes of afternoon . One
diamond stretches out in the sun
the 3rd base line
and what men come down
it
The final score, 10-9
Yanquis, come home
It's a nice poem, but it makes me feel nothing, and I grant that I misunderstand the meaning of baseball to this country. To me it is nothing, but to apostles of Whitman, I'm sure it's just as valid as the Greek plays and olympics, about which so many great sculptures and, I'm sure, poems were created. I'm sure Joel liked it too, because it is fun, but in the end, to me, it just reeks of commercialism and some sort of nostalgia for "The good ol' days" that were just like ours today.
So what is poetry to me? To me it's supposed to be art, and I do not claim to have achieved such a lofty goal. I do hope, however, that in time I will be able to do so by asking people what they think is most powerful and most permanent (because I think Ancient Rome more permanent than Baseball - the irony is not lost on me, but I disregard it nonetheless).
It would be unfair to take pot shots at the above poem, which I believe I have done courteously since I am not here to criticize it's poetry but only use it as an example of what I perceive to be a misuse of the medium, if I did not post one of my own, so here is one:
But how to change the stony will of fate
And bring my own to a more happy end?
What pleas can bring those three scions to bend
Their iron rulings, determining my days so late?
Perhaps the words of mighty Jove, so great,
Can change the flowing course of fate and mend
This lonely heart that otherwise will rend
With knowledge it will never have a mate.
I hope that if fate does indeed exist
And is not but a myth devised by man,
It be to me benevolent and just,
And leave not love to lie outside my midst.
If such were true, I'd be more happy than
Those ancient souls that satisfied their lust.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
More Album Reviews
As promised a little while ago. However, I'm not going to do Calling Zero yet, because I've only listened to it once through, and want to be sure I get a solid perspective of it. Also, I should be getting copies of JJ72 (by the band of the same name) and Teenage Fanclub's debut, A Catholic Education, so I can do three at a time. Also, because for some reason I like doing 3 at a time, I'll do the new Rod Jones album, technically by The Birthday Suit, called The Eleventh Hour, which doesn't really have very many reviews, so maybe my amateur effort will have some meaning to it? Anyway, I guess I'll start with it, since I've had it longest:
THE ELEVENTH HOUR - THE BIRTHDAY SUIT - 7/10
So yeah, a pretty solid album. Let me give you some disclaimers first: I have not heard Rod's folkier solo debut, so I went into this with only Idlewild as my comparison, and I think I've read things that say it goes for a rock sound more similar to Idlewild's catalogue than, say Roddy's solo work (non Idlewild fans may be extremely confused by my having just said this. Rod and Roddy are different people for future reference). I don't think it's really fair to make 100 Broken Windows the measuring stick here, since that album is my all-time favorite and it got me through freshman year, but whatevs. It is what it is, and Eleventh Hour isn't 100 Broken Windows, largely because Rod now is different from Rod then, and he's also not Roddy. For instance, in "Sell it All" I was somewhat taken aback by the grammatical incorrectness in the lines "I don't care if you don't care for me no more", since Roddy (who I assume, based on every interview I've read, wrote basically all the lyrics for Idlewild) is so good at that stuff, but Rod is still, at times, just as clever. That line, amusingly enough, sort of echoes that propensity for intraline repetition that started to make itself more conspicuous in The Remote Part in lines like "I always happens, it sometimes happens to me. Except always isn't a word I use. Always isn't a word I choose". I really do think Rod is very clever at times also, in "Sell it All", especially, and the instrumentals, of course his specialty seeing as he was guitarist for Idlewild, are all great, especially the transition from "Do You Ever" to "Hope Me Home". "Are You Okay" is also pretty different. Rod's voice is also, dare I say, high and nasally in the same sense that Roddy's was on Captain and Hope is Important but, as I've heard it described, "cuter", which I think is apt. He's earnest where nasal Roddy was angsty, which pretty much describes how The Birthday Suit diverges from early Idlewild stuff whose sound it tries to approximate. "Do You Ever", "Hope Me Home", and "A Nation" are highlights.
ICKY METTLE - ARCHERS OF LOAF - 8/10
As a Superchunk fan, first and foremost, I saw these guys as Chapel Hill runners-up for a long time, although that guy on Pitchfork says he thinks they're better than Pavement. After listening to Icky Mettle, it's obvious that Superchunk and Archers of Loaf are too different to be compared. How so? AoL is a million times more hardcore. So yeah, I will say that Superchunk and Archers of Loaf are both clever and wry as hell, but Mac McCaughan doesn't rub it in your face like Eric Bachmann does. He tempts us with "Web in Front" as though he'll try to be honest and sensitive with us, saying "All I ever wanted was to be your spine", presumably with puppy-dog eyes, and then starts out "Last Word" just as meekly before giving us a middle finger that lasts for the rest of the album, and continues into "Audiowhore" if you got the version with bonus tracks (speaking of which, I need to know which Leafs player is on the cover of "Archers of Loaf vs. the Greatest of All Time". Like it's a physical need as a Leafs fan). Generally, it alternates between "sensitive" song, song you'd be embarassed to have your mom see you listen to, over and over again. You'll be like this: "Oh, 'You and Me' is over, now I can feel less badass for a bit with 'Might'", and then "Hate Paste" will come on and the pattern will start all over again. But yeah, this is a fun album. Most fun album? Off the top of my head I put Ned's Atomic Dustbin's and Eric's Trip's first albums ahead (Later edit: Is This It is the most fun album of all time; something which I had forgotten), but when you're being compared favorably with Superchunk on the fun-o-meter, you're in good company. Highlights are "Wrong", "Plumb Line", and the fantastic "Slow Worm".
DIARY - SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE - 9/10
Dear God. From now on I'll see the Foo Fighters not as the drummer from Nirvana's awesome band, but the disappointing SDRE spinoff without Jeremy Enigk, who is a revelation. Sorry my many Foo Fighter fan friends, but as awesome as "Everlong" is, 2/3 of Diary is on a completely different level. It's really unfair, considering Enigk is the one guy on Earth who can seriously make a concept album (I guess) called Return of the Frog Queen and have it be awesome. Getting the rerelease edition with the lyrics packet thingy and random little kids' toy art (if the original didn't have it, which would be a tragedy, it augments the already cathartic Diary experience that much) really shows the brilliant songwriting that went into this album, and even before I knew what the words to "Seven" were I though it was awesome. Knowing what Enigk, maybe the most emotionally powerful American singer ever (because I'm going to extremes here), is actually saying (interesting note - he puts a 'W' before every word that starts with a vowel) is really just the cherry on top, though. Listening to "Seven" is like being born again (Jeremy Enigk can't worship himself, I guess, so he was born again to worship God. Ironic really), "Song About an Angel" is an equally jolting and incredible experience. Also "In Circles", "Shadows" and "47" are there for you if you can't stand the heat, or don't want it for a moment; but with music this potent, why not just take it all? I'll bury my hatchet with Emo. No reason not to, and I know it's not the same now as it was then, but whatever. I have no more qualms after this and Jawbreaker. I do agree with people who say that this is top heavy: "Grendel" and "Sometimes" don't quite live up to the colossal standards of the first nine songs, but they're still decent. Highlights are "Seven", "Song About an Angel", and "48".
THE ELEVENTH HOUR - THE BIRTHDAY SUIT - 7/10
So yeah, a pretty solid album. Let me give you some disclaimers first: I have not heard Rod's folkier solo debut, so I went into this with only Idlewild as my comparison, and I think I've read things that say it goes for a rock sound more similar to Idlewild's catalogue than, say Roddy's solo work (non Idlewild fans may be extremely confused by my having just said this. Rod and Roddy are different people for future reference). I don't think it's really fair to make 100 Broken Windows the measuring stick here, since that album is my all-time favorite and it got me through freshman year, but whatevs. It is what it is, and Eleventh Hour isn't 100 Broken Windows, largely because Rod now is different from Rod then, and he's also not Roddy. For instance, in "Sell it All" I was somewhat taken aback by the grammatical incorrectness in the lines "I don't care if you don't care for me no more", since Roddy (who I assume, based on every interview I've read, wrote basically all the lyrics for Idlewild) is so good at that stuff, but Rod is still, at times, just as clever. That line, amusingly enough, sort of echoes that propensity for intraline repetition that started to make itself more conspicuous in The Remote Part in lines like "I always happens, it sometimes happens to me. Except always isn't a word I use. Always isn't a word I choose". I really do think Rod is very clever at times also, in "Sell it All", especially, and the instrumentals, of course his specialty seeing as he was guitarist for Idlewild, are all great, especially the transition from "Do You Ever" to "Hope Me Home". "Are You Okay" is also pretty different. Rod's voice is also, dare I say, high and nasally in the same sense that Roddy's was on Captain and Hope is Important but, as I've heard it described, "cuter", which I think is apt. He's earnest where nasal Roddy was angsty, which pretty much describes how The Birthday Suit diverges from early Idlewild stuff whose sound it tries to approximate. "Do You Ever", "Hope Me Home", and "A Nation" are highlights.
ICKY METTLE - ARCHERS OF LOAF - 8/10
As a Superchunk fan, first and foremost, I saw these guys as Chapel Hill runners-up for a long time, although that guy on Pitchfork says he thinks they're better than Pavement. After listening to Icky Mettle, it's obvious that Superchunk and Archers of Loaf are too different to be compared. How so? AoL is a million times more hardcore. So yeah, I will say that Superchunk and Archers of Loaf are both clever and wry as hell, but Mac McCaughan doesn't rub it in your face like Eric Bachmann does. He tempts us with "Web in Front" as though he'll try to be honest and sensitive with us, saying "All I ever wanted was to be your spine", presumably with puppy-dog eyes, and then starts out "Last Word" just as meekly before giving us a middle finger that lasts for the rest of the album, and continues into "Audiowhore" if you got the version with bonus tracks (speaking of which, I need to know which Leafs player is on the cover of "Archers of Loaf vs. the Greatest of All Time". Like it's a physical need as a Leafs fan). Generally, it alternates between "sensitive" song, song you'd be embarassed to have your mom see you listen to, over and over again. You'll be like this: "Oh, 'You and Me' is over, now I can feel less badass for a bit with 'Might'", and then "Hate Paste" will come on and the pattern will start all over again. But yeah, this is a fun album. Most fun album? Off the top of my head I put Ned's Atomic Dustbin's and Eric's Trip's first albums ahead (Later edit: Is This It is the most fun album of all time; something which I had forgotten), but when you're being compared favorably with Superchunk on the fun-o-meter, you're in good company. Highlights are "Wrong", "Plumb Line", and the fantastic "Slow Worm".
DIARY - SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE - 9/10
Dear God. From now on I'll see the Foo Fighters not as the drummer from Nirvana's awesome band, but the disappointing SDRE spinoff without Jeremy Enigk, who is a revelation. Sorry my many Foo Fighter fan friends, but as awesome as "Everlong" is, 2/3 of Diary is on a completely different level. It's really unfair, considering Enigk is the one guy on Earth who can seriously make a concept album (I guess) called Return of the Frog Queen and have it be awesome. Getting the rerelease edition with the lyrics packet thingy and random little kids' toy art (if the original didn't have it, which would be a tragedy, it augments the already cathartic Diary experience that much) really shows the brilliant songwriting that went into this album, and even before I knew what the words to "Seven" were I though it was awesome. Knowing what Enigk, maybe the most emotionally powerful American singer ever (because I'm going to extremes here), is actually saying (interesting note - he puts a 'W' before every word that starts with a vowel) is really just the cherry on top, though. Listening to "Seven" is like being born again (Jeremy Enigk can't worship himself, I guess, so he was born again to worship God. Ironic really), "Song About an Angel" is an equally jolting and incredible experience. Also "In Circles", "Shadows" and "47" are there for you if you can't stand the heat, or don't want it for a moment; but with music this potent, why not just take it all? I'll bury my hatchet with Emo. No reason not to, and I know it's not the same now as it was then, but whatever. I have no more qualms after this and Jawbreaker. I do agree with people who say that this is top heavy: "Grendel" and "Sometimes" don't quite live up to the colossal standards of the first nine songs, but they're still decent. Highlights are "Seven", "Song About an Angel", and "48".
Monday, April 9, 2012
Best written song lyrics, in my opinion
Off the top of my head, I've been thinking a bit about lyricism in song writing, since it often seems to take a back seat to so many other aspects of popular music. I think I've mentioned Idlewild lead singer Roddy Woomble's statement that most songs can't be read as poetry. I beg to differ, and here are, sort of randomly and hastily assembled, with hope that my heart will judge better than my brain, a list of my top 10 best written songs:
1. "Let Me Sleep (Next to the Mirror)" - Idlewild - favorite line: "I woke up first this morning. I've never seen the dawn, but I know what the world looked like before"
2. "Song About an Angel" - Sunny Day Real Estate - favorite line: "You're married to your pain"
3. "Outpatient" - Jawbreaker - favorite line: "Now I'm talking through my pen. Do you read me? Am I bleeding?"
4. "Cast No Shadow" - Oasis - I love Oasis in spite of everyone, and think Noel has come up with quite a few gems. "As they took his soul they stole his pride" gets me every time
5. "American English" - Idlewild - Not the most exciting Idlewild song, but "If you believe that, now I understand why words mean so much to you" is a great line
6. "Dagger" - Slowdive - The delivery is so potent the lyrics are often multiplied in their power. In "Dagger", the first line, "The sunshine girl is sleeping. She falls and dreams alone", cuts to the quick on its own
7. "A Cunning Latch" - Portastatic - There's always something fun yet heartfelt in Mac McCaughan/Superchunk's lyricism, and "The light comes in much too early every day. It wakes me up but it won't chase those dreams away" is a great line
8. "Randy Described Eternity" - Built to Spill - the whole first half of the song is an incredible image
9. "Digsy's Dinner" - Oasis - There's something beautiful in the simplicity and honesty of it. Somehow, for all of his swagger, Liam says, "I'll treat you like a queen" with a million times more honesty than anyone else could
10. "Good Morning, Captain" - Slint - Slint wouldn't work if their words weren't great
I'm extremely biased toward '90's music, since that's what I listen to. Regardless, I couldn't really find anything in the 2000's albums I have (Yuck, Is This It, etc.) that quite matched any of this, largely because there's a lot more innovation in musicality in those albums and more recent music in general. That said, The Streets is great. Most of it is more of a story telling type of thing rather than a philosophical, universal type of expression, however.
1. "Let Me Sleep (Next to the Mirror)" - Idlewild - favorite line: "I woke up first this morning. I've never seen the dawn, but I know what the world looked like before"
2. "Song About an Angel" - Sunny Day Real Estate - favorite line: "You're married to your pain"
3. "Outpatient" - Jawbreaker - favorite line: "Now I'm talking through my pen. Do you read me? Am I bleeding?"
4. "Cast No Shadow" - Oasis - I love Oasis in spite of everyone, and think Noel has come up with quite a few gems. "As they took his soul they stole his pride" gets me every time
5. "American English" - Idlewild - Not the most exciting Idlewild song, but "If you believe that, now I understand why words mean so much to you" is a great line
6. "Dagger" - Slowdive - The delivery is so potent the lyrics are often multiplied in their power. In "Dagger", the first line, "The sunshine girl is sleeping. She falls and dreams alone", cuts to the quick on its own
7. "A Cunning Latch" - Portastatic - There's always something fun yet heartfelt in Mac McCaughan/Superchunk's lyricism, and "The light comes in much too early every day. It wakes me up but it won't chase those dreams away" is a great line
8. "Randy Described Eternity" - Built to Spill - the whole first half of the song is an incredible image
9. "Digsy's Dinner" - Oasis - There's something beautiful in the simplicity and honesty of it. Somehow, for all of his swagger, Liam says, "I'll treat you like a queen" with a million times more honesty than anyone else could
10. "Good Morning, Captain" - Slint - Slint wouldn't work if their words weren't great
I'm extremely biased toward '90's music, since that's what I listen to. Regardless, I couldn't really find anything in the 2000's albums I have (Yuck, Is This It, etc.) that quite matched any of this, largely because there's a lot more innovation in musicality in those albums and more recent music in general. That said, The Streets is great. Most of it is more of a story telling type of thing rather than a philosophical, universal type of expression, however.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Music Queue, 4/7/12
I'll try to write a review of the three most recent albums I've gotten - Icky Mettle, Diary, and Calling Zero - when I have time. As for right now, here's my queue of music that I don't yet have.
1. A Catholic Education - Teenage Fanclub
2. Verdena - Verdena
3. A Storm in Heaven - The Verve
4. Pygmalion - Slowdive
5. Be Here Now - Oasis
6. Dog Man Star - Suede
7. End on End - Rites of Spring
8. I Hope Your Heart is Not Brittle - Portastatic
9. Fantastic Planet - Failure
10. Warnings/Promises - Idlewild
11. Coming Up - Suede
12. JJ72 - JJ72
13. Mezcal Head - Swervedriver
14. On the Mouth - Superchunk
15. Indoor Living - Superchunk
16. First Edition - The Fruit Tree Foundation
17. A Northern Soul - The Verve
18. Future Perfect - Autolux
19. Four Great Points - June of 44
20. The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle - The Sex Pistols
1. A Catholic Education - Teenage Fanclub
2. Verdena - Verdena
3. A Storm in Heaven - The Verve
4. Pygmalion - Slowdive
5. Be Here Now - Oasis
6. Dog Man Star - Suede
7. End on End - Rites of Spring
8. I Hope Your Heart is Not Brittle - Portastatic
9. Fantastic Planet - Failure
10. Warnings/Promises - Idlewild
11. Coming Up - Suede
12. JJ72 - JJ72
13. Mezcal Head - Swervedriver
14. On the Mouth - Superchunk
15. Indoor Living - Superchunk
16. First Edition - The Fruit Tree Foundation
17. A Northern Soul - The Verve
18. Future Perfect - Autolux
19. Four Great Points - June of 44
20. The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle - The Sex Pistols
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