3 things today: food, music, film.
1. I'm a sucker for savory snacks. (In Darjeeling Limited there is even a packet of "Savory Snacks" they hand out on the train...bet they're good.) I really like crackers with lots of flavor, chex mix, Japanese rice crackers, etc. Good examples: Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins, Barbecue Baked Lays (I just like them more than the regular kind), Cheddar Jack Cheez-its, and most recently, the Garlic Mozarella Ritz snack-thingies (they're different than the normal crackers). Just thought I'd share.
2. John Eldredge writes in Wild at Heart about how every man has a wound his father gave him, and discovering that and dealing with it helps him grow up. I found mine, Dad. We never listened all the way through a Beatles album. Or any album. I grew up only knowing the hits that they played on classic rock stations. No White Album, no Ziggy Stardust, no Bob Dylan... now look at the man I've become. Ok, so if that's the only chink in the armor, I've had it pretty good. (Needless to say, I don't really agree with this part of Eldredge's book.)
Seriously, though, over the past two years I've learned to listen through an album; really getting to know it, repeatedly listening to the whole thing even if there are parts I don't like, giving it and the artist/band a chance. (As a side effect I believe my attention span has increased as well. Wait, is that something shiny? I'm going to go draw a picture.) So I'm discovering things that people have known for years, but it's exciting nonetheless. It's similar to the feeling Chesterton describes as having when he embarked on his voyage to discover something new and as a result found orthodoxy. Anyway, been listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and these are some of the tracks I like and why:
1 - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
The title wins me with its abrasive honesty. Good melody too.
5 - Jesus, Etc.
Still not sure what this song is about, but it's got such a beautiful melody, and the progression of the strings section throughout the song is brilliant - it never does the same thing twice. Also it reminds me of Tom Paulus.
7 - Heavy Metal Drummer
I had heard this one and Jesus, Etc. before and liked them both. Max pointed out the chord progression at the beginning (it's very cool and recurs throughout the song), and the alt-country instrumentation completes the feeling of nostalgia when Tweedy sings "I miss the innocence I've known..." Good track for the beginning of summer.
8 - I'm the Man Who Loves You
Again with the honesty. The abrasiveness is more in the electric guitar's intentionally dissonant line being played over acoustic seven chords (especially at the end), and it lets up just in time for a melody that's sassy just like the words. The song builds, adding a horns section that really fills it out, and the titular line in the chorus is one that you can't help singing with a smile on your face, especially if you happen to be in love. (Not that I would know.)
10. Poor Places
Good pacing. It starts out low-key with a repeated but not monotonous melody and builds up before releasing into an acoustic, sweetly-sung refrain. Then it descends into a kind of organized chaos, which is growing on me.
In YHF, Jeff Tweedy keeps things from getting too...natural, in that he includes ambient sounds and non-traditional percussion as well as keeping things interesting chordally. It's worth your time, if you happen to be like me and grew up without Wilco. Or even if you did.
3. It Happened One Night
Just watched it for Reading Film with Dr. Foreman. We also watched a clip, during the discussion time, from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a movie I love. If Jean Arthur or Claudette Colbert happen to be reading this blog (highly unlikely), then in the words of Jeff Tweedy, "I'm the man who loves you." It's that simple. Man, Frank Capra can manipulate you like nobody's business. But it's much more pleasant than the emotional manipulation of Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (yesterday's film). I'd rather be falling in love than sympathizing with the Communist revolution any day.
Vitus Vinifera
4 years ago
4 comments:
Ok, so basically, I love Sun Dog...it has that Third Lobby-y vibe. I really like your other new stuff too, especially Heart on a Record Sleeve and The Hero Gets The Girl(I know, it's not that new). Kaiti Boling has some on her iPod and we listen to it a lot. I didn't know where to let you know, but I saw you imported a note from here, so this is as good a place as any.
So did you like Wild at Heart in general? I read the book his wife wrote with him, Captivating, and it's definitely one of my favorites.
Hi, Matt Brown. I stumbled across this blog, thinking it might have some Ireland info on it (a former roommate of mine, Alyssa Johnson, is going with you guys), and I was happy to find thoughts such as these here instead! We've met a couple of times, but I don't think we ever hung out at CC -- bummer. Anyway, I just wanted to recommend "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," which is a documentary I watched the semester I took Reading Film with Foreman. Delight for the ears, eyes, and brain. I borrowed it from Grant Withington, so if he's still in town, you need to jump on that stuff! The band talks about some of the things you mentioned in this post, and some of the reasons for their presence on the album. It's fun.
--hannah smith (recent Covenant grad, hooray!)
Love your thoughts on art - and your (slight) criticism of Eldridge. I know you may like the book as a whole, but I never could get on board. I think he has some good points, but a) he has a tendency to overgeneralize and project his experience onto others, b) he makes cultural constructs seem like Biblical norms, and c) many of the truest things he says, I think, could apply to women as well as to men.
Anyway, sorry to hijack this comment thread, but I want to lay out where I stand :)
Post a Comment