I played a song by Joanna Newsom called "Monkey and Bear" off her latest album called Y's. As of right now, it is March 7th. The year is young but i think this will probably be the best album I have purchased this year. That's right, I said purchase. Rhapsody did not have the album so I went out to one of those brick and mortar "stores."
Newsom is a storyteller and her voice is magnetic. Her music is hypnotic. I actually mean that. This particualar song, as well as the entire album, takes you on a journey. Wonderful imagery. The song is over 8 minutes long but it really pulls you in. I played this song because I am kind of excited that I am experimenting with new music again. Popular music. Popular music that is good. Actually, I have been thinking that genres are such a drag. It is music...sound. Joanna is a genre buster...it is hard to classify her music. I like that. I have suffered from snobbery over the years and I think my ears are opening to a lot of new sounds. Finding new music is a journey and it is always interesting to see where I end up stopping for a drink. I will not pretend to know exactly what the overall theme of this song is. Can anyone tell me what the song is about exactly? Aaron gave it a good read. Here is a clip
March 6, 2007
*Chris Mulé @ Meeting IV (feb 22,07)*
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4 comments:
Playing 8-minute songs is a dangerous precedent for Chris to be setting. I beg of you, can nobody stop this man?
Hey my man...all I have to say is, Flaming Lips, multiple stereo components. That was classic.
Some analysis of this song from Pitchfork media:
Take one example: "Monkey and Bear". The song's title characters escape from the farm where they've lived safely all their lives, before one deviously cons the other into performing for frightened children in order to make a living. Listen to the greed the monkey conveys in degrading, insulting, and controlling the bear, and the tight grip he keeps on her dignity so as not to lose her-- which, of course, by the end, he does. Not bad for what starts out like a nursery rhyme.
The song lyrics read like a capitalist Animal Farm: lured by the promise of individual freedom, the animals escape the confines of communal life. The bear (an artist of sorts, maybe a dancer) unfortunately finds that there is always someone willing to co-opt the creativity of others and exploit it, rationalizing the sacrifices of the present moment by constantly preaching that salvation is around the next corner, the next one. Joanna is a gifted story-teller. This is a moving parable, as I understood it in one intoxicated listen, and it made me question personal choices and rethink the relationship of art, freedom and capital.
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