coast of nebraska

Don’t let me be a searing anxiety to you, my light,

as I seemed to be a few nights ago,

if I have done anything in my whole life of folly

which, I admit, I have regretted, more cruel 

than when I abandoned you, left alone last night,

Iliad 18. 561-572

And on the great shield Hephaistos wrought a beautiful sunbathed vineyard,

heavy with grapes, on which shimmering crimson clusters lay.

All throughout the rows stood silvery moonlit trellises:

around each pole, an ocean black ditch, about each, a glinting tin fence.

One path alone twisted through the orchard, one which

vintagers traveled whenever they might harvest the vineyard.

Here merry-hearted maidens and joyous youth

carried fresh-cut honey-sweet fruit in woven plaited baskets.

Among them a child struck up a song of nostalgia.

With her sonorous lyre she sung out the flaxen song of Linus

in her fragile voice. In unison: children stomping earth

Two songs, four minutes, everything played and recorded in house.

Love,

After @uttervogonity showed me a rad playlist about Icarus, I thought it would be cool to make some playlists myself. I had the stray thought of making one about Sisyphus, since he seems to be important to modern, overworked people. The mythic Sisyphus had to push a boulder up a hill in the underworld only for it to fall down every time. Despite this, all he can do is try to push that boulder up again.

I tried to incorporate these themes with lyrics, but sometimes it’s just an impressionistic idea. There’s rock and underworld imagery and other times there’s abstract feelings. Funnily enough, my two favorite picks on this list are from Nebraska artists (Simon Joyner and Tim Kasher). Below is the song list and some lyrics that inspired me to put them on the list. Enjoy!

1) The Well of Loneliness: McCarthy

“I once thought fame and romance could drag me out of hell

But they have only chained me here, in a lifelike prison cell”

2) Target: Simon Joyner

“It’s not difficult to picture

seven long and unlucky years

Those cement bones sure hide

Some shaky nerves”

3) Five Ten Fiftyfold: Cocteau Twins

“By taking it forward

It went gushing gust wind

Five ten fiftyfold

Five ten fiftyfold”

4) Shaking Through: R.E.M

“Could it be that one small voice doesn't count in the room?

Yellow like a geisha gown denial all the way

Could this by three be ten? Honor marches on.

Yellow like a geisha gown denial all the way”

5) Snow Crush Killing Song: The Mountain Goats

“I know you're changing

Damn you

I know you're changing

Goddamn you for that”

6) Dreams Burn Down: Ride

“Waiting, hoping for a sign

That what's forbidden can be mine

I just want what I can't have

'Til my dreams burn down and choke me every time”

7) Gravel Bed: Codeine

“Once stood on a shore so grand

Slept in a gravely bed

In a kingdom so pure

In a kingdom so pure”

8) I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here: Tim Kasher

“So, I'll write another chapter, I mean, it's all I can do.

And if my body's tossed along the craggy rocks

[this time I realized I can just embed the songs themselves into posts. wow!]

Anyways, Ought is one of the few “new” bands that I follow eagerly, and today I will be talking about one of my favorite songs, “Pleasant Heart” from More Than Any Other Day (2014). As it often happens, this blurb will focus on the rhythm section.

“Pleasant Heart” starts as a piecemeal introduction: instruments start by layering a rhythm that becomes more complex through time. Drums and bass start eerily in sync and grow together. The bass is very simple in this song, it starts with two quick thumpy notes which propel the song forward. This introductions sets the listeners expectation for the rest of the song and doesn’t change until the Sonic Youth-style noise break, as the same note always emphasizes the first beat of the measure (which already breaks the convention of emphasizing 2 and 4). The effect becomes stronger when the snare enters. The off beat note that enters later is then a minor 7th away, which is a significant dissonance. Although more notes are added later, this interval forms the skeleton of the whole song. 

This bass line then provides a stable structure which allows for some of most expressive drumming I’ve ever heard. The bass provides a groove which the drums can be deeply entrenched in with some of the rhythm, but also gives incredible opportunity for more complex internal rhythms. If you stop and focus on the beat, it almost seems that drums are playing two separate parts at once, especially when the cymbals enter. 

This is an impressive feat to combine groove based playing and complex syncopation in the rhythm section: The groove in “Pleasant Heart” is both easily felt and complexly layered. Many times it seems that big time signatures shifts or complex rhythms which defy convention can be alienating, especially to people who aren’t used to them. Slint was difficult for me to understand when I first listened to them for this very reason. However, by combining complexities with grooves, Ought here creates more approachable music than others who try for a similar style.