Muse Live in Concert

You can see Muse in concert below. The band is currently on their "The Resistance" tour. If you have not seen them live, do so. They are spectacular! Courtesy of Spin Magazine. Hat tip to Spin!


Muse "The Resistance Tour - Live"

MUSE | MySpace Music Videos

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Best Ten Albums of 2009

It is a rather difficult task to pick the best albums of the year as I listen to a whole lot of music. However, here I go. Some of these musicians unfortunately do not get much (or enough) commercial radio time. However, they're all brilliant performers.

10) Bat for Lashes' Two Suns. If you like the sound of Imogen Heap and Frou Frou, you'll enjoy this sound as well.

9) Ida Maria's Fortress Round My Heart. The Norwegian artist is a hip blend of new punk and BritPop.

8) Neko Case's Middle Cyclone. Neko Case is better known than some of the other acts and albums featured here.



7) Phenix' Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Favorite track: "Lisztomania." This is definitely a band to watch live. I have been listening to their music this whole week and it is not getting old. They're featured on the left.

6) Bravery's Stir the Blood. The album was released just a few days ago. While The Bravery are no strangers to controversy, when they hit the studio they seem to produce rather well-informed synth indie music.

5) Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion . I would describe their sound as Indie Psychodelic.

4) Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz!. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been a favorite of mine for quite some time and this new album certainly didn't disappoint. They seem to get better with time.

3) Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest. Think of this band as gothic folk Americana. These musicians seem to be attentive to the kind of musical minutiae that so many lack either the ability or intellectual curiosity to explore. See them pictured above.

2) Florence and the Machine's Lungs. The singer's voice has such color and range. While the sound isn't necessarily what I would seek after, her vocals, however, are what sold her music to me. Definitely worth a try.

1) Muse's The Resistance. Because this is not a secret.

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Abba? Seriously?!

Abba taught me a lesson this week.
Last summer my niece who lives in Munich came to spend her summer in Ohio. We had a good time and rarely did the same thing twice as I wanted her to experience as many things as possible. She did experience one thing twice however, and that was watching the ’08 film Mamma Mia. Yes, HetPer readers, I actually went to see Mamma Mia voluntarily and more than once. My niece loved it so much that I could read her usually economical speech patterns accurately enough to see that she could have (and would have) seen it twice or more. And what’s even more unusual, I sort of, kind of, didn’t mind it terribly watching it a second time. Yes, I emailed and texted (we were sitting in the back and nobody seemed bothered by the light on the gadget, btw) while the movie was playing but I did notice my right foot taking a life of its own as it was publicly and freely jamming to the soundtrack.

On top of the film, we would play the soundtrack of Mamma Mia when driving to different places. Not only did we play the soundtrack to the Hollywood production by the same title, we also played Abba’s Greatest Hits and one track kept getting played in random play. It was "The Winner Takes It All" and I am told I know all the words to it. Yes, all. No, there is no chance I will openly admit to this as I really don’t care much for Abba sounds. I’m Indie, for crying outloud. Totally and thoroughly. Or, am I? Existentialism aside, I did take a few moments to asses my odd relationship to Abba's music and I think I finally pinpointed the reason why I sort of, kind of don't mind them. The origin of this odd reaction seems to be residing in this memory I have of my sister, the niece’s mother, of whom I used to be in such awe as she is almost a decade my senior and oh-so-smart! All of a sudden, it made sense to me why I’d find Abba’s music not only kind of, sort of kosher but totally ok. She liked them when she was a teenager and I but an eight-year-old monkey. Which meant, I liked them, too.

Granted, this outs me as a listener of Abba. And I don’t mind the appellation at all as I can pin it all on an awfully hot summer, the colorful task of being a host to a teenager and the uber-powerful role of the subconscious. And can one of us resist it? Ha. As if!

Another reason why I'm discussing this is because of a conversation I had recently with someone who asked me what I currently have on my iPod. My answer to the question was, “well, do you expect me to reveal the answer without a Macchiato first?”
After the joke (i.e., truth), I proceeded to revealing the full contents of my high-frequency playlist. In addition to the staple, i.e., Muse’s The Resistance, Keane’s Perfect Symmetry, Mandalay, Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, some Morrissey and The Sounds, and Mozart's Requiem, I had an Abba song. Not a Mamma Mia (2008) song, no. An actual Abba song. The song was "Dancing Queen." I have no actual idea how that track ended up in my playlist. The best I can do is to say that perhaps it was placed on my iPod just to make me laugh (or perhaps fall off my Ventura so that I’d have a reason for said ‘fall’) whichever came first and was funnier.
As I was descending from a hill-like area, I remember thinking to myself that the cars were going by a tad too fast right next to me and that I would have absolutely hated it if the following conversation was actually had in reality:
“So, B.R., what were you listening to when it happened?”
“Hmm, you know.”
“No, I don’t. What?”
“Abba’s "Dancing Queen", ok. Abba’s friggin’ “Dancing Queen”. Jeez!” It actually happened when Abba breaks into "you can dance, you can ji-ive, having the time of your life,…’ and then, pooof, I fell. Postal Service’s “Sleeping In” was right after that track and Muse’s “Unintended” was right before. So, there you have it. I fell to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.”

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New Muse Video

It's full of apocalyptic themes, 50's Americana, and teddy bears?

Naturally, I approve.

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Talent Worth More Than, say, a Paragraph?

This morning as I was going through my routine of news-reading, email-checking, and news commentary-hearing/listening via MSNBC's Morning Joe, I was pleased to hear the music of Postal Service play as the show went into commercial. "Cool," I thought. Morning Joe aired from Seattle today and I thought it apropos that it pay some lip service to Seattle talent. When the show resumed, Joe Scarborough mentioned Death Cab for Cutie as well as the other equally impressive Ben Gibbard band, Postal Service which made sense since they were in Seattle.

I don't really get my news from cable shows as I'd rather read it myself first thing in the morning but if I could privilege a political commentary show at all, I'd go with Morning Joe since they manage to fuse political, social, and pop culture references without much effort and the hosts don't produce too many artificial laughters/chuckles which would eventually result in a rather successful suppression of my desire for high-protein breakfast. It doesn't feel like they're placing products as much as it feels like a tip of the hat to place-specific talent. So, Joe, here's a tip of my hat.

If I truly believe in a product or piece of art, I make it a point to give it as much textual space as I can. I'm going to mention Muse again as they just released their last album. As I've already mentioned, their fifth studio album, The Resistance, is beyond good. It's all-sorts-of-things ahead of so many other acts that get so much attention. I did a search on the NY Times today to see if they had reviewed it as well. I figured, if the Times reviews such absurdities as Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City....

The Times does mention Muse's new album even though it was a mere paragraph and comparing it to the other paragraphs reserved for such artists as Nelly Furtado and New Boyz, it looked like it was put on a rather unnecessary diet. Is it really that hard to talk about talent these days? Here's the paragraph:

"MUSE This neo-progressive British band gets better whenever it expands its ambitions, and for its fifth album, “The Resistance,” it is going all out: bombastic rock symphonics, dystopian electronic boogies, Chopin quotations, visions of pan-Eurasian political unification."

You can read the other paragraphs featured in the same piece here.

Solid paragraph, Times, it's just that if you're now employing economy of speech why not reserve it for reality TV reviews? Just an idea.

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Muse's The Resistance: A Review

I rightly talk about music a lot as it plays a significant part in my quotidianity. Most summers, thanks mostly to my intimate associations and friendships with those in the arts, I tend to spend a good measure of time learning about new music. Often I am asked how I learn about new music and just as often I answer quoting my musician friends as well as the publications I make it a point to read on a daily basis. Some daily staples include the Rolling Stone magazine, Spin, Black Book magazine, as well as iTunes around midnight on Monday/Tuesday. Much like all else, music takes time and discipline and its student needs to be willing to do the right amount of homework for it. And some music deserves more homework time than others.

This summer, however, I spent more time re-appreciating much of what I already have on my iTunes since I was traveling a lot and one of the things that makes travel easy is my music. I use familiar music to deal with unfamiliar settings. And, as frequently stated, music is a great tool of experience-recording and journaling. While reconnecting with an old friend of mine, I found myself referencing Muse and their music quite a bit. As a matter of fact, they were a high-frequency occurrence. My friend and I discovered that we had much of the same artistic inclinations we used to have as teenagers. Also, when relating to other new friends I noticed that we kept uncovering a number of layers of commonality mostly because of similar artistic preferences. I've long maintained, in my normal life and daily relationships, that there is nothing inconsequential about artistic tendencies and that that which we like reveals quite often than which we are.

Enter Muse.
I am a big believer in their kind of art. Muse's music is like a very well-research academic textbook. The form is impeccable and the bibliography tips the hat to all the relevant influences whereas the content is not only smart and helpful, it is didactic. I mention Muse often on HetPer and I do so out truly personal reasons. I saw them live when they were very little known in the US and that was experience was, as I refer to it in my daily life, a game-changer.

When at the intimate venue I remember feeling a strong sense of place and purpose. I had never sensed anything like it in any other rock 'n roll show I had seen up to that point. And there were quite a few. In addition to this strong sense of place and purpose, I remember feeling a sense of possibility, too. I was a little confused for a little bit because I remember feeling the same emotions when at the opera seeing Puccini's Tourandot. For some reason, those emotions made sense when the tenor breaks into: "al alba vincero." What else could a rock show be offering then? Well, Matt Bellamy. Bellamy is a rock musician who has a tenor's voice and who plays a number of instruments with the ease of a virtuoso. On top of this, he projects a sense of gravitas that is overwhelmingly beautiful. I remember telling my person that it made sense that a band like this would be called 'muse.' There's something creativity-inspiring about them.

Their music is the stuff that often enables you to be the best version of yourself. When art becomes personal it assumes a kind of importance that is difficult, if not impossible, to shake. Its relevance has leaked into all sorts of realms. In this case, it deserves all sorts of attention.

Enter their new album, The Resistance, which became available today and which is inspiring me all sorts of things and is presently monopolizing the iPhone, the iPod, and the computer. The first track is their already released "Uprising" which, when I first heard it, found overwhelming. As I've mentioned to a number of people, the album is so good it made me lose track of my sense of direction and I found myself entering a kind of daze I haven't experienced since the last Franz Ferdinand show.

Matt Bellamy's vocal range of 3 octaves and use of the falsetto register begs for the kind of attention that no rock musician I have seen live up to this point in my life can quite match. Not even close. There's a sense of depth that he projects not only via his voice but also his amazing command of guitar and piano.

Another track of amazing power is entitled "Guiding Light". Every time I play it, I feel a small degree of apprehension which colors an overall sense of pleasure. I have no idea why apprehension is an ingredient here but it is. I found myself feeling the way I felt when I saw the Sean Penn-directed film Into the Wild, which, as I've intimated to many, is for some odd reason simultaneously painful and beautiful for me to watch. After the first few seconds of guitar and drums, Bellamy's voice translates into music and lyrics the kinds of emotions most of us would perhaps prefer to keep well locked and hidden by virtue of their inherent toughness. Tough emotions are beautiful, no doubt, but it takes a certain kind of balanced elegance and maturity to render them. Boy, of boy, does he absolutely nail this!

I'd like to also give a tip of my hat to the three-part symphony here. While listening to "Part II (Cross Pollination)" it became apparent to me yet again that the reason why this band is so good that it's inimitable is because their kind of skill set is simply of too high a calibre. Most contemporary bands can't hold a candle to them as they truly are in a league of their own. Plus, Bellamy's songwriting in this new album oozes a sense of Mediterranean sounds which I picked up when I first heard it. After doing some research I found out that Bellamy has been living in Italy and he's actively incorporated influences from the South. A good sense of context is yet another strong reason to like them, folks.

The Resistance is not the kind of album you can sort of nonchalantly play as you go about your daily chores. To me, at least, much like Mozart's and Verdi's Requiem, this album demands full attention and a clear presence of mind. It's consuming. But in such a gratifying, sensual, and aesthetically pleasing way.

Could you tell if I approved of it?

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A Note on Public Behaviors and Decorum

I suppose it's fair to say that most of us have examples of "open mouth, insert foot" episodes. It's part of being human and not always controlling our respective linguistic output. However, there's a difference between calling out, in jest of course, someone at your Thanksgiving table as opposed to yelling at a public figure when millions of people all over get to experience you in all of your unencumbered verbal glory. That has got to be as a good a reason as any to go into therapy. Or anger management. Whichever is easier to get into. If I had a dime for every time I've heard people say 'where have manners gone?!', I'd probably have an unlimited supply of Starbucks.

I've been thinking about public outbursts of bad linguistic behavior lately and this past week was, alas, fecund when it comes to illustrating this very point. Let me start with last Wednesday night when President Obama delivered his health care speech at a shared session of Congress. When the president was still mid-paragraph, Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina interjected: 'you lie!' The incident may be viewed here.
I felt embarrassed. For everyone involved. I don't know if Rep. Wilson has Tourette's or if he has general impulse control issues. I really don't know nor am I interested in exploring the question. This is an example of total disregard for place and decorum and with a public job comes an obvious sense of responsibility.

Naturally, it is hard at times to keep one's self from reacting somehow when hearing things one might find controversial, difficult to accept, comical, and so forth. I am still reminded of an episode back in grade school when the teacher was scolding the class as a collective and I had this unctrollable urge to laugh outloud. If I knew back then was anyerisms were, I would have thought I was about to give myself one. But still, I knew I had to do all in my power to hide the laughter and appear serious if only to avoid unpleasant consequences. Consequences, I could understand. Maybe Rep. Joe Wilson didn't have a strict education growing up. Or maybe he skipped dinner and as a result his blood sugar was out of whack. Maybe. Be that as it may, when the representative of the highest office in the land speaks, it sort of makes general sense that you listen even though the content might not necessarily align with your own views.
Ouch, very ouch.

Enter episode two from Saturday night when Serena Williams was playing against Kim Clijsters at the US Open semifinals.

On match point, Serena Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Protesting the line judge's call, she went over, shouting and cursing, pointing at the judge all the while thrusting the ball toward her.
Some of what Serena said was: "If I could, I would take this ... ball and shove it down your ... throat." Hmm.
Now, Serena was obviously under a lot of pressure and the call was not correct. It happens. Unfair treatment happens but it's probably not a good idea to get into a battle. And again, there are cameras out there, folks.
However, I do have to say something here about gender.
Back in the day when John McEnroe used to throw tantrums, most people would be understanding and John would usually get a 'oh, he's a boy being a boy.' Still, Serena was fined $10.000 among other things so she is facing the consequences of her behavior.



Episode Three: The Video Music Awards

I did not watch the Video Music Awards last night mostly because I privileged the season finale of Hung over on HBO and also because the majority of musicians who are featured on the VMA's don't play an active role in my playlists, ergo, there wouldn't have been much of novelty and therefore interest for me to consider it. The only act I was interested in seeing was Muse and that, thanks to YouTube, I got to experience this morning.

When I woke up this morning I noticed that Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC's Morning Joe was talking about Kanye West stealing the thunder from Taylor Swift and radically embarrassing himself on the VMA's. You may consider this particular incident as yet another sabbatical from decorum here. Very ouch.



People say that Kanye is a genius and therefore all the temper tantrums are somehow forgivable. No, not quite. Another petpeeve of mine is how easily we throw the word 'genius' around. I don't know why Kanye is a genius. I don't know if we should believe such a title because, well, he tells us so. Be that as it may, genius should not preclude the need for manners and decorum for without them how can we maintain order and civility? In all candor, I have found myself in public spaces where they play "Stronger" or "Jesus Walks." My first impulse reaction is to say, "Oh, please, play something else. Please!!" But I don't say so outloud because, obviously, a lot of people like Kanye's music. Respect needs to be conferred irrespective of who gets it. I'd rather hip and hop to T.I., but de gustibus non est discutandum.

In sum, maybe a bit of anger management and a visitation of the lessons learned in kindergarten, would do these folks some good.

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Muse at the VMA's

Kanye,
This is how it's done.

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Ode to Muse, Similar Tastes, and General Essence

If you can't wait till September the 14th to get your Muse fix, go here and check out the sound of their new out-of-this-world album, The Resistance. It's so beautiful, it will rob you of your senses for a bit. Trust me. It is that beautiful!

Lake Como is the place where the incomparable Italian author Alessandro Manzoni washed his words and gave re-birth to Dante's Italian. Lake Como is also the place where Muse recorded its latest album, The Resistance which will be released next Tuesday, the 14th, is a very much anticipated experience for me. Their new track, "Uprising," was already released a couple of days ago on iTunes and if you haven't already gotten it, make sure to do so.
It's a transformative piece.

I can always tell if I'm seeing a band playing instruments they learned how to play in their parents' garage soon after dropping out of college. By the same token, it doesn't take a big music connoisseur to discern real talent on the stage. That's how Matt Bellamy and co. are on stage. The way they handle their respective musical instruments on the stage almost makes you want to weep. To me, the experience of watching them live was exactly like the one I had when seeing a live production of Puccini's Tourandot, which come to think of it also happened around the same time in 2004.
Man, what a year!

I often talk about the year being a game-changer for me. The reason why it was so is mostly due to the art I experienced and the artists I got to meet and intimately know. I firmly believe that when we don't deny ourselves of the kind of art towards which we naturally and experientially gravitate, great things are bound to happen. The reason why this is so, in my view, is that this same art expedites a myriad of other self-empowering things. Art, after all, isn't just about entertainment. It's primarily about didactic experiences.

Enter, Muse.

Muse is not an act you encounter often. As an avid music follower and supporter I cannot think of one single experience that even mildly compares to seeing these musicians practicing their art live on stage. I often talk about experiences that manage to evoke a 'sense of visitation' as Henry James put it. Muse's music does that for me. I'm reminded of a very lovely dinner I had a few weeks ago while visiting in another country. We dined on a balcony facing the inspiring lights of the big metropolis. The music on the background was Muse's album Black Holes and Revelations and, more specifically, the long and shorter versions of the mind-blowing track "Map of the Problematique." There is no better way than music to journal an experience, folks. Not for me, at least. And very few acts have this kind of experience-recording power. Ergo, my interest in the art that Muse creates is fundamentally personal.

This summer I reconnected with a favorite person from my not-so-distant past. One of our high-frequency conversations revolved around Muse, their incomparable sound, and how it encompasses so much. A number of other art signs were discussed at length as we spent tens of hours discussing the importance of the arts and how what we lean towards artistically reveals much about a person's general essence. A few months ago I did a videocast about tastes and why we like the things we like. The core message of this videocast states that we like what we like mostly out of fundamental narcissism. We tend to like that in which we see ourselves and our basic aesthetics reflected.

I often reference my first Muse concert here. It happened in 2004 and, as a result, that whole year was radically morphed into a most unique and transformative time for me. I have always surrounded myself in life with artists. It was, however, during that year that I finally got it cognitively what it meant to be utterly helpless when it came to controlling my own creative impulses. When I am in the presence of art, my true nature can't help but jump out and the sense of yes I tend to feel out of genetics and acquired experience becomes a dominant trait.

It's quite a thing to live during those moments when your general essence is utterly espoused and what expedites such moments is certain art forms. And Muse did this back in 2004. And it does it with their new albums, The Resistance. Their track "Uprising" which can now be purchased on iTunes, has a strength of sound that I have not sensed in a long time. I don't know what Matt Bellamy eats but I sure hope he keeps this same diet for a long time to come. Their music is the stuff of inspiration, it's the stuff that's engendered not only out of true artistic expertise. It's mostly born out of artistic genius. Whoever the muse it to whom they pay tribute, one thing is certain, the momentum of Muse is spectacular.

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My Fill-In-the Blanks. Et Tu?

This morning I was looking at Carrie Bronstein's blog over at Monitor Mix where I noticed an interesting fill-in-the-blanks music-informed exercise.


Here's HetPer's own version:




1) I've had to defend my love of _____________________ over the years.

2. As far as I'm concerned, ______________________ nearly ruined music.

3. One of my favorite live performers ever? That's easy: _______________________.

4. If I could go back in time and dance like crazy, crowd surf or join a mosh pit, I would do that at a ___________________ show.

5. If I could choose to name a concert that truly changed my life, it would have to be _______________________.

6. The one clothing item that's musically informed and I value above the rest would have to be ___________________.

7. If there is one musician I would choose to see live even though such a choice would mean that I would be skipping out on my loved one's birthday, it would have to be ___________________.

My answers:
1) The Killers
2) Bono. And it doesn't mean that I don't listen to U2.
3) Keane
4) 30 Seconds to Mars. Blame it on Leto. Featured in the picture with C. Farrell
5) Muse. It was a life-changing experience.
6) Easy! My vintage Bob Dylan t-shirt.
7) Kelly Jones. It's true. I'm sorry. I am flawed.

Yours?

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Robert Christgau's "Grown Up All Wrong"

I have always maintained that people's dislike of Yoko Ono was a sexism-informed type of injustice. As if Yoko Ono would have been able to break the Beatles up when they were making great music and, most importantly, when they were putting up with one another! Not a chance. This is simply a matter of opinion.

I happen to think that the creative impulse is much greater and more powerful than any human input we get externally.

'Familiarity breeds contempt' says the old a-la-Freud phrase. At times it might not but very often it does.
Maybe John had enough of Paul, George, and the other guy.
I have always thought the latter to be a much more plausible and human nature-informed reaction than the ludicrous blaming of Yoko.
Oh, Yoko, how they hate.

Now, whether you think rock 'n roll is relevant or not, you will find Robert Christgau's book Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno informative, gripping, and oozing a true love for music.

One's love for music cannot be artificially acquired. Music lives in one. Like the day you decide to skip a meal and listen to a record because it feeds you more. Or the other time you drop all things of significance to hear Matt Bellame of Muse because, for some reason, his music makes more sense to you than all the things of importance you do during the day, or the time you say no to a game of Ping-Pong because you'd rather 'rock' to Verdi.

Christgau, a rock journalist par excellence broods over the socio-historical/political aspect of the genius of rock 'n roll.
Instead of pontificating over the for-lack-of-a-better-word significance of rock 'n roll, consider Christgau's explanation as to why the Beatles broke up:

"The Beatles broke up because they were idealistic enough to be convinced of their historical mission and realistic enough to know they were no longer capable of carrying it forward. The Beatles broke up because they didn't see or care that the corporate life of a rock group could endure long after its collective life was kaputt. The Beatles broke up because the couple is a more stable structure than the four-way. The Beatles broke up because three of them believed they were geniuses and only one one of them was. The Beatles broke up because they thought they were immortal. The Beatles broke up because they couldn't stand each other anymore" (125).

Do read Christgau's book. If nothing else, it will inform. Most adequately.

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Which Tracks Do You Privilege?

Had this conversation a few weeks ago. A bit said:

"So, any particular music you listen to over and over again?"
Rather economically, I said, 'ja.'
"Oh, cool. Like what?"

I looked at my watch as it's always the first I do so I can gauge what kind of answer I was to give.

Here is the answer and the reasons that back each choice.

Stereophonics: Rainbows and Pots of Gold

Because Kelly Jones, the mastermind behind the UK band, has that lucky talent of coupling great lyrics with incomparable sounds. I do think that it takes a certain kind music lover to truly get this sound. They sort of live this ars gratia artis thing.



Marco Masini's "Perche lo fai?"

I remember seeing this live as a very young teenager. Marco Masini won the first price in San Remo's music festival's 'young performers' edition. What I found particularly contagious was this never-before-seen-on-stage collage of angst, anxiety, inadequacy, and shear skill. This song has that 'it'. Just how many times have I heard this? By now, thousands and thousands. And, alas, those who share life with me have too, by association. And many of them even know the words by now.



The Killers: All These Things That I Have Done.

If you have not seen The Killers live you are missing out. These guys are Indie to the core. Those of us who have been following them since long before the mainstream loved them up and turned them into elevator music, get what makes them timeless. To me, they are this poetic blend of solid Americana, the indomitable spirit of the Wild West, pure rock 'n roll, androgyny, and unapologetic lyrics.

I once drove from Grand Junction, CO to Aspen and then from Aspen to Denver. My iPod played this song a total of 8 + hours. When I arrived home the next day I was asked if I had enjoyed the playlist that was prepared for me. 'Yeah, yeah, great track!'
-Track?! Just one?
-Ja. didn't see the need to go past the first one.



Muse: Sing for Absolution

I first saw them in concert when they were still promoting in small, intimate venues before they made it uber-big in the States. That first concert remains, to this day, the best rock 'n roll experience of my life.



Keane: Nothing in My Way

Because I find this song in basically every playlist. Every album of theirs delivers. And as for their latest, Perfect Symmetry, I believe my review of it was was unabashedly laudatory. Theirs is a kind of melancholy I have yet to see better and less affectedly presented by any other modern performer.

"On Friendship and Philosphy" to the Muse

On Friendship and some Philosophy
“Ok, define ‘friendship’ for me, will you?”
This is a question I received from my muse, the person whose presence has inspired me as much as Apple’s best invention in the 21st century.
And I gave the muse the answer that is somewhere to be found in this entry marked by non-sequiturs and early morning cravings of miscellaneous oddities.

This post is sort of Derrida- and Plato-informed and I will get to this analogy in the conclusion. Or somewhere near there. Why be linear when I could pull a good serpentine at 4 AM ET?

We had a decent dinner tonight but I have an ironic habit of working really late, i.e., after socializing, especially on the weekend. Ideas are born then. Or something. Or perhaps writing offers a good escape. Isn’t that the beauty of web logging, after all? Couldn't we think of a better word for blog? A bilabial and a liquid together: It's not not that beautiful to the ear, no? But I digress.

My people have always had a hard time with the post-midnight switch, i.e., why I choose to write instead of socialize. However, writing, bad, mediocre, or good {notice the hierarchy!} needs to happen at some point and 4AM ET is as good a time as any.

But I digress. Again.

Fortuitously, I spoke to one of my closest friends today. A person I have known since 2002 and whose discourse always manages to inspire me. Always. We went to graduate school together, experienced many a new things together, traveled together, felt time literally come to a stop while at the Olympic Rain Forest in Washington State, shared many linguistic, mental, and emotional intimacies together, helped each other out a number of times, and if someone was not fair to the one, Oy Weh, may G-d protect them from the other. ☺ My friend, this little 105-pound structure from Schleswig-Holstein has the actual presence of a giant. You know when she is around. I sure did and do.

I mention this for a reason and a good one at that.

My good friend is now residing in Germany and she belongs to that niche in my Palm Pilot I have appropriately given the designation of ‘friends.’ Fastforward to a few hours later. Someone I met a year or so ago enters the context.

She is no German friend, that’s for sure, but she is someone I know. Derrida has a name for people like that. They are valid people, of course, they perform important functions, but I have difficulty applying the term ‘friend’ to them. Why? I simply feel like such a semantically loaded lexical choice brings much with it and applying it carelessly would be like calling one of my grandma’s orange trees a tangerine. And had you met my grandma, you’d know that her Mediterranean-touched skin was not one to play such fruity jokes with.

Yet another non-sequitur, but one I enjoy. Thanks, Joyce. James, that is.

To answer my muse’s question, I reserve the designation ‘friend’ for people with whom I share substantial history, people who know more about me than the inconsequential marginal stuff, people who know what I enjoy doing every Saturday at 10:45 AM PT and every Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, people who know I don’t do yolk or Old Navy, but I opt for egg whites and Ben Sherman lines instead. And most importantly, they are people about whom I know similar esoteric and idiosyncratic things.

And that, O Muse, is what I mean by friendship. Along with a myriad others. I think. Perhaps I’m misreading the newly departed Derrida, or the long departed Plato, but the attempt is there. At least I’m not pulling a Dante, the inferno kind. First I’d have to do the third rhyme. So, scratch this bad analogy but try and appreciate the joke. Those who don’t do the third rhyme, critique?

So, o muse, who has been shedding light on me since that lovely spring of 2004, what is friendship to me? Well, as I derive from Plato in the Symposium, it is having a bunch of unlikely people over to break bread and discuss such strange things as love, culinary habits, seating charts, and hiking shoeless around Athens city walls. And lip gloss. Oh, and also never revealing personal information when asked a direct question [how blanche is that?] but rather over metaphors that are rendered lucid with time and earned familiarity.

But if thou, Muse, are unhappy with this answer from your most loyal servant, I will continue to brood and attempt again. For ever, thy slave.