Yes, a reveille is "A signal sounded esp. on a bugle or drum to wake personnel in the armed forces". That really has nothing to do with this post itself, but hey, I promised, and when I promise, I deliver.
We have all have things that we inexplicably like, without reason or defense. For me, it's things like the movie Stardust and Anne Hathaway and sunflower seeds. I couldn't explain to you why I like these things; I just do. The Scottish indie pop band Belle and Sebastian is another of those things which I have deeply and passionately loved while heretofor being unable to articulate the reason why.
Spiritually, they run the gamut--their lyrics range from vaguely pleasant spiritual expressions such as "Someone above has seen me do all right/ someone above is looking with a tender eye" (If She Wants Me) and "reading the Gospel to yourself is fine" (We Rule the School) to anti-religious reproaches such as "If you're feeling sinister / go up and see a minister / He'll try in vain to take away / the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever" (If You're Feeling Sinister). This, combined with the vaguely homosexual subtexts of many of their songs (frequent swapping of the pronouns "he" and "she", references to sexual orientation confusion in songs like "Expectations" and "Lord Anthony"), shows that the band has religious sympathy (the lead singer claims to be a Christian), while having no real concrete moral basis or strong belief.
In a way, this lack of a moral compass leads to a sense of haunting searching (similar to Coldplay's mournful "Viva La Vida" or Death Cab for Cutie's "Into the Dark") that permeates many of their songs and adds an element of intense interest, even to the lighter songs that display where the band's hope is really found. While Death Cab's Ben Gibbard finds his hope in romantic love and truly believes that such a thing exists, somewhere, Belle and Sebastian is at least self-aware enough to realize that they find theirs (its? I'm never sure with bands) in ideals, in fantasies about the way things should be. This is summed up nicely in "Wrapped Up in Books", a song that chronicles a couple's imaginary relationship: "Our aspirations are wrapped up in books/ and our inclinations are hidden in looks". Salvation is found, not through what actually is, but through what could potentially be. Lord Anthony, "bullied at school" imagines a time when he'll be able to "leave them without a shadow of a care," but his eventual fate does not seem as ideal as he imagined -- "Tony, you're a bit of a mess...Anthony, it couldn't get worse". In "Write About Love", the dissatisfied character in the song escapes monotony through writing about an imaginary man who fits her ideals, rather than praying for a release from monotony ("Get on your skinny knees and pray/ maybe not today").
So why are they worth listening to? As Christians, we know that things on this earth are not the way they are supposed to be-- we live in a fallen world, and can share with Belle and Sebastian a dissatisfaction with injustice and unpleasantness in the world around us. But we also have a solid, concrete hope that things will one day be put right, rather than a vague wish that things could be different, that we could change the world bu writing about it. Belle and Sebastian's idealistic vision of the way the world should be is sometimes strikingly Biblical, sometimes flat-out sinful, but always interesting and enlightening.
Their lyrics are poetic and throught-provoking, more so than most modern songs and most modern (dare I say it...) Christian songs, which often repeat the things we've heard already over and over again in unimaginative and repetitive ways. Belle and Sebastian communicate in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and definitely not of the norm. (A note on the "aesthetically pleasing" part: Belle and Sebastian's folksy, unusual sound will not appeal to everyone. Just be warned. I've been accused of listening to "parody music"). It's not as if every one of their songs is worth listening to over and over againt-- a few of their songs deal with completely innapropriate themes and others certain foul language (however, due to their Scottish accents and lingo, it may take a while to realize exactly what a song is about!) However, it is important that we don't dismiss something out of hand just because it has some inappropriate content at times, especially when it is something as conducive to soul-searching as Belle and Sebastian's contemplative ballads.
So take a listen. See what you think. Your inner hipster will thank you. Some of my favorites are "Piazza, New York Catcher", a song about travelling and everyday adventures), "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying" (a song about writing songs that will appeal to anyone with a literary bent), "Funny Little Frog", which is, now that I think about i,t kind of a stalker song, but like, in a cute way, ya know?
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
06 June 2012
05 November 2011
Leah's Musical Revue: Codes and Keys
Yes, I meant to write "revue" rather than "review", because in the ideal world of my mind, this is not a post, but rather a segment that has its own little circus-type theme song and is "light theatrical entertainment", as the dictionary definition of "revue" demands. If I write another one, it will be "Leah's Musical Reveille", and it will be a wake up call. Metaphorically or literally? You won't know until it happens.
Anyway, while the title might be light and cheery, the subject matter isn't exactly: I'm talking about Death Cab For Cutie's...most recent album (I can't actually call it their new album since it's been out for quite some time). I'm not exactly at the cutting edged forefront of modern music, so it takes me a while to get to these things, so bear with me. I will admit, I do like Death Cab, once I got past its silly name and learned to embrace the emo-ness of most of its music. But all of that being said, this band has a horrifically skewed worldview-- but, to their credit, they don't hide it at all.
In their new album, Codes and Keys, they (I always get confused here; are bands "it"s or "they"s?) state over and over again their predominant belief-- that love is more important than anything and is the only really true thing in this world. It's the same idea they put forth in Into the Dark, a song about two people in the afterlife:" No blinding lights / no tunnels to gates of white / just our hands clasped so tight / waiting for the hint of a spark," If heaven and hell decide / that they both are satisfied / illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs/ if there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark".
This view becomes even more clear as the song continues, as it explores the religious background of the singer: "In Catholic school, / as vicious as Roman rule, / I had my knuckles bruised,/ by a lady in black / I held my tongue / as she told me, 'Listen, son / fear is the heart of love'/ So I never went back."
I know, I just quoted a lot of the song. I could have shortened it, but that would have messed up the rhyme scheme and I just couldn't bear to do that. And besides, it's important-- you really see where they're coming from here: religion= if not downright evil, at least misused and unnecessary, love= the only ultimate, transcendent reality.
And that's the same thing that's displayed through Codes and Keys, and it sometimes comes out explicitly: especially in St. Peter's Cathedral (...when our hearts stop ticking, / This is the end and there's nothing past this) and most clearly in Unobstructed Views (There's no eye in the sky, / just our love / No unobstructed view, no perfect truth, / just our love), and I'm pretty sure you can see it in Portable Television, but honestly, I can't make heads or tails of that song. Now, that's a pretty bleak portrait of the world(and also, I'm pretty certain, contextually incorrect, "no unobstructed view" = double negative = obstructed view).
What's the big problem with it? Well, I don't know if you've read your gossip magazines lately or stopped by Yahoo News on your way to checking all those important emails you have, but Ben Gibbard (the lead singer for Death Cab For Cutie) is splitting up with his wife of 2+ years, actress Zooey Deschanel. So if you carry out Gibbard's viewpoint to its full extent-- and remember, "there's no eye / in the sky / just our love"-- if his love doesn't last, then what is there worth living for?
Of course, Gibbard isn't going to find the answer pursuing other romantic relationships. And he's not going to find it in the Catholic church or St. Peter's Cathedral. The only place it can be found is in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but I think Gibbard has been vaccinated against anything he perceives as "religion" (not, of course, that God couldn't change his heart!). But in the meantime, it's interesting-- and saddening-- to see someone with such a skewed worldview "waiting for the hint of a spark".
Anyway, while the title might be light and cheery, the subject matter isn't exactly: I'm talking about Death Cab For Cutie's...most recent album (I can't actually call it their new album since it's been out for quite some time). I'm not exactly at the cutting edged forefront of modern music, so it takes me a while to get to these things, so bear with me. I will admit, I do like Death Cab, once I got past its silly name and learned to embrace the emo-ness of most of its music. But all of that being said, this band has a horrifically skewed worldview-- but, to their credit, they don't hide it at all.
In their new album, Codes and Keys, they (I always get confused here; are bands "it"s or "they"s?) state over and over again their predominant belief-- that love is more important than anything and is the only really true thing in this world. It's the same idea they put forth in Into the Dark, a song about two people in the afterlife:" No blinding lights / no tunnels to gates of white / just our hands clasped so tight / waiting for the hint of a spark," If heaven and hell decide / that they both are satisfied / illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs/ if there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark".
This view becomes even more clear as the song continues, as it explores the religious background of the singer: "In Catholic school, / as vicious as Roman rule, / I had my knuckles bruised,/ by a lady in black / I held my tongue / as she told me, 'Listen, son / fear is the heart of love'/ So I never went back."
I know, I just quoted a lot of the song. I could have shortened it, but that would have messed up the rhyme scheme and I just couldn't bear to do that. And besides, it's important-- you really see where they're coming from here: religion= if not downright evil, at least misused and unnecessary, love= the only ultimate, transcendent reality.
And that's the same thing that's displayed through Codes and Keys, and it sometimes comes out explicitly: especially in St. Peter's Cathedral (...when our hearts stop ticking, / This is the end and there's nothing past this) and most clearly in Unobstructed Views (There's no eye in the sky, / just our love / No unobstructed view, no perfect truth, / just our love), and I'm pretty sure you can see it in Portable Television, but honestly, I can't make heads or tails of that song. Now, that's a pretty bleak portrait of the world(and also, I'm pretty certain, contextually incorrect, "no unobstructed view" = double negative = obstructed view).
What's the big problem with it? Well, I don't know if you've read your gossip magazines lately or stopped by Yahoo News on your way to checking all those important emails you have, but Ben Gibbard (the lead singer for Death Cab For Cutie) is splitting up with his wife of 2+ years, actress Zooey Deschanel. So if you carry out Gibbard's viewpoint to its full extent-- and remember, "there's no eye / in the sky / just our love"-- if his love doesn't last, then what is there worth living for?
Of course, Gibbard isn't going to find the answer pursuing other romantic relationships. And he's not going to find it in the Catholic church or St. Peter's Cathedral. The only place it can be found is in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but I think Gibbard has been vaccinated against anything he perceives as "religion" (not, of course, that God couldn't change his heart!). But in the meantime, it's interesting-- and saddening-- to see someone with such a skewed worldview "waiting for the hint of a spark".
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