Bon Iver: Music and Transcendentalism

In 1845, A young, twenty-something writer in the throes of disprized love, builds a cabin on his friend's property and produces a piece of writing of profound importance: Walden.

Henry David Thoreau

In 2007, a twenty-something struggling musician gets dumped by his girlfriend, quits his moderately popular band, and suffers a protracted bout of mononucleosis. He moves back home and stays in a cabin on his father's property. He produces an album of critical acclaim: For Emma, Forever Ago.

Justin Vernon

162 years later, we as Americans are fascinated by art created alone in the presence and influence of nature. 

When released in 2008, Bon Iver's (Vernon's name for his band/solo project) For Emma, Forever Ago created quite a critical sensation. The record is a perfect blend of melancholy and aching beauty.

Accolades aside, in many ways the sound of the record has been somewhat overshadowed by the story of its creation. In 2008, Vernon could not escape discussing the transcendentalist situation that shaped the creation of the record.

Spend some time with the album.

Your Task: In the comment section of this post, discuss why you feel that Americans continue to be fascinated by art created in the solitude of nature. Also, weigh in on the music: Do you like it? Explain. 

Responses are due before class, Monday, November 17th.

Tunes

To begin our readings and discussion on dark romanticism, I played some music I felt was particularly atmospheric. I selected a tune from the ambient, Canadian collective, Godspeed You Black Emperor: "East Hastings." Actually, it's a piece from a much longer "movement." Anyways, here it is in case you are interested in hearing it again.

The other video showcased a performance by John Williams, arguably the greatest film composer of all time. In the video, he performed a Nikita Koshkin piece inspired by Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher": "Usher Waltz, Op. 29."

To me, music and literature go hand-in-hand: both are expressive forms of art that are capable of creating atmosphere, changing the mood of a listener or a reader, and even broadening or radically altering one's understanding of the world. 

To borrow a notion from Thoreau and other practitioners of civil disobedience, tension can promote positive change. 

King subscribed to this belief. What more do you need to know?

Thoreau was angered by slavery, consumerism, and greed, and he focused his energies in his writings and his own temporary retreat from society. His entire being came to represent a core of beliefs that can be generally described as transcendentalism.

Where are the Henry David Thoreau's now? In my opinion, they still exist, and they still use art to attract like-minded individuals.

The man holding the guitar is Ian Mackaye. He was the front-man for the influential D.C. hardcore band, Minor Threat. He later went on to form, Fugazi, a post-hardcore band known for their unflinching devotion to independence and DIY culture. 

Ian, the son of a preacher, always subscribed to a set of strong beliefs. As a teenager, he and his band-mates in Minor Threat spread the ideals of Straight Edge, a movement that arose in reaction to the overly self-indulgent and self-destructive aspects of punk rock and rock and roll. Practitioners of Straight Edge focus on clean living and avoid drugs and alcohol completely.

Ian's political mindset also influenced the music that he made with Fugazi in the late 1980's up until the early 2000's. Here's one of my favorite Fugazi tunes, "Merchandise." Listen to the song and its lyrics. Is this transcendentalism for a new era?

 

When we have nothing left to give 

There will be no reason for us to live 

But when we have nothing left to lose 

You will have nothing left to use 

We owe you nothing you have no control 

Merchandise keeps us in line 

Common sense says it's by design 

What could a businessman ever want more 

than to have us sucking in his store 

We owe you nothing 

You have no control 

You are not what you own