Part A: Lester Bangs’ “On Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks” is one of the most famous pieces of music writing in US history (by one of the most revered music writers). How does Bangs intermingle his own mindset as he listens to Astral Weeks with his analysis of Morrison’s songs and performance of them? How does Bangs go from being depressed in his bedroom armchair to his close analysis of Morrison’s album – “What Astral Weeks deals in are not facts but truths?”
Lester Bangs’ review of “Astral Weeks” is very personal as he begins by stating his emotional/physical condition at the time the album was released. Bang’s mindset is intermingled with the analysis of Van Morrison’s music as he discusses how many people at the time had a deep connection to the album because it was “a time when a lot of things that a low of people cared about passionately were beginning to disintegrate” and it was a difficult time for everyone. Bang also mentions the emotions that Van Morrison had put into different phrases of the lyrics. Bang talks about repeating phrases in the songs like “you breathe in, you breathe out” in “Beside You.” Bang talks about how Van Morrison wants to convey a lot of emotion “into a small space” (even if it means repeating phrases) because he wants to “capture the moment.” Throughout the album, he wants listeners to see what he is envisioning through his songs. Bang goes from being depressed in his bedroom arm chair to analyzing Morrison’s album when he talks about the emotions that he had felt when he was in his bedroom. He connects the emotions that he had felt to the songs in Morrison’s album as the songs like “Madame George” and “Cyprus Avenue” talk about emotional pain and emotional recovery. While Bang reviews his album, he describes the album and the lyrics as if he is the subject in the song. He puts himself in the album and the lyrics-he feels for the same pain that is discussed in the songs. He talks about how other people may feel the same way that he is if they are also going through emotional struggles.
Part B: Compare Ellen Willis’ “Velvet Underground” to Jeff Chang’s “The Meters.” What is each author trying to accomplish in their essays? How does each author use music and specifics from the album to help them achieve their goals for the essay? Be specific.
Ellen Willis’ review of “Velvet Underground” describes the genre of rock-and-roll in the 1960s and 1970s, but Willis mentions how The Velvets have a separate identity from other artist that perform the same genre. Unlike other rock-and-roll artists, The Velvets’ music focused on delivering moral content in their songs even though most other artists focused on the idea of “decadence.” Instead of the traditional rock-and-roll genre, Wilis describes their music as “art rock,” which differed from the traditional rock-and-roll by “combining elements of jazz, folk, classical, and avant-garde music with a rock beat.” Willis continues on with talking about how The Velvets have influenced artists such as Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Peter Townshend, and John Cage, but how they did not intend to appeal to large audiences with their music because their music tends to be “overtly intellectual, stylized, and distanced.”
On the other hand, Jeff Chang’s review of “The Meters” was about discussing the music that was created in the New Orleans area. Chang began with discussing the development of funk music from 1970 and how the Meters’ music had brought representation of diverse sounds. The Meters had adapted a new version of the “Mardi Gras Indian adaptation” and they also incorporated music from “orthodox bluesy funk” to “Latinized groove.” Even though they were criticized at first, Chang talked about how the Meters were the influence “that pulled American music back toward a global Blackness” and it allowed more African American artists from New Orleans. They had marked the beginning for the “golden era” of hip-hop that had come years after.
Part C: Discuss how Greg Tate develops his piece in contrast to an additional desert island piece (not the ones from Parts A and B). How do the authors use personal experience to develop their piece?
Greg Tate’s review of Bitches Brew is different from other album reviews as it does not talk about the different components of the albums (like the songs), but it provides an analysis of how the album is distinctive from other music within the jazz genre. Tate mentions the sounds of the horn as it is “pushing the rhythm forward with phrasing that singes the skin.” The detailed descriptions of the album’s sounds show Tate’s passion and love towards this album as it is his favorite album of all time. Within his review, Tate mentioned a band called Burnt Sugar in which he tried to show and replicate a similar sound as of the sounds in Bitches Brew to imply his fascination for the album and that the sounds that demonstrated in Bitches Brew must be “explored.”
On the other hand, Kit Rachlis’s review of Decade has a slightly different approach from Tate. While Tate had talked more about the sounds and the genre of jazz within his review, Rachlis focuses on the voice of the artist. Throughout the review as Rachlis incorporates different songs that are included within the album, the writer talks about how the artist’s voice changes to convey a different “mood, tone, and atmosphere.” To describe the music of Neil Young, Rachlis expresses their opinions through examples that can be relatable. With the lyrics and the songs that Young performs, Rachlis states that the music is intimate and honest.
Part D: Brainstorming: What are two albums in contention for your desert island? Why are they so important to you?
I am still deciding on which albums to pick out for my desert island writing piece because I had so many different albums in mind for this assignment. For now, I am considering Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak and HONNE’s Love Me/Love Me Not album. For Kanye West’s album, I have a very close connection to the songs that are included within this album. I have read in past interviews that Kanye West had released this album when his mother had died. This album includes the grief and the pain that he had felt when he had lost a loved one. This album brings back my memories that I had with my great grandfather before he had passed away. While this album was released in 2008, I hadn’t heard Kanye West’s album until two years later when my friend had sent me his album after hearing about my great grandfather that had passed away. Even though this particular album is describing Kanye West and how he blamed himself for his mother’s death, I can understand and relate his pain. His album has actually helped me to cope with the pain that I had felt and whenever I go back to listening to this album, it brings me back all of the good memories that I had shared with my great grandfather.
Another album that I am considering is HONNE’s Love Me/Love Me Not. Even though this is a fairly recent album that has been released, this album always brings back happy memories. I had actually listened to this entire album in the summer of 2018 (when it was first released) during a camping trip with my family. It was the very first camping trip that I had ever went on with my family members. Since it was the very first trip that we had been together (out in the nature), I just cannot forget the emotions I had felt at the time.
OFF THE RECORD 