Thursday, July 24, 2008

overstatements on understated beauty

So, one of my intentions when I began bloggin' was to push articles of art that I cherish most, yet think that not many of you out there have enjoyed. My selection for tonight is an album of so-called minimal electronica/ambient music by Murcof titled Remembranza. I say so-called minimal, because I think it is a misnomer due to the fact that Fernando Corona's music is so lush with layers it can't possibly apply to the term minimal. The layers continue to peel away and reveal depth that I knew was present upon the first lesson, but had no power of perception or perspective to identify. A great album that fits a great listener is a relationship and like any relationship, there is a building process through which you get to know the album and all it has to communicate sensually and emotionally. One metaphor I thought of for the type of depth this album has is like eating a fresh pomegranate, having to crack it open and meticulously pluck out all the seeds. There is joy in the entire process, even though it takes time and a little bit of work.
There does not exist a bad song on Remembranza. "Rostro" is the hopeless, brittle heart that pens a love song whose very breathy sound sears across galaxies to connect with its truest love. It really does sound as though Corona knows the very essence of melancholy and is skillful enough to transform his knowledge into the perfect sonic representation. Listen to it here. "Camino" is the rumbler that ends the album proper and is fitting theme music for a gruesome late night alley, dripping with the condensation of steam vents and the tension of a city. Yet, it also breathes with ease, a marvelous paradox of style that sounds completely natural.
I listen to Remembranza about 2-7 times a week and quite often while going to sleep. It is, in my mind, a piece of art that is at the pinnacle of style, aesthetics and feeling. Corona's sound here is intellectual, emotional and sensual, a combination not commonly found.
If you live near me and don't have this record, I will assist you in acquiring it, I feel that strongly about the power of character this album possesses.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

New Poem

I think that the first love sticks with you forever, like a scar, but a scar that continues to remind us of the possibilities we sometimes feel like giving up on. This is a poem about just that:

Andrea’s Blueprint
[07.11.08]

I’ve looked for you
every day since
the last day I saw you

peering around the veil
of every curly blonde lock
on every street corner
or coffee shop patio
or park bench

a yearning for that lost
I-don’t-know-what-anymore
the way Lou Reed sweats
through his homage to
his favorite opiate

the specter of love still
looks like you, Andrea
even when years of
growth & knowledge
tell me it will look
different when it next occurs…

your smile, your kiss
was the blueprint