Even EVEN more poems!
Still by Abse, the first two are both technically the same poem; Musical Moments 1 and 2.
Musical Moments 1 is also called His Last Piano Lesson (1933). It outwardly appears to be about child who is bored of learning the piano. This is suggested by the phrase "Numbly bored with scales". The word "numb" describes a lack of feeling, almost a dead sensation, with nothing there, no presence of any sort. The poem continues to imply a sense of music being dead, as suggested by "a coffin of music". This interpretation is supported by the fact that dead people go in coffins, and for death's container being music summons a very grim image indeed.
As far as links to Larkin go, I can't remember the names of the poems, but I know precisely what poems I'm after. If you are seeing this, I haven't edited in the names of the poems, and you may want to come back in a day or so when I find THOSE SODDING BOOKS.
The song for this poem is the Free N Losh remix of Press Pause by Pretty Lights, it's just too fitting for words.
And now for part 2, also called Outside a Graveyard. This IS going to be a happy, I can feel it!
Aaaaaaaaaaand I was wrong. Then again, I might not be. This poem may as well be written in Greek, I can't interpret a damn thing from it. Although the quote that accompanies the poem I do like. It reads "One day, the piano has all the colours of the orchestra; another day, it brings fourth sounds that come from other worlds" -Edwin Fischer
We need more sounds from other worlds. They're different.
Wednesday 19 March 2014
Tuesday 18 March 2014
Oh dude, new poems!
Four of them, to be precise.
They are all by a fellow called Dannie Abse, in the Welsh Retrospective compilation.
The first is called A Winter Visit, and, like Larkin's work, the tone is instantaneously gloomy. It is about a visit to his mother, in her later years. "Now she's ninety" gives this away fairly efficiently. He proceeds to describe how "frail" and "half dead" she is. The poem, I'd argue is about coming to terms with age, and its effects on younger family members. What Abse does also do is liken his mother to two birds; a flamingo, and a peacock. Both are large, showy birds, with the peacock being nearly literally all show. "usual peacocks do not screech" implies a subdued nature, a normally loud and vibrant bird has been silenced by the cold (which I can only assume is a metaphor for age). The flamingoes are "standing one legged, on ice, heads beneath wings". The ice is potentially thin, beneath which is a cold, and certain death. The single leg may be an indicator of the fragility of life, and the sheltered heads are showing that the birds (probably a metaphor for the people) are blind to the death that is a cracked ice sheet away (what Abse probably failed to realise is that this is how flamingoes sleep, and they do not possess the mass required to shatter ice simply by standing on it, but he shall be forgiven for this, as poems are rarely ornithologically accurate).
The song that goes best with this poem is Done Wrong, by Pretty Lights. It just fits.
The next poem is called Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road, which is depressing from the first line. The poem is about going to his parent's house after his mother died, and seeing the world in what could be described as distraught disgust, like Gatsby seeing how hideous a rose is. Things that are normally bright and inviting become dark, disturbing and otherwise sinister. Light is normally cleansing, redeeming. In this poem it is "freakish", which probably fits in to how it allowed Abse a sense of perception on both a physical and a metaphoric level. It allowed him to perceive the world in the horrible way you see the world after somebody close dies, everything is irredeemably chaotic and vile; an abomination of existence. "So much dust" shows an uncaring nature, with lack of attention to detail (dead people aren't known for being particularly tidy). The "awakened empty fruit bowl" is described as "outraged". Empty referring to the lack of fruit, which, as far as I can tell, is a metaphor for life and living. Even cracks are described as "photophobic", meaning afraid of light.
What a dark poem!
The Soma remix of Sandworm, originally by Skope springs to mind when reading this (Olivia, if you are reading this, this drops like a bloody bomb)
The next poem, called The Malham Bird, thankfully is infinitely less dark. Sadly, I don't understand this one as much as I would deem useful. What I do gather, however is that it is about marriage, love and time. With the lead up to their marriage being described as "illicit", which probably means they "made out", or similar. The descent into grandchildren is also documented, with "forbidden fruit" being mentioned. There's not a whole lot that I can personally draw from this, what I can draw, I have issues conveying, so I do apologise for this.
Keep Close by Lemaitre seems to work with this
This is equally hard for me to interpret. A Scene from Married Life seems to contain the arguments between a husband and a wife, and the husband running away for a limited time, and returning to his wife upon realising what he'd done. I'm 100% dead certain that this poem is a goldmine of metaphors, but it's lost on me, I don't understand this, as far as I'm aware marriage is a cooperation, not a warzone. If someone could explain this to me, that'd be great.
This next song has absolutely no significance to any of the poems here, but it makes for good revision music, so by all means give it a listen.
I was joking about the revision bit. This is just a good song (Olivia this also drops like I don't even know how to convey).
Four of them, to be precise.
They are all by a fellow called Dannie Abse, in the Welsh Retrospective compilation.
The first is called A Winter Visit, and, like Larkin's work, the tone is instantaneously gloomy. It is about a visit to his mother, in her later years. "Now she's ninety" gives this away fairly efficiently. He proceeds to describe how "frail" and "half dead" she is. The poem, I'd argue is about coming to terms with age, and its effects on younger family members. What Abse does also do is liken his mother to two birds; a flamingo, and a peacock. Both are large, showy birds, with the peacock being nearly literally all show. "usual peacocks do not screech" implies a subdued nature, a normally loud and vibrant bird has been silenced by the cold (which I can only assume is a metaphor for age). The flamingoes are "standing one legged, on ice, heads beneath wings". The ice is potentially thin, beneath which is a cold, and certain death. The single leg may be an indicator of the fragility of life, and the sheltered heads are showing that the birds (probably a metaphor for the people) are blind to the death that is a cracked ice sheet away (what Abse probably failed to realise is that this is how flamingoes sleep, and they do not possess the mass required to shatter ice simply by standing on it, but he shall be forgiven for this, as poems are rarely ornithologically accurate).
The song that goes best with this poem is Done Wrong, by Pretty Lights. It just fits.
The next poem is called Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road, which is depressing from the first line. The poem is about going to his parent's house after his mother died, and seeing the world in what could be described as distraught disgust, like Gatsby seeing how hideous a rose is. Things that are normally bright and inviting become dark, disturbing and otherwise sinister. Light is normally cleansing, redeeming. In this poem it is "freakish", which probably fits in to how it allowed Abse a sense of perception on both a physical and a metaphoric level. It allowed him to perceive the world in the horrible way you see the world after somebody close dies, everything is irredeemably chaotic and vile; an abomination of existence. "So much dust" shows an uncaring nature, with lack of attention to detail (dead people aren't known for being particularly tidy). The "awakened empty fruit bowl" is described as "outraged". Empty referring to the lack of fruit, which, as far as I can tell, is a metaphor for life and living. Even cracks are described as "photophobic", meaning afraid of light.
What a dark poem!
The Soma remix of Sandworm, originally by Skope springs to mind when reading this (Olivia, if you are reading this, this drops like a bloody bomb)
The next poem, called The Malham Bird, thankfully is infinitely less dark. Sadly, I don't understand this one as much as I would deem useful. What I do gather, however is that it is about marriage, love and time. With the lead up to their marriage being described as "illicit", which probably means they "made out", or similar. The descent into grandchildren is also documented, with "forbidden fruit" being mentioned. There's not a whole lot that I can personally draw from this, what I can draw, I have issues conveying, so I do apologise for this.
Keep Close by Lemaitre seems to work with this
This is equally hard for me to interpret. A Scene from Married Life seems to contain the arguments between a husband and a wife, and the husband running away for a limited time, and returning to his wife upon realising what he'd done. I'm 100% dead certain that this poem is a goldmine of metaphors, but it's lost on me, I don't understand this, as far as I'm aware marriage is a cooperation, not a warzone. If someone could explain this to me, that'd be great.
This next song has absolutely no significance to any of the poems here, but it makes for good revision music, so by all means give it a listen.
I was joking about the revision bit. This is just a good song (Olivia this also drops like I don't even know how to convey).
Monday 10 February 2014
So.
It has been a while, to say the least, and I've now been instructed to look at two volumes; Phillip Larkin's Whitsun Weddings, and Dannie Abse's Welsh Retrospective. Initially, my reactions to Larkin's work were skeptical, he just seemed like another doom and gloom poet with a range of themes as limited as the range of "soft roader" car designs on the market today. After a bit of analysis, however, he seems slightly less gloomy, and far more philosophical. In fact, all of his poems seem to undergo a philosophical metamorphosis at around the penultimate stanza. This will now be referred to as a Larkin Shift.
It has been a while, to say the least, and I've now been instructed to look at two volumes; Phillip Larkin's Whitsun Weddings, and Dannie Abse's Welsh Retrospective. Initially, my reactions to Larkin's work were skeptical, he just seemed like another doom and gloom poet with a range of themes as limited as the range of "soft roader" car designs on the market today. After a bit of analysis, however, he seems slightly less gloomy, and far more philosophical. In fact, all of his poems seem to undergo a philosophical metamorphosis at around the penultimate stanza. This will now be referred to as a Larkin Shift.
Music features greatly in Larkin's poems, so allow me to assist this.
Monday 30 September 2013
I've now learned that everything I've previously read in The Handmaid's Tale is both potentially incorrect, and a reconstruction. Come chapter 23, Offred reveals that she's only just found the means to record stuff that's been happening. She admits that it may be inaccurate, which is, as far as I can tell, fully intentional. An interpretation of this could be that Atwood is trying to show the reader how variable and potentially unreliable human memory is. She uses this to great effect, Offred frequently questions herself, and never seems fully certain about what she remembers.
On another note, It was my birthday the other day, and one of my presents was the sequel to Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood.
Admittedly, I've not started it yet, which probably isn't a bad thing, as that would be my A Level in Literature out of the window. I'm left wondering, what books have you anticipated most, and why?
Song of the day: Mechanical Adventures - Aberto
Thought for the day - "They told me it wasn't music... I don't care."
On another note, It was my birthday the other day, and one of my presents was the sequel to Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood.
Admittedly, I've not started it yet, which probably isn't a bad thing, as that would be my A Level in Literature out of the window. I'm left wondering, what books have you anticipated most, and why?
Song of the day: Mechanical Adventures - Aberto
Thought for the day - "They told me it wasn't music... I don't care."
Thursday 26 September 2013
To put it bluntly, I've not read much more of The Handmaid's Tale. It doesn't seem beneficial to do so, seen as we keep doing bits that I've already read in class, and that it's gotten a bit too disturbing for my liking.
In other literature, there are these things called magazines that commonly get overlooked. We read them most days, in one form or another. They provide many views on just about everything. For example, Mountain Biking UK is the authority among most of the mountain biking community. Thrasher is for the skateboarders, there's Good Housekeeping, Good Food, Air Gunner, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics... There's everything.
Magazines offer multiple opinions on a topic that not many non-specialized books would look at. Magazines normally also have a section where readers (yes, that's us) can give their views, or send in pictures, or advice.
So, go and read a magazine today, they're good for you!
Song for the day - Alpha Centauri - Noisia (Excision and Datsik Remix) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opiKgbc8cPk)
In other literature, there are these things called magazines that commonly get overlooked. We read them most days, in one form or another. They provide many views on just about everything. For example, Mountain Biking UK is the authority among most of the mountain biking community. Thrasher is for the skateboarders, there's Good Housekeeping, Good Food, Air Gunner, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics... There's everything.
Magazines offer multiple opinions on a topic that not many non-specialized books would look at. Magazines normally also have a section where readers (yes, that's us) can give their views, or send in pictures, or advice.
So, go and read a magazine today, they're good for you!
Song for the day - Alpha Centauri - Noisia (Excision and Datsik Remix) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opiKgbc8cPk)
Wednesday 25 September 2013
I read some of The Handmaid's Tale, and, naturally, I regretted it. I have suitable bags under my eyes to prove that.
Effectively, the impregnated handmaids are now stored (stored seems to be the word that best describes the situation) in almost an encampment in a separate house. The commanders are all in a "hideout"; this practically smells of cigarettes and alcohol, as is seen in near enough any James Bond film where many "gentlemen" are concentrated.
On the topic of books, there is a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by a man called Mark Haddon. It's about a boy of 15 years called Christopher Boone. Christopher has Aspergers syndrome, to the point where even small changes in daily routines can spell disater. It caused a fair bit of disquiet in the field of those on the Autistic Spectrum, and the people caring for those on the spectrum. This is down to the fact that Haddon's book provides an extremely narrow, if not inaccurate view of the people who do have Aspergers. Christopher has all of the stereotypical tendencies, but to a degree where such tendencies are blown way out of proportion. As I said a few days ago, Aspergers is caused by the brain functioning in a different way to that of the normal human, with the outcome being extremely variable. For example, I know of/have met people with Aspergers who use it to their advantage (being able to remember certain facts about certain stuff, with me, it's mainly mountain bikes, longboards and dubstep), others who don't like talking to people that much (this doesn't make them nasty, some of the most inspirational and lovely people I know aren't so keen on interacting with people), and, most commonly, there is a very set routine (this is generalizing a little bit, but as a general rule, there is something set in place, ranging from the order that clothing are applied, to how things on a desk are set out).
Christopher is extremely keen on complex mathematics, and ends up sitting an A-Level maths paper early. He gets arrested for hitting a policeman who puts a hand on him (Christopher hates physical contact to the point of lashing around), and, upon release, sets about finding out who killed Wellington, the neighbour's dog.
Unfortunately for Christopher, in the process of trying to help people, he ends up getting misinterpreted, and ends up making people cross.
This is where Haddon understands the nature of Aspergers a little bit. He knows that what people with Aspergers face every day is a world that we do not understand, that doesn't understand us. The thought I want you to take today from reading this is that; if you don't understand something, it's alright really, there's probably a logical solution.
Song for the day - Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Vapour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3sTork75o)
Effectively, the impregnated handmaids are now stored (stored seems to be the word that best describes the situation) in almost an encampment in a separate house. The commanders are all in a "hideout"; this practically smells of cigarettes and alcohol, as is seen in near enough any James Bond film where many "gentlemen" are concentrated.
On the topic of books, there is a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by a man called Mark Haddon. It's about a boy of 15 years called Christopher Boone. Christopher has Aspergers syndrome, to the point where even small changes in daily routines can spell disater. It caused a fair bit of disquiet in the field of those on the Autistic Spectrum, and the people caring for those on the spectrum. This is down to the fact that Haddon's book provides an extremely narrow, if not inaccurate view of the people who do have Aspergers. Christopher has all of the stereotypical tendencies, but to a degree where such tendencies are blown way out of proportion. As I said a few days ago, Aspergers is caused by the brain functioning in a different way to that of the normal human, with the outcome being extremely variable. For example, I know of/have met people with Aspergers who use it to their advantage (being able to remember certain facts about certain stuff, with me, it's mainly mountain bikes, longboards and dubstep), others who don't like talking to people that much (this doesn't make them nasty, some of the most inspirational and lovely people I know aren't so keen on interacting with people), and, most commonly, there is a very set routine (this is generalizing a little bit, but as a general rule, there is something set in place, ranging from the order that clothing are applied, to how things on a desk are set out).
Christopher is extremely keen on complex mathematics, and ends up sitting an A-Level maths paper early. He gets arrested for hitting a policeman who puts a hand on him (Christopher hates physical contact to the point of lashing around), and, upon release, sets about finding out who killed Wellington, the neighbour's dog.
Unfortunately for Christopher, in the process of trying to help people, he ends up getting misinterpreted, and ends up making people cross.
This is where Haddon understands the nature of Aspergers a little bit. He knows that what people with Aspergers face every day is a world that we do not understand, that doesn't understand us. The thought I want you to take today from reading this is that; if you don't understand something, it's alright really, there's probably a logical solution.
Song for the day - Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Vapour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3sTork75o)
Tuesday 24 September 2013
No I have not read any more of The Handmaid's Tale. Yes, it is because I find it disturbing. Yes, I will get round to it at some point.
Seen as I've not done nearly enough reading to warrant a decent blog post, today's post will be very music based, as I'm listening to that near enough constantly (For those of you who actually come here for literature based opinions, I swear it'll all be back to normal tomorrow).
My favourite styles of music right now has to be neurohop and glitch hop. An example of neurohop is a song by Kursa called Just a Glitch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Fa5HscIQ4), whilst the Receptor remix of Noisia's Alpha Centauri (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYmEf6i9g54) is glitch hop. The Receptor remix is exactly what my brain sounds like, I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that.
At heart, though, I shall always love dubstep. Dubstep is typically 140 beats per minute, normally 70 if you allow for half-beats (I am aware that this is subject to continuous debate, but that's what I was always told). Excision and Datsik (two thoroughly awesome Canadian producers) remixed Alpha Centauri too (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opiKgbc8cPk); a prime example of how diverse a song can be, as well as the diversity of human thinking.
There is another side to electronic music. The extremely chilled-out "liquid" variations of dubstep, glitch hop, neurohop, drum and bass... The lot. A producer called Vancouver Sleep Clinic has made what I would call the most enchanting music in existence. The song is called Vapour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3sTork75o), and it will send you to your happy place. Honest.
Song for the day: ... Look up!
Thought for the day: "When a man is faced with his own death, he finds the impossible less of a barrier"
-Prince of Persia
Seen as I've not done nearly enough reading to warrant a decent blog post, today's post will be very music based, as I'm listening to that near enough constantly (For those of you who actually come here for literature based opinions, I swear it'll all be back to normal tomorrow).
My favourite styles of music right now has to be neurohop and glitch hop. An example of neurohop is a song by Kursa called Just a Glitch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Fa5HscIQ4), whilst the Receptor remix of Noisia's Alpha Centauri (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYmEf6i9g54) is glitch hop. The Receptor remix is exactly what my brain sounds like, I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that.
At heart, though, I shall always love dubstep. Dubstep is typically 140 beats per minute, normally 70 if you allow for half-beats (I am aware that this is subject to continuous debate, but that's what I was always told). Excision and Datsik (two thoroughly awesome Canadian producers) remixed Alpha Centauri too (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opiKgbc8cPk); a prime example of how diverse a song can be, as well as the diversity of human thinking.
There is another side to electronic music. The extremely chilled-out "liquid" variations of dubstep, glitch hop, neurohop, drum and bass... The lot. A producer called Vancouver Sleep Clinic has made what I would call the most enchanting music in existence. The song is called Vapour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p3sTork75o), and it will send you to your happy place. Honest.
Song for the day: ... Look up!
Thought for the day: "When a man is faced with his own death, he finds the impossible less of a barrier"
-Prince of Persia
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