May 2009 Archives

May 10, 2009

Remaining Aware

Let's just pause for a moment to consider the ongoing magnitude of Bill Callahan's accomplishment.


Too many birds in one tree.
Too many birds in one tree,
And the sky is full of black and screaming leaves;
the sky is full of black, and screaming.

And one more bird,
then one more bird.
And one last bird,
And another.

One last black bird without a place to land.
One last black bird without a place to be
turns around in hopes to find the place it last knew rest.

O black bird, over black rain burn;
This is not where you last knew rest.
You fly all night to sleep on stone -
the heartless rest that in the morn will be gone.
You fly all night to sleep on stone,
to return to the tree
with too many birds.

If.
If you.
If you could.
If you could only.
If you could only stop.
If you could only stop your.
If you could only stop your heart.
If you could only stop your heart beat.
If you could only stop your heart beat for.
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart.
If you could only stop your heart beat for one heart beat.

Someday you will brag that you were around when stuff this good was being written.

May 19, 2009

Rises, Applauds, Hoots, Hollers, Stamps Both Feet

To put it simply and bluntly: Blut Aus Nord's Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars is a masterpiece. It is both exemplary within its discipline (black metal, duh) and forward-looking; it attains the latter quality without coming off like a grade-schooler desperate for attention. Plenty of the black metal one hears praised in recent years is just fine but not really all that special in the broader context, but Memoria Vetusta II keeps truly elite company and could hold its own on a shelf made up only of the acknowledged milestones. On vinyl, its four sides suggest an inner development that can be called "symphonic" with a straight face. By the time I got to the soloing on the fourth side I was cheering. If you like black metal, past or present, you should seek this one out.