"Speak of the Devil" Part One

A Mix

Ryan's coworkers have started a group dedicated to making and sharing mix cds called, "The Order of the Mixtape." A few months back, the Order decided that we would all contribute a phrase that would be randomly assigned to another group member to create a mix for the month. I was thrilled when I got "Speak of the Devil" from Katie, and became consumed with the task of creating the perfect mix: I spent much of my free time incubating the mix and went so far as developing a storyline for the songs. Today's post will cover the Devil's time prior to being cast out of heaven, while part two's installment (out soon!) will begin with the Devil in limbo and bring things to the current state of affairs.

Before I get started on relating the storyline, it's important to note that the English Major nerd in me was a big reason I got so enthused about this project. In college I read Milton's Paradise Lost and frequently found myself saying, "You know, the Devil really has a good point here when....WHA! I'm agreeing with THE DEVIL?!" Now, Mr. Milton really knew what he was doing in inking a devil that seems so RIGHT in his thinking at times: Milton is making a statement about the spiritual condition of humanity that we would find the Devil's arguments so seductive and agreeable (side note: Hitler was good at this too). And why not? Don't we all have a lot in common with the Devil? Isn't his story a pretty human story?

1. "I Wanna Be Adored" - The Stone Roses

Our tale opens with a scene of Satan, the most beautiful of creations, feeling really great about himself, enjoying the attention he knows he so rightly deserves. Already he's pride is his strongest trait and, according to many Christian theologists, the original sin is the sin of pride. Satan's aspiration for adoration is the beginning of his fall from heaven because it eclipses his adoration for his creator as well as the tasks he was created to fulfill.



Admittedly, for this mix, I enjoy the song's oblique reference to Satan, "I don't have to sell my soul/ he's already in me." I was so proud of myself when I figured it out.

2. "Closest Thing to Heaven" - Tears for Fears

Satan is still enjoying the fruits of being "the closest thing to heaven," but he's starting to shirk his duties at the expense of others. He even ignores his reminders: "Throw your arms round the world /Make love your destination."



3. "Be Kind to My Mistakes" - Kate Bush

The Devil has the gall to think he can persuade God into letting the Devil's self-obsession off this time. I imagine many lovers have tried this line of argument.

"I don't know what you are looking for in me.
 I don't know what I want, but my heart is needing.
Am I yours? Are you mine?"

"Please... Please... Please... Please be kind,
Be kind to my mistakes.
Be kind, Be kind To me."



4. "It's Personal" - The Radio Dept.

The Devil plots and schemes and-- with no intention of changing his behavior-- hopes God will continue to allow him a place of power and honor. (The Devil wants to be adored!) The Devil feels personally attacked when it becomes clear that things won't work out the way he wants them to.



5. "Into the Light" - Siouxsie & the Banshees

The Devil's iniquities are exposed: don't fear, he has his excuses.

"Standing in the light/ I never wanted to be right/ Now I'm attracted by the light/ And blinded by the sight."

It's not HIS fault. He was just doing what came naturally.



6. "Ocean of Noise" - Arcade Fire

In fact, it's clearly God's plan that the Devil act so out of tune with what was expected of him in heaven. Perversely, the Devil still thinks these problems can be worked out, that the lies he's beginning to tell might buy him the time he needs to keep a hold on his place in glory. "Now who here among us/ Still believes in choice?/ Not I/ ... You've got your reasons/ And me, I've got mine/ But all the reasons I gave/ Were just lies/ To buy myself some time/ And can we work it out?"



The stormy sounds of the beginning of this song seem in-keeping with the  trouble that's brewing for the Devil: he's gonna get his butt kicked out of heaven.

7. "Judas" - Depeche Mode

The Devil goes so far as to accuse God of betraying him by creating him to be the wrong-doing creature he is. The Devil taunts God in his anger, knowing that he's on his way out. Listen to that snide tone: "Is simplicity best/ Or simply the easiest/ The narrowest path/ Is always the holiest/ So walk on barefoot for me/ Suffer some misery/ If you want my love." The Devil just doesn't think God'll do it.



8. "Someone's Got it in for Me" - James

Obviously, the powers that be have it in for the Devil. Part of him wishes he could have a do-over, but he was given his chances and must now accept the consequences: "Someone's got it in for me/ I don't want your sympathy/ Life just never turned out how I wanted it to/ Should have been a shooting star/ ... / Fall, let it fall away these lies/  To be born again"





Notice how much time the Devil spends making excuses? Sounds familiar to my inner-monologue-listenin'-ear. Join us next time as we find the Devil IN LIMBO.

I had crazy big plans for epic illustrations but ran out of time. Above is the first half of the booklet that I made to go with the CD.

4th of July

I haven't celebrated the 4th of July in the United States for three years, and whenever I find myself in another country on this day, I am a lot more patriotic than I am stateside.

The reason for this is simple: when I'm abroad I can celebrate the vision and ideals of this country without having to deal with all the people that just want to drunkenly blow things up to celebrate our nation's (violent) birth. I know kids aren't in school, so I can't sit 'em down and have a conversation with them about "what it all means," but it sure would be nice if, like Carl Wilson sings, we could pull together in hope and push each other to continue to make the USA better, striving to fulfill the ideals set out in our founding documents, guaranteeing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to ALL our citizens.

Brothers sisters stand firmly and try
Reaching the spacious skies
Fourth of July

It's a classic Carl cut, a sweet and beautiful song.

Let's Get Physical

At my age, I'm stuck smack-dab in the middle of the my-entire-library-is-on-my-hard-drive and vinyl-sounds-best movements, and while I love having portable music (I use Pandora at work, and take my 2nd generation iPod shuffle on vacations) I prefer vinyl. Yes, this preference has to do with sound and the aesthetic of a physical format, but it also has to do with my desire as a human being to interact physically with art.
 
I know it might seem a bit laughable-- records were mass-produced after all-- but there is still a physical component to lps: I can see the grooves where the physical waves of the music were imprinted, the visible version of the pressure music exerts on the body. I can see where songs change drastically, I can feel the silent spaces between songs with my fingers as I clean my records.

I feel the same way about books; borrowing my friend's Kindle to read a book was a disappointing experience. I missed the sensation of turning pages, of being able to see how many pages I'd read, how many I had left. It took me longer to read the book and felt less substantial. On the Kindle every font was the same, everything black and gray, a shadow world of the soul of books in their physical form. No human being will ever be able to touch a digital book, there is no history of human contact, there are no signs of past reading or cherishing.

Why is this so important? So what? It saves money and probably a few trees. (It doesn't save jobs in local shops, but that is another article. I suggest you go here for a great blog discussion on why buying music [and books for that matter] is important.)

Irises by Van Gogh

I will never forget standing in front of a Van Gogh painting of Irises at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and seeing the brushstrokes in the paint, imagining the artist's hand and eyes at work, his posture as he paused to see what was coming to life before him. The painting was not the two-dimensional thing I had always understood it to be-- it was lumpy, some spots raised up with multiple layers of paint, others showing the turn of the brush or a correction of a previous mark laid down.

Why should I settle for a "3D" experience of a sculpture or painting on Google-Whatever if I can ever have the chance to see it in person? Imagining the artist staring at a piece of marble (or any other material) and conjuring a being forth is much more awe-inspiring that the distance the computer screen puts between us.

When we allow the distance technology creates to be at the center of our lives, we are losing out. I still remember the excitement I felt as a pre-schooler when we had our weekly "mystery" tactile activity.  The teacher brought an object to class in a paper bag and every student stretched out their hand in order to feel it, interact with it, try to guess the object's identity. Everything else I remember from pre-school is pretty expressionistic, but boy, I remember that paper bag.


Teaching students who are BFFs with 2D experiences of life (friendships conducted through texts, all the most interesting sights on the 2" screens of their cell phones) I've found they are not immune to the mystery bag activity, or hands-on art-- in fact, these activities are the ones that bring that magical, elusive light of learning to their eyes. These activities are becoming as rare as White Tigers in young people's TV and electronic filled lives. Our culture is losing the knowledge of how to touch anything other than a keyboard or a screen (and students are losing their ability to manually write, spell, and who needs it anyway with Siri? Welcome illiteracy! Spellyng doznt hav 2 b standrdzd ineemor-- wut iz a printyng pres?).

The physical experience of buying/listening/playing music doesn't stand alone from how we interact with art in general. Technological experiences and conveniences shouldn't be at the expense of human interaction with an object. My romance with the Platonic, abstract ideal has ended. Put me in a room with the physical thing 'cause a hard drive full of music just won't cut it.