Washington White - "I Am in the Heavenly Way"
How deep is Washington White? As deep as the Potomac River? As deep as the Georgetown philosophy department? The White Sox bullpen?
1. Greg is studying for his GREs and when I ran into him today, I asked him how it was going.
"Well, it's actually pretty hard to make an analogy using words you don't know."
"Impossible," I said.
"Yeah."
2. My favourite records are to my record player as my conversations with acquaintances are to my mind.
3. So it occurred to me that in my conversation with Greg I made a terrible, terrible mistake, and that, as a result, my reputation (considerable and seemingly unassailable as it was) had been ruined. Now a pariah, I would have to leave Montreal as I had left so many cities before: humiliated, homeless, hungry, hoping that I would be always correct in San Francisco, or Lisbon, or Tokyo, or somewhere before the whole world finds out I'm a fraud.
4. You don't have to know any English to know that 'lived' is to 'devil' as 'peed' is to 'deep', for example.
5. Which is deep (maybe deeper than the Potomac), but not as deep as Washington White. The snowballing momentum, the insistent harping on the downbeat, the call and response of the male-female vocals all call to mind Blind Willie Johnson, a man whose depth is roughly the same as that of the universe itself. Like Johnson's "John The Revelator", "I Am in the Heavenly Way" works on an ecstatic momentum; White bangs his out of tune guitar like a coxswain bangs his drum, or a horseman cracks his whip, pushing, pushing, pushing, and after each strike, his focus and enthusiasm are concentrated and he pushes harder yet.
6. Listen to the silence after the song finishes. Though the sound has dissipated, the energy remains. Though White is gone, his performance persists, still deeply affecting seventy years later. [Buy]
***
My roommates love this song, which means that I live in a sick and depressed household. It's probably why I'm dying of the flu right now. This kind of music is not good for your immune system. If you listen, you will likely become ill too.
Upside: perverse pleasure derived from beautifully executed tragic art.
Downside: pain and suffering.
Do what you want (though misery does love company). [Buy]
Posted by Jordan at August 9, 2006 1:32 PMIt makes me sad that these posts are not receiving huzzahs; perhaps it's because we are deep deep into summer holidays? I think that the last couple of weeks your collective posts have been consistently well-written, entertaining and somewhere between élan-full and zesty (of the orange zest kind). I thought someone should tell you, even if I am related. Oh, and, Jordan, look after that immune system.
Posted by Sean's Mum at August 9, 2006 2:23 PMThe quality doesn't go unappreciated. I don't even download the songs here 90% of the time, just read the essays. Generally like them better than the songs (and the songs are generally excellent).
Posted by Sam at August 9, 2006 5:50 PMPhil Ochs rules
Posted by your roommate, not your friend at August 9, 2006 6:04 PMC'mon, these two both rock. And yes, Mr. Ochs does in fact rule. And I am emphatically not a knee-jerk fan of either genre.
I might have programmed "There But For Fortune," though that may not be your household's favorite.
Posted by wcw at August 9, 2006 6:21 PMI'm not sure how much you've been paying attention lately, but the White Sox bullpen isn't very deep at all.
Posted by Joe at August 9, 2006 9:04 PMI absolutely adore your posts and your music. The songs are so varied; I recently learned that Dead Queen by Espers is perfect for walking on the tightwire and that Etno Camp by Félix Lajkó (or do I have his last and first name switched?) is perfect for rocking out.
I have wanted to comment during the months that I've been visiting (thank you for introducing me to Wolf Parade, by the way). But today, I had to comment because Phil Ochs is one of my favorite musicians, and "The Highwayman" is one of favorite songs by him. And the poem is, yeah, one of my favorite poems.
Thank you for months of awesome music. I can't wait for more smurftacular music.
Posted by Linka at August 9, 2006 9:38 PMif you must know, our other favourite Phil Ochs song is "The Power and the Glory." it is so beautiful that it brings tears to our eyes.
Posted by jordan's roommate at August 9, 2006 10:18 PMsad two by Ochs:
Cross My Heart
No More Songs
Read "Death of a Rebel" and learn about his John Train period, where he would punch people in the face if they called him Phil Ochs - a sad story of tortured genius.
I saw my mother crying when Phil Ochs died - I understood it when I turned 25.
Posted by BMR at August 10, 2006 10:39 AMSam, WCW, Linka - Thank you!
Joe - You'd say deeper than the White Sox bullpen, then?
Roommate, not friend - "The Power and the Glory" is not only a great song, The Power and the Glory is also the second best Gentle Giant album, and the power and the glory are two goals I constantly strive to achieve.
BMR - My 25th birthday is coming up. Would you mind not making it sound so depressing?
Mom - Why not take Sean's Mum as a model? See how loving and supportive she is?
Posted by Jordan at August 10, 2006 3:22 PMellerman, classic edition.
Posted by david b at August 10, 2006 10:32 PMthis blog is toooo hot!
Posted by damamama-bear at August 19, 2006 11:05 AM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
