I was just sitting here trying to catch up on some pieces I'd been meaning to read (this being one of them) and was so confused when I saw my name pop up in here 😂 I swear Substack never notified me about it. And then I kept reading and saw Holding Absence in there (and it's one of my favourite songs!!), and I can't even tell you how excited that made me.
The collages are stunning, as always. I also really like your thoughts on the "Holding Absence" name, and the passage from "Eternal Echoes," it's given me a lot to think about. Been listening to the playlist as well, and am loving it, especially "blame."
I fear that I'm going to have to make more recommendations (I honestly can't help myself with music), although there's no pressure to take them into consideration. I want to recommend "Worlds on Fire" by The Butterfly Effect for the vibe of the music, and The Day That I Ruined Your Life by Boston Manor because I adore its aesthetic.
I know the feeling. Sometimes trying to keep up with Substack is a project in and of itself.
I'm so glad to hear you were happy with the Holding Absence piece and song choice. I went down quite the rabbit hole of their catalog after you recommended them. I made a few sketeches and notes for other songs. But this was the stood out the most to me.
I've been obsessed with The Maine for a while now. They've been featured on a previous playlist as well, and there's a better than likel chance they will be again:
I gladly welcome your recommendations. I never get tired of listening to new music, and seeing what new bits of inspiration they might bring. I'm looking forward to checking these out! Thanks again!
It really is one of those songs that I try to introduce everyone to, just because of how broadly appealing it seems. Glad to hear you got lost in some of their other music too 😊
I'm listening to taxi whilst writing this out and I really like it. It's got a good energy, and moves really well. Impossible not to bop my head to it. Definitely going in my playlist
And that's good to hear! I'll keep the recommendations coming then!! Hopefully you enjoy those last two, and if not... I've got plenty more back ups 😂🤣
Glad you enjoyed Taxi. That's probably my favorite song of theirs. They really have a knack for righting infectious hooks.
Thanks again for the recommendations. I haven't had a chance to listen yet. My week has been crazy and I'm struggling to play catch-up. Hoping sit down to give them a play through today and make some notes!
Have already had to listen to Taxi a few times, if I'm honest. It gotten itself very stuck in my head (in a good way).
And nah, you're all good. Life can be like that. And some days it's also just nicer to listen to what we know. I should ask, is there any music in particular that you enjoy being recommended, outside of genre? As in, what songs do you feel like you get the most out of? Do you prefer more technical songs, ones with interesting lyrics, or even just ones that have something inherently evocative about them? Or something else? I realise that might be a tricky question, but I'm curious to see if there's something you could narrow it down to.
Okay, I'm actually going to add O'Donohue's book to my list--right now. Haha. [Done.]
In my personal work toward wholeness after trauma, memory isn't the most reliable container for the past. But with O'Donohue, I'm thinking of myself as ghost, always haunting every place I've ever been. For my Substack, I'm working on how thinking with objects--a beloved sweatshirt, say--can help us listen to these ghosts and patch together their stories.
I really hope you enjoy O' Donohue's work. He's a treasure. It's rare to have a philosophical thinker communicate with visceral poetry and lyrical profundity.
In Zen Buddhism there is an idea that 'rebirth' is not a question of the afterlife, but is instead a present reality. In each arising moment we are born, we die, and we are born anew. In essence then, we are always being ushered into a new beginning and we are always living with the ghost of who we used to be.
I love your thoughts on objects, and I'd definitely love to dive deeper into that. We so easily overlook the richness and complexity of objects. Last year I read a book by Graham Harman called, Bell's and Whistles. In it he says that "objects are...not reducible to that of which they are made". Instead, "real objects always exceed their contexts, always withdraw from our control, and are always filled with surplus and surprise." We can never fully come to know, never fully hold, anything. Nothing can ever be fully immanent. Everything transcends our reach. Everyting is bigger, beyond, deeper, and more. More than we could ever imagine it to be.
Ah, I love this idea of rebirth happening always. In my own contemplative practices, I've been ruminating on the cyclical nature of time--that even if I can't access every part of myself I feel I have lost, it's still there in the silence beyond words, what I would call God. Thank you! Objects in particular are helping me access this silence, because they are more static than I am. ... Or are they? 😁
Really interesting thoughts here! The law of conservation of energy states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, only transfered, it only changes forms. Nothing ever really leaves then, it's only a matter looking for what it becomes, for the ways that it remains.
Yes! Before I studied English, I was a cell biology student intent upon research. Why haven't I thought of this before?! I love science connections. Definitely something for me to sit with in the coming weeks.
Great work as always! I don't know exactly what it is you're going through but I definitely went through my own mid-life phase not too long ago. It was rough. I recall having the album Lament by Touché Amoré on repeat for much of it. This track in particular was always helpful. And if it helps, things feel much better on what I think (hope?) is the other side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKHawjBPaxU
Thank you Mark! Sometimes the work of unpacking the past sneaks up on you. Sometimes when you think you've put eveything away and tidied, you find things still lingering. Sometimes meanding and moving one can be disconcerting. Sometimes good things and better changes come with new anxieties, or perhaps remixes of the same ones you keep replaying. Regardless, all existential angst should come with a sound track, thanks for giving me the perfect one! I appreciate you more than I can say.
I like the way you mix artforms in your posts. I'm enjoying the renaissance poetry is having as accessible art, as it interweaves with other forms.
The Cure rock! My transfixion lies in words and music but I love accompanying, enhancing visuals. I'm no a artist so make with my camera(phone). I really like your street art.
Thanks for sharing your piece. Here's a link to my playlist for the poems I've shared on Substack @theseainme
Thanks so much for reading! I'm really glad you like it!
I agree. I think poetry and all art forms really are becoming increasingly open all. Culture itself is becoming increasingly accessible and because of that culture is being remixed more and more. Culture is more and more collage like. It's so interesting to see the wide and varying things that people do with the things we're gaining access to.
The Cure is definitely one of my favorites!
Thanks for sharing your playlist! I saved it! There's some great stuff on there and there's quite a bit I'm not familiar with. Looking forward to listening though and seeing what collages get inspired from it!
I was just sitting here trying to catch up on some pieces I'd been meaning to read (this being one of them) and was so confused when I saw my name pop up in here 😂 I swear Substack never notified me about it. And then I kept reading and saw Holding Absence in there (and it's one of my favourite songs!!), and I can't even tell you how excited that made me.
The collages are stunning, as always. I also really like your thoughts on the "Holding Absence" name, and the passage from "Eternal Echoes," it's given me a lot to think about. Been listening to the playlist as well, and am loving it, especially "blame."
I fear that I'm going to have to make more recommendations (I honestly can't help myself with music), although there's no pressure to take them into consideration. I want to recommend "Worlds on Fire" by The Butterfly Effect for the vibe of the music, and The Day That I Ruined Your Life by Boston Manor because I adore its aesthetic.
I know the feeling. Sometimes trying to keep up with Substack is a project in and of itself.
I'm so glad to hear you were happy with the Holding Absence piece and song choice. I went down quite the rabbit hole of their catalog after you recommended them. I made a few sketeches and notes for other songs. But this was the stood out the most to me.
I've been obsessed with The Maine for a while now. They've been featured on a previous playlist as well, and there's a better than likel chance they will be again:
https://duanetoops.substack.com/p/say-what-you-want
I gladly welcome your recommendations. I never get tired of listening to new music, and seeing what new bits of inspiration they might bring. I'm looking forward to checking these out! Thanks again!
It really is one of those songs that I try to introduce everyone to, just because of how broadly appealing it seems. Glad to hear you got lost in some of their other music too 😊
I'm listening to taxi whilst writing this out and I really like it. It's got a good energy, and moves really well. Impossible not to bop my head to it. Definitely going in my playlist
And that's good to hear! I'll keep the recommendations coming then!! Hopefully you enjoy those last two, and if not... I've got plenty more back ups 😂🤣
Glad you enjoyed Taxi. That's probably my favorite song of theirs. They really have a knack for righting infectious hooks.
Thanks again for the recommendations. I haven't had a chance to listen yet. My week has been crazy and I'm struggling to play catch-up. Hoping sit down to give them a play through today and make some notes!
Glad to hear you've got more to send my way too!
Have already had to listen to Taxi a few times, if I'm honest. It gotten itself very stuck in my head (in a good way).
And nah, you're all good. Life can be like that. And some days it's also just nicer to listen to what we know. I should ask, is there any music in particular that you enjoy being recommended, outside of genre? As in, what songs do you feel like you get the most out of? Do you prefer more technical songs, ones with interesting lyrics, or even just ones that have something inherently evocative about them? Or something else? I realise that might be a tricky question, but I'm curious to see if there's something you could narrow it down to.
Okay, I'm actually going to add O'Donohue's book to my list--right now. Haha. [Done.]
In my personal work toward wholeness after trauma, memory isn't the most reliable container for the past. But with O'Donohue, I'm thinking of myself as ghost, always haunting every place I've ever been. For my Substack, I'm working on how thinking with objects--a beloved sweatshirt, say--can help us listen to these ghosts and patch together their stories.
Thanks for sharing!
I really hope you enjoy O' Donohue's work. He's a treasure. It's rare to have a philosophical thinker communicate with visceral poetry and lyrical profundity.
In Zen Buddhism there is an idea that 'rebirth' is not a question of the afterlife, but is instead a present reality. In each arising moment we are born, we die, and we are born anew. In essence then, we are always being ushered into a new beginning and we are always living with the ghost of who we used to be.
I love your thoughts on objects, and I'd definitely love to dive deeper into that. We so easily overlook the richness and complexity of objects. Last year I read a book by Graham Harman called, Bell's and Whistles. In it he says that "objects are...not reducible to that of which they are made". Instead, "real objects always exceed their contexts, always withdraw from our control, and are always filled with surplus and surprise." We can never fully come to know, never fully hold, anything. Nothing can ever be fully immanent. Everything transcends our reach. Everyting is bigger, beyond, deeper, and more. More than we could ever imagine it to be.
Thanks for the great comments!
Ah, I love this idea of rebirth happening always. In my own contemplative practices, I've been ruminating on the cyclical nature of time--that even if I can't access every part of myself I feel I have lost, it's still there in the silence beyond words, what I would call God. Thank you! Objects in particular are helping me access this silence, because they are more static than I am. ... Or are they? 😁
Really interesting thoughts here! The law of conservation of energy states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, only transfered, it only changes forms. Nothing ever really leaves then, it's only a matter looking for what it becomes, for the ways that it remains.
Yes! Before I studied English, I was a cell biology student intent upon research. Why haven't I thought of this before?! I love science connections. Definitely something for me to sit with in the coming weeks.
That's awesome! I'm always looking for those kinds of connections too! Excited to see what you come up with. Keep me posted!
Great work as always! I don't know exactly what it is you're going through but I definitely went through my own mid-life phase not too long ago. It was rough. I recall having the album Lament by Touché Amoré on repeat for much of it. This track in particular was always helpful. And if it helps, things feel much better on what I think (hope?) is the other side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKHawjBPaxU
May you find your peace.
Thank you Mark! Sometimes the work of unpacking the past sneaks up on you. Sometimes when you think you've put eveything away and tidied, you find things still lingering. Sometimes meanding and moving one can be disconcerting. Sometimes good things and better changes come with new anxieties, or perhaps remixes of the same ones you keep replaying. Regardless, all existential angst should come with a sound track, thanks for giving me the perfect one! I appreciate you more than I can say.
I like the way you mix artforms in your posts. I'm enjoying the renaissance poetry is having as accessible art, as it interweaves with other forms.
The Cure rock! My transfixion lies in words and music but I love accompanying, enhancing visuals. I'm no a artist so make with my camera(phone). I really like your street art.
Thanks for sharing your piece. Here's a link to my playlist for the poems I've shared on Substack @theseainme
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Us7I1OgCfo9CIhf4E9ISy?si=BHSp2BUtQFeBNxVos8cFUA
Thanks so much for reading! I'm really glad you like it!
I agree. I think poetry and all art forms really are becoming increasingly open all. Culture itself is becoming increasingly accessible and because of that culture is being remixed more and more. Culture is more and more collage like. It's so interesting to see the wide and varying things that people do with the things we're gaining access to.
The Cure is definitely one of my favorites!
Thanks for sharing your playlist! I saved it! There's some great stuff on there and there's quite a bit I'm not familiar with. Looking forward to listening though and seeing what collages get inspired from it!
Thanks again!
Cultural remixes and cultural collages, the brave new world ! Look forward to diving into more of your posts in time.
Glad to have you along for the ride!
Love the Cure song!
I know right! Never get tired of them!