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| Pokey La Farge |
Trump is
back. Once again America has turned its back on decency, respect, and empathy
and elected a morally bankrupt oligarch. It feels like a huge backward step in
terms of the evolution of civil society. Furthermore, as someone else wrote, I
cannot respect anyone who voted for this man. But it hurts to see a culture, a
country that in so many ways was such a beacon in our lives sell its soul to
the devil. Ironically so, as it is the religious right that helped propel Trump
to power a second time.
2) RIP GARTH HUDSON
A few days
ago the final surviving member of The Band, Garth Hudson, passed away. Not just
any band, THE Band. The Band who made history with Music from Big Pink.
The band that backed Bob Dylan. A band that
according to many pundits changed everything. Eric Clapton was playing in supergroup
Blind Faith when he first heard The Band and says he immediately knew he had to
leave the band and do something better, more significant.
As we so
often hear these days, God is calling the musicians of our generation home. But
the passing of Garth Hudson feels like a milestone. The Band are the first of
the significant 70s bands that have all passed away. All five members have left
this earth. They have all played their Last Waltz. It feels quite numbing. Just
another indicator that my generation is moving on. And it feels like just a taste
of what it might be like to live long enough to see most of your friends move on
before you.
The Band
crossed many musical frontiers and accordingly their potential appeal was vast.
They were part country, part bluegrass, part folk, part rock, part blues, part
soul with even a sprinkling of jazz - largely due to the musical wizardry of
Garth Hudson. So wide was their catchment pool they are hailed as having invented
a new genre: Americana.
Levon Helm
was the first singing drummer I’d ever seen and I marvelled at his ability to
keep time and sing complex melodies. He led the vocals on what became an anthem
of a generation – The Weight. The Band certainly wrote plenty of their own
material but also adapted traditional songs like Long Black Veil for a modern
audience. In songs like The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down they used events
from American history to tell musical stories. Everything they did was different
and hard to categorise, and frequently featured quirky lyrics: “Up on Cripple
Creek she sends me”, “I pulled in to
Nazareth, feelin’ bout half past dead”.
Establishing
a new genre is no mean feat. This, and the fact that their musical output was wide
and varied, with several songs that are already considered classics (eg add Chest
Fever to the abovementioned), the fact that they hooked their wagon to the
Dylan phenomenon, and the fact they had the temerity to call themselves THE Band,
should ensure their place in modern musical history will be acknowledged well
into the future.
3) A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
I really enjoyed this fine movie about the life of Bob Dylan. It was
also an emotionally exhausting experience that laid bare my conflicting sentiments
about America. A Complete Unknown focuses on so many things that are great
about America; so many things that have been part of our cultural DNA. So many
things that I love and are entwined in my own identity: Woody Guthrie, Peter
Seeger, folk songs. Telling stories of the people, defending the rights of the dispossessed,
singing songs of justice. And I felt
anger growing inside me when I thought about the 74 million Americans that just
re-elected Trump and in one foul swoop swept aside that America. The America of
romance, dreams, and music. Trump has killed off Americana – at least for the
time being.
There are stunning moments in A Complete Unknown that are deeply
moving. One thing it does really well is make clear that these Dylan songs that
have become anthems were all once played for the very first time. Joan Baez
hears Blowin’ in the Wind the very first time in the kitchen of her flat
and the look on her face shows that something amazing has just been born. The first
time Dylan plays The Times They Are A-Changing at Newport Folk Festival
people backstage similarly knew they were witnessing a pivotal moment in history.
One of the greatest songs ever written was being born in front of them. It was
profoundly moving and it was one of several times throughout this movie that
the tears flowed.
Dylan really was remarkable. He really was somehow able to be the spokesperson
of a time, of a generation. He captured that spirit and the dawning aspirations
of millions and put them into spine-chilling words. Almost other-worldly.
It was an amazing time to be alive. My generation has seen so much transformational
change. And until 2016 those changes felt like they were part of a world moving
inexorably forward to a better place. But Trump’s re-election has once again shattered
that myth. And maybe that’s all it was – a myth and not at all based in any reality.
Maybe four years will pass, and the good ship America will right itself, and
the world can move forward again. But I’m not at all hopeful. It might be that
we need another Complete Unknown
