My name is Eric Sutherland and I am an employee at Neumos. I wanted to express my opinion regarding the Capital Hill Block Party and what that event means.
The block party is a festival that I and countless others look forward to every year. It is a significant Summer event that brings the people together and generates invaluable traffic for our local businesses. The Block Party also creates community by bringing people together in a positive, festive and creative event. In my opinion, events the size of the Block Party are essential for helping maintain Capital Hills sense of community/. What I fear is that we could become a city that does not have a three day neighborhood festival that strengthens the bonds between people, enlivens and entertains, and also furthers the success of local businesses which in turn, benefit the hundreds of people employed by those organizations.
As an employee of Neumos, the three days of Block Party is important to me as it provides me with a much needed paycheck during the month of July. Without that paycheck, July is a meager month, and in my experience, lower income employees like myself can suffer the most when we loose work. Especially in the current economic climate. I understand that shortening the festival is the aim of some, but I strongly oppose this idea and would rather see the festival carried out as it has, for three full days.
The benefits of the Capital Hill Block Party greatly outweigh the perceived downsides of the festival, and for someone who is directly impacted by the Block Party, I hope that we can continue as we have in the past, with three full days of productivity, music and enjoyment.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
-Eric Sutherland
I have to say, I don't quite agree with the consensus on the thread that this song is about romantic relationships or religious subjects... there is nothing so specific in the lyrics that points directly to that.
One of the beautiful things about song writing is using vagueness as a canvas for listeners to project their own mentality and experiences onto the music.
And I think that's what Joanna Newsome is doing quite effectively here; riding the line, sitting right on the fence, in that grey area where ambiguity flirts with clarity.
Let's talk about children, wolves, and how it relates to forming identity.
"We should shine a light on
A light on
And the book of right-on's right on
It was right on --------------------------- “Shine a light on” quite a common way to say “illuminate” or to expose a certain truth. Now, the book of “right-on”: If there was a big book describing what is “right-on”, then it by virtue of being about what is right-on, it must be, RIGHT-ON... Right? On?
I killed my dinner with karate
Kick 'em in the face, taste the body
Shallow work is the work that I do" -------- Playing with food? A forceful display of personality? Shallow work... are children not involved in what adults see as shallow? Depends on how you think but I’d say you might concede that it’s possible.
"Do you want to sit at my table?
My fighting fame is fabled
And fortune finds me fit and able" ------------- I think of the kids table : ) And a kung fu movie.
"Do you want to run with my pack? ------- first animal/canine reference which has everything to do with social structure.
Do you want to ride on my back?-------- ride on my back; piggy back? another image of childhood.
Pray that what you lack does not distract" --------- almost xenophobic! "you can join me, you're from another kind but as long as your deficiencies don't inconvenience me, you're cool to stick around."
And you do say
That you do pray
And you say
That you're ok ---------- is this not what everyone does when we want to be accepted or seek approval from others? Social dynamics, identity.... are we getting somewhere?? : )
And even when you run through my mind
Something else is in front, oh, you're behind
And I don't have to remind you
To stick with your kind ----------------------- kind of an oddball lyric to me. Almost as if this person joining the pack is needy and clingy and there's always something to look forward to outside them. Like a bratty little sibling. Children, again. (on the themes of being childish, there is something to be said for the way words are enunciated and the timbre of JN's voice... she once said she was disappointed in critics saying that her singing sounded childish, however, it's almost impossible not to think of an 8 year old Björk when you hear JN's voice. Nothing to be disappointed about... the way she sings is an effective way to curry favor with listeners: like a high forehead implies youth, so does this singing. ok lets move on...)
And even when you touch my face
You know your place
And even when you touch my face
You know your place------------------- okay, here's a lyric that for me, almost certainly implies some kind of intimate relationship. Certainly there are roles in intimate relationships. For example, a man wouldn't try to take on the role of his female partners best female friend. If he does, he's pushed the "girl looses attraction for boy" button. The big red button. With his fist. In this regard, as the lyric says, "you know your place".
As for religion, the words "the book of" seems to imply something super heavy, revered, holy, etc. and the colloquialism "right-on" is the complete opposite of that... very hipster, actually, and putting together something very heavy with something very light is quite trendy these days; incongruity+irony=identity. (Oh and having the word "pray" in a song doesn't mean there's struggle with god going on. In this case the lyrics are essentially saying you're praying that you're ok.)
The most reasonable explanation in my mind is that the song is about identity. And in a way, her voice sounding young further strengthens this connection I see, of seeking and hoping and creating identity. In a world where a young person, especially a young woman is told so many things, and one is bombarded with billions of ads and signals and sight/sounds and enough information and enough push-pull to stun an ox, (especially a kid like Joanna Newsome who grew up with no TV, radio, media, etc) then identity is very likely a huge issue. Isn’t it always?
Ok, it’s about identity. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it until I decide to change it.
To Whom it May Concern,
My name is Eric Sutherland and I am an employee at Neumos. I wanted to express my opinion regarding the Capital Hill Block Party and what that event means.
The block party is a festival that I and countless others look forward to every year. It is a significant Summer event that brings the people together and generates invaluable traffic for our local businesses. The Block Party also creates community by bringing people together in a positive, festive and creative event. In my opinion, events the size of the Block Party are essential for helping maintain Capital Hills sense of community/. What I fear is that we could become a city that does not have a three day neighborhood festival that strengthens the bonds between people, enlivens and entertains, and also furthers the success of local businesses which in turn, benefit the hundreds of people employed by those organizations.
As an employee of Neumos, the three days of Block Party is important to me as it provides me with a much needed paycheck during the month of July. Without that paycheck, July is a meager month, and in my experience, lower income employees like myself can suffer the most when we loose work. Especially in the current economic climate. I understand that shortening the festival is the aim of some, but I strongly oppose this idea and would rather see the festival carried out as it has, for three full days.
The benefits of the Capital Hill Block Party greatly outweigh the perceived downsides of the festival, and for someone who is directly impacted by the Block Party, I hope that we can continue as we have in the past, with three full days of productivity, music and enjoyment.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
-Eric Sutherland
I have to say, I don't quite agree with the consensus on the thread that this song is about romantic relationships or religious subjects... there is nothing so specific in the lyrics that points directly to that.
One of the beautiful things about song writing is using vagueness as a canvas for listeners to project their own mentality and experiences onto the music.
And I think that's what Joanna Newsome is doing quite effectively here; riding the line, sitting right on the fence, in that grey area where ambiguity flirts with clarity.
Let's talk about children, wolves, and how it relates to forming identity.
"We should shine a light on A light on And the book of right-on's right on It was right on --------------------------- “Shine a light on” quite a common way to say “illuminate” or to expose a certain truth. Now, the book of “right-on”: If there was a big book describing what is “right-on”, then it by virtue of being about what is right-on, it must be, RIGHT-ON... Right? On?
I killed my dinner with karate Kick 'em in the face, taste the body Shallow work is the work that I do" -------- Playing with food? A forceful display of personality? Shallow work... are children not involved in what adults see as shallow? Depends on how you think but I’d say you might concede that it’s possible.
"Do you want to sit at my table? My fighting fame is fabled And fortune finds me fit and able" ------------- I think of the kids table : ) And a kung fu movie.
"Do you want to run with my pack? ------- first animal/canine reference which has everything to do with social structure. Do you want to ride on my back?-------- ride on my back; piggy back? another image of childhood. Pray that what you lack does not distract" --------- almost xenophobic! "you can join me, you're from another kind but as long as your deficiencies don't inconvenience me, you're cool to stick around."
And you do say That you do pray And you say That you're ok ---------- is this not what everyone does when we want to be accepted or seek approval from others? Social dynamics, identity.... are we getting somewhere?? : )
And even when you run through my mind Something else is in front, oh, you're behind And I don't have to remind you To stick with your kind ----------------------- kind of an oddball lyric to me. Almost as if this person joining the pack is needy and clingy and there's always something to look forward to outside them. Like a bratty little sibling. Children, again. (on the themes of being childish, there is something to be said for the way words are enunciated and the timbre of JN's voice... she once said she was disappointed in critics saying that her singing sounded childish, however, it's almost impossible not to think of an 8 year old Björk when you hear JN's voice. Nothing to be disappointed about... the way she sings is an effective way to curry favor with listeners: like a high forehead implies youth, so does this singing. ok lets move on...)
And even when you touch my face You know your place And even when you touch my face You know your place------------------- okay, here's a lyric that for me, almost certainly implies some kind of intimate relationship. Certainly there are roles in intimate relationships. For example, a man wouldn't try to take on the role of his female partners best female friend. If he does, he's pushed the "girl looses attraction for boy" button. The big red button. With his fist. In this regard, as the lyric says, "you know your place".
As for religion, the words "the book of" seems to imply something super heavy, revered, holy, etc. and the colloquialism "right-on" is the complete opposite of that... very hipster, actually, and putting together something very heavy with something very light is quite trendy these days; incongruity+irony=identity. (Oh and having the word "pray" in a song doesn't mean there's struggle with god going on. In this case the lyrics are essentially saying you're praying that you're ok.)
The most reasonable explanation in my mind is that the song is about identity. And in a way, her voice sounding young further strengthens this connection I see, of seeking and hoping and creating identity. In a world where a young person, especially a young woman is told so many things, and one is bombarded with billions of ads and signals and sight/sounds and enough information and enough push-pull to stun an ox, (especially a kid like Joanna Newsome who grew up with no TV, radio, media, etc) then identity is very likely a huge issue. Isn’t it always?
Ok, it’s about identity. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it until I decide to change it.
oops. two different items combined into one document+copy and paste=oops. ignore the first part.
oops. two different items combined into one document+copy and paste=oops. ignore the first part.