Ongoing post...

As of this moment I only have 1 follower, and as such much of what I'm posting here will be for myself. Just in case, if you do happen to wander upon my blog, here are some pieces of literature and music that I've recently (re)discovered and highly recommend.

-"The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

It is whenever I pick up a translation of a novel by a great Spanish author that I dearly regret never having mastered the language. Zafon is a master storyteller, weaving a gothic tale of obsession, literature and reality set within the heart of Barcelona. It documents the life of an author operating under a pseudonym and the way in which reality and fiction blur into an indiscernible whirlwind. A beautiful and intriguing tale for all of those who find the quality of literature to be one containing more than mere fancy.

-"Otherwise than Being: Or Beyond Essence" by Emmanuel Levinas

Prior to reading Levinas, I'd never, ever had such a difficult time attempting to decipher an author's meaning. We barely dented "Otherwise than Being" last semester after completing "Totality and Infinity" in class, so I decided to take this complicated work under my belt. Though I've either misconstrued or failed to catch the jist of what he's attempted to communicate, I must say, I've never had quite as much fun racking my brains in frustration as I did when reading "Otherwise than Being". It builds upon Levinas' idea of the infinite alterity existent between the Self and the Other (as established in "T&I") by emphasizing a state contrary to Heidegger's being, stating that we are "beyond being". I'll let you attempt to figure out the rest ;].

-"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers. It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs? Embosomed for a season in nature, whose floods of life stream around and through us, and invite us by the powers they supply, to action proportioned to nature, why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe? The sun shines to-day also. There is more wool and flax in the fields. There are new lands, new men, new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship."

-The Shins "Oh, Inverted World" and Broken Bells, "Broken Bells"

The Shins are highly underrated in my opinion. Take a moment to listen to their thoughtful lyrics that accurately capture an extremely distinctive feeling that only The Shins can bring accompanied by music that both excites and lulls you into relaxation. Speaking of which, check out James Mercer and Danger Mouse's new project, "Broken Bells". Dark, funky Danger mouse accompanies the effortless voice of Mercer in a thoughtful collaboration that has me singing.

-Fever Ray, "Fever Ray"

Dark, brilliant, captivating.

- Gogol Bordello, "Transcontinental Hustle"

Gogol Bordello is the perfect mix of blaring 90's punk and eastern european gypsy rock. It hits me in all of the right places, appealing simultaneously to my younger self, screaming revolution with her fist in the air and the nomadic gypsy within. "Transcontinental Hustle" speaks of revolution, love and the distance that a life on the road inevitably creates between the self and society.