Shorthand for Nothing

So, I recently answered a question concerning art and science—why is there a divide, real or imagined, there?

At the risk of writing a legitimate and informative post, this is a subject I’ve given a lot of thought to. There are a number of reasons for the art/science divide, some of which build upon each other, some of which are independent, some of which are purely social and some of which are, I think, entirely valid. (more…)

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For those of you who follow Dreamers Often Lie, and I guess maybe those who don’t, I have decided to license the blog under cc-by-nc 3.0. This is largely due to the fact that I want to encourage people to make morose and brooding short films without asking for my permission, but not for commercial uses. I still want people to talk to me about commercial uses, because I, like many people, also like money.

This is part of a broader theme I have been mulling over for a while now. I want collaborative projects to happen more often. I want to work with other people to make something cooler than the sum of its parts. I’ve really enjoyed working with the estimable Chris Boyer on all of our myriad projects. I’d love to work with other people and make something really awesome. I don’t know what that awesome thing is yet, but I really want it to happen. If you are interested you presumably know how to get in touch. Let’s make something pretty happen.

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Yesterday at midnight Central Time, NPR had a live broadcast of The Decemberists playing their new album, The Hazards of Love, in concerts. As live broadcasts of concerts tend to be, the quality was lacking, and through my laptop speakers it felt distant. Despite that, I knew I needed to purchase this album as soon as possible. I got on iTunes the next day and downloaded it.

In many ways it’s a continuation of what they started experimenting with in The Tain, The Island, or The Crane Wife (the song)–long, multi-part stories, epic in scope. This is not a new concept, but the Decemberists pull it off in a unique way–Colin Meloy’s unique lyrics and vocals added to some much harder edged sensibilities than most of their previous works (with a few notable exceptions). It captures the perfect balance between over-the-top and taking itself seriously. It’s fun, it’s epic, it’s scary, it’s creepy, it’s touching. If you’ve liked some of The Decemberists’ longer and more epic material in the past, this is the album you have been waiting for.

As a fully developed story, it’s possible there will be a dearth of single- and radio-friendly tracks from this, but that is hardly a weakness.

It’s on iTunes for ten dollars, bereft of DRM. Go, buy it, love it.

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