Parquet Courts - Violence
This track has really impassioned and emphatically sung word salads throughout. Andrew Savage sings about many economic injustices, and the track is very reminiscent of Gil Scott Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, as sung by white guys from Brooklyn in 2016. Great track.
The way this is performed is interesting. While the instrumental continues to repeat and I find myself almost zoning out, the voice shouts out to get my attention back. It feels like they fit the form to the phrase "violence is daily life," as if it's so routine that we forget about it and need to understand that that shouldn't be normal.
ReplyDeleteI loooove "The Revolution Will Not be Televised". Still very relevant. I also love "word salad" poetry. I make you have to listen and digest quickly.
ReplyDeleteI love the contrast of energy between the instrumentation and the vocals of the song- the repetition of the chords with his emphatic tone delivers a chaos that I enjoy and want to live in for a little while. And then I want to stay for more when the score breaks down and is distorted during the first chorus. It's a beautiful wake up call through our everyday lives, especially as our country's still answering our global issues with war ??
ReplyDeleteThe repetitive nature of the instrumental does a good job of focusing the attention of the listener on the lead vocalist. When I listen to music, I almost never listen to lyrics. As someone who makes music, the musicianship of an artist is what really appeals to me. However, having this consistent musical background almost lures the listener into a meditative state, opening them up to really listen to the message of the vocalist.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to try to place the musical traditions this song derives from. In a certain way to me it evokes Black Flag and early hardcore punk, which I hadn't really thought about in terms of protest music until just now. But yeah, hyper-literate 'word salad' poetry makes me think of Henry Rollins for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt pretty cool to think about how this song is probably played in very privileged spaces, similar to what Bradley said. The NYC DIY scene, especially Brooklyn, has in the past two decades become unbelievably gentrified. Those who gentrify it normally come from wealthy suburbs with supportive families that fund these artistic endeavors. I feel it necessary to recognize the hypocrisy being that the members of Parquet Courts are also transplants, coming from Texas.
ReplyDeleteI love this track, and it definitely is reminiscent of Heron's work. This is just a more aggressive version of Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". The message is effective especially with the hook "VIOLENCE IS DAILY LIFE" because it directly addresses the issue. Could money be the cause of violence as daily life?
ReplyDeleteI definitely missed a lot of words, which I think could be part of the point-- that there are so many economic injustices to keep track of. I particularly resonated with the line "issuing overdraft fees from beyond the grave." It made me chuckle.
ReplyDeleteGreat track. In general, I agree this a bit more difficult to understand than a lot of Parquet Courts, so maybe that is part of the point? The muted point being that people that come from privilege don't always think of what they are listening to and how it could be pointing at them rather than provided for them.
ReplyDeleteThis song takes a really interesting stance on protest in that it is shouted as if in live protest or demonstration. The volume and intensity of the seldom-ceasing list of injustices almost makes the musical aspects unimportant.
ReplyDeleteThis has such urgency and call to action. It really speaks to not fight fire with fire but with passion and excitement for the change that can possibly take place. This song does so well at evoking violent imagery because of Savage's vocal delivery. So impactful, concise and groovy.
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