Many people may post this one, but the record Mermaid Avenue
by Billy Bragg and Wilco has a song on it called Walt Whitman’s Neice. First of
all, this is relevant to my groups discussion on Guthrie so I won’t go into too
much detail. After Guthrie died, he had a tone of songs he never recorded and
his daughter was saving them for a band to write music for Guthrie’s lyrics that
would not be a mirror the style of her father, rather a contemporary take. Bob
Dylan had wanted access to the songs but he was of the same folk music scene as
Guthrie and would not be what was envisioned for the songs. Think of the folk
aesthetic and the process of taking material that has lost an author and through each handling, the song and content change. Walt
Whitman’s Niece starts off with a kind of boisterous feel, which may not have
been what Guthrie imagined. The view of
Whitman was more sexualized than spiritual during the making of this record and
is reflected in the song. When Guthrie was writing, Whitman was understood to
represent a spiritual truth which changed throughout the years.There is a documentary of the making of this record entitled "Man in the Sand" but I don't think this song is on it.
But this one is!
This song is also mentioned in the book Paper Towns by John
Green (and inspired me to read the book back in high school). It was only a
clue for the neighbor of this enigmatic girl when he was trying to find her (in
the end you find out that she doesn’t want to be found.) It’s interesting to
think about the layers of reference in this song.
First off, I am a huge fan of
Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham and the like. He had an album in ‘92 called
“Out of the Cradle” which was his third solo album (Law and Order/Go Insane )
but his first since his departure from Fleetwood Mac. This album asserts his
independence as an artist and his ability to make music that (although I do think it is a testament to how
Fleetwood Mac is a super band- Buckingham, Nicks and McVie can all stand on
their own extremely well, but together they kick ass) was a departure from
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac needed each other to make their songs a “Fleetwood
Mac song” (something beyond human in my opinion…)- In one of the documentaries
I have, Nicks was speaking about how she would come in with an idea and Lindsey
would add to it and vice versa. They also were connected personally in so many
ways. My dad and I would always joke about how all Buckingham and Nick’s songs
were about each other in Rumors (and
other records as well—same goes for Christine McVie and John McVie.) These
things fueled the band and that was a break Buckingham wanted to make.
First seen in the 1860 version of
Leaves of Grass, “Out of the Cradle endlessly rocking” the poem highlights
themes of departure from a unit and into the realm of independence and self sufficiency.
Buckingham was making a statement that he was not dependent on Fleetwood Mac; like
the mockingbird in the poem, he left the nest of love and safety.
Side note: I think Whitman would have totally dug the
romantic entanglements Fleetwood Mac entertained; the fleshy sexy time as
inspiration for hit singles…pure walt.
Here is an instance of Whitman becoming "twitterfied" wwwd? tweet!
O captain my captain
Most people are probably familiar with the reference to Whitman in the film "Dead Poets Society." Robin Williams quotes Walt Whitman to bring to light Whitman's ideas of free and democratic thinking. Whitman is a teacher, in a different sort than Williams, but both are teachers that alter the student's core. Williams proved to be a life changing teacher, just as Whitman is. Fighting conformity (just as Whitman originally did in comparison with his contemporaries) Williams teaches his students to be leaders, not followers.Williams has taught them all he can, he needed to leave, because what he did was plant a seed that will change how they approach everything. Whitman must also leave his readers because part of the process is us (as students) flying out of the cradle.
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