The book of longing meets the music of mantras
I got a hold of Philip Glass' fairly recent song cycle based on Leonard Cohen's latest poetry book the "Book of longing." I don't like the symphonic songs particularly, yet I found the album very satisfactory. I will need more time to enjoy the songs thoroughly, yet somehow I have got the feeling that Philip Glass' style of building complexity out of simple patterns matches very well with Cohen's meticulous way of re-writing of his poems, until he finds the perfect line. The website devoted for the book opens with the following lines:
"I can hold in a great deal; I don’t speak
until the waters overflow their banks
and break through the dam.
Thus I was able to delay this book well beyond
the end of the 20th century. "
I am very glad that the dams broke, and the waters reached Philip Glass' home in New York City. The opening song reminded me the creeping opening song "The Dead Flag Blues" from Godspeed You Black Emperor's album F#A#infinity. Here it is:
"I can hold in a great deal; I don’t speak
until the waters overflow their banks
and break through the dam.
Thus I was able to delay this book well beyond
the end of the 20th century. "
I am very glad that the dams broke, and the waters reached Philip Glass' home in New York City. The opening song reminded me the creeping opening song "The Dead Flag Blues" from Godspeed You Black Emperor's album F#A#infinity. Here it is:
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