I really chime with what you said about the shifting lyrical style - "On their own, they are evocative portraits of their subject, but take a step back and you can see a vast constellation of interconnected stories."
This is something I often think about with Oberst lyrics from Cassadaga onwards. I think of this style in terms of collage or mosaic. And it leaves the listener to join a lot of dots.
That is a great way to put it. I love everything that came before it, but part of what makes Cassadaga endlessly interesting to me is how many different ways it can be interpreted. It requires a lot from its listeners, and fortunately the sonic side of the album makes that a joy to do.
It’s so great to see someone be passionate about this album. It’s my favorite of theirs. You have some really great insights here about the theatrics of the song and what they might mean. It goes to show how much can be said not just in the lyrics but in the cadence and melody of the song. I’m excited for next time, Four Winds is one of my favorite songs—and you’re an excellent writer! Thanks :)
I really chime with what you said about the shifting lyrical style - "On their own, they are evocative portraits of their subject, but take a step back and you can see a vast constellation of interconnected stories."
This is something I often think about with Oberst lyrics from Cassadaga onwards. I think of this style in terms of collage or mosaic. And it leaves the listener to join a lot of dots.
That is a great way to put it. I love everything that came before it, but part of what makes Cassadaga endlessly interesting to me is how many different ways it can be interpreted. It requires a lot from its listeners, and fortunately the sonic side of the album makes that a joy to do.
I’m deep into “Four Winds” right now and there are so many allusions to WB Yeats’ “The Second Coming,” which led me to an interesting observation about how Yeats uses a “productive vagueness” that “makes the poem ever-relevant.” That struck me as an apt description of Conor’s stylistic shift as well. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/30/things-fall-apart-the-apocalyptic-appeal-of-wb-yeats-the-second-coming
It’s so great to see someone be passionate about this album. It’s my favorite of theirs. You have some really great insights here about the theatrics of the song and what they might mean. It goes to show how much can be said not just in the lyrics but in the cadence and melody of the song. I’m excited for next time, Four Winds is one of my favorite songs—and you’re an excellent writer! Thanks :)
Thanks so much for the kind words! Totally agree with everything you’ve said here and equally excited for Four Winds! It’s a masterpiece.
Four Winds is officially up :) https://colinbaillio.substack.com/p/four-winds-part-2-of-a-thick-mist?r=1gcjuq