I have two scenes that I wish to share from one of the great plays of our time: Death of a Salesman.
Please, if there's anything you take away from these page, watch these scenes, especially the first.
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I am Willy Loman
The absolute desperation in Biff's voice, and the delusional indignation from Willy; it's a bit of dramatic acting I always come back to. Inside of me are two wolves: Willy and Biff Loman.
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Taking Sides
One thing that's particularly compelling about this scene to me is Willy's disrespect to Linda. It surprisingly hits home, it's something I always saw as a child in many families, including my own.
I think one of the most unnerving aspects of it is that there's this simmering frustration that is so inexplicable, it makes you wonder when is it ever "safe". Every moment of joy is tempered with a lot of anxiety.
I mean, it's incredible. In one moment we're laughing, making small fun jabs at each other and suddenly there's this loudness.
Then you look at Biff, who stands his ground, and it completely disarms Willy, not the situation, but Willy. I wish I could do that as a kid. Maybe that's asking too much of a child, or a teenager. I don't think it would've amounted to much either, but I still wish I did. I suppose I'm happy I wish that I did.
And then how Linda responds, it's heartbreaking, but that's exactly the sort of thing that my mother would say. "It takes so little to make him happy"
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Arthur Miller interview on "The Death of a Salesman" (1999)
A great interview. I love the pauses between questions and the simple set dressing.
I watched this as a 14 year old in English class and I can't believe how much flew over my head, a play that should've meant everything me, I took nothing from it.
This album is in my Mt. Rushmore, across all art. But the closer, Basketball Shoes is dazzling. And the last movement in the song, puts me in a bit of a spiritual daze.
This specific live rendition is one I always go back to, and specifically this mix of it (compared to the original mix on their youtube channel, where the vocals are just too low in the mix.)
Some things I love from this last passage. This is the specific timestamp.
- The audio feedback that starts right when the drums and guitar stabs come in to introduce the droning chanting.
- Issac's vocals, how "imperfect" his singing is here.
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"In dreams, my face is still in your chest".
This line does not appear on the studio version. What they have there is:
"All I've been forms the drone, we sing the rest"
And man, I wish they stuck with the original! Maybe I'm biased, since I still haven't deciphered what the studio version means, but I think "my face is still in your chest" is the ultimate punchline to the switcheroo that this outro sets up.See, Issac seems to just be talking about a wet dream of Charli XCX:
In my bedsheets, not wet [of cum]
Of Charlie, I pray to forget
In dreams, my face is still in your chest
Oh, your generous loan to me, your crippling interest [not related to my point, but I can't just leave this part of the verse out!]But that's just not the case. One line I purposely didn't emphasize was "I pray to forget". That's the key. This whole verse is contructed to demonstrate that he is desperately trying to forget and distract himself from his ex. And the distraction he chooses is a masturbatory fantasy over a very famous pop-star.
And the line plays so perfectly into this. A simple reading of "my face is still in your chest" would be that he is motorboating Charli XCX. But in my reading he is not. To me, I see him embracing his girlfriend in bed, half asleep, finding comfort and warmth in her bosom, and not sexual relief.
And it's amazing! Even as he sings about how he is trying to distract himself in this most crass form, this beautiful, heart-aching desire still creeps in! This is why you cannot even switch the wet dream out for another distraction, the point is the boorishness, how pathetic he looks here. Even in a self-constructed scenario, he is vulnerable to something so innocent. He cannot escape.
And there is the meta-writing element too! I mean, he is writing about trying to forget, and the metaphor is snuck in there, just in the same way he wants to forget, but the object of his true desire is able sneak in as well.
There's just so much here, in less than 10 words.
Also, I was thinking why is the choice of Charli XCX so compelling. If he chose another popstar like Taylor Swift or Nicki Minaj, I would definitely ... shudder more, I suppose. I think it's primarily because Charli XCX is the internet obsessed music nerd's pop star of choice. It plays into this pitiful character that is being presented. One that is no so ... traditionally masculine and "male gazy" but a sickly nerd in his basement. It doesn't I suppose ... lionize the character at play here.
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When he screams, that first time "your crippling ... interest". The rage.
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I invite you to watch the video here and focus on the stock footage that's being projected, visually on the left of the video. It shows a baby's hand in the palm of another, possibly their parent:
The hand lingers, and there's this discomfort for me. For at least six seconds, no one moves. And as the one hand folds in, to hold firm the child's, the child's hand slips away immediately, bar for a hellish half second of hesitation.
If that isn't a perfect metaphor for someone who doesn't want you but isn't sure of that, what is.
A wonderful piece of writing, really enthralling actually. It's really playful and there's plenty of irreverence, but it's contemplative and quiet when it needs to be.
And I love how it flows through many complex feelings and thoughts, without feeling the need to resolve or decide them.
Thank you @greg for sharing
It is an interesting article. I was recently talking to @greg (or someone) about yearning, so the subtitle caught my eye "Lifelong lessons in yearning and style". But this article speaks on a desire for material things and what it means to have not.
I think I was speaking about yearning, angling towards the abstract. I think it's a bit different, it feels particularly untouchable.
It's a fine article however, I recommend it!
Cool idea @hackernews::AnthonyMouse!
I hate how ... alright we are as a society with what we allow with no social admonishment. I hear people say "Oh, we should ban gambling ads on television". How on Earth did we get to the point where we are okay with gambling ads on television. This should've been met with shock and disgust, whereever this was proposed. What happened to common decency.